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[Va'al]

Media and entertainment online publication Entertainment Weekly has posted a fairly sizeable piece on the upcoming Bumblebee movie from the Paramount live action Transformers universe, featuring some information we were already aware of, plus some new details via an interview with producer Lorenzo diBonaventura.

In the piece, which you can read in full here, they touch on the idea of moving back on the Bumblebee story, shifting gears into a more 'vulnerable' role and look with the Volswagen beetle car mode, the choice of script and human lead Charlie / Hailee Steinfeld, what it might mean for the future of the movie franchise, and what other characters we're to expect in the movie itself - three Decepticons in total, including the jet who may or may not be Starscream after all. Partnering with our own speculations about the possible success of this new venture, why not join the discussion too, and let us know what you make of this direction for the movies?

“That was probably the most hotly contested thing, simply because: ‘Wow …. um, and the Beetle can go fast? Ooookay,’” di Bonaventura says. “But I’ve screened [a rough cut] three times, and there has not been a single comment from the audience that they didn’t like the fact that we made it the Beetle. The warmth of it certainly helps us, but also, the sheer freshness of it is really fun.”

That shape creates the sense of an under dog, which is a good thing for a hero who is in a strange world, all by himself, trying to find a way home.

“Psychologically, you’re absolutely right,” di Bonaventura says. “It’s kind of funny. A metal guy made out of a Camaro, or Bumblebee … is one is weaker than the other? I don’t know, but it is how you feel. It is what your experience is of it, in a way.”

[...]

“It’s nice it’s changing,” di Bonaventura says, acknowledging that the Transformers films haven’t exactly delivered strong roles for women. “When we were debating it, the idea of a young girl seemed to us to be a real change in our direction.”

And Steinfeld proved to be the fearsome flesh-and-blood lead they needed. “I’m just amazed at how talented she is,” di Bonaventura says. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen an actor never miss a beat for the entire shoot. It was crazy. We ended up ahead of schedule because she was just so on it all the time. We could move quicker.”

[...]

Another change was reducing the sheer number of robots-in-disguise featured in this movie. That allowed screenwriter Christina Hodson to focus on the bond between Charlie and Bumblebee and tell a coming-of-age story at the heart of this epic action adventure.

“She wrote a really beautiful script that really played into the emotion of the relationship of the two,” di Bonaventura says. “So looking at the movie from that perspective, we thought, we don’t want to overwhelm one Autobot with too many Decepticons. So he has three primary antagonists.”

Two others, who take the form of automobiles, are also being kept secret for now.

[...]

Right now, Bumblebee has to pull off his own film, though.

“If Bee’s successful, we can have a Bee 2, no doubt,” di Bonaventura. “We have a good sense of where a second movie would go. For me, the greatest thing that came out of the writer’s room was the sense that we could go in any number of directions. It opened up our minds to choices.”

[1984forever]

I’ve seen all 5 Transformers on opening day except 3 and 5, which I saw on the night before, but I’m not going to see Bumblebee. I don’t care if it’s supposed to be more G1, I need this movie to fail because of the article above. Transformers was always an ensemble with no main character. I don’t want to see a movie focused on one Transformer and a bunch of humans. The fandom has been saying that humans get too much screen time for years now PLUS we left Bumblebee hives buzzing on the shelves because the focus was too much on him. But what do these guys do? They double down! Transformers fans don’t hate Bumblebee, we just don’t want the entire movie to be about him- which is what this movie is- with talks of a Bumblebee solo sequel! How are you going to make solo movies spotlighting different Transformers if you keep making movies about Bumblebee? It’s a cash grab. TLK underperformed and all these guys want to do is figure out a new way to keep the money train on the rails.

I’ll catch this crap on On Demand next April.

[Burn]

Transformers fans

You do NOT speak for all the fans, so don't presume you know what us "Transformers fans" do and don't want.

[ToaLeePrime]

Transformers fans

You do NOT speak for all the fans, so don't presume you know what us "Transformers fans" do and don't want.

I second this notion, every fan wants something different out of a new piece of media, and humans have always played a major role in the story of the Transformers.

[1984forever]

Transformers fans

You do NOT speak for all the fans, so don't presume you know what us "Transformers fans" do and don't want.

