Transformers Event News on Seibertron.com

BotCon 2009: Hasbro's Design Panel. Drift anyone?

Date: Monday, June 1st 2009 3:02pm CDT
Categories: Toy News, Event News
Posted by: Seibertron

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Hasbro's design panel was this past Sunday at BotCon 2009, which was kind of like a follow-up to the previous day's Hasbro Review and Q&A panel. Here're a few additional notes that I took.

1. Hasbro showed us Human Alliance Skids and Arcee with Mikeala. Looks nice!

2. EMP generator will attach to TFA Cybertronian Ratchet, comes with paddles for a "jump start"

3. All pieces of Wingblade Optimus fit on Voyager figure as well

4. ROTF Scout Brakedown is colored in G1 Brakedown colors in concept art

5. Deluxe Drift!!!!! Showed us some design drawings ... in very early stages

6. Leader class Starscream ... complete with hands! Gatling guns on his forearms w/ speech and TF sound, plus mech alive.

To view about Saturday's Hasbro Review and Q&A panel, click here.

BotCon 2009: Gallery of upcoming Transformers Animated toys

Date: Monday, June 1st 2009 2:05pm CDT
Categories: Toy News, Event News
Posted by: Seibertron

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Views: 42,068

Cybertronian Ratchet. Hydrodive Bumblebee. Rodimus Minor. Arcee. Goldfire Grimlock. Hasbro teased us at their panel on Saturday. On Sunday, they put the figures out on display during the last few hours of BotCon. Check out the pics here.

BotCon 2009: Seibertron.com interview w/ Gregg Berger

Date: Monday, June 1st 2009 1:36pm CDT
Categories: Event News, Site Articles, People News, Interviews
Posted by: Seibertron | Credit(s): Delicon and Savage

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On Sunday, the final day of BotCon, mere hours before the close of the convention, our own dear Delicon had the notable opportunity of interviewing Mr. Gregg Berger, most known in our fandom as the voice of G1 Grimlock. Yours truly was honored to be called upon to transcribe the interview as it occurred. For me, it was both a joy and a learning experience, as I had no idea of the sheer number of current projects that Mr. Berger is involved in. Let me assure you, they are numerous. Because of this, we here at Seibertron.Com are truly grateful to Mr. Berger for taking the time to speak with us and provide insight into his amazing and inspiring career.

So, without further delay, the interview:

Delicon: What, generally speaking, has the Botcon experience been like for you so far? Are there any aspects of fandom that surprise you?

Berger: It's more than meets the eye! You have to be here to experience it and feel it. The energy is global, maybe galactic, and accessible to all. They have set the bar so high that the biggest surprise of all is that they have exceeded all expectations! It rocks so hard!

Delicon: The autograph lines have been insane, what is most unusual thing you have autographed both at this convention and overall?

Berger: Although I autographed the inside of several shoes at this con, my most unusual signing ever was an @$$ cheek, which I have been told went straight to a tattooer.

Delicon: What aspects of TransFormers, particularly G1, do you feel influence modern shows, or their creators as something that affected them?

Berger: I think it had, in its time, an enormous effect on people who have now grown into not only a devoted fanbase, but also show creators, and creatives in general. So many people in so many creative circles credit their rabid devotion to Transformers growing up as part of their wonder years, and consequently part of them. I was introduced last week by someone who said, "This is the man who made me late for school and made me rush home after school." That feels so good I can't tell you.

Delicon: You worked with so many voice actors on Transformers and other shows. Name one or two that stand out and why?

Berger: I would say, personally, Scatman Crothers made me anxious for the times that we were not recording, because he would bring a ukulele or tell stories, and he had such a magical quality about him as a person that I just wanted to sit and listen to whatever he had to say. I still worked with Frank Welker nearly every week on new episodes of "Garfield," but when "Transformers" was working I was the new kid and was awed by his, and everyone's, incredible talent, and Frank's in particular, his sense of fun and play, keeping the sessions always fresh.

Delicon: You've done mostly voice acting, but have a regular acting background as well. Do you have a preference of the two? Is there more job security in voice acting?

Berger: I don't believe there is job security for anyone who feels that they are guaranteed job security. Every opportunity stands alone and must be earned. I love the voiceover community, but I love the on-camera, onstage, and personal appearance opportunities I have been afforded as well. I'm not trying to bail on the question,
but the truth is I love whatever I'm doing at the moment.

Delicon: You're most well-known in TransFormers for your portrayal of Grimlock, but you've done a host of characters on many shows. Are there any characters you identify with on a personal level?

Berger: To some degree, all of them, which is how actors should approach their work. But strictly on the optimism level, I would have to say, Spirit from "GI Joe."

