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Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner has died at age 58

Transformers News: Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner has died at age 58
Date: Tuesday, October 12th 2021 8:03pm CDT
Categories: People News, Company News
Posted by: Seibertron | Credit(s): Hasbro

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Views: 88,957

Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner, 58, passed away earlier today, just two days after taking a medical leave of absence. Goldner joined Hasbro in 2000, became the CEO of Hasbro in 2008 and its chairman in 2015. He was instrumental in transforming Hasbro from just a toy company to an entertainment company. While his cause of death has not been officially announced, he had been battling with cancer during the past decade. He was preceded in death by his son Brandon. He is survived by his wife Barbara and his daughter Brooke. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his co-workers.

Transformers News: Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner has died at age 58
Brian Goldner at Charity event for Transformers Movie alongside Tyrese Gibson and Rachael Taylor

On a personal note, I first met Brian Goldner at Toy Fair 2007 when he was the COO of Hasbro. It was the first time that Transformers Movie products were being revealed. It was also a big week because there was also an industry screener in New York City hosted by Dreamworks and Michael Bay that featured about 20 minutes of the Transformers movie. A couple of months later, Brian personally called to invite me to the premiere of the Transformers Movie in 2007 at a Hasbro Children's Hospital charity event in Providence, Rhode Island. I was very honored and humbled that he had reached out to me so that I could experience the special event and cover it for Seibertron.com.

When I saw him at BotCon 2007, he came up to me while I was photographing the new Transformers movie toys and products at the Hasbro booth. During our conversation, his daughter Brooke came up to him. He introduced me to her as "Ryan, the owner of the Transformers fansite Seibertron.com". His daughter smiled, and said "Seibertron.com? That's the website you are on every night before you go to bed!" We both had a laugh at his daughter innocently outing that he was checking out Transformers coverage on Seibertron.com (presumably to keep his finger on the fan pulse pertaining to the movie) and that moment has remained one of my favorite Seibertron.com memories over the years. It was an honor to know that he was checking out Seibertron.com.

Transformers News: Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner has died at age 58
Brian Goldner alongside a Transformers Movie Bumblebee toy at Toy Fair 2007

Brian Goldner was one of the first people from Hasbro to personally reach out to me. He was sincere and helped me feel special about Seibertron.com. It was an honor to have met him. Thanks for all you did for all of us, Brian.

On behalf of the entire Seibertron.com family, we extend our condolences to those closest to Brian Goldner.

Video Interview and Transcript with Hasbro Transformers Brand Team at #SDCC2018 #HasbroSDCC

Transformers News: Video Interview and Transcript with Hasbro Transformers Brand Team at #SDCC2018 #HasbroSDCC
Date: Thursday, July 26th 2018 7:54am CDT
Categories: Movie Related News, Toy News, Event News, People News, Interviews
Posted by: Va'al

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Views: 97,275

Another of Seibertron.com's big interview videos from last weekend's San Diego Comic Con 2018 event features the Hasbro Transformers brand team, with the awesome/gruesome twosome of Ben Montano and John 'Hasbro' Warden answering questions as much as they're allowed to on the War for Cybertron: Siege toyline for the first half, our thoughts about the reveals and the future events in which more product will be shown (worldwide), then moving on to some Masterpiece line questions and US distribution of those figures (they're all coming over!), their hopes for the Bumblebee Movie and what's next in fiction.

The full video is posted below for your viewing pleasure, and we've provided an almost verbatim transcript beneath that for ease of parsing and understanding the points made in the interview. Check it all out, and let us know what you think in the Energon Pub discussion boards!



Ryan Yzquierdo (Seibertron) - Seibertron.com
Alex Valente (Va'al) - Seibertron.com
John Warden – Hasbro Design Manager
Ben Montano – Hasbro Marketing Manager

Va'al: "We saw today the reveals for the War for Cybertron Siege stuff, and you've said it's a very one sided war with only the Autobots revealed for now – when are we to expect more stuff (Decepticons in particular, ndr)?"

Ben: "Later this fall, there are some really cool conventions coming up around the world and we have a global tour coming up on our plan and we'll have a lot more to share. I can't say right now exactly when but stay tuned. Best non-answer answer I can give you."

John: "But I can say that if there were enemies they would be very cool and defy all expectations."

Va'al: "We've seen the different size classes for the line (Battle Master, Micro Master, Deluxe, Voyager, Leader, Weaponizer). IS Weaponizer only for the deluxe class, or will we see it across the line?"

John: "The Weaponizer classs robot is a deluxe class character, there will be other in the line than Cog, it makes sense from [?] - take Cog, he transformed into a bunch of weapons and vehicle, so it makes sense for that size to work with other characters to hold. So right now, deluxe."

Ryan: "One of the comments on our YouTube videos asked if Cog can also turn into the invidual robots that made up the character originally, can he still do that?"

John (with Ben) – No, he's not a Duocon. We'll put the actual vehicle and robot mode in the case soon, we need to move things around. He has a dedicated vehicle mode that can split into two, and he does have a third mode in being able to be all the weapons – that's the Weaponizer."

