Don Murphy Interview

He's so full of sh*t. Bay clearly proved that beyond getting the ball rolling (which is important, don't get me wrong) Murphy and DeSanto really didn't add anything to this. But they sure took credit.

Murphy doesn't care about the fans wishes, he made that clear in how he treated them. On his board and others.

Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that he did the footwork to get this started, but to pat himself on the back like he did is pure crapola.

to hell with don murphy, hes only here for credits and he gives a shit about fans, he only pay attention to them to just harras them! >:(

Ah yes, Murphy the Hut.


He seems to have left out the part where he trolled and insulted the fans.

If he's such an active producer on the project, how could he not know that the sequel has already been greenlit? He also made it sound like Spielberg was only passingly interested when we all know that Spielberg was highly interested and worked with Bay on it more than Murphy did.

How is it that random fans on the Internet know more about his own movie than he does?

Blozor wrote:How is it that random fans on the Internet know more about his own movie than he does?

Because he doesn't do his job.

Blozor wrote:If he's such an active producer on the project, how could he not know that the sequel has already been greenlit? He also made it sound like Spielberg was only passingly interested when we all know that Spielberg was highly interested and worked with Bay on it more than Murphy did.

How is it that random fans on the Internet know more about his own movie than he does?

YOu have to factor in when the interview was done. It may have not been greenlit at the time.

Autobot032 wrote:He's so full of sh*t. Bay clearly proved that beyond getting the ball rolling (which is important, don't get me wrong) Murphy and DeSanto really didn't add anything to this.

Wait - I know that he said it, but how did he prove it ?

To me, it didn't really look so much like he was taking credit for what he didn't do as it was the interviewer there was throwing credit his way, & he was just giving input as to what his part was in the whole mess, & then just telling a bit of what goes into the movie-making process.

The guy is still an asshat, though.

I also find it funny that he called Bonecrusher, Barricade.

Don't ask me why, but I don't like this guy. Even without him, we all still would have petitioned for Peter Cullens.

If he realy did care about more than his paycheck, I think he would have gone the distance and put a firmer foot down on alot of the design issues, and other little neuances in this still very good film.

I thought that the opening sequence was the cube, and not Cybertron. I thought we only saw Cybertron when Prime Holomatters it to show Sam and Mikheala.

Still not impressed with the childish and arrogant behaviour of Murphy throughout the process, he should consider himself lucky that ILM did such a good job with such bad robot designs, or he would be hard pressed to find another job.

Agree with all of ya. And, disagree with Murphy on so many things, especially Bumblebee. I'm still quite pissed that he's a muscle car. It's a big part of why I'm not going to see this movie. That, and all the other design choices.

Yeah, what an arse. I still hold a grudge over the way he treated me when I was merely sticking up for this place.

Don Murphy wrote:Murphy: Well, from the very beginning I had a message board on my website, and the design was to interact with the fans because I absolutely cared what they thought.

You "absolutely cared" so much you called people asses for having opinions.

What a tosser.

Why is this guy given the time of day....still?

You know, once the movie starting rolling (commercials, trailers and whatnot) there was nothing even noticeable about Murphy or DeSanto out there. (In the credits, yes, but it flashed so fast...)

I give DeSanto a little more credit. He at least went on AOTS and answered some questions, even if he still isn't worth much.

Murphy just sits around with a baseball bat, waiting for the next person to "diss" him.

Autobot032 wrote:Murphy just sits around with a baseball bat, waiting for the next person to "diss" him.

That and he probably hogged the set lunches for himself.

Grimshock wrote:Agree with all of ya. And, disagree with Murphy on so many things, especially Bumblebee. I'm still quite pissed that he's a muscle car. It's a big part of why I'm not going to see this movie. That, and all the other design choices.

Dude, get out of 1984. You're not even going to see the movie? That's pretty close-minded if you ask me. Just give it a chance, you might really enjoy it.

Wow, Bumblebee's a muscle car. If THAT'S your reason for not going to see that movie, you need help.