Paid to see TF1 two times with 2 different GFs the day it came out. Then paid to see it again the next day with my friend who only went because I told him it was a good movie.

Saw TF2 and 3 both times with my wife and then returned the next day each time to see it solo.

Saw TF4 with my wife and then once again with my son only because he wanted to see it.

Had to see TF5 by myself because 4 stunk so bad, and then did not return because 5 was pure garbage.

See a trend here? If SOME of us fans don’t get what we want, then SOME of us fans will stop spending SO MUCH of our money.

[ZeroWolf]

But what if the fans who do want this, spend more money then you? Plus what ever contribution you or I make is dwarfed by the international markets, like China. You don't have as much sway as you think you do. Though you also didn't deal with burns main objection, which is you only speak for yourself, no one else.

[1984forever]

But what if the fans who do want this, spend more money then you? Plus what ever contribution you or I make is dwarfed by the international markets, like China. You don't have as much sway as you think you do. Though you also didn't deal with burns main objection, which is you only speak for yourself, no one else.

I don’t only speak for myself because many fans have been very vocal about the amount of screen time the humans get and the desire to see different TFs in the sequels. TLK underperformed, and I will not be surprised when BB underperforms as well in the U.S. and ESPECIALLY abroad. I’ll be back next year to say “I told you so.”

[#Sideways#]

Yeah, this looks great and I've been a fan of Transformers my whole life. Frankly, this director seems to have a great concept about building a Transformers movie: A small cast. The smaller the cast, the more development you can have for the characters. It's not like a series where you can have more characters be totally fleshed out, it's a two hour film -- and that is not a lot of room for character development when you have a large cast of characters.

As for this discussion... I'd just like to point out that no matter what Hollywood makes, there will still be the group of people who say, "It's different, ergo I hate it." Simply put, it is easy to have a closed mind, even if one has already watched all of the movies.

[ZeroWolf]

But what if the fans who do want this, spend more money then you? Plus what ever contribution you or I make is dwarfed by the international markets, like China. You don't have as much sway as you think you do. Though you also didn't deal with burns main objection, which is you only speak for yourself, no one else.

I don’t only speak for myself because many fans have been very vocal about the amount of screen time the humans get and the desire to see different TFs in the sequels. TLK underperformed, and I will not be surprised when BB underperforms as well in the U.S. and ESPECIALLY abroad. I’ll be back next year to say “I told you so.”

No you agree with other fans views but you don't speak for all of them. This is just your opinion. To speak for the fans you would have to be some kind of democratically elected spokeperson.

Also, what would you do if bb actually performs well? It's certainly not out of the realm of the impossible, it's got a smaller budget for starters and the director has a lot going for him.

[Qwan]

See, I thought for a long time that I wanted Transformers media to be ensemble pieces with no "main character" and less screen-time for the humans, but I'm really on board with the Bumblebee movie at this point. Because I realized that what I want most isn't actually those things; what I want most is a good movie. And the Bumblebee movie looks like it'll be that.

So yeah, I'll absolutely be paying to see it ASAP once it comes out. I'll be convincing my more casual friend to come along with me. And if things work out, hopefully we'll have a great time and show our support for this new direction at the same time!

[1984forever]

But what if the fans who do want this, spend more money then you? Plus what ever contribution you or I make is dwarfed by the international markets, like China. You don't have as much sway as you think you do. Though you also didn't deal with burns main objection, which is you only speak for yourself, no one else.

I don’t only speak for myself because many fans have been very vocal about the amount of screen time the humans get and the desire to see different TFs in the sequels. TLK underperformed, and I will not be surprised when BB underperforms as well in the U.S. and ESPECIALLY abroad. I’ll be back next year to say “I told you so.”

No you agree with other fans views but you don't speak for all of them. This is just your opinion. To speak for the fans you would have to be some kind of democratically elected spokeperson.

Also, what would you do if bb actually performs well? It's certainly not out of the realm of the impossible, it's got a smaller budget for starters and the director has a lot going for him.

If it does well then I'll eat my words on a silicon wafer.

[Stormshot_Prime]

Female roles are fantastic and all, but what’s wrong with the audience making a connection to the actual Cybertronians, making them real and likeable characters facing the heavy weight of the war? These movies would do so much more if the transformers were more than war machines.