Va'al: "Combiner Wars had Devastator, Titans Return had Trypticon, Power of the Primes Predaking. Are there any plans to have something that size or with that idea in the line, at any point in the trilogy?"

Ben (with John) – Yes, that's our intention. Somebody fitting of the battleground. Fans have responded really strongly to it, so we'd like to continue with it."

Va'al: "So you'd like to continue the Titan class."

John: "Definitely. I mean, this is really taking a page from the 1984 pilot episode, and it's what happens on Cybertron in the last hour, and there's definitely room for a big character for sure"

Ben: "There's a lot of good guesses out there, online right now."

John: "It's exciting to see what people are saying, because we get an idea of what they want."

Ryan: "A question about Micro Masters, for the Unicron Trilogy fans: was there any talk of giving the Minicon ports? Are they compatible with previous figures?"

John: "We did talk about that actually, early on. We didn't want them to become too cluttered with stuff, and in order to pay homage to the original late 80s Micromaster line we wanted to really keep the conversion from vehicle to robot, but also make sure fit in the new ecosystem which is weaponizing. So they do convert and form weapons and munitions thing, so they do have that screwport, but so did the original Micromasters anyway."

Va'al: "In terms of the where this is now going, Siege being the first chapter and two more after that. Do you already know what the next two will be, or are you waiting to see how this one goes before moving onto the next part?"

Ben: "We already know where it's going. The Trilogy is mapped out, we're waiting to see some of the response and reaction, and some elements can change but the story is pretty much outlined in our heads, which is great and why – I think John would agree – the product is sharp, because we are focused, we have a plan, and we're able to provide a real play experience in Siege."

John: "Part of it is putting a stake in the ground with our design philosophy early on, we've been working of Siege for almost two years now, and trying to understand the constants. Scale is going to be a constant. The level of articulation mostly, and trying to make the characters the best version of that character they can be. Ultra Magnus is kind of a testament to that. The front cab turns into the white Ultra Magnus, the trailer turns into his armor, that's part of what he is. The plan is to keep that philosophy, so that people can go for a ride for three years. If this year they didn't get this one guy, they might get it next year."

Ben: "Assuming that fans love all we're doing is not fair to anybody."

John: "But coming to events like this and talking to you guys, finding out what you want is really exciting. Hearing what you have to say really does influence what we're doing."

Ben: "We had some people say 'I didn't vote for Impactor or Mirage' and the votings were close, so the more we hear from you guys, from your fans, it feeds the roster, it gives us depth through the line. There are certain things that will be standards, but there's flexibility in what micro collections can be fulfilled. Someone asked about Powermasters – there's a lot of subsets within the continuity that we can bring into the storyline if we see there's enough interest in it."

Va'al: "You mentioned the Armada retro-compatibility with the Minicon ports (that are not there), you have RID elements in Ultra Magnus, are there any other references or ideas from previous iterations that are not G1 or not RID that are present in the line?"

John: "There is Chromia, who is sort of IDW but really is an homage to that episode where she appears, briefly for a second. But there is definitely room to put things in that make sense in War for Cybertron: Siege and the Trilogy in general. There's a misconception that this is a G1 brand, and in a certain sense it is: there's the original Ark crew, things like that, but we also have characters like Ultra Magnus, he's got the RID vehicle mode. As we think about this toyline, it's more about who makes sense, if people want an authentic G1 experience, they can buy a Masterpiece toy – this is Generations, so what is best in the context of this new story."

Va'al: "So the story first approach is still continuing for this line."

John: "It's definitely a toy story, if you think of the ecosystem at play. I don't know about you guys, but my most favourite toy experiences as a kid were coming up with my own stories, pulling down Encyclopedia off the shelf and building a Cybertronian base and using sugar cubes as Energon."

Ben: "You took off a week from not designing toys and made this diorama. John did this for a week, or a month. 'John aren't you supposed to be checking emails?' 'No, I'm busy making this diorama.'"

John: "I was just moonlighting, much to my wife's chagrin. I jut worked day and night, I worked twice as hard. But when you get an opportunity to build a diorama… Ben's right, you get a chance to channel those exciting things that made you fall in love with being a toy designer in the first place, and I think this new line is not just about collecting characters, it's about creating that universe of story on the shelf, that's why those fireblast effects are in there. That's why we're adding levels of customisation to the characters, and more articulation than we've done in years. It's about how does your Transformers universe come to life. What does it mean for you to be a collector."

Va'al: "To that point, what is your target point for this particular age bracket? Are you looking at both the old collector and the new collector?"