Phenotype wrote:

Grimshock wrote:Agree with all of ya. And, disagree with Murphy on so many things, especially Bumblebee. I'm still quite pissed that he's a muscle car. It's a big part of why I'm not going to see this movie. That, and all the other design choices.

Dude, get out of 1984. You're not even going to see the movie? That's pretty close-minded if you ask me. Just give it a chance, you might really enjoy it.

Why is it that when someone has an opinion against something, they're instantly labeled as closed-minded? seems kinda closed-minded to me to think that you have to agree with every new idea that comes along without any reguard to past ideas, customs, or traditions....


Anywho...I really didn't like the idea of it either, untill you see the 2 sitting side-by-side, like they did in the movie. The bug looks bad...real bad....but then again, the bug in the movie, being banged up & craptastic as it is, is meant to make the bug look bad. The new design isn't really that bad, but it is made to be different than the original. For what it is, it's pretty cool. The movie Bumblebee is meant to be a namesake & an homage, but that's about it. If you like that, fine, if not.....hope along with others that they make some new form of video media made specifically for G1 fans similar to the Marvel direct-to DVD movies being made as of late....because it's probably either gonna be that or unfortunately you'll just have to stick to G1 in all of it's spectacular yet 20-years cancelled glory.

& people, be considerate of others' opinions. IIRC, being "stuck in 1984" was prefectly acceptable for a transfan to be untill Bay came along & said, " Yeah, it's crap....my stuff's better." Not to mention, apparently Hasbro is stuck in the 80's too, because most of the movie toys' repaints/remolds are designed to make them look like their G1 counterparts (Ratchet, Starscream, & Jazz at least).

Anywho...I'm gonna go play the TF 360 game now...

Phenotype wrote:

Grimshock wrote:Agree with all of ya. And, disagree with Murphy on so many things, especially Bumblebee. I'm still quite pissed that he's a muscle car. It's a big part of why I'm not going to see this movie. That, and all the other design choices.

Dude, get out of 1984. You're not even going to see the movie? That's pretty close-minded if you ask me. Just give it a chance, you might really enjoy it.

Liege Evilmus wrote:Don't ask me why, but I don't like this guy. Even without him, we all still would have petitioned for Peter Cullens.

It's attitudes like this that are the reason Murphy was a dick to us on the boards. You do realize that all he did was ask for our input and used what he could.

Without him, there would have been no Peter Cullen. Accept it. Yes, we would have petitioned. And it would have been as successful, and taken as seriously, as that petition to rename The Two Towers because it was disrespectful to 9/11 victims.

We are shit on the heels of Hollywood. Almost everyone I talk to about this movie, right after saying how cool it looks, badmouths "the fanboys".

As much of a dick as we was, we owe him one for getting the sheer awesomeness of the true Optimus Prime on the big screen.

I agree with many of you guys but that's the way Hollywood works. In a way, he was the first one to find out that a Transformers movie (and maybe the trilogy) is a goldmine. He was willing to risk it and he reaps the rewards.

Hollywood studios have no ideas that is why they rely on outside people. If a movie tanks, then people like Murphy are to blame and those studio Executvies keep their jobs, even the Junior Executives.

Even if Murphy did not thank you, I do. I liked the movie but I think all of you guys contributed ideas to Mr. Murphy's website that made this movie possible. Thank you all for your contributions.

P.S. I think the biggest design flaws were some of the faces on the transformers. There was very little facial expression to discern their emotions. And, some of those insect-like faces would have served better on the Insecticons ---sorry Bumblebee. I guess body language would have to play a bigger role in the next movie.

Dark Zarak wrote:

Liege Evilmus wrote:Don't ask me why, but I don't like this guy. Even without him, we all still would have petitioned for Peter Cullens.

It's attitudes like this that are the reason Murphy was a dick to us on the boards. You do realize that all he did was ask for our input and used what he could.

Without him, there would have been no Peter Cullen. Accept it. Yes, we would have petitioned. And it would have been as successful, and taken as seriously, as that petition to rename The Two Towers because it was disrespectful to 9/11 victims.

