[hr]
UPDATED: 5/20/07 Tech Spec profiles for all movie characters complete.

Autobots:

Name: Optimus Prime.
Alt Mode: Semi Truck.
Voice Actor: Peter Cullen.
Toys: TFW2005.com Gallery (Protoform Version), Voyager Class, Leader Class, TFKenkon.com Movie Robo Vision Gallery
Tech Spec: For thousands of years, OPTIMUS PRIME and his AUTOBOTS have traveled through space in search of the AllSpark. For all that time, the AUTOBOT leader has held one goal in mind – to protect the universe from the evil of MEGATRON. For this massive, metal warrior, nothing is more important than freedom; he will sacrifice all for its preservation. He has fought for centuries, modifying his body into an unstoppable war machine, preparing for that day he knows is coming when he and MEGATRON meet for one final battle!

Name: Bumblebee.
Alt Mode: 1974 Camaro/2007 Camaro.
Voice Actor: N/A Speaks with beeps and radio.
Toys: TFKenkon.com Ultimate BB gallery
Tech Spec: Sent to Earth by OPTIMUS PRIME ahead of the other AUTOBOTS, this tough robot’s job is to do what he does best: gather information, find the keeper of the secrets of the AllSpark and remain hidden. BUMBLEBEE works best in silence and solitude, acting as an unseen guardian over his assigned target. Don’t let the fact that he likes to remain hidden fool you though – when it comes to a fight, he rushes in, both plasma cannons blazing!

Name: Ironhide.
Alt Mode: GMC Topkick Truck.
Voice Actor: To be determined.
Tech Spec: Autobot weapon specialist and old-fashioned warrior Ironhide is the big stick that backs up the soft steps of Optimus Prime. Paint scarred and chrome chipped by shrapnel from a hundred battles, he is the oldest of the Autobots. His right hip is a mass of bypasses and temporary solutions, his power core and timing system are irregular, and his idle is set way too high; but his optics are the sharpest on Cybertron, and his cannon arm is as steady as ever. Optimus Prime relies on him for tatical advice and a cool head. As long as they keep making missles compatible with his cannons, he'll keep fighting, until every last Decepticon is a smoldering wreck.
Pics: Design Board. Robot Mode. Vehicle Mode
Toys: TFKenkon.com Gallery

Name: Ratchet.
Alt Mode: Hummer H2 (Emergency vehicle.)
Voice Actor: To be determined.
Tech Spec: Ratchet is devoted to saving life, no matter what form it takes, and no matter whose it is. Every Autobot has had his Spark preserved at least once by him, and more than one Decepticon has opened his optical sensors after a mortal blow only to find Ratchet welding shut the final incision. He joined up with Optimus Prime not because he wanted to be a soldier, but because he believed the Autobots presented the last, best hope of preserving life in the universe against the evil of the Decepticons.
Toys: TFW2005.com Gallery

Name: Jazz.
Alt Mode: Pontiac Solstice.
Voice Actor: To be determined. (Will Smith rumored.)
Tech Spec: If it's worth doing, it's worth doing with style, thinks Autobot Jazz. The coolest of the Autobots, he rolls into battle against the Decepticons with slick moves and a banging sound system. There's no limit to his courage, and nothing he won't do in defense of Earth and the Allspark. Drawing his blade, he prepares to bring the fight up close and personal with Megatron and his evil, metal soldiers.

Decepticons:

Name: Megatron.
Alt Mode: Cybertronian Jet.
Voice Actor: Hugo Weaving.
Tech Spec: Megatron was made a monster. From the very day he first came online, his eye has been on a single goal - the domination of the universe. More than any of the other Transformers, he is a true robot - knowing no pain, pleasure or passion except that which leads him towards his destiny. To him, other beings are simply tools to be used until they are broken. Those that serve him well and long may find themselves rewarded, but the moment they fail, they will be discarded. Lying frozen for centuries has left him only that much more determined. He will be victorious, and those in his way little more than stepping stones on his path to conquest.