Ben: "We've found that a huge set of the audience is kids, 7-8-12 years old getting into the Generations line. A lot of it has to do with parents getting their kids into the line, whether this is the touch point or the animation. But a large percentage of the fanbase is not the 30+ collector. It's just appreciation for really cool toys. John and I talk a lot, and you've asked if we have a long view for this trilogy, and we definitely do. And there's definitely a misconception in the universe that we may prefer one era of Transformers over another, say G1 over Beast Wars, but we grew up in different eras, half of our writers on Cyberverse grew up in the 90s, early 2000s, our design team is the same, we have designers who are in their mid 20s, so we're introducing G1 to them too – so what you'll see in this is an extended universe continuity introduced within Siege. So to a lot of people saying 'you don't like Beast Wars' 'you don't like the Unicron trilogy' I am fairly confident that we will debunk that over the course of the next couple of years. We respect the entirety of this brand. This is our first step, a starting point which will be epic, and I'm confident that everyone will be excited to go on this journey with us."

John: "Ultimately, the reason I hope this line will be popular with kids – just like Power of the Primes is – is that Transformers is fun to play with. It's fun to change a vehicle into a robot, you take time out on a rainy day to do so. And I think it's time to break that perception that there's Beast Wars fans or G1 fans – we're Transformers fans, we're a big family, we may have big fights online about stuff but we still love robots that convert into cool stuff."

Va'al: "So what you're saying is we'll complain no matter what you do anyway. [Laughter]"

John: "I didn't say that."

Va'al: "No, that's what I said. It's what I heard."

Ben: "Transformers fans unite. That's the vision we have, the entire team has, there's no reason there should be animosity within the fandom. Everyone has their own preferences, got it, we respect that, we don't want people to lose that, their passion, their 'G1' - but everyone has their own G1. We hope that this trilogy will be the opportunity to bring all of those things together, same with the Bumblebee movie, I really feel like that movie is going to unite fandoms. That's really a vision we have."

Ryan: "I hear you talking about Siege, your plans for the next stuff, I see IDW is coming to an end with the Unicron storyline – can about the fiction behind this? It's ripe with stories, any plans on that front?"

Ben: "Nothing yet. Nothing yet. But the fact that your head is already going there is great, this says 'tell me about it'. So we'll have a lot more to share in the future."

Ryan: "I'm really excited about this, I think it has a lot potential. If we switch gears real quick, I wanted to ask about Bumblebee – it looks like a different style to what we've been used to, there's a lot of love going into it, you seem to be having a lot of fun, can you speak to that?"

Ben: "The toys or the movie?"

Ryan: "The toys, that's where you guys are at."

Ben: "Yeah, so we've shown two characters so far with the Studio Series, Dropkick in a really cool new mode, that no one had seen yet. But also to have a VW mode for Bumblebee is really fun, it tugged at a lot of strings that we had as we got into this brand a long time ago. But even a lot of the other stuff, DJ Bumblebee, Energon Igniters, there's a place for them. Here at SDCC, seeing the kids' surprise and excitement around Bumblebee, having 3-4 year old kids running into here screaming 'Bumblebee' that's a whole new universe, a whole new group of fans that want to have fun with this brand. They're not looking for war, they're looking for their favourite hero, the playfulness of it, converting their figure, and we're having a lot of fun creating toys that do that."

John: "And what's exciting is knowing that that kid, who might go see the Bumblebee movie, maybe his first toys is the Power Surge one, but guess what – this world [Siege] is here, if he or she feels like they need another level of complexity, Transformers is great like that. There's room to grow into something. Once that kid is done with doing War for Cybertron, maybe they start collecting Masterpiece. There's ways of graduating into it."

Ryan: "Speaking of Masterpiece, Takara Tomy is releasing Beast Wars Megatron – is that coming from you guys or not?"

Ben: "It's a partnership we have with Takara now, so Hasbro are now importing the Takara Masterpiece items stateside. You will see a box that will go around the Takara Tomy original packaging, like a slip sleeve sort of thing, that will bring our brands together. It will be the exact release you would've expected in Japan, at the same time you would've gotten it in Japan."

Ryan: "Is it a product you worked on together?"

Ben: "There's definitely more collaboration going on, not to the level of Movie Masterpiece, but in general you see the unification of our brands, product lines, the Masterpiece line that Takara is creating is our next step in working together."

Thanks and END.

Toys R Us Canada is Here to Stay and Celebrating This With Special Events and Free Giftcards

Transformers News: Toys R Us Canada is Here to Stay and Celebrating This With Special Events and Free Giftcards
Date: Sunday, June 3rd 2018 1:22pm CDT
Categories: People News, Company News
Posted by: william-james88 | Credit(s): Toysrus Canada

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Views: 22,223

We knew that Fairfax Financial had won the bidding for Toysrus Canada and now all the documents have been signed and Toysrus Canada is now fully owned by Fairfax. The later being a Canadian company means that Toysrus Canada is now 100% Canadian with no ties to the US, which is quite a twist since it started as a subsidiary of what was once a prominent American business. Now, simply due to the fact that competition was limited in Canada for toys of any kind (with a tough barrier of entry for any potential competition due to Canada's ridiculously low population density), Toysrus Canada has always been profitable. But all along, its earnings were going to the US parent so there was no chance for reinvesting in the Canadian business. But that is over now, so we can simply imagine how this company which was already great will now have an influx of cash for reinvesting and improving.

