The Energon Pub

[SlyTF1]

An app went live yesterday, showing new pictures of TLK, and even giving the history of the Transformers from the beginning of time. There's some crazy stuff in here that potentially hints at the direction the movies are going to go in after TLK.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/transfo ... 19083?mt=8

I read some of it, but not all. Apparently there are some inconsistencies between the history that's presented in the app, and what's actually happened in the movies.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

An app went live yesterday, showing new pictures of TLK, and even giving the history of the Transformers from the beginning of time. There's some crazy stuff in here that potentially hints at the direction the movies are going to go in after TLK.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/transfo ... 19083?mt=8

I read some of it, but not all. Apparently there are some inconsistencies between the history that's presented in the app, and what's actually happened in the movies.

Hey Sly, is there anyway you can copy some of the text and post it? I can news if you give me some text!

[Sabrblade]

Judging from just those screenshots, the Lore looks like it might be mostly but not precisely Aligned-based.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Judging from just those screenshots, the Lore looks like it might be mostly but not precisely Aligned-based.

Do you mind posting screenshots for a news article?

[Sabrblade]

Judging from just those screenshots, the Lore looks like it might be mostly but not precisely Aligned-based.

Do you mind posting screenshots for a news article?

I'm just looking at the sample pics on the iTunes page Sly linked to.

Do you mean that you can't see the page when you click it?

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Judging from just those screenshots, the Lore looks like it might be mostly but not precisely Aligned-based.

Do you mind posting screenshots for a news article?

I'm just looking at the sample pics on the iTunes page Sly linked to.

Do you mean that you can't see the page when you click it?

I can, but I thought there was more and what you were seeing was actually in the app

[Sabrblade]

Judging from just those screenshots, the Lore looks like it might be mostly but not precisely Aligned-based.

Do you mind posting screenshots for a news article?

I'm just looking at the sample pics on the iTunes page Sly linked to.

Do you mean that you can't see the page when you click it?

I can, but I thought there was more and what you were seeing was actually in the app

Interestingly enough, some of the pics on that page change to different ones when you switch looking at the iPhone screenshots to the iPad ones.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

You read that title right folks.

Apparently, according to an article published by Movie Web the Transformers live action universe is set to keep trucking along for years to come. There are currently 14 stories that are currently in the works, though it is extremely unlikely all 14 will come to fruition. We already know that the Bumblebee movie is set to come out next year and Transformers 6 is set to come out in 2019, so right there are 2 of the 14 covered. We'll need to keep an eye on this story as it develops.

You can read the whole article by following the link above and catch a snippet below.

Paramount has more than a dozen various Transformers movies outlined, courtesy of a writer's room that was assembled in 2015. The announcement was made by Michael Bay during an event for Transformers: The Last Knight, which was held recently at London's Cineworld IMAX on Leicester Square. The director, who was reportedly looking pretty casual and wearing a Boba Fett shirt, showed off a bunch of footage from the upcoming Transformers movie and decided to break the news that they can expect a whole lot more from the franchise in the future.

[JazZeke]

[Hellscream9999]

[Kurona]

we will never be free. every day we stray further from god's light

[BumbleDouche]

I'd have thought they'd learn how to write *one* story properly before doing 14 more half-arsed.

[Microraptor]

At least they seem to have actual writers this time.

[kurthy]

I choose to believe this as 14 more "transformers universe" movies. So at least 1 ROM, 1 M.A.S.K., 1 micronauts, 4 or 5 g.i. Joe (although no new Joe toys).

[Seibertron]

Several websites such as Movie Web are inaccurately reporting that Michael Bay said that Paramount has 14 Transformers movies planned. He said nothing of the sort and those sites are making a Cybertronian planet full of assumptions from Michael Bay's quote, which I've now heard twice ... once in person from Michael Bay himself at Paramount's Super Fan Event a couple of weeks ago and again in the video that prefaced the footage shown at IMAX theaters in select markets worldwide on the night of April 4th.