Name: Starscream.
Alt Mode: F-22 Raptor jet.
Voice Actor: To be determined.
Tech Spec: Leading the hunt for the Allspark during the absence of Megatron on Earth has given Starscream a taste for command. He has experienced firsthand the brutality that allows Megatron to maintain control over his Decepticon legions. It is a style of leadership that Starscream takes to with gusto, punishing disobedience without mercy and rewarding success only with a narrowed eye and threatening gesture. He craves ultimate control, and looks forward to the day when Megatron makes the mistake that allows Starscream the opportunity to slip a jagged shard of steel between his processor clusters.
Pics: Design Board.
Toys: TFKenkon.com Gallery.

Name: Barricade.
Alt Mode: Ford Mustang Saleen (Police car).
Voice Actor: Keith David.
Tech Spec: Barricade is a born liar. The greatest thrill in his life is knowing people trust him because of the human decorations on his door panels. The look of betrayal they get when they realize what they're dealing with is as sweet as candy. The only thing he likes better is chasing down Autobots and breaking them into pieces with his powerful arms and crushing, hydraulic hands.
Pics: Robot Mode. Vehicle Mode.
Toys: TFW2005.com Gallery

Name: Brawl.
Alt Mode: Modified M-1 Tank.
Voice Actor: To be determined.
Tech Spec: Brawl is built for one thing, and one thing alone - destruction. His programming has been gripped for as long as he can remember by a rage so deep and so hot that he feels little else. The only thing that allows him a few moments of happiness is the fury of combat. There is nothing so sweet to him as the thunderous noise of his shells bursting against the armor of a faltering Autobot.
Pics: Design Board.
Toys: TFW2005 Gallery

Name: Bonecrusher.
Alt Mode: Buffalo MPCV (Minesweeper).
Voice Actor: To be determined.
Tech Spec: Bonecrusher hates everything, and what Bonecrusher hates, he destroys. He hates this planet and all of its inhabitants. He hates the Autobots for getting in his way. He even hates Megatron and the other Decepticons. The only reason he stays with them is because Megatron scares him. Bonecrusher lives for the day when he's the only one left standing atop a pile of smoking rubble and shattered robots.
Pics: Design Board. Robot Mode. Vehicle Mode.
Toys: TFormers.com Gallery

Name: Blackout.
Alt Mode: Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low Helicoptor.
Voice Actor: To be determined.
Tech Spec: Blackout is the largest of the Decepticons. Most often seen looming silently over the right shoulder of Megatron. He is his leader's hound. He pursues any target he is given with relentless efficiency, allowing nothing to stop him in his task. Those who defy him beware, his rage knows no bounds. He will fill the air with fire and burn the land clean to take his revenge. Paired with his minion Scorponok, he is a dangerous and deadly foe.
Pics: Design Board.
Toys: TFW2005.com Gallery

Name: Frenzy.
Alt Mode: Stereo Boombox.
Voice Actor: N/A?
Pics: Design Board., Robot Mode.
Tech Spec: DECEPTICON spy and all around sneaky robot, DECEPTICON FRENZY is a fast talking data hound and secret smuggler of goods and information for MEGATRON. Smaller than the other DECEPTICONS and not as tough or strong, he focuses more on hiding and striking at the AUTOBOTS where they least expect it!

Name: Scorponok.
Alt Mode: Scorpion, (no robot mode in movie).
Voice Actor: N/A (Drone, so probably doesn't speak).
Tech Spec: Scorponok is barely what the other Transformers would even call alive. His core programming is only a tiny bit more complex than pure instinct. In most things, he acts almost entirely as an animal. He never speaks, and lives only to hunt and destroy. Unlike most of his fellow robots, he prefers his alternate mode with its energized stinger and drill-claws, to his robot mode. Capable of burrowing through solid earth at nearly eighty miles per hour, he can be a terrifying opponent as he springs suddenly upon his target in a shower of dirt from the ground.


(Tech Spec profiles are from the toy packaging.)

live action hahah hope its not like the dbz live action

I've never seen a single, solitary episode of Transformers but I know they have quite a "cult following." Can anyone suggest/direct me towards some place where I can get up to speed with this whole Transformers deal?

