The Energon Pub

There is a new interview with the director of the Transformers Movie, Michael Bay. Recently IGN.com was able to catch up with Bay. Read this latest interview by clicking here.

Ha! I expected this to be a video of Bay physically transforming a Transformer action figure. That would have been hilarious. What a let down.

Nice ending to the interview...

-It's what I keep trying to tell the fanboys is that this is gonna be so much more realistic than what they've seen in the past. But you know, they're angry about everything anyway."

Ah yes, the fanboys. Those gentlemen and ladies who remain so devoted to the Transformers that they fear any possible changes that might be made to the characters for Bay's film. The director is well aware of them, and he says he knew even before he took on the project that there was "a huge following for this thing." But still…

"I heard they want to protest at my office, but I won't be there," laughs Bay. "I'll be shooting!"-

I would almost like to call him an arrogant piece of trash for coments like that, but I won't. Even still, very uncalled for.

Anybody ever heard the old saying, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything?" Would certainly keep him from coming off as a jerk. I mean, so what if people don't like what he's doing & piss & moan? He should be the bigger man & just ignore the ones that are just ranting(which I would say are probably in the monority, most people I've seen are simply displeased with the unnecessary changes) & just acknowledge the ones that are supportive.

I want to comment on his fanboys comment so bad, I just don't have the energy anymore.

Nemesis Cyberplex wrote:Nice ending to the interview...

-It's what I keep trying to tell the fanboys is that this is gonna be so much more realistic than what they've seen in the past. But you know, they're angry about everything anyway."

Ah yes, the fanboys. Those gentlemen and ladies who remain so devoted to the Transformers that they fear any possible changes that might be made to the characters for Bay's film. The director is well aware of them, and he says he knew even before he took on the project that there was "a huge following for this thing." But still…

"I heard they want to protest at my office, but I won't be there," laughs Bay. "I'll be shooting!"-

I would almost like to call him an arrogant piece of trash for coments like that, but I won't. Even still, very uncalled for.

Anybody ever heard the old saying, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything?" Would certainly keep him from coming off as a jerk. I mean, so what if people don't like what he's doing & piss & moan? He should be the bigger man & just ignore the ones that are just ranting(which I would say are probably in the monority, most people I've seen are simply displeased with the unnecessary changes) & just acknowledge the ones that are supportive.

I could not agree more. Bay comes off as pretty arrogant and scornful.

I am not happy with a lot of the changes. I will not pretend to accept everything that is being handed to me. However, if the image changes, and the soul of the charachters, the mythos remains, not all is lost.

To me, sharapnel Megatron is unfortunate, and Waspinator/ape Starscream is also kind of a letdown. But the one key thing they should NOT f*** with, is the personality of the TFs themselves. To me, that is halloed ground.

I consider myself a casual, yet passionate fan. I have fewer than 30 TFs total. I own the original Rhino DVD TF:TM, and the 20th anniversary re-release. That's it.

I hang out at Seibertron.com.

But what irks a self-described "casual" fan is when someone changes one of the things that makes TFs a saga: the history.

If the charachterization for Jazz, as an example is way out in left field, I fear we have lost something.

If the history of the TFs, in it's many different tellings through the TV show, the US comics, the UK comics, DW and IDW universes don't honor the basics of the TF's history, I fear that we have lost yet another thing.

Here is hoping July 3rd/4th, we learn that they did not neglect the esence of what seperates a Transformer, from some generic giant Japanese mecha.

I don't understand the whole realism argument at all. I can comprehend that 'boxy designs' probably wouldn't look right in a live-action film but it's a movie about robotic aliens who can reconfigure themselves into machines just by scanning them. It's like saying the X-Men films are "more realistic" simply because they're not dressed in one-piece form-fitting costumes.

:Spoiler: There's a mass-shifting magic cube that brings household appliances to life, a secret government agency ripped straight from Independence day and Men in Black, a frozen robot writes a map into a pair of glasses, and robots who talk and act like caricatures. :Spoiler:

The whole 'it's more realistic' argument doesn't hold water when, apart from mass-shifting and the super-robot designs, the film is full of the same soft sci-fi ridiculousness that you'd find in the cartoons and comics.