Toysrus Canada aims to reinforce the fact that they are sticking around and to do so, they are offering events every week-end in June with free 5$ giftcards to anyone who shows up, along with free gifts like lego kits you can build in the store and take home with you. Plus, if kids bring in their report card on the last Saturday of June, they get a gift.

These are all shown in the image below and more details can be found here.

Transformers News: Toys R Us Canada Here to Stay and Celebrating This With Special Events and Free Giftcards

Along with that, we have a message from the Toysrus Canada president, Melanie Teed-Murch, about Toysrus Canada beig here to stay followed by a statement from Prem Watsa, CEO of Fairfax, which gives a quick look at the business figures that went into his company's decision to buy Toysrus. However, all this joy on the Canadian side is inverted when looking at the US where the Toysrus head office is also being cleared with everything on sale, including Geoffrey

Transformers News: Toys R Us Canada Here to Stay and Celebrating This With Special Events and Free Giftcards

Message from Toysrus Canada President:

TORONTO (June 1, 2018) – Toys "R" Us (Canada) Ltd. announces the completion of the previously announced acquisition of its business by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. As a result of the acquisition, Toys R Us Canada is now a proudly Canadian-owned and operated business employing more than 4,000 Canadians and Canada’s only exclusive coast to coast business with over 80 locations dedicated to kids and babies across Canada.

“As Canada’s leading toy and baby retailer, we are thrilled to be part of the Fairfax family and to now operate as a reinvigorated company that is 100% Canadian,” said Melanie Teed-Murch, President of Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us Canada. “I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our customers for their loyalty and for choosing to shop at Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us. We are passionate about our business and want Canadians to know that we are champions of play with the newest trends and hottest toys in our stores. We believe that parenting is an adventure and Babies “R” Us Canada will be there along the journey to help parents. We are also excited about our future and look forward to inviting customers back to see what’s new in store.”

This summer, Toys “R” Us will be moving full steam ahead in getting the message to Canadians that we’re here to play, here to stay! “We will be challenging kids, parents, grand-givers and kids at heart to embrace the power of play. At Toys “R” Us, we believe that moments of joy, endless possibilities of fun and the wonder of imagination all happen through play,” said Teed-Murch.

The company also remains committed to its philanthropic initiatives and its support of communities across Canada. Each year, the company raises nearly $2 million to support its partners through the generous support of its customers and team members. Beginning this month, Toys “R” Us will host 10 Starlight Dashes across Canada in which seriously ill children from the Starlight Children’s Foundation will have three minutes to race around the store and fill their carts with toys.

All customer programs like Baby Registry, “R”Club™ loyalty and wish list are running just as customers know and love. Gift cards purchased in Canada can be redeemed anytime online and in any store location across the country. In the coming months, the company will roll out exciting new innovations that have proven successful at recently opened stores in Langley, British Columbia and Barrie, Ontario. This format includes dedicated play areas, interactive stations for kids and mobile pay. The evolving omnichannel strategy connects customers wherever, whenever and however they want through our webstore, mobile and store shopping experience.

Visit www.toysrus.ca and www.babiesrus.ca for exciting announcements and new events happening throughout the summer.


Statement from Fairfax CEO:

“Toys “R” Us has a 34-year track record of standalone profitability in Canada (over the last three years, revenue has exceeded C$1 billion annually and, for the last nine years, EBITDA has exceeded C$100 million annually). With over two decades working in Canada for Toys “R” Us, Melanie has the experience necessary to lead the dedicated employees of Toys “R” Us for the benefit of all stakeholders, kids, families and communities across Canada,” said Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax. “We look forward to building for the long-term and allowing the Toys “R” Us team in Canada to re-invest in the business, instead of the past history of just sending earnings to the U.S.”

IDW Publishing EIC Chris Ryall To Step Down

Transformers News: IDW Publishing EIC Chris Ryall To Step Down
Date: Friday, March 9th 2018 4:50am CST
Categories: Comic Book News, People News, Company News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): Chris Ryall, Comics Beat

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Views: 29,393

There has been a lot of buzz over at IDW Publishing recently, with Transformers comics creators teasing some big news, then the New York Toy Fair 2018 Brand team dropping the 'wrapping up continuities' comment, and fans and readers speculating on what this might mean for the stories currently being told - and this piece does not feed into it at all, but does have some fairly big repercussions on the current era of the IDWverse: EIC Chris Ryall is stepping down, and leaving the publisher altogether.

The announcement comes from his own social media accounts after the news leaked out, and was then reported and covered by several comics news outlets such as Comics Beat - see below - and other creators thanking Ryall for his work with the publisher since 2004. For Transformers specifically, Ryall was in charge of pretty much the whole run up to All Hail Megatron, responses to letter columns, co-wrote Rom the Spaceknight into the Revolution event, and may or may not have been Alternators Windcharger all along.

We do not know what this change will mean for the IDW output, their stories, and the Transformers events specifically, but the various encounters that Seibertron.com has had with Ryall have been good, entertaining, professional, and we wish him all the best in his future ventures.