Is this request worth it or am I wasting my time? I mean, is the stuff really that good?

This one's cool
http://students.washington.edu/colin2/b ... er_06.html


Think twice before hitting a copying machine
http://home.comcast.net/~othertransform ... er_30s.mpg


Try selling Optimus and see what happens
http://home.comcast.net/~othertransform ... orSale.mpg


More than meets the eye, much more
http://media.putfile.com/Returneravi-1-1

Does anybody by any chance have a link to that Battleship transformer?




Could this be Soundwave's replacement for the upcoming movie?

http://www.tfw2005.com/boombox/

No, it's just a fan created mascot character tfw2005.com uses for its website.

More fan-made Transformers footage.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=18AXBFY2

Another tidbit is Soundwave will NOT be a helicopter.

Here's some more latest from director Michael Bay.
original post is HERE

[hr]
]The prep for the movie is going well. The military looks like it is going to support the film which is a big deal in giving the movie scope and credibility. The Pentagon has always been great with me because I make our military look good.

All the posts and talk about the original voices --- could we just let it rest for a while? I heard everyone, I'm thinking about it. We are reinventing how the robots look, transform and move - Remember these are the most realistic Transformers you will have ever seen. They have to fit completely into the human world to make this live action film credible. I have shown the animatics and some of the hundreds of drawings - TO THE MOST RELIGIOUS OF FANS - they tell me they are "mind-blowing" and "take it to a level they never considered" - I guess that's good? Time will tell.

Believe me I respect the fans. But I just want you to give me a chance because I'm working with some really talented artists to create this vision. But it is a vision that allows for growth, change, improvement and surprises. Looking back at the history of Transformers, remember there has been tons of change and improvements over the years.

I'm working on third act action, and if you could - what would you imagine for great robot action?


Talk to you soon,

All the best, Michael
[hr]

Quint from AICN had an interview with Michael Bay and got to see a bunch of preproduction work...

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=23105

Descriptions of animatics, action sequences, concept art, voice actors and the teaser poster.

IGN Cast List April 20: http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/702/702518p1.html

Sam - Shia LaBeof
Keller - Jon Voight
Figueroa - Michael Clark Duncan
Lennox - Josh Duhamel
Bobby Bolivia - Bernie Mac
Epps - Tyrese
Simmons - John Turturro
Maggie - Rachael Taylor
Mikaela - Megan Fox
Trent - Travis Van Winkle
Miles - John Robinson



RE: AICN's new report...

(Michael Bay:) ... TRANSFORMERS will be the first film to be able to use the new fighter jet, the F-22. The image he slid to me was of this jet, a very sleek looking machine. Apparently, this machine has all of its weaponry (bombs, etc) hidden inside it, with panels that slide back to allow the weapons out when needed. It's a stealth jet and, most importantly, it can stop suddenly and hover (think of it rising its nose at a 60 degree angle and just stopping) which would allow the jet to take out enemy fighters as they scream past, unable to stop or turn in time. It's supposed to be a pilot's dream of a machine.

...

What hooked him was Shia LaBeouf's character, a teen that is getting his first car. He said that rite of passage for a teenage boy, that of getting your first car, is something he connected with and gave him a human angle to get involved emotionally with the story.
Of course, Shia's character ends up with a banana yellow '70s looking car with lots of wear... and of course, that car is a Transformer. The art Bay slid over to me was like the Optimus Prime work, with Shia's yellow beat up old car on the left and the car transformed into a giant robot on the right.



The F-22 (or F-35) part of the article is very interesting. Could do without Even Steven's Shia involvement.

Those production stills and concept art need to get out.

Someone is trying, check this out:

THERE ARE SOME RABID FANS OUT THERE. I JUST FOUND OUT THAT WE HAD 9,456 ATTEMPTED HACKS INTO OUR SERVER THAT HOLDS THE MOVIE ART WORK JUST IN THE MONTH OF JAN. I HAD THAT SERVER DISCONNECTED TODAY.