There are people out there who are obsessed with minor little details. Details casual fans, and regular movie goers normally don't really give a damn about. Those are the fanboys Bay is talking about. People so encased in their undying love from the franchise, any small direction change is a cause for outrage, and anger.

I know one guy who's refusing to see the movie because Jazz's headlights don't match the front of his alt mode. Even after we told him Jazz's alt mode isn't a stock Solstice, but a custom one modified Limited Edition Solstice, he still refuses to back down.

Posted this a day or two ago.

http://seibertron.com/forums/viewtopic. ... 6a07b7ba16

It was going to be my first news find......

Nemesis Cyberplex wrote:I would almost like to call him an arrogant piece of trash for coments like that, but I won't. Even still, very uncalled for.

Anybody ever heard the old saying, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything?" Would certainly keep him from coming off as a jerk. I mean, so what if people don't like what he's doing & piss & moan? He should be the bigger man & just ignore the ones that are just ranting(which I would say are probably in the monority, most people I've seen are simply displeased with the unnecessary changes) & just acknowledge the ones that are supportive.

So basically thousands of people can insult a person, but that's okay by your standards, but the minute he speaks up and gives a bit back you jump on his back?

You're right, he should have been the bigger man and ignored things. Just like you should have been a bigger man and not used this to criticise Bay. Perhaps he hit a little too close to home with his comments?

Ah, I'm too tired of this man, pointing out how wrong and stupid is he, it's just a waste of energry. I'll see the movie, but hell, I won't buy these toys. I mean, look at what the toys are supporting besides Hasbro, it's a huge insult, to me anyway.

You won't buy the toys because you feel insulted?

Burn wrote:

Nemesis Cyberplex wrote:I would almost like to call him an arrogant piece of trash for coments like that, but I won't. Even still, very uncalled for.

Anybody ever heard the old saying, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything?" Would certainly keep him from coming off as a jerk. I mean, so what if people don't like what he's doing & piss & moan? He should be the bigger man & just ignore the ones that are just ranting(which I would say are probably in the monority, most people I've seen are simply displeased with the unnecessary changes) & just acknowledge the ones that are supportive.

So basically thousands of people can insult a person, but that's okay by your standards, but the minute he speaks up and gives a bit back you jump on his back?

You're right, he should have been the bigger man and ignored things. Just like you should have been a bigger man and not used this to criticise Bay. Perhaps he hit a little too close to home with his comments?

Ah, criticise Bay all you want, this jerk deserves none of my loyality. Why would anyone care about an ass? Sorry I guess it did hit my home, and I want him out of there.

XeroSyphon wrote:You won't buy the toys because you feel insulted?

Insluted by the way Bay is acting. I thought this "war" was long over, then he had to say stupid comments. I hate the toys, they're all ugly, why should I support that and buy them. This just my opinion, those who love the movie toys, go out and enjoy them, but I just don't care for them. Anyway, this is another topic, so later.

If Bay ignored the fanboys, they'd whine that they're not being listened to.

Doesn't matter, they would whine either way. They just want a reason to complain. Bay calling them on it, just a new reason.

Yeah, you hear George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Alex Proyas complaining about fanboys picking apart their films all the time.

Oh, wait, no. They have class (and talent). I was thinking of Uwe Boll and Paul WS Anderson.

He has more class than me. If I was him, with his money and clout, I'd whiz in the fanboys' faces. He has the power to do so, yet doesn't abuse it. What a class act!

AbsumZer0 wrote:Yeah, you hear George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Alex Proyas complaining about fanboys picking apart their films all the time.

Oh, wait, no. They have class (and talent). I was thinking of Uwe Boll and Paul WS Anderson.

We're talking about the diehard fans who are trying to find every reason to hate the movie, that they pick apart every single aspect just to find something, no matter how small or idiotic.

