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Click HERE or on any of the images below to head to the updated Unicron SDCC2019 gallery.
We're also giving you our interview with the Transformers Brand Team Hasbro's Senior Design Manager John Warden and Hasbro's Marketing Director Ben Montano. Our very own head Seibertronian Ryan Yzquierdo was on the scene to interview the two gentlemen in front of the Unicron prototype itself. But they don't just talk about Unicron, they also discuss the Studio Series and the recent G1 reissues. Here's some highlights from the interview.
- They go over the challenges of converting a sphere like a puzzle into the familiar devourer of worlds, and some of the logistics of the Haslab crowdfunding project.
- They also touch on the prioritization of features focusing on articulation such as in the fingers and eyes in place of electronic light up or sound features.
- They also touch on the vintage G1 reissues such as the Dino cassettes and The Sonic Iconic, everyone's favorite who raves it, Soundwave!
- They remind us that Blaster and Astrotrain are still coming down the tracks so keep your optics focused on those WalMarts Seibertronians.
- John states very seriously about listing Unicron in an official size class, name yet to be determined.
- The Studio Series is also discussed, or the lack thereof. They say they fully intend to continue with the line and wanted to debut some of their newer products but didn't want the SDCC2019 to be too busy given all the other Siege reveals let alone Unicron. They do mention wanting to wait to show the finalized Studio Series Devastator once all the individual toys are finalized and revealed. They talk about how the gestalt mode is not just tall, but deep and extremely bulky. Very much a monster! A very different type of combiner than we've seen before.
Check out the video for the full interview. It's always a pleasure to hear people who are so passionate about the brand guiding its current vision.
Thanks to a head's up from IDW's Twitter we've learned that PiexelatedGeek.com has a brief interview with IDW's Transformers Galaxies writer Tyler Bleszinski. This is broken into both a written portion excerpted below along with a supplemental five minute interview with Mr. Bleszinski.
In the video portion Tyler touches on how this story will take place recently after the Constructicons have been forged and follows them as they make choices that will shape their darker destiny. He doesn't want to spoil how Devastator comes into play, but states this will be a character quite unlike the Devastator we saw way back in the old G1 cartoon. Enjoy the interview below and click on the embedded video for a few extra cool tidbits from Tyler on the origins of his interest in the characters and the Transformers brand as a whole
Don't forget to share your thoughts in the forums and stay tuned to Seibertron for the ultimate in Transformers news!
"This September we’ll be getting a brand new anthology series from IDW – Transformers: Galaxies. The first four-part story will focus on the original combiner team, the Constructicons.
At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con we had a chance to sit down with writer Tyler Bleszinski to talk about why he wanted to write this story, why the Transformers, and specifically the Constructicons, are so important to him, and what we can expect from the series"
"After we turned off the cameras we talked with Tyler a little more; I always like the little conversations you have with people after the recording’s over, everybody’s more relaxed when they don’t have a camera in their face. Lucky for me, the backup recording was still going, so I caught a little of the conversation."
"Tyler: There’s so much to learn from seeing them in action, seeing them do what they do, even if it’s just as much as them building something. To me, that was the was the coolest thing about the Constructions. I always thought, man, they’re like these builder bots, they should really be Autobots. How did they become Decepticons? And then the cartoon…I don’t know if you followed the cartoon..
Elizabeth: It was the one with Omega Supreme, right?
Yes, the cartoon basically swept it away because Megatron had a Robosmasher that brainwashed them. I mean…really?
It takes it away from them.
There’s no choice! As much as I loved that episode because the Constructicons are featured so prominently, I always hated that aspect of it, that they didn’t make a choice to do what they did, they were forced into it. And while there’s there’s an aspect of them being forced into certain things here too, it’s choices that they make to bring them there."
"The thing I loved about the old IDW series was when they showed how Megatron became Megatron. In the cartoon the Decepticons were bad bad bad, evil evil evil, the Autobots heroic, awesome, incredible, The Best. And when I read the IDW series that featured Megatron being a miner, and then wising up to rebel against the bourgeois Autobot senate, I was like “Damn, finally somebody gets it, there should be layers here! Like Walter White or Tony Soprano, that should be Megatron!” Not like, cookie cutter villain."