UPDATE: Official CGI Talk member made footage

New FAN MADE "test footage" here - hell, it is cool.

http://www.blackfilm.com/20060512/featu ... ideo.shtml

Possible script review...

http://latinoreview.com/scriptreview.php?id=25

Here's another preview with some interesting tidbits:

http://www.iesb.net/dreamworks2006/052106.php

Don't really like the idea of Soundwave being a small robot ala Rumble or Megatron not showing up until late in the film but these are all still based on earlier drafts of the script.




First pics from the set showing some of the vehicles:

Pagenstecher.de

Apparently Paramount is asking everyone (AICN, CS.net, etc.) to C&D on the set pics. I'm not sure if this is all of them but they are at least the ones I've found:











Snake's original mirrors:
[spoil]















[/spoil]

fuck yeah Snake up here with the mirrored goods. I'll edit in some imageshack mirrors later.

As most know, VW won't allow BumbleBee to be a VW Bug in the movie, so they are going with the next gen Camaro which is fine with me.

However, acorrding to those who have read the script... BumbleBee communicates to Shia LeBouf (of Disney's Even Stevens tv series) via music played on his stereo like the junkion Wreck-Gar of the Planet of Junk.

more.

New Flash intro teaser on the official movie site:

http://www.transformersmovie.com/

[align=center][/align]

I like the teaser poster. Definitely gets me more hyped for this. Michael Bay can definitely do action. Just please for the love of God, don't put a love story in it. This ain't fuckin Pearl Harbor.

you think that's supposed to be Megatron's Eye?

Voice Actor rumblings:

From TFW2005


[hr]
Peter Cullen Auditions for the Role of Optimus Prime in New Transformers Movie

Confirmation has come down the pipeline that Peter Cullen, voice of the original Optimus Prime in the 1980's cartoon The Transformers, has officially auditioned for the new Transformers Movie. Poster "Diabetes" on the Don Murphy message board posted the information only to have Mr. Murphy confirm his statements a bit later.
[hr]



For those who don't know, Don Murphy is the producer of the new film.


UPDATE 6/14: This has turned out to be not true apparantly. Story

Well that would be kick ass if they could get most of the original voices back for this movie! If not hey I'll settle for Optimus Prime's original voice.

Well, I know they said they were definitely going to audition Peter Cullen and Frank Welker (Megatron). If they got both Cullen and Welker they'd have two versitile voice actors who could voice not only Prime and Megs but other characters as well if needed. Welker for instance voiced a number of characters in the original cartoon; Megatron, Soundwave, Skywarp, Rumble, Frenzy just to name a few. Cullen was also Ironhide and Devastator.

Not sure about the rest of the original cast of voice actors, a few of the have passed on (Chris Latta, voice of Starscream and Cobra Commander from G.I.Joe) for one. Cullen and Welker are the big two they should focus on and would be the most recognizable to fans.

Set pics from the Bumblebee/Brawl chase

http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=23713


AICN has a slightly tranformed BumbleBee image.
note: The filesize was lowered for imageshack

[align=center][/align]

One more year...one more year...one more year...

Being a fan of the old Transfomers/Beast Wars/Beast Machines, it'll be interesting to see real-looking life-action Transformers...

The Teaser trailer is up on Transformersmovie.com.

The site's moving pretty slow at the moment though...

That looked pretty awesome...definitely a nice teaser. I hope they do a good job with this film.

Direct Link: http://www.shootfortheedit.com/multimed ... rs/tft.zip

UPDATE: The direct link from Michael Bay's forums appears to be higher res than the one from the official site.

michaelbay.com blog

[align=center][/align]

Transformers producer, Don Murphy's tirade on leaked photos and trailers on "The Don Murphy Boards".

[hr]
What is So Hard To Understand?

Listen If it were entirely up to me
If it were my $140 million
I'd say go crazy, find secret images and do whatever you want.
I'd even let the criminals trying to profit off out work at transformersthemovie (who tried to sell us the url a year ago) do whatever they want.

Because DON MURPHY (me) believes that fans make shit happen.

I was such a fan of Star Trek in the 1970s that I SUBSCRIBED to fondly forgotten fanzines like THE HALKAN COUNCIL and MENAGERIE.