Transformers News: IDW Publishing EIC Chris Ryall To Step Down


[url]I've been trying to reply to the outpouring of well-wishes and amazing sentiments from so many of you but I'm finding I can't keep up with all of them and I'm pretty spent after a very emotional day. Hard to leave such amazing people as there are at IDW and throughout the creative community. I'll soon try to properly sum up how it feels leaving IDW after 14 years but for now, I'm going to shut it all off and just breathe a little. But thank you all--I wish I'd had some way and enough time to convey to everyone I've worked with who's meant so much to me and made such an indelible mark on me how special all of this time has been. But know that it's implied and deeply felt. This article has a partial (not intended for public consumption) statement from me:[/url]


A lot of changes suddenly at comics companies all over. I’ve just learned that Chris Ryall, formerly Chief Creative officer and Editor-in-Chief at IDW, has stepped down.

The move is entirely of his own volition, I’m told.

Ryall joined IDW in June of 2004, and oversaw its steady growth in both licensed comics and originals, as well as writing titles including Zombies vs Robots, Groom Lake, The Hollows, The Colonized, and Onyx, and licensed titles including Transformers.

Ryall wrote a farewell email to staff which included the following:

Through it all—through the deadline craziness, market fluctuations, assorted business challenges, social-media storms, new faces, new projects, and new challenges—it’s all served as a constant reminder how lucky I’ve been to contribute to this industry that I love so much. And I plan to keep making contributions outside these walls. But for now, I’m stepping aside to take a break, get off the never-ending-deadline train and see what new challenge makes the most sense as my next move. It might seem short at times, but 14 years is a long time to do anything — I’ve certainly never done anything else in my life for this amount of time.
There’s not enough time or space to catalog the various successes that have happened here in that time and really, there’s no need — they’ve all been parts of a whole that has made this place such a thrill to work at for as long as I have. The successes and fun vastly outweighed the stresses, which is really a testament to the place that Ted and Robbie and company built in the first place. I’m appreciative as can be for all the opportunities IDW has afforded me. It’s just time to figure out my next move, that’s all.
I remain excited about comics, about creating, and about giving people good reasons to keep reading and, separately, about seeing everything IDW is going to do next. I first noticed IDW’s books in its earliest days, impressed by the care and uniqueness that those early titles offered, so it’s been a thrill to join all of you to build things out in an even bigger way. And I look forward to once again being able to experience IDW’s output with a fresh eye.

While his next move isn’t yet known, as shown by the above, Ryall seems to want to stay in the comics biz. As shown by his words, Ryall is known as a classy, even tempered executive, and I don’t doubt that he’ll have many opportunities in front of him.

This is the latest of a strong of changes at IDW. Recently co-founder Ted Adams moved from publisher to CEO, while Greg Goldstein moved into the Publisher position. PR manager Steven Scott also recently left the company.

Developing.

Transformers Producer Ian Bryce Leaves Paramount for Netflix

Transformers News: Transformers Producer Ian Bryce Leaves Paramount for Netflix
Date: Monday, February 26th 2018 12:40pm CST
Categories: Movie Related News, People News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): Deadline

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Views: 16,783

Coming at us via Deadline, and from a while back admittedly - blame Toy Fair 2018 coverage, that's what I'm doing - we have the news that producer Ian Bryce, who worked on all of the five live-action Transformers movies, has left Paramount for streaming company Netflix.

You can read more about the move and the projects involved directly at the source, or look at the relevant snippet right below! With the alleged movie reboot still wafting in the air, having a complete overhaul of producing and creative team may not be entirely unfeasible, and this seems to be another point for that camp. Check it out, and join the discussion in the Energon Pub.


In a move that signals the growing feature film ambitions of Netflix, the streaming service has made a multi-year first look deal with Ian Bryce, the producer of big scale films that include Saving Private Ryan, Almost Famous, War Machine, and the Transformers franchise. Bryce and his Ian Bryce Productions will move from Paramount Pictures. The producer first worked with Netflix on the David Michod-directed Brad Pitt-starrer War Machine, and the plan is to build on that relationship and have Bryce be a core supplier. On the film side, this follows a recent deal with War for the Planet of the Apes and the next Batman director Matt Reeves and his 6th & Idaho banner. It also follows the groundbreaking TV deal Netflix made with Ryan Murphy.


Transformers News: Transformers Producer Ian Bryce Leaves Paramount for Netflix

Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner Speaks of Transformers Outperforming Star Wars and more at Q4 2017 Earnings Call

Transformers News: Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner Speaks of Transformers Outperforming Star Wars and more at Q4 2017 Earnings Call
Date: Wednesday, February 7th 2018 11:29pm CST
Categories: Toy News, People News, Company News
Posted by: william-james88 | Credit(s): seeking alpha

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Views: 21,684

The transcript for Hasbro's latest Quarterly Investors call is up on Seeking Alpha, as are the presentation slides. In it, we realize a major talking point was how Star Wars toys had under-performed while the Transformers brand was very strong. As a matter of fact, as Brian Goldner states, "TRANSFORMERS in the fourth quarter was in dollar terms, our biggest growing brand".