We are shit on the heels of Hollywood. Almost everyone I talk to about this movie, right after saying how cool it looks, badmouths "the fanboys".

As much of a dick as we was, we owe him one for getting the sheer awesomeness of the true Optimus Prime on the big screen.

I'll give you that one on the Cullen issue, but you have to admit, there were times Murphy was just a dick, simply because he could. He wanted to sue TFW, etc.

For someone who wants the fans to embrace him and become a part of them, he sure didn't ingratiate himself with us. He was extremely abrasive and quite rude a good portion of the time.

I realize he's human like the rest of us and prone to this type of thing, but come on...sometimes a jerk is just a jerk and no amount of excuses will change that.

Nemesis Cyberplex wrote:& people, be considerate of others' opinions. IIRC, being "stuck in 1984" was prefectly acceptable for a transfan to be untill Bay came along & said, " Yeah, it's crap....my stuff's better." Not to mention, apparently Hasbro is stuck in the 80's too, because most of the movie toys' repaints/remolds are designed to make them look like their G1 counterparts (Ratchet, Starscream, & Jazz at least).

1.) Bay has never directly said "The original sucks, mine's better." He said his was easier to adapt for the big screen (and he's correct in that.) That in no means says that he said it was all crap.

2.) For that matter, no one officially said it was bad to be "stuck in the '80s". Other fans might've, but in the long run, those in control of this whole thing have never said "Wow. What idiots. No." Being "stuck" is still perfectly acceptable.

3.) Hasbro is not stuck in the '80s, but they've enough respect for those who are. (And yes, plenty are.) They did it to appease the fans because they appreciate our business and they accept our input. They can't always address it, but they damn sure try to make everyone happy if possible. Doing so and pleasing a certain demographic does not make them "stuck in the '80s". You should be happy they're willing to accommodate our concerns. We could be getting "Rainbow Hippie Former Bots" or some weird crap like it.

You say to be considerate of other people's opinions and thoughts, well you could extend the same courtesy to both Bay and Hasbro.

I'm not sure where you get these ideas from, but the well has run dry. Give it a few days and see if it fills back up, and if not...then let it go.

Autobot032 wrote:

Nemesis Cyberplex wrote:& people, be considerate of others' opinions. IIRC, being "stuck in 1984" was prefectly acceptable for a transfan to be untill Bay came along & said, " Yeah, it's crap....my stuff's better." Not to mention, apparently Hasbro is stuck in the 80's too, because most of the movie toys' repaints/remolds are designed to make them look like their G1 counterparts (Ratchet, Starscream, & Jazz at least).

1.) Bay has never directly said "The original sucks, mine's better." He said his was easier to adapt for the big screen (and he's correct in that.) That in no means says that he said it was all crap.

2.) For that matter, no one officially said it was bad to be "stuck in the '80s". Other fans might've, but in the long run, those in control of this whole thing have never said "Wow. What idiots. No." Being "stuck" is still perfectly acceptable.

3.) Hasbro is not stuck in the '80s, but they've enough respect for those who are. (And yes, plenty are.) They did it to appease the fans because they appreciate our business and they accept our input. They can't always address it, but they damn sure try to make everyone happy if possible. Doing so and pleasing a certain demographic does not make them "stuck in the '80s". You should be happy they're willing to accommodate our concerns. We could be getting "Rainbow Hippie Former Bots" or some weird crap like it.

You say to be considerate of other people's opinions and thoughts, well you could extend the same courtesy to both Bay and Hasbro.

I'm not sure where you get these ideas from, but the well has run dry. Give it a few days and see if it fills back up, and if not...then let it go.

A: Nearly every interview Bay has put out states how dated & "cartoon" the old designs are in his opinion, & how much better his deisgns work than what could have been otherwise. What I wrote earlier was merely paraphrasing, & was not meant to be anything other than that...sorry if it seemed like it was. Personally, out of all of my toys, I have my G1 stuff stuffed back on a shelf, while I have nearly every movie figure sitting on my computer desk now (missing Jazz, Bonecrusher, & Brawl) because I like the designs enough to have them closer to where I usually am. Just pointing that out in case you might have thought I don't like the movie designs.