Delicon: Final question. Thank you very much for you time today, we greatly appreciate it. This is your opportunity to pitch any upcoming projects, I'm sure fans would love to know.

Berger: I am happily so busy at the moment that I need an air traffic controller! I am Captain Cutter in "Halo Wars", Kingpin in "Spiderman: Web of Shadows", Fred Dukes aka the Blob in "X-men Origins: Wolverine: The Game," two major characters in "Guild Wars 2," and I narrate "Shadow Force" for the History Channel. New "Garfield"s are in production and began airing in May on Cartoon Network UK, so hopefully other markets in the near future. Boy did you pick the right time to ask me that question!

Final Fantasy fans can look for Gregg as the voice of Jecht in Final Fantasy Dissidia. You can also find Mr. Berger by visiting GreggBerger.com and at his Myspace Page. Special thanks to Mr. Berger's representative, Emily Danyel for giving us the opportunity to interview him. Emily can be contacted at emily@tribooking.com and at 1 (310) 497-7994.

Something that many non-Botconners may not realise is that most actors who sign autographs at BotCon do so at a small table at some assigned location for a specified amount of time. However, Mr. Berger had his own booth in the Sales Room at the convention, where he signed autographs for anyone who came by during the day. No lines, just come by the booth, bring an item, or buy one of a variety of photos of Gregg and/or Grimlock (as well as some other characters he's voiced). Now, keep in mind that even Big Bad Toy Store has to pay to have a booth in the Sales Room. There's no confirmed proof that Mr. Berger actually paid money to make himself available to the fans for a far longer time, but it certainly seems that way.

In closing, I'd like to once again express how much I, and I'm sure we as a fan community, appreciate Mr. Berger and all of his hard work. It's because of his work, and that of many others, that we enjoy the vast array of Transformers fiction that we do.

Botcon 2009 Poster Art

Date: Sunday, May 31st 2009 6:11pm CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Event News, People News, Collectables
Posted by: i_amtrunks | Credit(s): Alex Milne

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Views: 16,636

Artist extraordinaire Alex Milne has updated his DeviantArt page with the art from his Botcon 2009 poster.

The poster features characters that fall within the 25th Anniversary line, including Classics, Robot Heroes and Botcon Exclusive figures.

Check out Alex's poster art by clicking here.

BotCon 2009: Saturday Night's Paramount Party

Date: Sunday, May 31st 2009 11:35am CDT
Categories: Site News, Live Action Movie News, Event News
Posted by: Seibertron

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Views: 20,797

The annual Saturday night party at Botcon was at Paramount this year. Dinner was eaten, drinks were enjoyed, ROTF preview clips were presented by Michael Bay, and awards were handed out. Fans listened to Vince DiCola and Stan Bush perform throughout the night while Weird Al signed autographs. Tyrese Gibson made a surprise appearance earlier in the night and Peter Cullen had a few moments at the microphone as well. Check out all the pics here.

BotCon 2009: Seibertron.com wins "Best News Site"

Date: Sunday, May 31st 2009 3:53am CDT
Categories: Site News, Event News
Posted by: First Gen | Credit(s): The Members and Fans

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Views: 12,478

The staff at Seibertron.com is proud to announce that for the second consecutive year, we were honored as the best "News Website" during the awards ceremony at BotCon 2009.

The award was presented tonight during the special "Party at Paramount." Accepting the award was site owner Ryan Yzquierdo. Seibertron.com is now a 5-time Botcon.com award-winning website.

Ryan and the entire staff at Seibertron.com would like to thank Brian Savage, Fun Publications and the loyal visitors of this site for their continued support and their role in bringing us this great honor.

BotCon 2009: Bay presents special ROTF footage - SPOILERS!!!

Date: Sunday, May 31st 2009 2:42am CDT
Categories: Live Action Movie News, Event News, People News
Posted by: First Gen | Credit(s): Michael Bay, BotCon

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Views: 41,110

Botcon attendees were treated to a very special preview of Transformers Revenge of the Fallen by Director Michael Bay. He talked with us about the making of the film and how it still isn't completed. He also made note that the footage we were about to be shown was not complete graphics wise but featured some MAJOR SPOILERS!!!

Warning!!! Do not read on if you want to avoid spoilers.





With our anticipation at its highest level, the attendees of Botcon roared into cheer as the first clip of the movie started. The footage started with John Turturro and Sam's roomate in the middle of a construction zone looking on to a group of construction vehicles surround them. The constructicons were revealed when Mixmasters Decepticon symbol is shown and Scavenger begins to transform. At the same time the other constructicons move closer to form Devastator!!!

Scavenger literally forces all the other constructicons into the gestalt ala Scorpion in Mortal Kombat. Tuturro then runs with Sam's roomate when the scene cuts to Sam and Mikaela running from Rampage.