The slides that accompanied the numbers shown today, which were posted earlier, mention Transformers as a major component of growth in Franchise Brands in 2017 (more than 10% growth in net revenue) while they also particularly call out Star Wars as a loss when it came to partner brands (aka brands Hasbro do not own) that could not be offset by any gain for other partner brands. Please remember that performance is all about percentages and this does not mean that one sold more than the other. It simply means that Transformers sold better than anticipated (and compared to previous years) while Star Wars sold less than anticipated. But of course, since the inventory is linked to the anticipated sales, unsold inventory will translate to losses for the company regardless of how many units did sell.

Goldner spoke specifically about the contrast between the Star Wars and Transformers brand on an international scale.

Goldner about Star Wars

Look, I view it through the lens of the fact that we saw challenges in Europe and we saw challenges particularly in the U.K. that's a major market for properties like STAR WARS. So, I would say that clearly both the paid marketing and earned marketing, the fans in the U.S. really helped to deliver a strong box office here, it also delivered a very strong box office, globally.

But in terms of the retail takeaway and sell-in, was lower in particularly outsized impact in places like Europe and in our international market, just represent more of the line share, the decline in percentage terms. And that's what we've seen.


Followed directly by his comments on the Transformers brand.

So, right. It's a great global property. But by contrast, just to give you an example; TRANSFORMERS international business was incredibly strong; the U.S. business was strong; the brand overall was strong.


There was also a very interesting tidbit about how Hasbro now has a plan in place in case Toysrus no longer exists.

Our team has built a plan for the right sizing of the Toys "R" Us business.

We have continued to grow the number of doors and continued to grow our revenues outside of Toys "R" Us. We continue to be supportive of them but most importantly we continue to manage our risk and inventory as they streamline the amount of inventory they can take. And we are prepared for any eventuality.


Another Transformers related question came about when discussing how the 2018 Bumblebee movie, coming out December 22nd, will have some tough competition with Spider-man, Aquaman, and Star Wars all being out at the same time. The analyst asked if this would make things challenging for Bumblebee.

Brian Goldner was not worried in the least:

No. look, if you look at TRANSFORMERS, I think that we go from strength-to-strength. This year, TRANSFORMERS in the fourth quarter was in dollar terms, our biggest growing brand. And overall for the year grew very strong double-digits. It's because we are perpetually engaged with our audience by demographic and psychographic.

We have a preschool RESCUE BOTS show, we have our Cyberverse focused on our core kid six-to-nine year-old. We continue to run more adult oriented content on Machinima for that fan. Fan business is growing in a very significant manner. And then of course we have our movies. It was a movie year but our products were about the movie but also about all these other dimensions of TRANSFORMERS.

So, this is a brand that's working everywhere globally, it's a brand that's exceedingly strong and getting stronger in China. We'll talk more at Toy Fair about the major global initiatives and in gaming and how this brand comes to life. So, when we talk about our Bumblebee movie, it's really the focal point of an entire blueprint activation that will take place around that time of year.

And we will bring to bear all of the different strengths and power inside the blueprint to bring Bumblebee and TRANSFORMERS to life at that time. So, we know that there is an amazing array of entertainment with the beneficiaries of a lot of that that's in the world today and we think our brand like Bumblebee and TRANSFORMERS holds its own.


Hopefully this last bit about the Bumblebee movie being key to Hasbro's "blueprint" means we will see some reveals from this film at Toyfair, two Saturdays from now, though nothing is really confirmed as to which toys will be shown there.

Transformers News: Brian Goldner Speaks of Transformers Outperforming Star Wars and more at Q4 2017 Earnings Call

Transformers News: Brian Goldner Speaks of Transformers Outperforming Star Wars and more at Q4 2017 Earnings Call

Transformers News: Brian Goldner Speaks of Transformers Outperforming Star Wars and more at Q4 2017 Earnings Call

Transformers News: Brian Goldner Speaks of Transformers Outperforming Star Wars and more at Q4 2017 Earnings Call

Machinima Transformers: Titans Return Announces New Cast, Featuring Peter Cullen, Judd Nelson, Wil Wheaton, and More

Transformers News: Machinima Transformers: Titans Return Announces New Cast, Featuring Peter Cullen, Judd Nelson, Wil Wheaton, and More
Date: Tuesday, July 18th 2017 12:19pm CDT
Categories: Cartoon News, People News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): Variety, Collider

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Views: 37,314

A number of online sources, including Variety and Collider, are reporting some fairly breaking Transformers news from Machinima, and their new collaboration with Hasbro: the Titans Return animated series, sequel to Combiner Wars! It looks like the first iteration went down well enough to increase budget - and new voice actors have been brought in, shuffling around most of the cast.

That means we will now be hearing the likes of Peter Cullen, Judd Nelson, Michael Dorn, Wil Wheaton, Nolan North, and Jason David Frank, with the first two reprising their staple roles, and the latter working on Fortress Maximus, Perceptor, Metroplex, and Emissary. Check out more info below!