[Sabrblade]

Female roles are fantastic and all, but what’s wrong with the audience making a connection to the actual Cybertronians, making them real and likeable characters facing the heavy weight of the war? These movies would do so much more if the transformers were more than war machines.

That seems to be what this movie's gonna try and do with Bumblebee himself.

[Evil Eye]

Female roles are fantastic and all, but what’s wrong with the audience making a connection to the actual Cybertronians, making them real and likeable characters facing the heavy weight of the war? These movies would do so much more if the transformers were more than war machines.

TBH they kinda did that with Optimus Prime himself (until they ruined the development with TLK), showing him getting progressively more and more disillusioned with humanity after he sacrificed so much to protect them and they threw it all back in his face. And predictably everyone whined about it because "B-But Optimus Prime can't react realistically to his freinds being slaughtered by the race he swore to protect! RUINED FOREVER! Bring back the Giant Purple Griffin!".

[Burn]

If it does well then I'll eat my words on a silicon wafer.

You willing to put your loud mouth to the test?

You've got three warnings there. They can disappear.

I'm still waiting on a shiney new Metroplex from the last fool to run his mouth and bet against me.

You in?

[1984forever]

If it does well then I'll eat my words on a silicon wafer.

You willing to put your loud mouth to the test?

You've got three warnings there. They can disappear.

I'm still waiting on a shiney new Metroplex from the last fool to run his mouth and bet against me.

You in?

of course I'm in. And I'm not like whoever owes you a Metroplex, I pay my debts bro.

[Burn]

of course I'm in. And I'm not like whoever owes you a Metroplex, I pay my debts bro.

Cool cool ... but a shiny new Metroplex may be hard to find these days, so I'll settle for a shiny new PotP Predaking should I win. Should you win, your current three warnings go bye bye.

I guess now we need to decide what defines "performs well".

[william-james88]

of course I'm in. And I'm not like whoever owes you a Metroplex, I pay my debts bro.

Cool cool ... but a shiny new Metroplex may be hard to find these days, so I'll settle for a shiny new PotP Predaking should I win. Should you win, your current three warnings go bye bye.

I guess now we need to decide what defines "performs well".

A movie needs to do at least double what it cost to make to break even. So, knowing this, how about four times the cost of the film? In total. The investors will surely think that is performing well, so we should too. This would mean a total of 400 million.

[1984forever]

of course I'm in. And I'm not like whoever owes you a Metroplex, I pay my debts bro.

Cool cool ... but a shiny new Metroplex may be hard to find these days, so I'll settle for a shiny new PotP Predaking should I win. Should you win, your current three warnings go bye bye.

I guess now we need to decide what defines "performs well".

A movie needs to do at least double what it cost to make to break even. So, knowing this, how about four times the cost of the film? In total. The investors will surely think that is performing well, so we should too. This would mean a total of 400 million.

Good deal. Just got Predaking in the mail yesterday because impatience got the best of me, but I don't want him now because the individual figs are ultra class.

[Qwan]

Ooh, this is exciting! I'll be keeping an eye on this to make sure you both keep your word

[Sabrblade]

What about critical acclaim? A bad movie can still be a commercial success by making a lot of money (case in point: ROTF). I'd think this film would also need positive reviews from audiences and critics alike to enhance the wellness of its performance.

[Burn]

What about critical acclaim? A bad movie can still be a commercial success by making a lot of money (case in point: ROTF). I'd think this film would also need positive reviews from audiences and critics alike to enhance the wellness of its performance.

It's about performance, not reception.

A movie needs to do at least double what it cost to make to break even. So, knowing this, how about four times the cost of the film? In total. The investors will surely think that is performing well, so we should too. This would mean a total of 400 million.

Are we talking Internationally or just US domestically? 'cause I'm only in for Internationally.
(Considering only two movies have broken the 400 million mark this year)

[ZeroWolf]

I would say in total, so domestic and international.

[1984forever]

I would say in total, so domestic and international.

Basically if 400 million is good for them (studio, investors etc) then it's good for me. I'm fully expecting to hear words like "flop" and "box office bomb" thrown around come January though.

[ZeroWolf]

We shall see, won't we. Though if it fails people won't be able to blame bay (then again he is listed as a producer with Spielberg as a executive producer...and people blame tmnt on bay when he was pyour producing it..)