When you were a kid did you dream of growing up and designing and building toys as a job? Are you an adult and that's still your dream? Hear how these kinds of dreams come true in this truly fascinating audio interview by Slate Magazine with Hasbro Senior Design Manager John Warden and his right hand bot Senior Project Engineer Lynsey Bernier. We learned of this article from our own fellow Seibertronian Megatronus.
John and Lynsey go over the entire evolution of a Transformer from concept to design to final product. They also go over many of the details of the concept and creation of the new Unicron crowdfunding project through HasLab.
If any of the behind the scenes aspects of the Transformers creation process interests you then this is easily a worth while listen. Learn why certain exceptions have to be made during the design process, how affordability is minded throughout the process, and where dreams and actuality find compromises.
Whatever you do, don't forget these key words: Man-Bear-Plane. You'll have to listen to the interview to find out what that means.
Enjoy the interview and share your thoughts with the Seibertron crew in the forums, and as always stay tune to Seibertron for the ultimate in Transformers news!
Thanks to Seibertronian 00Stargrave00, we have word of a new interview with Peter Cullen and Frank Welker for the 35th and of Transformers! The interview can be found here, at AP news or the image below; you can read the whole article there. They talk about how much the role meant to them, especially Peter Cullen towards the end; an ideal heartfelt moment!
“It can bring tears to your eyes,” Cullen said. “I’m not exaggerating.”
Cullen said parents and children bond over Transformers at the conventions, with the parents sometimes getting more excited than the children. And he doubted this week would be different.
“I expect that I will run into a father with his son, and the father will more than likely get choked up,” Cullen said. “And then I get choked up, and then the kid is saying ‘What are these two grown men getting choked up about?’”
Frank Welker and Peter Cullen will be at MegaCon Orlando 2019, for Thursday and Friday, as stated in the article, most likely to their fun shenanigans on stage!
Rock audiophile site PureGrainAudio has landed an interview with Ricardo Hoyos who plays Tripp in the Bumblebee movie. It's an extensive interview that covers a wide range of topics including his auditions, growing up with Transformers toys, movie wardrobe, and being Canadian. He also talked about his experience with director Travis Knight which echoed our own Jon Bailey's impressions of him.
From that first audition that we did he made me feel so comfortable. […] Usually, at auditions, there’s something awkward about it, or you wish you did something differently. Just from that day and every day on set, he really not only did a great job of making us all feel comfortable, but also communicating with incredible efficiency. Like I could really understand what he was going for. He had a clear vision in mind. He just had that comfortability to know what’s going on and know that there’s this very good communication going on which made for a really nice time on set. He’s great, he’really great.
He also talked about some of Tripp's character development that ended up not making it into the movie.
Originally actually we deleted the scene where, in the end, I kind of disown that group of girls. When I’m like “You know what? I’ve seen the true side of you girls. Not cool.” But, yeah, that still is played upon, even though that scene didn’t make it into the final cut. That was definitely the attitude that they were going for. I associate with this group of people that maybe doesn’t jive with everything that I am about. Which I think is just like your classic kind of high school thing. We all kind of go through that where maybe people aren’t as nice as we want them to be in high school to others. But he’s a redeemable character. He sees through that. He’s not bullied like the other girls.
The entire interview can be read at the link above along with an audio version.
Now that the Bumblebee movie has hit home Director Travis Knight continues making the interview rounds. This time he spoke with MovieFone about some very specific topics.
On the topic of the cutting room floor:
We had this scene early on in the script. It was a “Sorcerer's Apprentice”-type moment where Bumblebee transfers his energon on to some of these appliances is in the house. We boarded it out and it was a lot of fun and but we never got it to work as a finished thing. It's one of those things where you share a work-in-progress with the world and you don't really want them to see it because I'm not done. But we did a fair amount of work on that sequence and in the end for a variety of reasons, for both tone and for pacing. While on its own, it was going to be a ton of fun, it just didn't propel the movie forward. It stopped the movie in his tracks for essentially this fun little moment and really wasn’t about our characters or their or their experiences, their growth or their relationship really.
On continuity:
Continuity is very important to me, as is being consistent. And so I did take a good hard look at the films that had been done in the past. And as we were thinking about this movie, I still wanted to move to be self-contained. I didn't presuppose any familiarity with the films or the franchise. I wanted someone who wouldn’t know anything about the Transformers to be able to sit in the theater to watch this movie and have a good time and enjoy the movie, not knowing anything about the transformers. But that said, it was important to me that if we were living within this universe and this mythology that it be consistent. At some point we realized that we were essentially boxing ourselves into a corner -- that we were, we were making choices that weren't really in the best interest of the film if we were trying to kind of sit within the overall mythology of the franchise.
