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Lorenzo Di Bonaventura Talks Transformers Sequel

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 4:40 pm
by Raymond T.
SuperHeroHype.com caught up with Transformers Movie producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and talked with him about the possibilities of the sequel to the Transformers movie that will premiere July 2nd.
"I would say all of us were very reluctant to even think about it, because that's a presumption of success that none of us really want to make. Now that we've seen the film finished, now that the audience has told us that they love it when they see it, now that it feels like we have a successful entry a month from now, we've begun to talk about the ideas that we feel we can bring from the mythology that we didn't get a chance to do in this movie and the ideas in this movie that we'd like to experiment further with. There's no plotline, there's no writer hired. It's really internal to the filmmakers sort of going, 'You know what? We really love this and what about this?' I would say we're throwing ideas around right now in the hopes that we get to that place where we can sit down with a writer and really talk about it".

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 4:57 pm
by Starscream_8_my_Dog
This from the same guy who once said," Who would even want to hear the old voices." What he should have said was," I can't beleive this movie turned out this good, but I accept success for it. Furthermore, I have little to any idea about the actual mythology or characterizations the fans would actually want, but as long as the movies and ideas work on and off the screen and the franchise is a success, I will continue to take credit for it and sound like I have any clue as to what goes on."
Now granted I'm sure Mr. Bonaventure does LOADS of backstage work and I will never discredit the job he does. But COME ON, This dude is as much a Fanboy as Speilberg or Bay. And while thats not a bad thing, I would appreciate a little honesty. This movie is going to be huge, that there is little doubt( Save Megatron, I can't see them winning that one over on me.), and without getting into a arguement about Changes and Fanboys vs Fanboys, I would just like these producers to be honest and take credit for what THEY did. All THEY did, was get the movie rolling, and kept it rolling, and for that, I applaud them. No doubt, without Di Bonaventure the movie might not have even happened, I thank him for that. I just think they shoudl stop acting like the fans they arn't. That being said, SOUNDWAVE, DINOBOTS AND DEVASTATOR for the Sequel


Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:13 pm
by skywarp-2
Starscream_8_my_Dog wrote:This from the same guy who once said," Who would even want to hear the old voices." What he should have said was," I can't beleive this movie turned out this good, but I accept success for it. Furthermore, I have little to any idea about the actual mythology or characterizations the fans would actually want, but as long as the movies and ideas work on and off the screen and the franchise is a success, I will continue to take credit for it and sound like I have any clue as to what goes on."
Now granted I'm sure Mr. Bonaventure does LOADS of backstage work and I will never discredit the job he does. But COME ON, This dude is as much a Fanboy as Speilberg or Bay. And while thats not a bad thing, I would appreciate a little honesty. This movie is going to be huge, that there is little doubt( Save Megatron, I can't see them winning that one over on me.), and without getting into a arguement about Changes and Fanboys vs Fanboys, I would just like these producers to be honest and take credit for what THEY did. All THEY did, was get the movie rolling, and kept it rolling, and for that, I applaud them. No doubt, without Di Bonaventure the movie might not have even happened, I thank him for that. I just think they shoudl stop acting like the fans they arn't. That being said, SOUNDWAVE, DINOBOTS AND DEVASTATOR for the Sequel

QFT!!!
2nd Post!! Boo Yah!!!

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:19 pm
by Sentinel Pax
I'm sorry, but if you've never met them, how can you say they aren't fans? I know some of the producers and Bay may not be "fans" by everyone else's definition, but if they liked the idea enough to put forth the effort to produce a blockbuster live action movie on it, I think that means they are at least casual fans in some way. Lighten up and lose the high and mighty attitude.

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:24 pm
by Rodimus2006
Arcee Ultramagnus Galvatron Cyclonus Astro Train The Sweeps Scourge Omega Sumpreme Blitzwing Blaster Shockblast Dirge Thrust Ramjet The Insecticons SkyFire JetFire Thundercracker Skywarp and Mirage is who I would pick for the sequel Have megatron get upgraded becuase of Battle Damage and Have Optimus Prime and Jetfire Become Jet Convoy and add overide gun from his back from Armada and Introduce the Mini-Cons for Hook Ups for additional Power if Unicron would be to hard to Introduce or to do. Or Have some sort of Plaque Threaten Cybertron like Cosmic-Rust from G1.