Here's what Michael Bay said (as fast as I could write these notes down at both events):

A couple of years ago we had a writer's room with 14 writers. We locked them up in a room for about a month and they came up with 14 different stories of where this franchise could go in the future. They came up with a wonderful mythology.

No where in what Michael Bay said did he make statements that Paramount has 14 movies planned or anything of that sort. He said 14 writers came up with 14 different ideas of where this franchise could go in the future. He said they came up with a wonderful mythology. I interpreted that as "here's 14 goals we could go after" or "here's 14 plot points we could tackle" and that those 14 plot points collectively became the mythology to which Michael Bay referred. Does it mean there are 14 movies planned? Most likely not. Did Michael Bay say anything about 14 movies being planned? Not at all. 14 different stories of where this franchise could go in the future. That's all he said. Read into that what you will. But what Movie Web is reporting is inaccurate because that's a whole boatload of assumptions from things that were not said.

I'll tackle of some of the differences between the footage we were shown at the Super fan Event two weeks ago versus the footage shown on April 4th. There were surprisingly many differences, different scenes, scenes that were absent, and more will be some of what I address tomorrow.

[Deadput]

Thank god someone cleared that up thanks Seib your the hero we need.

It was 14 scripts and while unstated it sounds like one of them or a combination of a few of them became The Last Knight.

But who knows maybe parts of the other scripts will become parts of a future movie or two I mean the Bumblebee movie is supposed to come out next year.

[ScottyP]

BS Shutdown Mode is my favorite of your alt modes

[Carnivius_Prime]

(I know I'm probably in the minority but I'd be quite happy with 14 more TF movies and accompanying toylines, thank you)

[o.supreme]

I agree its agonizing how news is reported inaccurately, but apparently screen junkies is doing some sort of live event scheduled for 2:45pm (EST) 10:45am (PST) in just under 3 minuets based on this information...what the reason is for the "live" report...I have no idea.

[william-james88]

I agree its agonizing how news is reported inaccurately, but apparently screen junkies is doing some sort of live event scheduled for 2:45pm (EST) 10:45am (PST) in just under 3 minuets based on this information...what the reason is for the "live" report...I have no idea.

They should know better, one of our very own staff members is also on their team.

[Seibertron]

I agree its agonizing how news is reported inaccurately, but apparently screen junkies is doing some sort of live event scheduled for 2:45pm (EST) 10:45am (PST) in just under 3 minuets based on this information...what the reason is for the "live" report...I have no idea.

They should know better, one of our very own staff members is also on their team.

Who?

[o.supreme]

They should know better, one of our very own staff members is also on their team.

Really? Is it Victor?

[william-james88]

I agree its agonizing how news is reported inaccurately, but apparently screen junkies is doing some sort of live event scheduled for 2:45pm (EST) 10:45am (PST) in just under 3 minuets based on this information...what the reason is for the "live" report...I have no idea.

They should know better, one of our very own staff members is also on their team.

Who?

Jon 3.0

[Va'al]

Discovering the wetness of water in economics terms, CNBC has published a short article / interview with Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore, discussing the international impact and importance for US-based productions. Specifically, Pirates of the Caribbean and Transformers, which are both much bigger since their first release abroad than they are in domestic markets.

In addition, they also add that the Transformers franchise will be adding four more movies at least after The Last Knight - three (ish) of which we know about: Bumblebee, Cybertron, and potentially Ancient Rome. But we personally think the article is just speculating. What do you think? Let us know in the Energon Pub!

Dergarabedian said that international audiences, particularly in China, India and South America, still embrace these films because they grew up on big American blockbusters and enjoy the action-packed adventures.

"Action is the international language and that's what audiences really respond to," he said.

"The Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise isn't the only one that gets an international boost. The "Transformers" films have also been met by lackluster reviews and U.S. audience fatigue.

The fourth "Transformers" film, "Age of Extinction," which was released in 2014, garnered more than $858.6 million in international tickets. Domestically, its ticket sales for the full run of the film were about $245 million.