Rampage begins chasing Sam's father when Sam jumps in front of him to draw his attention. Sam then says "Wait, it's not them you want. It's this, the MATRIX! He then holds up an item and continues to coax Rampage when Bumblebee arrives. The battle begins.

Rampage and Bumblebee fight ferociously with Bumblebee getting the better of Rampage when Ravage enters the fray. Using his hip cannons he blasts Bee and jumps on his back. Bumblebee then forces Rampage to the ground when Rampage lunges for Sam and takes Ravage and terrors him apart piece by piece.

Bumblebee then rips Rampages arm off and decapitates him.

More info to come.

Botcon 2009: Weird Al Yankovic and David Kaye TF Animated Panel

Date: Saturday, May 30th 2009 6:13pm CDT
Categories: Event News, People News
Posted by: First Gen | Credit(s): Botcon

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Continuing coverage of the Botcon 2009 Panels brings us David Kaye and Weird Al Yankovich doing a question and answer session for attendees. We were treated to a host of impressions from the duo along with some comedic answers to questions posed by Botcon goers. Here’s a portion of the Q & A session for your reading pleasure:

The duo started off explaining how it was when they first worked with each other and how they prepared for it.


David Kaye: When we get a script or breakdown of characters we see whos playing who and when I saw that it was Weird Al playing Wreck Gar it was surreal.

Weird Al: Its was fun developing Wreck Gar cause my character voice is really just my regular voice but a lot more obnoxious.

Q and A


For Al, have you ever thought about doing a parody of the Touch?

I was thinking of doing a speed metal version of it but it got a little outdated.

What was your favorite part of TFA?

We loved every time we worked together.

For Al, can you describe the process of choosing parody songs?

There’s no real set of parameters for choosing a song, but I browse the billboards top songs, which ones are the most popular and pick candidates and come up with a whacky idea for it then go about getting permission to do the parody.

For Al, what was your initial reaction when asked to come back to Transformers?

I was for it, like sure, I’m a big fan of Transformers and it was a great way to complete the circle.

If they were to do another Animated movie would you…?

YES! (from both).

For David, is there any other character you’d like to do?
Oh God how many toys are there. 12? I’d do 12 other voices. Al does “Hi I’m Megatron” in Wreck Gars voice.

How much did you improvise when working together? Was it encouraged?

Al: Well my involvement was pretty limited and I just followed the script. I did add in laughing and such to add to the character. David: Every once and a while we try to do things a little different but most of the time we just stuck to the script.

For Al, Since you’ve met so many people in the voice acting industry have you wanted to bring any on your albums?

I’ve met people and done it on a couple of occasions starting back in 1983. I’ve been fortunate work with some of the greatest voice actors in the world and had the opportunity to work with some on my albums.

What is the strangest thing you’d have to autograph at a convention?

Weird Al, sometimes its somebody’s body part and the next time I see them its tattooed on them. David: I autographed a baby this morning.

For David, which Transformers series did you enjoy working on the most?

Animated because of the people I was with, but I liked them all.

For David, which character did you like the most?

I had a lot of fun with Megatron, he was great to do as opposed to when I play a good guy I’m limited to what I can do.

Weird Al, if ever you were asked to work on the live action movie would you consider it? (Jokingly) I’d think about it. David, Yes.

For Weird Al, what was your reaction when you saw your song, Dare to be Stupid, on a movie with a bunch of robots break dancing to it?

[b]Well, when I wrote this song I thought someday it’d be great to see a bunch of robots break dancing to it.

For Weird Al, would Wreck Gar hire himself to the Detroit Garbage Collection?

Boy, I have to really peel back the layers of my character to give you a definite answer on that…..Yes.

For Weird Al, how did you come up with the idea of Wreck Gar just repeating everything he hears?
This is a fascinating story, really…. I read the script.

What do you guys do when your not working?

Weird Al, well I try to spend as much time with my family as I can, I have a six year old daughter who’s very imaginative and is into Star Wars but sometimes ask me to do Wreck Gar around the house. David, well it’s the same for me, my family is actually here in the crowd.

With all the voice acting and changing in pitch, do you have to do voice exercises to tune into characters?

Weird Al, I eat nothing but boiled squash all day. David, I do do certain voice training techniques to help with certain characters.

BotCon 2009: IDW Panel Coverage

Date: Saturday, May 30th 2009 6:09pm CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Event News
Posted by: Seibertron | Credit(s): First Gen

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Views: 12,626

Here're a few highlights from the IDW panel:

IDW is currently in talks to continue Transformers Animated in comics after the conclusion of the series.

The next Transformers Spotlight comic is Cliffjumper, followed by Metroplex in July, and then it will go on hiatus.

There will be four additional issues of All Hail Megatron called "Coda". Each issue will feature two short stories that will tie in with the overall story arc.