B: I was actually commenting on what a lot of the board members have been saying lately....not the people in control, as you so well put.

C: I know Hasbro is not stuck in the 80's...that's my point. They are not stuck in the 80's, but yet they still harken back to G1 in designs & colorschemes without apology to anyone. That was the point I was trying to get at. Using G1 designs & colorschemes & wanting robots & vehicle designs to look immediately recognisable compared to the original stuff is not being "stuck in the 80's".

Hope that clears up some confusion. I've had a long day...I'm pretty tired, so I'm going to bed.

Autobot032 wrote:

Dark Zarak wrote:

Liege Evilmus wrote:Don't ask me why, but I don't like this guy. Even without him, we all still would have petitioned for Peter Cullens.

It's attitudes like this that are the reason Murphy was a dick to us on the boards. You do realize that all he did was ask for our input and used what he could.

Without him, there would have been no Peter Cullen. Accept it. Yes, we would have petitioned. And it would have been as successful, and taken as seriously, as that petition to rename The Two Towers because it was disrespectful to 9/11 victims.

We are shit on the heels of Hollywood. Almost everyone I talk to about this movie, right after saying how cool it looks, badmouths "the fanboys".

As much of a dick as we was, we owe him one for getting the sheer awesomeness of the true Optimus Prime on the big screen.

I'll give you that one on the Cullen issue, but you have to admit, there were times Murphy was just a dick, simply because he could. He wanted to sue TFW, etc.

For someone who wants the fans to embrace him and become a part of them, he sure didn't ingratiate himself with us. He was extremely abrasive and quite rude a good portion of the time.

I realize he's human like the rest of us and prone to this type of thing, but come on...sometimes a jerk is just a jerk and no amount of excuses will change that.

Oh, you're absolutely right. I hate the mans guts on so many levels. Elitist pig who got off by making fun of internet nerds. The funny thing is, and we may not realize this in our little TF bubble, but most of the world thinks like him about us. Doesn't excuse his behavior though.

I remember one time I actually told him straight up, "Hey Don, quit spamming the forums." And Neko said "OMG he said it!!" That was the greatest. He didn't reply to that one.

You may not have been around here last winter, but I had a Spiderman 3 sig that said, "Hey Don! Spiderman's gonna be soooo awesome!" Of course, he got the last laugh on that one...


But another thing I hate is the naive optimism of some of the fans. It's kind of like how, back in 2004, people made fun of us liberals for crossing our fingers for Kerry. Even other democrats shook their heads. And they were right to do so, as history has shown. It's like that with me now. I see all these bright, youthful posts about how the fan community does have the power to effect change if we just speak out in one voice and it literally makes me sick.

Makes me wonder how often these people get out, and I have no girlfriend and spent the 4th dicking around my apartment looking at the internet and playing Castlevania on DS. But I have a great social life at school and believe you me, we're all nerds at visual and sound effects school. I'll tell you right now, the TF fan community is damn low on the nerd totem pole, let alone Hollywood's.

Dark Zarak wrote:

Autobot032 wrote:

Dark Zarak wrote:

Liege Evilmus wrote:Don't ask me why, but I don't like this guy. Even without him, we all still would have petitioned for Peter Cullens.

It's attitudes like this that are the reason Murphy was a dick to us on the boards. You do realize that all he did was ask for our input and used what he could.

Without him, there would have been no Peter Cullen. Accept it. Yes, we would have petitioned. And it would have been as successful, and taken as seriously, as that petition to rename The Two Towers because it was disrespectful to 9/11 victims.

We are shit on the heels of Hollywood. Almost everyone I talk to about this movie, right after saying how cool it looks, badmouths "the fanboys".

As much of a dick as we was, we owe him one for getting the sheer awesomeness of the true Optimus Prime on the big screen.

I'll give you that one on the Cullen issue, but you have to admit, there were times Murphy was just a dick, simply because he could. He wanted to sue TFW, etc.