Once I talked through some of these things with the producers and with the folks at Paramount, at some point we made the decision that this was the story that we're telling and we have to talk the best where we can. And if that means that we essentially are restarting the franchise and that means we’re rebooting these characters and they were taking aspects of the franchise and putting a different prism on it, then that's what we had to do. And ultimately it was a liberating choice because then we weren’t cornered into these decisions based on what had come before. We could tell our own story. And that that was the aspect of that.
On turning people into goo:
[laughs] Well, we wanted to showcase how much of a threat that our baddies and that if Charlie or Bumblebee some face-to -ace with these antagonists, they are in very big trouble. We wanted to show right away that these characters are a real threat. However in keeping with like you said, some kind of Joe Dante, family, Amblin-y vibe, you try not to be grotesque. We still wanted this to be a family movie. And so even though what the Decepticons do to people is horrific, there's still a comedic element to it. It’s still kind of fun, even though it's gross and awful. You can watch it and give you a little bit of a smile on the corner of your mouth. But that was the idea -- it wasn't horrific and grotesque, that that it was communicated what we want to but, in a family-friendly way. I will say that when we shot that stuff practically, people would get it all over their shoes. It was disgusting.
The full interview can be read at the link above and you can discuss it in the Energon Pub forums below!
We have a nice interview for you from Travis Knight, the director of Bumblebee, where he explains why Bumblebee and Charlie had to part ways at the end. He reinforces the stand alone nature of his Bumblebee movie.
The interview comes from Comicbook.com (who once again misses the mark with its headline, a trend with Transformers news).
“[The movie] had a beginning, it had a middle and an end and it had proper resolution. And so as I was charting the relationship between these two character there was no other way for it to end. It had to end with them parting.
It’s about one of those relationships, one of those life changing relationships that where someone comes into your orbit and fundamentally changes your trajectory moving forward. And it was, he has his mission to do and he has to go do it and she has her life and she has to live and she has to go live it. And they change each others lives, but then they had to part and that was the story that I was telling.
And so even though I love seeing them together, and I was sad when they had to part as well. It was critical for what this movie was.”
“I’m sure a creative mind could come up with a way to bring them back together, but it was always incredibly important to me that this film, even though it sits within a larger context of mythology and comics and cartoons and films, that this film be self contained that it lives on its own.”
There has been a lot of misinformation regarding the future of the Transformers film franchise and while people are quick to claim it is due to the film producer, director or "Hasbro" going back and forth, the real culprit seems to be misleading headlines in articles. Sometimes, in the hope of garnering views, an entertainment news site will opt for a very eye catching title but the problem is that many will simply look at the title and not read the article, which can quickly spread misinformation. This is happening a lot recently with Transformers movie news, like the time sites claimed "Hasbro" confirmed the Bumblebee film was a reboot. Sadly, anyone reading the articles would see that there was no quote from any Hasbro representative using the word "reboot" when describing Bumblebee. The sites didn't even care to name any specific individual credited to have said anything on the matter. It was just assumptions and people's interpretations that kept being passed on. Nothing concrete, unlike what any headline announced.
I mention all that because the community and news sites are at it again. Recently, Lorenzo di Bonaventura stated that there is currently a script being done for the next film in the Transformers live action franchise, one that would come after Transformers: The Last Knight. This prompted many sites to state that The last Knight was getting a sequel. While I can see the logic of that interpretation, all di Bonaventura said was that there would be another film, not that the specific storyline established in a previous film would be continued.
Basically, the next big Transformers film would come after The last Knight just like Age of Extinction came after Dark of the Moon. Set in the present, in the established live action universe, but with no real connection to past stories (which is par for the course in Transformers live action films when you think about it).
That is why when we are presented with the short interview below, where di Bonaventura answers "no" when asked by Slash Film if the next script picks up where The Last Knight left off, it fits perfectly well with all that was said. Not just by him, but by Brian Goldner, over a year ago at the 2018 Toy fair, when we were told that past stories would be dropped going forward and that a new team at Paramount was to oversee the future films.
So while we would love to be reporting you actual news, saying that the next big Transformers film will not be picking up elements from where the Last Knight left off is something we were told a long time ago.