“Transformers: Titans Return” will feature the voice talents of Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime — the role he originated for the original 1980s animated TV show – along with Wil Wheaton, Judd Nelson, Michael Dorn and Jason David Frank in the digital series from Warner Bros.’ Machinima and toy giant Hasbro.

The series is the second installment in the Transformers “Prime Wars” trilogy. “Titans Return” will premiere in November exclusively on Verizon’s Go90 video service worldwide, except in China where it will be available on Sohu.com. The series comprises 10 episodes, each about 11 minutes long. Hasbro last year rolled out the Titans Return toy line in the Transformers Generations series.

The first chapter of the trilogy, “Transformers: Combiner Wars,” has generated more than 125 million views since debuting in August 2016, exclusively on Go90 in the U.S., according to Machinima.

In “Titans Return,” Nelson reprises his roles of Rodimus Prime and Hot Rod from the 1986 animated “Transformers” movie. The show also features Wheaton as Perceptor; Dorn as Fortress Maximus; North as Metroplex; and Frank as Emissary.

Those new cast members join returning talent from “Combiner Wars,” including Abby Trott (voice of Windblade), Jason Marnocha (Megatron), Frank Todaro (Starscream), Lana McKissack (Mistress of Flame), and DashieGames (Menasor).

In addition, Machinima and Hasbro have added other YouTube influencers to the cast, in a bid to lure the digital stars’ fans to “Titans Return,” including MatPat, creator of the YouTube channels Game Theorist, Film Theorist, GT Live and MatPat’s Game Lab; Rob Dyke, a YouTube influencer best known for “Seriously Strange”; and Tay Zonday, best known for his viral “Chocolate Rain” video.

“Titans Return” picks up where the destruction of “Combiner Wars” left off. In the series, the gigantic Transformers called Titans are awakened and cause massive problems. Trypticon, a gigantic lizard-like Transformer, rises to wreak havoc on Cybertron, while Windblade and a ragtag team of Transformers must resurrect an ancient ally. The conflict will transform beloved heroes forever — while some Transformers will be blown to oblivion.


“Titans Return” is being overseen by Executive Producer and showrunner FJ DeSanto. Here’s a look at the new cast members:

Peter Cullen (OPTIMUS PRIME): The original Optimus Prime from the Transformers animated television series.
Judd Nelson (RODIMUS PRIME / HOT ROD): The famed actor from The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo’s Fire reprising roles from the 1986 animated Transformers movie.
Michael Dorn (FORTRESS MAXIMUS): Starred in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Wil Wheaton (PERCEPTOR): Star of Big Bang Theory and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Jason David Frank (EMISSARY): Original Green Ranger from the Power Rangers TV series.
Nolan North (METROPLEX): Iconic voice actor featured in Uncharted, Halo, and Assassins Creed video games.


Transformers News: Machinima Transformers:Titans Return Announces New Cast, Featuring Peter Cullen, Judd Nelson, Wil Wh

Transformers: The Last Knight Wahlberg and Duhamel Interviewed at #HasbroToyFair #TFNY

Transformers News: Transformers: The Last Knight Wahlberg and Duhamel Interviewed at #HasbroToyFair #TFNY
Date: Friday, February 24th 2017 11:59am CST
Categories: Movie Related News, Event News, People News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): AP

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Views: 48,514

We've shown you images and releases about the Transformers: The Last Knight cast and crew, including producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and director Michael May, at Toy Fair in New York last weekend - thanks to two new videos from the Associated Press, we also have some brief interviews with actors Mark Wahlberg and Josh Duhamel. They tease the upcoming Paramount movie, talk about their involvement, their families, their injuries and more, check them out for yourselves below!




Transformers: The Last Knight Bay, Wahlberg, Moner, Haddock, Duhamel, di Bonaventura at #HasbroToyFair #TFNY

Transformers News: Transformers: The Last Knight Bay, Wahlberg, Moner, Haddock, Duhamel, di Bonaventura at #HasbroToyFair #TFNY
Date: Tuesday, February 21st 2017 1:03pm CST
Categories: Movie Related News, Event News, People News
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): Various social media

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Views: 44,506

Not entirely news news in the newsiest sense of the word, but it is nice to get to see the people behind the live-action movies closer to the toys that made that particular slice of the Transformers world possible. That's right, along with the actual movie prop Sqweeks from Toy Fair, Michael Bay, Josh Duhamel, Mark Wahlberg, Isabela Moner (in a new haircut!), Laura Haddock and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura were all in attendance in New York! Check out some shots below, via the various The Last Knight social media feeds.