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:25 pm
by Robinson
Apex Convoy wrote:I'm sorry, but if you've never met them, how can you say they aren't fans? I know some of the producers and Bay may not be "fans" by everyone else's definition, but if they liked the idea enough to put forth the effort to produce a blockbuster live action movie on it, I think that means they are at least casual fans in some way. Lighten up and lose the high and mighty attitude.
I agree, Just because one persons level of interest is higher than anothers doesn't make them less of a fan of the material involved. I bet for the sequal people will still try to get prime made into a flat nose.

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:31 pm
by Bouncy X
so why is prime called convoy in japan anyway? isnt a convoy a whole bunch of truck and not just one? lol

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:40 pm
by Sentinel Pax
Bouncy X wrote:so why is prime called convoy in japan anyway? isnt a convoy a whole bunch of truck and not just one? lol
...I don't know, but I picked Apex Convoy because it said someone else was already Apex Prime. Not that that really applies here, but oh well.

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:45 pm
by Robinson
Rodimus2006 wrote:Arcee Ultramagnus Galvatron Cyclonus Astro Train The Sweeps Scourge Omega Sumpreme Blitzwing Blaster Shockblast Dirge Thrust Ramjet The Insecticons SkyFire JetFire Thundercracker Skywarp and Mirage is who I would pick for the sequel Have megatron get upgraded becuase of Battle Damage and Have Optimus Prime and Jetfire Become Jet Convoy and add overide gun from his back from Armada and Introduce the Mini-Cons for Hook Ups for additional Power if Unicron would be to hard to Introduce or to do. Or Have some sort of Plaque Threaten Cybertron like Cosmic-Rust from G1.
No, No, no all kinds of no. No armada anything.
transformers 2?

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:48 pm
by Thunder-Wing
i hope if there comes a sequel, a showdown between the constructicons and the dinobots would be... just like in G1 (the episode Heavy Metal War, for example)
would be awesome though


Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:52 pm
by Starscream_8_my_Dog
Alright, apparently my words were taken not as they were meant. I don't find myself superior to anyone, never have. I just have specific feelings about some of the guys behind the movie, and maybe I was a little strong with how I worded that. Let me rephrase what I said and simplify it.
I more then appreciate what Di Bonaventure, DeSanto, Murphy, Speilberg and Bay have doen for us Transformer fans . I myself waited years for this movie to actually happen and eagerly anticipate the experience. I just have felt through this entire process ( Since the very announcement of the project) Di Bonaventure has been less then supportive of the Fan community. Sorry everyone, I didn't mean to sound " Superior" to anyone.

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:54 pm
by Spooner
Robinson wrote:Apex Convoy wrote:I'm sorry, but if you've never met them, how can you say they aren't fans? I know some of the producers and Bay may not be "fans" by everyone else's definition, but if they liked the idea enough to put forth the effort to produce a blockbuster live action movie on it, I think that means they are at least casual fans in some way. Lighten up and lose the high and mighty attitude.
I agree, Just because one persons level of interest is higher than anothers doesn't make them less of a fan of the material involved. I bet for the sequal people will still try to get prime made into a flat nose.
I would agree - but for the fact that Bay is quoted as saying he didn't want to direct "a stupid toy movie" when it was first offered. His opinion has obviously changed, but I can't call him a "fan" in any sense if this was his initial reaction.