For someone who wants the fans to embrace him and become a part of them, he sure didn't ingratiate himself with us. He was extremely abrasive and quite rude a good portion of the time.

I realize he's human like the rest of us and prone to this type of thing, but come on...sometimes a jerk is just a jerk and no amount of excuses will change that.

Oh, you're absolutely right. I hate the mans guts on so many levels. Elitist pig who got off by making fun of internet nerds. The funny thing is, and we may not realize this in our little TF bubble, but most of the world thinks like him about us. Doesn't excuse his behavior though.

I remember one time I actually told him straight up, "Hey Don, quit spamming the forums." And Neko said "OMG he said it!!" That was the greatest. He didn't reply to that one.

You may not have been around here last winter, but I had a Spiderman 3 sig that said, "Hey Don! Spiderman's gonna be soooo awesome!" Of course, he got the last laugh on that one...


But another thing I hate is the naive optimism of some of the fans. It's kind of like how, back in 2004, people made fun of us liberals for crossing our fingers for Kerry. Even other democrats shook their heads. And they were right to do so, as history has shown. It's like that with me now. I see all these bright, youthful posts about how the fan community does have the power to effect change if we just speak out in one voice and it literally makes me sick.

Makes me wonder how often these people get out, and I have no girlfriend and spent the 4th dicking around my apartment looking at the internet and playing Castlevania on DS. But I have a great social life at school and believe you me, we're all nerds at visual and sound effects school. I'll tell you right now, the TF fan community is damn low on the nerd totem pole, let alone Hollywood's.

I'm apart of this community and I think you're all nerds

Robinson wrote:

Dark Zarak wrote:

Autobot032 wrote:

Dark Zarak wrote:

Liege Evilmus wrote:Don't ask me why, but I don't like this guy. Even without him, we all still would have petitioned for Peter Cullens.

It's attitudes like this that are the reason Murphy was a dick to us on the boards. You do realize that all he did was ask for our input and used what he could.

Without him, there would have been no Peter Cullen. Accept it. Yes, we would have petitioned. And it would have been as successful, and taken as seriously, as that petition to rename The Two Towers because it was disrespectful to 9/11 victims.

We are shit on the heels of Hollywood. Almost everyone I talk to about this movie, right after saying how cool it looks, badmouths "the fanboys".

As much of a dick as we was, we owe him one for getting the sheer awesomeness of the true Optimus Prime on the big screen.

I'll give you that one on the Cullen issue, but you have to admit, there were times Murphy was just a dick, simply because he could. He wanted to sue TFW, etc.

For someone who wants the fans to embrace him and become a part of them, he sure didn't ingratiate himself with us. He was extremely abrasive and quite rude a good portion of the time.

I realize he's human like the rest of us and prone to this type of thing, but come on...sometimes a jerk is just a jerk and no amount of excuses will change that.

Oh, you're absolutely right. I hate the mans guts on so many levels. Elitist pig who got off by making fun of internet nerds. The funny thing is, and we may not realize this in our little TF bubble, but most of the world thinks like him about us. Doesn't excuse his behavior though.

I remember one time I actually told him straight up, "Hey Don, quit spamming the forums." And Neko said "OMG he said it!!" That was the greatest. He didn't reply to that one.

You may not have been around here last winter, but I had a Spiderman 3 sig that said, "Hey Don! Spiderman's gonna be soooo awesome!" Of course, he got the last laugh on that one...


But another thing I hate is the naive optimism of some of the fans. It's kind of like how, back in 2004, people made fun of us liberals for crossing our fingers for Kerry. Even other democrats shook their heads. And they were right to do so, as history has shown. It's like that with me now. I see all these bright, youthful posts about how the fan community does have the power to effect change if we just speak out in one voice and it literally makes me sick.

Makes me wonder how often these people get out, and I have no girlfriend and spent the 4th dicking around my apartment looking at the internet and playing Castlevania on DS. But I have a great social life at school and believe you me, we're all nerds at visual and sound effects school. I'll tell you right now, the TF fan community is damn low on the nerd totem pole, let alone Hollywood's.