Transformers News: Transformers: The Last Knight Bay, Wahlberg, Moner, Haddock, Duhamel, di Bonaventura at #HasbroToyFa

Transformers News: Transformers: The Last Knight Bay, Wahlberg, Moner, Haddock, Duhamel, di Bonaventura at #HasbroToyFa

Transformers News: Transformers: The Last Knight Bay, Wahlberg, Moner, Haddock, Duhamel, di Bonaventura at #HasbroToyFa

Transformers News: Transformers: The Last Knight Bay, Wahlberg, Moner, Haddock, Duhamel, di Bonaventura at #HasbroToyFa

Transformers News: Transformers: The Last Knight Bay, Wahlberg, Moner, Haddock, Duhamel, di Bonaventura at #HasbroToyFa

Transformers News: Transformers: The Last Knight Bay, Wahlberg, Moner, Haddock, Duhamel, di Bonaventura at #HasbroToyFa

Transformers News: Transformers: The Last Knight Bay, Wahlberg, Moner, Haddock, Duhamel, di Bonaventura at #HasbroToyFa

Transformers News: Transformers: The Last Knight Bay, Wahlberg, Moner, Haddock, Duhamel, di Bonaventura at #HasbroToyFa

Transformers News: Transformers: The Last Knight Bay, Wahlberg, Moner, Haddock, Duhamel, di Bonaventura at #HasbroToyFa



Harry Orenstein Interview on Life, Music and Bringing the Transformers to the US

Transformers News: Harry Orenstein Interview on Life, Music and Bringing the Transformers to the US
Date: Saturday, December 24th 2016 1:40pm CST
Categories: People News, Interviews
Posted by: Va'al | Credit(s): Newsweek

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Views: 69,050

In a recent issue of Newsweek, the magazine featured an interview with Harry Orenstein - a Holocaust survivor and a the man practically single-handedly responsible for bringing the Transformers to the US way back when. Check out the whole piece in the magazine here, or read some relevant snippets from the interview below!

Orenstein is now 93, and his wife, Carolyn Sue (Susie), is 72, but he is too busy having fun to sink placidly into his dotage. Three days a week, from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., he hosts a high-stakes game of five-card stud in his Manhattan apartment with his poker buddies. “He calls ’em friends,” Susie says, grinning. “They’re sharks!”

Ken Oakes, Orenstein’s longtime driver, brings him a glass of water and a few cough drops. “I’ve been driving Henry for 24 years, since I retired from my regular job as a manager for Sears,” he says. “I managed the toy department there. When the Transformers came out, we used to talk about it.” That’s because Orenstein was the man who saw the potential for Transformers in America. They made him a very rich man. Again.

“Transformers, more than meets the eye!” Orenstein croons.

“He sings all the time,” Susie says. “He sings himself to sleep!”

[...]

Henry turned the small toy car over in his hands, gauging the weight of it. He’d spotted the thing in a showroom at the New York Toy Fair, on a shelf off to the side, so far away from the main display he assumed it had been discarded. He gently flipped the front doors open and nudged the backseat, and poof: The car transformed into a plane. He thought, This is the best idea I’ve seen in many years!

“He went into a trance,” recalls Susie, who was with him that day. “I didn’t know what he was talking about!”

It was the early 1980s; Topper had filed for bankruptcy in 1972 after the bank called back their loan (Susie calls it “the blemish on his career”), but Henry had remained in the business, pitching ideas to large toy companies. He always had an eye for the overlooked, so when he saw that car turn into a plane, he got the feeling he’d had many times before. “Ideas don’t come in little pieces. It’s in; it’s out. It’s there, or it’s not. It’s like a sparkle,” he says. “I was just an inventor. You needed a big company to do what I thought should be done: making real transformations from complex things to other complex things.”

That tiny car was manufactured by a Japanese toy company named Takara. “I knew the president,” Orenstein says. “I went to him and said, ‘I think this could be a great thing, building a bridge between Japanese ingenuity and American marketing.’” He then went to Hasbro, the toy giant behind G.I. Joe and My Little Pony, and became a matchmaker, pitching his vision for a line of transforming toys that went far beyond cars turning into planes. “Very definitely, Henry was the bridge in this one transaction with Takara,” says Alan Hassenfeld, former chairman and CEO of Hasbro. “Henry basically had a sense that Transformers was going to be something that would be transformational for the toy industry.… To be able to take a car and, with a little bit of dexterity, change it into another toy, that was something magical.”

“It was Henry who really saw the magic, the potential, that was inside all these different brands that Takara was presenting,” says Tom Warner, Senior Vice President of the Transformers franchise. “There’s a lot of toys out there, but it takes a very special individual to look at something, identify it, and say it will be a big hit in the U.S. ”

[...]

Henry didn’t style Bumblebee or create Optimus Prime’s backstory—teams of writers, designers and artists at Hasbro developed the ubiquitous Transformers we know today—but he was there first, the one who saw the promise. “Henry was absolutely the catalyst that made this happen,” Hassenfeld says.

Hasbro, working with Takara, created the Transformers in 1984, and since then those multifaceted robots have become one of the most successful action figure brands in history, touching all outposts of popular culture, from comic books and a popular theme song to numerous TV series, imitators (GoBots, anyone?) and a blockbuster movie franchise. In 2007, the first Transformers movie made over $700 million worldwide. Three more films followed. Hasbro says the Transformers franchise has brought in more than $10 billion since 2004.

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Transformers Podcast: Twincast / Podcast #345 - The Roast
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