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 5:56 pm
by Retardicon
Handbanana wrote:My idea for 2 so far...
Future Labs- Late Night.
Security patrols along the fence to a manned check post. The Patrol reaches the gatehouse as an unexpected military transport rolls up to the gate. The guards question the driver about his purpose there. The hologram driver fades as the transport changes into Onslaught, a Decepticon. Onslaught breaks into the labs and recovers his objective, the spark cores of blackout and brawl.
Sector Seven HQ- Morning.
The Board meets to discuss the recent events at Future Labs. The theft of the cores doesn’t make much sense. Word arrives that the Autobots are approaching Future Labs. The NBE unit ends its exercises and gets ready for some well earned leave when they are dispatched to meet with the Autobots at Future Labs.
Witwicky’s Auto Shop- Morning.
Sam Witwicky is in the garage as his father, Ron, leaves to get some parts. Bumblebee gets a message from Optimus Prime that Cybertronian activity has been reported near Future Labs. He and Prowl are to investigate; it may be a lost Autobot. As Sam gets ready to go with, Mikeala shows up and drags him off on their Anniversary Trip.
Nemesis Base- Moon
Starscream sits in the Nemesis on the dark side of the moon awaiting communications from Onslaught. Bonecrusher enters with news, Shockwave is approaching. Starscream flips out. His attitude changes when word from Onslaught arrives, he has located Intruder (Not gonna call him Blast-off, sorry), another Decepticon.
Future Labs- Day
Prowl is already on the scene with the NBE team when Bumblebee arrives. S7 tells the Autobots what was stolen and describe a new Decepticon as the culprit. There is no point to the theft without the Allspark, unless they have found a new way to create a Spark. Prime contacts the Autobots to report a signal pulse near Spaceport (Think Vigin Galactic).
Amusement Park- Day
While standing in line for a ride, the crowd starts to panic and scatter as three Protoforms come crashing to the ground nearby. As the park empties, Sam and Mikeala head towards the impact site, a new Animatronic Dinosaur ride. As they investigate, a T-rex confronts them demanding to see Prime. His name is Grimlok, and his companions are Snarl and Slag. The Police Department arrives and finds Sam and Mikeala standing between 3 Large Animatronic Dinosaurs. They draw their weapons and the Dinobots begin a rampage.
Nemesis Base- Moon
Shockwave arrives and demands to speak with Megatron. When he learns of Megatron’s fate, he takes over as leader of the Decepticons. Starscream denies him the honor. Shockwave assigns his number one, Soundwave to disable the traitor. Soundwave’s Symbiote’s overpower Starscream and detain him.
Highway Oasis- Day
Optimus Prime sits parked next to several other trucks. His Hologram sleeps casually behind the wheel until a signal goes off on the dashboard. The Driver snaps awake and the Prime bolts off onto the Highway. Knowing Sam would be a target for arriving Cybertronians, he gave Sam an emergency beacon…
Spaceport- Day
Bumblebee has one as well. The NBE unit and Prowl have been investigating the Spaceport and have found no signs of NBE activity. With that Bumblebee splits and races to meet Sam, he might be in trouble. The NBE unit sweeps the rest of the Spaceport and is attacked by a Decepticon Humvee, Swindle. Prowl joins the battle only to get jumped by Onslaught.
Amusement Park- Day
With the police and swat firing on the Dinobots, it’s hard for Sam to talk them down. Grimlok continues to chase Sam until Prime arrives and tackles him. At Primes intervention, Grimlok finally reveals his Robot Mode and demands justice for the destruction of the Allspark.
Nemesis Base- Moon
Shockwave is brought up to speed on the construction of the Matrix, a device that Splits Sparks for reproduction. They were going to use it to revive Megatron, but his Spark Core has been missing since just after the Allspark was destroyed. Starscream had used the Matrix to revive Onslaught. When Shockwave was taken to see the Matrix, it is missing… and so is Starscream.
The I hit writers block... aka I ran out of Pot.

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 6:04 pm
by Starscream_8_my_Dog
HAHAHAHA, ran out of Pot, HAHAHAHAH. Seriously though, if came up with that storyline High, I can only imagine how much better it could be finished up sober. Nice man, Nice!