I'm apart of this community and I think you're all nerds

Yeah, the close-minded thing is quite silly. I was originally so pumped for this movie. Even thought some change would be fantastic. But, as I learned more I realized this movie was going to be NOTHING about TF's.

I am certainly fully aware of what's in this movie. I've read pretty much every piece of news on it. My decision not to go see it is absolutely based on fact. I do not want to give these people my money after so callously disregarding the wishes of the fans (with the exception of Cullen) and developing such inappropriate character designs (muscle car for Bumblebee?, Hummer for Ratchet?)

Grimshock wrote:Yeah, the close-minded thing is quite silly. I was originally so pumped for this movie. Even thought some change would be fantastic. But, as I learned more I realized this movie was going to be NOTHING about TF's.

I am certainly fully aware of what's in this movie. I've read pretty much every piece of news on it. My decision not to go see it is absolutely based on fact. I do not want to give these people my money after so callously disregarding the wishes of the fans (with the exception of Cullen) and developing such inappropriate character designs (muscle car for Bumblebee?, Hummer for Ratchet?)

No, you *ARE* being closeminded.

1.) The character designs are not inappropriate, by any means. (The reality of it is, it doesn't fit *YOUR* view of the characters, even then it doesn't make them inappropriate. You don't like that fact, but too bad.)

2.) They did not disregard the fans wishes, they just didn't make it G1. (Again, this is a crime in *YOUR* mind. Too bad.)

3.) This movie is all about the TransFormers, whether or not you wish to see it. It just isn't how you remember it because...it's a reboot. I will say that 'til I'm blue in the face, it is a reboot. It's new, not G1, NEW. (Yet again, you don't like this. Too bad.)

Considering how you hold onto the past like you do, and prejudge without seeing the film, you are, indeed being closeminded.

Pot.
Kettle.
Black.

Well, whatever. Closed-minded or not, what he sees doesn't float his boat. Let him be. His loss.


I would have been right there with him, I think, if I wasn't going to CGI school and gaining such a tremendous respect for it and the process of creating it.

The Spiderman fans got an accurate portrayal. The Batman fans not only got an accurate portrayal, but when Hollywood ran away with it, they were given yet another accurate portrayal.

Is it too much for us to ask for a little G1 in the movie. You have to admit, too many changes were made. I realize there are so many different series out there now, but having seen the movie, and loving it at first, I'm starting to wonder now. Underneath the fun, it was really stupid, stupider than it could've been. How cool will it be in 5 years when those kind of effects are on prime time television?

Edit: Dark Zarak pretty much summed up what was previously this post a hell of a lot better without wasting nearly as many words. Ok, I'm tired, I'll shut up now.

Nemesis Cyberplex wrote:Edit: Dark Zarak pretty much summed up what was previously this post a hell of a lot better without wasting nearly as many words. Ok, I'm tired, I'll shut up now.

Nice. So AP English in high school paid off after all.


Talk about a load off.

Dark Zarak wrote:Well, whatever. Closed-minded or not, what he sees doesn't float his boat. Let him be. His loss.


I would have been right there with him, I think, if I wasn't going to CGI school and gaining such a tremendous respect for it and the process of creating it.

The Spiderman fans got an accurate portrayal. The Batman fans not only got an accurate portrayal, but when Hollywood ran away with it, they were given yet another accurate portrayal.

Is it too much for us to ask for a little G1 in the movie. You have to admit, too many changes were made. I realize there are so many different series out there now, but having seen the movie, and loving it at first, I'm starting to wonder now. Underneath the fun, it was really stupid, stupider than it could've been. How cool will it be in 5 years when those kind of effects are on prime time television?

When you think about it, that could happen to any property handled in the same vein, yet we continue to love what we love.

I'm not sure why this is so different, so life changing to the point that everyone believes they got kicked in the nuts.

It had G1 references, Prime was a truck, Ratchet was an ambulance (or at least ambulatory)...I admit there were some changes, but not enough to ruin it for me.

I preferred the changes, quite a bit more than I expected.