We do have some other news though, in the same interview, di Bonaventura stated that Michael Bay would not be returning as director for upcoming Transformers films. However, this would also be par for the course as we have been told time and time again that Michael Bay was done with the franchise and yet he would still come back. Right now, all we know is that any upcoming Transformers film (either taking place in the past or present) is still at the scripting phase and there is no director attached.
Here is the latest quick interview:
For the next Transformers are you looking for new directors or hoping you can still make Michael Bay an offer?
I think Bay has made it really clear that he loved what he did and he’s not doing anymore. So I think the answer is we’re writing a script. At that point, once we get script we have a strong belief in, then we’ll begin to debate that. Michael’s made it really clear that he didn’t want to do it. I don’t blame him. He spent a hell of a lot, a decade of his life, shooting them.
Are you developing a script that picks up where The Last Knight left off?
We have a fun feature for you today. The Seibertron site got to meet the writer for Bumblebee, Christina Hodson, for an interview conducted by our very own Jon Bailey. There was more fun to be had as well:
Go with Jon Bailey (voices of Shockwave & Soundwave) to Paramount Studios to interview Bumblebee writer Christina Hodson, create the sounds of Bumblenee with foley artists Dawn Lunsford and Alicia Stevenson & go under the hood of the actual VW Bumblebee car with mechanic Sarah Lyon! BUMBLEBEE IS OUT NOW ON DIGITAL, DVD, BLU-RAY & 4K ULTRA HD!
Special thanks to Paramount & Seibertron.com!
We hope you had fun with this as much as Jon did. Please remember that Bumblebee is out on Blu Ray today for all of you to enjoy!
Remember the news we got back at toyfair that Super7 would be producing some new G1-inspired non-transforming action figures? Well, have you wondered where the company came from and what else they have done?
Thanks to a new interview conducted by Popular Mechanics, we have a great interview with the Founder, Brian Flynn, and his thoughts on the history of the company, which was founded in 2001, as well as some of its highlight moments, which include a plethora of science fictions, the foremost being Aliens.
Check out the full interview by following the above link, and check out some snippets of the interview below!
ased in San Francisco, Super7 started in 2001 with a book about Japanese Kaiju toys, which turned into Super7 magazine, focused on Japanese kaiju and toy culture, and art and design. In addition, was the seed that would sprout into a company that made actual toys: a printed coupon for an exclusive repaint of a toy, based on color schemes they thought would look more outrageous than the Japanese variants of the time. "The Japanese sensibility on repaints is always very referential," founder Brian Flynn explained to Popular Mechanics in an interview. "The way we approached our recolors was more as what would be cool. 'Let’s make a Hedorah that is clear yellow and orange with red highlights and it’s in glitter. It’s the meltdown Hedorah!'"
...
With the approval of Lucasfilm on their résumé, Flynn decided the next toy he’d re-create would be a lost opportunity from his childhood: the famed 1979 Kenner 3¾-inch Alien prototypes. He was able to track down who owned the prototypes—because a lot of the time they leave with company employees and are sold to collectors—obtain a license from Fox, and finally make the figures real. It was really a turning point for Super7, such that Flynn talks about the company's success in terms of "before Alien" and "after Alien."
...
Another exciting addition to the catalog are the first screen-accurate Transformers from the original Generation One cartoons—because they don't transform. For companies like Hasbro, the transformation is the whole point of the line, but that comes at the cost of accuracy. "By the nature of that toy physically having to transform," Flynn says, "you’re only going to get 85 to 90 percent screen accurate because you have to put the mechanisms in.” Super7's Transformers Super Cyborg Deluxe Action Figures, each 11 inches tall and fully articulated, have transparent removable chest panels to show off their robotic guts inside in lieu of transforming super powers.
Aside from producing fan favorites, Flynn wants to make all the weird secondary characters, the ones major companies would never be able to make and sell to retailers like Target and Walmart. “I want to make that guy in the background of the third episode from the second season that’s there for five minutes,” he said.
“I hope it’s obvious to everybody else that we’re having as much fun as possible with this, Flynn says. "It's not lost on us that we collectors all sit at home and go 'Wouldn’t it be cool if they did this!?' but there’s only a couple companies that can actually get things made.” After 18 years of business and success with cherished toy lines, Super7 is uniquely positioned to take on those sorts of what-ifs, and fortunately for us all, that's just what they intend to do.
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