I've read comics since DEFENDERS #8 at summer camp.

I am a fan who smartly has been able to turn what he loves into a film career.

Fine. Good for me. Who cares.

The problem when something like TF comes about is that you have a lot of other cooks involved.

You have Tom Desanto, a terrific guy, who refused to see the wisdom of the voice actors.

You have Lorenzo DB who jumps on to films and talks about the glory days when he ran a studio and made TWISTER.

You have Michael Bay, a majorly talented director who we were lucky to get, who is a total perfectionist.

You have Dreamworks execs like Marc Haimes and John Fox who sheperded this with me for two plus years.

You have Adam Goodman the president of production, the person who got Steven and Michael on board.

And hell, you have Steven, the most successful filmmaker EVER who wanted this movie more than anything and made it happen/

That's a lot of people.

And we aren't mentioning the dozens internally at Dreamworks or Paramount or those MAKING the film.

Or Ian who watches the cash or John, Roberto and Alex who wrote the thing... Or the dozens at Hasbro who own this behemoth.... etc

And if ANY of these people want to keep a lid on the trailer till Monday...
If ANY of them want to keep photos that they own off the web...
If ANY of these people want to stop some Welsh people from profiting from their images

Is it not their right?

Well, it is.

The people at TONS of sites have been hearing from DW over every leak.
People have been fired.
People have been sued.
That site WILL come down.

This is NOT anti- fans.

This is PRO MOVIE.

Again, if Chokass or any of the Tools from that site want to pay the $140 m plus then I say great, you run the show.

Otherwise, obey the law.

I don't have interests in being the guy who has to deal with the asshole fans.

There are just too many good guys out there who I have met through this board.

On their msg board that suck site comments on my behavior as if THEY DESERVE POLITENESS for behavior that has ruined my freaking day because of all the calls I had to deal with from legal etc.

They aren't fans. Fans don't advertise.

In fact- wait for it- TFW2005 and ALLSPARK and SEIBERTRON - they are run by fans. I met the TFW guy after FIGHTING with the guy and the ill will disappeared in FIVE seconds- because we were both fans and just wanted fans to be happy.

So what the hell am I banging on about-

Hate me, hate Michael, hate whatever the hell you want.

But break the law, someone is gonna call me. Someone is gonna smack you.

And you deserve it.

[hr]


A poster on one of the Transformer Fansite's rebuke:

[hr]
Don's post is about http://www.transformersthemovie.com (clue is in the 5th line). He claims the site is making a profit from the movie by having advertisements on the site, mislead people by having a similar domain name to the official site http://www.transformersmovie.com and by using the official logo in the banner. It all started in this thread: d13satellite.com.


What he doesn't understand is that Paramount have seen the website, have no problems with anything on the site and have put it on the destribution list for official information on the film, like TFW are (I think). The site has also been around since 2001, dedicated to the 1986 movie, but now to both films. Also, nearly every Transformers site has advertisements (TFW2005, Seibertron, Allspark, TfArchive, TF@TM, tformers etc.), which support server costs, domain registration, security etc, but he is picking on this one.

Haha! Thats hilarious. someone wanna tell them they're just toys?

Goes to show, StarWars Fans aren't the only obessed ones around, thereis another

OPTIMUS PRIME

Wasn't OP a pug nosed truck? Still looks great, though.

Yes, his original G1 form was which of course he's most remembered as. I'm sure there's some fans who will take issue with this new look, but I think it makes more sense for him to have this style of big rig since that is the style that you mostly see out on the road these days. And as far as the toys go this won't be the first time Prime has had the more modern truck mode.

Laser Optimus Prime - 1995 Generation 2 toyline.






Repainted as Black Convoy for the 2000 Japanese Car Robots toyline/series, aka Scourge for the 2001 "Robots in Disguise" series which was the english dub of Car Robots.

Looks good to me, I don't mind the flames either. I wonder if he'll have a trailer though?

I think the new look for Optimus is pretty cool. At least they kept the blue and red color scheme. I wonder if they'll actually attach a trailer at the end of the cab or not.