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 6:31 pm
by Kayevcee
To answer an earlier question, I suspect Optimus Prime was called Convoy in Japan because the toy was previously seen as the Diaclone "Battle Convoy" playset, which was rather popular.
I'd like to see guys like Prowl and Shockwave turn up in a sequel. Also, Soundwave. Possibly a wider range of vehicles among the Autobots- helicopters, motorbikes, little 'infiltration' dudes like Frenzy and so forth. I think a broader cast is pretty much inevitable, and it'll just be a question of who gets the limelight.
-Nick

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 7:09 pm
by SoooTrypticon
Notice how he's suddenly cautious. They know they have another Godzilla 98, complete with the "new Matthew Broderick" Shia. I won't be surprised if the sequel talk dies down very fast.
And really, do you want to see this treatment brought down upon other favorite characters?
Shockwave as a bug alien that turns into what, an alien boat?
Soundwave, who melts when the humans come up with another lame alien fighting solution?
Grimlock, voiced by Macy Gray, who turns into a hummer with a little picture of a dinosaur on it?
Come on, they blew it on this movie. This is like starting a franchise with Batman Forever. We can only get Batman and Robin from here.
I really do love Transformers, just not these Transformers. I don't want more like this.
Bring back the classics line.
Make a new, well written, AND well animated TV series.
And dump the team that made this film.

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 7:24 pm
by Sentinel Pax
SoooTrypticon wrote:Notice how he's suddenly cautious. They know they have another Godzilla 98, complete with the "new Matthew Broderick" Shia. I won't be surprised if the sequel talk dies down very fast.
And really, do you want to see this treatment brought down upon other favorite characters?
Shockwave as a bug alien that turns into what, an alien boat?
Soundwave, who melts when the humans come up with another lame alien fighting solution?
Grimlock, voiced by Macy Gray, who turns into a hummer with a little picture of a dinosaur on it?
Come on, they blew it on this movie. This is like starting a franchise with Batman Forever. We can only get Batman and Robin from here.
I really do love Transformers, just not these Transformers. I don't want more like this.
Bring back the classics line.
Make a new, well written, AND well animated TV series.
And dump the team that made this film.
Man, can you please talk your crap after the film comes out, because it gets really old to just read you comparing this movie to Godzilla over and over again. Christ, pick a new sucky movie, at least. This movie is looking way better than anything attached to Godzilla ever did, and, for your information, there is nothing wrong with Matthew Broderick, because his career is still going strong. God, just pull the stick out of your ass and look on the bright side for once.
*Ahem*

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 7:42 pm
by bobpiecheese
Apex Convoy wrote:Man, can you please talk your crap after the film comes out, because it gets really old to just read you comparing this movie to Godzilla over and over again. Christ, pick a new sucky movie, at least. This movie is looking way better than anything attached to Godzilla ever did, and, for your information, there is nothing wrong with Matthew Broderick, because his career is still going strong. God, just pull the stick out of your ass and look on the bright side for once.
*Ahem*
You sure showed him!
IMO, a sequel for this movie would be seven distinct flavours of awesome. One thing it would HAVE to have is: any tpe of combiners! I'd love to see a new brand of Menasor or Superion or definitely Bruticus or Devastator. But I would like a Menasor. Just keep Dead End depressed and I'm happy

.

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:09 pm
by SoooTrypticon
Well, I did point out Batman Forever. And Godzilla 98 did have lots a 'splosions, and it still sucked.
Let's run down the checklist.
Boring Cast: Check
Bad rehash of Men in Black/X-files material: Check
Needlessly complicated re-design of an already iconic character: Check
Horrible Pop Soundtrack: Check
Lots'a Hype and seemingly high public interest: Check
Lots'a Big 'splosions and big monster things: Check
Box Office Tested action/epic directors who don't understand the source material: check
Nope. No good comparisons here.
Sequel characters won't look anything like the characters you want... Just look at these designs for this movie. If you didn't know any better, aside from Prime, would you know who anyone is? Is he Bumblebee because he's yellow?
Secondly, there's clearly no respect for the characters- look what they almost did with soundwave/soundbite/frenzy. So once you get over the new designs, you're hit in the face with the one-dimensional versions of the characters you actually like.
I don't want a Bay-former version of anything else, esp the Dinobots.

