Transformers
Short description
Transformers is a 2007 science fiction action film about two factions of alien robots whose long-running conflict reaches Earth. The heroic Autobots and the destructive Decepticons arrive on the planet searching for a source of immense power. Caught in the middle is Sam Witwicky, an ordinary teenager who finds himself holding a clue the Decepticons are determined to obtain. Together with his friend Mikaela Banes, Sam is drawn into the struggle between the two sides, while the military and a handful of civilians are also pulled into the fight.
Michael Bay directed the film from a screenplay by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, with Don Murphy, Ian Bryce and Lorenzo di Bonaventura producing. Shia LaBeouf leads the cast as Sam, alongside Megan Fox as Mikaela, Josh Duhamel as Captain Lennox, and voice performers Mark Ryan, Peter Cullen and Hugo Weaving as Bumblebee, Optimus Prime and Megatron. It was Bay's seventh film as director, following The Island and preceding Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It is based on the transforming-robot toy line and related animated series.
Made for about 150 million dollars, the film took roughly 710 million dollars worldwide, a strong return against its production cost. Audiences rate it 7.1 out of 10 on IMDb across some 715,000 votes and 6.8 out of 10 on TMDB from about 12,550 votes, while its critics' score stands at 6.1 out of 10 from 227 reviews, placing reviewers slightly below general viewers.
What's left behind the scenes
- Ironhide's cannon consists of 10,000 parts.
- Early versions of the script included the character Unicron, representing a planet-transformer. This character is expected to gain the right to cinematic life in a sequel.
- According to the visual effects artists at ILM, rendering each frame of CGI animation took approximately 38 hours. The previous record was held by Weta Workshop, who spent 20 hours processing each frame while working on 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'.
- The initial script included Arcee, considered one of the most feminine Autobots, which did not cause any excitement among fans. Soon, Arcee was removed from the script and replaced with Ironhide.
- The first comic book about Transformers was published in 1984 by Marvel Comics. Initially, only four issues were planned.
- The film features 8 Decepticons and 5 Autobots. The scriptwriters deliberately took this step to emphasize the teamwork of the Autobots, and to show how dangerous the threat of the Decepticons conquering our planet is.
- In the animated version, Bumblebee transformed from a Volkswagen Beetle, but in the film version, Volkswagen was replaced by a Chevrolet Camaro. This was done at Michael Bay's request, as he feared the character would be compared to another famous 'automotive movie bug' - Herbie. Fans of the original series will likely notice the yellow Volkswagen in the scene where Sam buys a car.
- The first version of the script featured a character named Ravage (Ravage – destruction), a robot-like animal fighting for the Decepticons. Later, Ravage was removed and another transforming creature, Scorponok, was included in the script. It is Scorponok who attacks the surviving American soldiers in one of the scenes in the first half of the film.
- After communicating with fans of the franchise, producer Don Murphy decided to use familiar voices from the 'Transformers' series. Veterans Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, the voices of the Transformers leaders Optimus Prime and Megatron, were personally auditioned by Michael Bay, who feared their aging voices might not be suitable. His fears were half-justified: Cullen's voice was approved, but Welker's voice was replaced by Hugo Weaving, known for his role as Agent Smith in 'The Matrix'.
- The transformation sounds were taken from the 1984 animated series of the same name.
- Film producer Steven Spielberg did not pay any actor more than $70,000, promising high fees in subsequent sequels.
- A video game of the same name was based on this film.
- Initially, Michael Bay didn't want to cast Shia LaBeouf in the role of Sam, as he believed the actor was too old for the part.
- Another element carried over from the series to the film is the eyes of the Transformers: blue for the Autobots, and red for the Decepticons.
- Michael Bay, who was invited to direct the film, initially considered the future picture a 'silly toy story,' but soon changed his mind after remembering his initial attitude towards the 'Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark' project, which became a real box office hit in 1981. In April 2005, he was officially announced as the project's director, beating out candidate Roland Emmerich.
- In Michael Bay's film, Optimus Prime appears as a Peterbilt 379 truck. In Steven Spielberg's early film 'Duel' (1971), which Spielberg executive produced for 'Transformers', a Peterbilt 281 truck was also the main character.
- Megatron was given a face that resembles a human one as little as possible to make the character look even more menacing.
- The Decepticon Brawl – a modified “M1 Abrams” tank – was originally named “Devastator,” but Bay later admitted a mistake and the Decepticon was renamed Brawl. Despite this, the incorrect subtitle “Devastator reporting” remained in the DVD version.
- Creating the first part of “Transformers” required using 20 TB of server disk space. Working on the second film barely fit within 145 TB. For comparison, 145 TB is the capacity of 35,000 DVDs.
- Exactly at the 60-minute mark, a guy running with a camera to the crash site of the meteorite shouts: “I’ve never seen anything this cool, everything around is exploding, it’s definitely a hundred times cooler than Armageddon.” The film “Armageddon” was also directed by Michael Bay.
- The tagline “Our world. Their war.” was intended to appear on the posters for “Alien vs. Predator,” but was replaced at the last moment with “Whoever wins… we lose.”
- In Sam's room, you can see a poster of the rock band Linkin Park, and it is this band's single, “What I've Done,” that serves as the main musical theme of the film.
- A team of 80 people worked on the film's special effects.
- According to Lorenzo di Bonaventura, all of the robot transformations were carefully calculated mathematically. Therefore, attentive viewers can understand where each component of the robot goes when it transforms back into a vehicle.
- During the Autobots' synchronized turn on the highway, it is visible that Optimus starts it first, followed by Jazz. However, Optimus Prime then ends up driving last.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