I agree with you Thundercracker that some of the fans might not sit to well with the new look for Optimus, ah well that's their problem.

Edit: Yes and most of the rigs on the road today are definitely in that similar design.

E! Online: Behind The Scenes Footage
AF.mil: Behind The Scenes @ Hollowman Air Force Base Footage
AICN: On The Set Visit @ Hollowman Air Force Base


http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=23858

Update from Michael Bay's camp, regarding the Optimus Prime pic!

Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. The fan response to the Optimus Prime photo posted a couple days ago was massive. Considering the photo was live for only a few hours, the amount of talkback, emails and all around buzz around the internet just goes to show how big of a fan following this film has.

Michael Bay has an official site (CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE SITE) and forum there where he can talk directly to fans. The forums went a little nuts when the pic hit. I was told there was going to be some sort of official statement by Bay on this site by readers of the forums and while that hasn't happened yet, his moderator "Nelson" posted a little update that confirms the picture as real, but kind of skirts around most of the other issues. Here's the post:


http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forums/

Spoke to Bay this morning as I said, he will post later on later regarding the designs (when I say later it could mean tonight or in a couple of days).

Among some of the stuff:

• They (Bay & Co.) are commited to maintaining total secrecy about this project until it hits the screen. We spoke of how there was no surprise factor to Peter Jackson's King Kong. You knew the whole movie ahead of time. There are some in the team who believe the audience's first peak of the robots in their normal mode should be when they sit down to watch the movie in the theater (in other words, no sneak peak of them in their normal mode in the trailers).

• Bay & crew are well aware of sites putting out BS info in orded to elicit a response from Bay & Co.

• The reasons why they went with a huge long nose truck for OP (BTW, regarding the flames, there is a context for them like Orci pointed out). Bay said they did test with flat noses (FN) for scale purposes, and the FN would only be about 20 to 25 feet tall, so they went with the biggest truck they could find: the Peterbilt. We're talking 40 to 50 foot tall robots here. The physics for these robots have to be real aka no magically disappearing parts. Also, OP is going to have much more red than what was shown in the supposedly "leaked" photo.

• Regarding the designers... all I can say is he said they all had to be fans of the show in order to get their jobs.

• Regarding the Ludacris rumor no, he does not have a part in TF.

I just actually caught this video today about the behind the scenes part. I was gonna post it until I saw your post DP, ya beat me to it.

It's a pretty cool video and it's cool that the Military is helping out with this film.

TFW2005.com News Tidbit out of the San Diego Comic-con about Prime's Robot mode:

PETER CULLEN IS THE VOICE OF OPTIMUS PRIME

Awesome

Some new pics of Optimus's truck mode, Optimus's foot(?) and an emegency vehicle (possibly Ratchet):

[align=center]

[/align]

Also, Access Hollywood has a behind the scenes clip which includes some animatics of the bots. Here

or

AICN has a larger vid of just the animatics shots. Here

[align=center]


[/align]


The Access Hollywood Behind The Scenes Footage is also hosted at Michael Bay's boards:

http://www.shootfortheedit.com/media/tfaccess01.mov @ 21mb

More body part pics. Prime's head and arm, Brawl's shoulder.

Excellent. Classic voice, instantly recognizable.

Yahoo Video chat with TF the Movie writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci summary from TFW2005.com:

[hr]

Chat Begins:

Teaser Trailer Shown First

Character Names:

Autobots:
Optimus Prime - Classic Prime type character. True hero of the Autobots.
Bumblebee - Underdog type character. The scout. Smallest of the gang. (Spike mentioned)
Jazz - Rock n' roll style character.
Ratchet - New form. Emergency vehicle. Medical officer/Science officer. Repairs Transformers injured in battle.
Ironhide - Optimus' oldest friend. Gritty

Decepticons:
Megatron - Survival of fittest. Less idealistic version of humanity.
Starscream - 2-faced. Secretly plotting to overthrow Megatron. Doesn't neccassarily want Megatron's duties, but wants to be leader.
Brawl - Pissed off Decepticon. Heavy lifter. One of the first ones not from G1. More experemental with Decepticons. More G1 styled characters to come with sequals.
Bonecrusher - Closest to constructicon. Hates all other Decepticons except for Megatron.
Barricade - Hunter type. Cop car, likes to get to things first.
Skorponok - closest to a beast era type of character.
Frenzy - Character who evolved from Soundwave. Had contradictions to the original Soundwave, so they changed him to Frenzy. Smaller form. Stealth spy.
Blackout - Takes out ability to fight back. Likes to pulse blast electronics. First tier attacker. Transport, one of the biggest decepticons in the movie.