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:20 pm
by Sentinel Pax
SoooTrypticon wrote:Well, I did point out Batman Forever. And Godzilla 98 did have lots a 'splosions, and it still sucked.
Let's run down the checklist.
Boring Cast: Check
Bad rehash of Men in Black/X-files material: Check
Needlessly complicated re-design of an already iconic character: Check
Horrible Pop Soundtrack: Check
Lots'a Hype and seemingly high public interest: Check
Lots'a Big 'splosions and big monster things: Check
Box Office Tested action/epic directors who don't understand the source material: check
Nope. No good comparisons here.
Sequel characters won't look anything like the characters you want... Just look at these designs for this movie. If you didn't know any better, aside from Prime, would you know who anyone is? Is he Bumblebee because he's yellow?
Secondly, there's clearly no respect for the characters- look what they almost did with soundwave/soundbite/frenzy. So once you get over the new designs, you're hit in the face with the one-dimensional versions of the characters you actually like.
I don't want a Bay-former version of anything else, esp the Dinobots.
Okay...boring cast...Jon Voight, John Turturro, Kevin Dunn? Huh, I like all of them. Men in Black and X-Files really have nothing in common with this, other than secret government organizations, and I honestly fail to see how
high public interest could be a bad thing. And on the big explosions thing...would you want a Transformers movie where the only effect the guns had was a tiny poof?
COME ON!

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:35 pm
by Robinson
And looking at the soundtracks and seeing a name like Disturbed on there doesnt make me think "POP".

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:37 pm
by SoooTrypticon
Trust me. First rant will be how boring the actors are.
Second will be how boring and derivative the human story is. Esp since it's ALL about the secret government part. Everything connects to it. Even the equally lame (I have a new kid) army part.
Lastly, people will complain how the robots have no characters, and just seem like big toys.
Of course I want 'splosions in my Transformers film. But I want a better movie first.
The "seemingly" high public interest is what will do the film in. People will generate a lot of buzz, but as soon as the bad reviews hit- that buzz will change.
The opening weekend should be decent- but after that- no returning family audiences, and disinterested general public could amount to a huge box office drop.

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:43 pm
by Satanatron
SoooTrypticon wrote:Trust me. First rant will be how boring the actors are.
Second will be how boring and derivative the human story is. Esp since it's ALL about the secret government part. Everything connects to it. Even the equally lame (I have a new kid) army part.
Lastly, people will complain how the robots have no characters, and just seem like big toys.
Of course I want 'splosions in my Transformers film. But I want a better movie first.
The "seemingly" high public interest is what will do the film in. People will generate a lot of buzz, but as soon as the bad reviews hit- that buzz will change.
The opening weekend should be decent- but after that- no returning family audiences, and disinterested general public could amount to a huge box office drop.
He know all this cause SoooTrypticon is a pshychic.

Posted:
Fri Jun 08, 2007 8:44 pm
by Sentinel Pax
SoooTrypticon wrote:Trust me. First rant will be how boring the actors are.
Second will be how boring and derivative the human story is. Esp since it's ALL about the secret government part. Everything connects to it. Even the equally lame (I have a new kid) army part.
Lastly, people will complain how the robots have no characters, and just seem like big toys.
Of course I want 'splosions in my Transformers film. But I want a better movie first.
The "seemingly" high public interest is what will do the film in. People will generate a lot of buzz, but as soon as the bad reviews hit- that buzz will change.
The opening weekend should be decent- but after that- no returning family audiences, and disinterested general public could amount to a huge box office drop.
I don't think I will trust you, because I'm not quite sure you've seen the finished product, and I'd like to keep positive about a movie that a lot of people have been waiting a long time for.
And you're right, it could amount to a huge box office drop, but then, it could end up being a hit with a lot of people. Just like X-men, I believe that, regardless of the cosmetic changes made, the characters will be the same. Prime is still Cullen, he will be awesome. Bumblebee is still a yellow car who becomes Sam's best friend. Jazz is still styish. Ratchet is still a rescue vehicle and medic. Ironhide is still a badass brawler. As far as Sam goes, who's going to believe in an underdog named "Spike" these days, anyway?