Dergarabedian attributed the film's international success not only to the action sequences, but the cast of Mark Wahlberg, an action movie star, and the fact that much of the film took place in a city in China. He said that international audiences like to see films set on a global stage

[...]


Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Source: Disney
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

If you've looked at the movie listings this weekend, and asked yourself "Why is Disney making another 'Pirates of the Caribbean film?" you're not alone.

The fifth installment "Dead Men Tell No Tales" opens Friday in the U.S. With each new addition to the Pirates' franchise, the reviews have gotten worse and the U.S. audiences have shrunk. But overseas, fans are still enamored with Johnny Depp's swashbuckling portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow.

International markets have driven the majority of box office revenue for the "Pirates" franchise since the first film was released in 2003. At the box office "Curse of the Black Pearl" saw a pretty even split between U.S. and international ticket sales, but with each additional release, that gap has widened.

By the fourth film, "On Stranger Tides," more than 75 percent of box office revenue was earned overseas, a whopping $804.8 million.

For comparison, the film garnered $241 million in the U.S., less than the opening weekend gross of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

"U.S. audiences have been subjected to so many sequels over the decades that it is hard to maintain the excitement," Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore, told CNBC.

Despite the lackluster performances in the United States, two of the "Pirates" films have garnered more than $1 billion in total global ticket sales and one fell just shy of the mark with $962 million.

Dergarabedian said that international audiences, particularly in China, India and South America, still embrace these films because they grew up on big American blockbusters and enjoy the action-packed adventures.

"Action is the international language and that's what audiences really respond to," he said.

"The Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise isn't the only one that gets an international boost. The "Transformers" films have also been met by lackluster reviews and U.S. audience fatigue.

The fourth "Transformers" film, "Age of Extinction," which was released in 2014, garnered more than $858.6 million in international tickets. Domestically, its ticket sales for the full run of the film were about $245 million.

Dergarabedian attributed the film's international success not only to the action sequences, but the cast of Mark Wahlberg, an action movie star, and the fact that much of the film took place in a city in China. He said that international audiences like to see films set on a global stage.

"If you look at the numbers, international has to be at the forefront," Dergarabedian said. "Appealing to global audiences is the driving force."

That's why this summer a fifth "Transformers" film, "The Last Knight," will hit theaters.

While several cast members of the "Pirates" franchise have hinted that there could be more films in the future, the studio does not currently have any plans for a sixth installment.

"Transformers," on the other hand, is slated to release at least four more films after "The Last Knight," one of which will be a standalone "Bumblebee" movie set for release in 2018.

[Va'al]

Remember the writers' room over at Paramount, where various names gathered to produce the future of the Transformers Universe, and The Last Knight specifically? And remember how it was headed by Akiva Goldsman? Well, it looks like the latter is no longer the case, according to SlashFilm.

When Paramount and Hasbro began laying the groundwork for a potential Transformers Cinematic Universe, they hired Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman to lead a writers room to expand the world. The first movie that resulted from that writers room was this summer’s Transformers: The Last Knight, with a Bumblebee standalone movie next in line.

Things got less certain in the lead-up to The Last Knight’s release, with both director Michael Bay and star Mark Wahlberg suggesting they were done with Transformers movies. Now, /Film has learned that Goldsman is done, too. Goldsman spoke with us at the Television Critics Association, where he was representing Star Trek: Discovery.

Asked if he was still involved with Transformers, Goldsman simply said, “No.”

A slightly longer, but not that much, response was given by producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, via Franchise Fred News (full story here):

“The writers room which was set up by all of us was set up to explore the mythology more,” Di Bonaventura explained. “It was set up for a few different reasons but the biggest thing that happened in it was they expanded the mythology of Transformers in a way that allowed us to go to King Arthur. There’s different areas, like we’ve examined World War II, etc.”

As for the state of the proposed Transformers extended universe, Di Bonaventura is focused on Bumblebee.

Does this change anything for you? Are you still interested in the rumoured Roman-era movie, Cybertron prequel, and more WWII action? Let us know in the Energon Pub discussion!