With regards to the new GI Joe movie, a question was asked about a possible movie-verse crossover to which the answer was: "Definitely not."

Botcon 2009: Activision Transformers ROTF Panel

Date: Saturday, May 30th 2009 5:55pm CDT
Categories: Live Action Movie News, Event News, Game News, People News
Posted by: First Gen | Credit(s): Botcon

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Botcon 2009: Activision Transformers ROTF Panel

Seibertron.com was present during the Activision question and answer panel which covered the upcoming release of Transformers Revenge of the Fallen the Game. Below you will see a breakdown of the events during the panel and a portion of the Q & A session that followed:


ROTF was created in 5 completely unique game modes for multiplayer and all platforms. The Nintendo Wii and DS both have unique versions of the game due to the simpler control functions of the system.

We were treated to video of the game shown with multiple transformation sequences and battle scenes. Different screen shots from the different platforms the game is available on were featured giving us an idea of how different the game is for each console.

Begin Q&A

How do you take advantage of the PS2 control version as opposed to the Wii and its controls?

One of the biggest challenges is making the ps2 version and then moving it to the Wii so they created the wii version first and transitioned them since the wii controls are more simplified. This is why the different platforms have unique versions.

Are you allowed to play as individual constructions in multiplayer mode?

One Constructicon is available but Devastator is a major boss that is not playable. There are bonus characters for multiplayer mode and will be downloadable characters such as Protectobot and Aerialbot (conglomerates of the original combiners).

Did you look at the first game and went with that theme or did your own version of the game?

The developers looked at all previous games plus what fans were saying on the forums to get an idea of what they should do with ROTF which is why multiplayer was developed and the unique versions became a necessity. Multiplayer was a main focus during the creation of the game.

Is Soundwave a playable character?

What we can tell us is that everyone that worked on the game are huge fans of Soundwave.

Can you jump and transform in motion?

Yes you can.

How many people worked on the game? How many of the cast of ROTF are in the game?

The total number of workers on the game were about 80 focused on the game with about 30 doing test version play for the game. They had people working on the game globally with a total of about 140. For number of cast in the game there’s Peter Cullen, Mark Ryan, Jess Harnell, Frank Welker for Megatron, Robert Foster ratchet, Megan fox and Shia Labeouf. Additional voices John Demaggio as Sideways (Futurama’s Bender).

How long will it take to get all the achievements for 360?

Most players will be hard pressed to get to a major boss in any one campaign in less than 60 hours? You have to metal in all levels to even begin to get close to completing the achievements.

Any concern in multiplayer with players corrupting the game?

This was a big concern and a lot of effort was made to make sure that any players that do that have minimal affect on the game as a whole. There is an achievement in which you can receive by getting affected by these players. The unlockable throughout all the games have a lot of things that are for G1 fans.

Based on the generation of games, given the cast of characters, what kind of game play differences will there be playing different characters?

We approached the game play as to what kind of roles each character filled in the game Ratchet has healing ability which is great for teams and Ironhide is a weapons specialist that can help with attacks. There was a lot of time spent making sure the characters had the abilities they’d be expected to have and added additional features that may not be expected.

Since you mentioned XBOX 360 achievments, is there Trophy support for PS3?

Yes.

Any plans for other downloadable content besides characters?

“There’s so much to come”. Definitely more than just characters and it will be equal between platforms.

Compared to the first game, how much more detailed are the characters?

One of the things taken from the first game was improving on the features of the characters making based directly off the movie. A lot of time was spent comparing images and different angles to make sure things like transformation sequences worked well. A big focus was making them blend in more as opposed to “sticking out” and not being in the real world.

How closely is the game play to the actual movie?

There are some things in the game that are spoilers for the film but the design team spent a lot of time with the movie developers to give the game a flow of the movie and give hints as to points in the film but gave added content to it. Overall it follows the same characters and the same storyline but was meant to compliment each other.

What forms of music are being used for the game?

Steve Jabowski was a big part of the music production along with a lot of musicians from the movie soundtrack. Over 100 minutes of unique music was created for the game.

Was Stan Bush’s “The Touch” included?

No.

Are all the game characters getting toys?

Hasbro worked very closely with the team on developing the game and were looking into the possibility of making the game characters that are not film characters.

What type of attacking capabilities will the characters have?

As far as attacks you’re not limited. You can do straight attacks, surprise attacks, aerial attacks and more.

XBOX 360 and PS3 both have 6 G1 episodes as additional content.

How is gameplay for the PS2 version? Will game play lag like in the first game?

A lot of technical issues from the first game were addressed. The second game was completely built from the ground up to allow for better gameplay. There is a coop additive that can be done with the single player campaign for the PS2.

More Botcon 2009 info to come.