And Lucas complains all the time. No one listens to him.

You know, good point... you don't hear George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Alex Proyas bitching about fans. Because, heck, they don't interact with fans at all.

I can't remember a movie that's been this open with this many members of the production crew. That communication remained even after stuff started leaking out and was bashed all over the place. And the war's never been over, there are still people who are going as far as to throw personal insults at Bay because the Optimus Prime in his movie has flames on it. But yeah, he has no right at all to be angry.

He really didn't say anything insulting there at all. All he said was that he is aware that there are fanboys complaining and he heard they might protest at his office when he's not there. You know...the truth.

Beyond coming off as an ass, it's not good business to insult people you're trying to get money from. And while I'm well aware that Transformers die-hards are only going to be a fraction of the box office for the movie, it's still unwise to give them any reason not to go.

Now that Bay is done with the film, his job should be either to keep quiet, or be a cheerleader for his work. Convince the old guard that yes, this ain't their fathers' Transformers, but that if they just give it a chance, they might see they like it after all. I don't think that would be too much to ask.

I see nothing wrong with his comments.

Here's why:

1.) You can say what you want about money, and whatever else might be driving him, yada yada yada, but it seems to me that he was somewhat roped into this. (I'm sure he looked at it and thought "TransFormers? Are you serious? You have to be f*ckin' kiddin' me."

2.) Compared to the cartoon, this is more realistic.

3.) People forget one important key note here...he took a cartoon (which is loved by many, but not all) and he turned it into a HUGE movie property...and he legitimized it for the masses and the movie world.

Now, none of this will make it an Oscar winner, or groundbreaking, but it will be entertaining and people will either like it, or they won't. No harm, no foul.

At least he was able to do what others haven't. At least he finally did it, I'm sure many other directors turned it down on the spot and laughed all the way out of the studio.

So yeah, he's earned the right to tell the whiney fanboys to shut up. I'm a little sick of them personally.

Here's the simple fact, if you don't like it, don't watch it, don't buy a single toy. No one's forcing you a gunpoint, no one's making you. Sometimes, people bitch merely to bitch.

Yeah, he could've been more appeasing in his comments, but it all would've been a cover for how he really feels and I gotta give him credit for pulling no punches.

Next time someone wants to whine...make your own movie. See how difficult it is.

I've been under the impression for a while that the haters wanted something along the lines of Scooby-Doo or Garfield, where it would only be a live-action cartoon. Flintstones also comes to mind.

You know I appreciate the fact that he and his cohorts have interacted more with the fans, than say Spielberg, or Lucas, but it seems they mostly used their connection to the fans to tell them how stupid they were for loving they're favorite characters so much, and how they didn't know a damn thing about making a movie. (Which I think is a stupid argument for any filmmaker to make) I think what made this whole thing worse are the Opinion Police and their constant co-signing of EVERY thing Bay and Co. has had to say. That's as pathetic as they say the diehard fans are. Just as the "fanboys" need to chill with all the bashing, he really should've sh!tcanned the fanboy bashing as well. But he HAD to get another jab in, as opposed to approaching the diehards like Slovman said.

I'm not pleased with a lot of what I see, but at this point it's a moot point, but I'll say to Bay: You've ran your mouth and you've put yourself and this flick up as the best thing to happen to the franchise since...Hasbro. With all the changes, all the grandstanding, and talk of convincing us you were right, I'd better LOVE this flick.

Is there any point arguing this anymore? Isn't the movie out, like, today?

Give it a rest. Whiners stop whining about the designs (I have), other whiners stop whining about the whining fanboys.

Admitted, there is no way I am buying the sucky toys. I mean, they suck! The designs were a bad idea, and we could go on for pages arguing why G1 style is easily as realistic as lumps of shrapnel with whisk hands, but is there any point?
Go now, buy a ticket, and go see the movie.

Then come back, and we'll have a lengthy discussion about the characters, the plot, the designs in action, and Megan Fox in that low-cut T-shirt on the floor