Question and Answer Session:

What did you know about TF's before?
They were fans from the begining. Wanted to do movie right. Wanted to make sure the things they loved from G1 made it into movie, such as Prime. Both big G1 cartoon fans.

What's the Transformers to human ration in terms of screen time?
Script floating around is not finished script. More Transformers action than what most fans expected. Very close to 50/50 in terms of screen time.

Why is Bumblebee a Camaro?
Needed for design changes. Character is more important than the "cloths". Bublebee will be very close to his original character. Close relationship with Spike. No cheating in the transformation. No size shifiting. What you see is what the vehicle is.

From a female - How is this movie going to open the eyes of fans who never watched Transformers?
You won't need to know anything about TF's to enjoy the movie. Fans will notice alot more and will appeal to them a bit more. Movie is massive. Approaching the film how Spielberg approached Jurrasic Park. Girls will like the "hot guys". There are cool, smart women in the film. Film for everyone.

Will Megatron insult at leat once?
Yes...multiple times. The relationship between the two will be much like G1.

Why are there so few Autobots compared to Decepticons?
Wanted Autobots to be outnumbered and at a major disadvantage. Makes it have very intense action scenes. Decepticons firepower far outweighs the Autobots. You will see and feel the sense and scope ofthe Cybertronian war.

How closely has Hasbro been involved in the character design process?
Very closely. Sat with the design team. Looked through all Transformers catalogs and talked extensively with the design team about what is important. Trying to overcome the perception of a "toy commercial". Tried to use the history to their advantage.

They talk about monitoring the boards to see reaction.

Who would win in a street fight Optimus or Megatron?
You will find out.

Why no Shockwave?
Too many characters, tried to choose important characters who could focus o nthe story. Door open for possible future appearance.

Laser blasts or bullets and missles?
In earth modes, they have earth style weapons. But Cybertronian technology (pulse blasts) come into play while in robot form.

Bumblee as a Camaro asked again.
Explained again at greater length.

Video Cuts out...Technical difficulties.

Fans will know first via TF movie.com.

How do you feel about Bay directing?
Great. They felt Bay was the right guy for the job. Was their first choice. When they pitched it to him, his eyes lit up. He wanted to really know about the story and characters. Bay trusted Orci and Kurtzman to keep the perspective of the fans. They feel Bay is keeping things great. Bay knows vehicles like no other director.

Can you tell us about any other voices?
Not yet. They called it a Work in progress right now.

That's all for now. They will be involved at Transformersmovie.com Message Board.

Contest coming soon:
Submit a line that Optimus Prime MUST say for the film. Winning entry will be recited by Cullen (Prime) for the movie.

[hr]

Another summary at TFormers.com. Bit more in depth.

They could have fixed the female ratio by featuring Arcee.

Starscream is in

Yeah, that would have been good. Maybe for the sequel(s). This info got me pretty excited, the only minor downer is that Soundwave is not going to be in it. But it makes sense to change him to Frenzy if he was going to be a small character and they didn't want to have any mass/size cheating involved with the robot mode. I'm also glad the Megatron/Starscream relationship is going to be the same as the cartoon with Screamer plotting to overthrow Megs. And that question about Megs insults was in regards to Starscream. Good stuff all around.

Looking at imdb.com, it appears that FF2 and the Transformers are going both open up on the same day globally. That will make it hard to choose which movie to see 1st.

Here in the US, Transformers comes out on July 4th, and FF2 on the 15th of June.

Bumblebee!

Not bad.