Paramount and Hasbro to Produce and Distribute Live Action and Animated Content

So the team up that brought us those 7 movies is now going to be responsible for future series? Great...

what happened to Hasbro's studio? i thought they made their own studio for future movies.

Octobotimus wrote:what happened to Hasbro's studio? i thought they made their own studio for future movies.

That's what Allspark Pictures is.

If by "Hasbro's studio" you meant "Hasbro Studios", that's their television show production company, not movies.

The idea of cartoons to fill in the gaps between films gets me excited!

As filming on the Bumblebee Movie wraps/is wrapping up, and with the last of the Transformers: The Last Knight toyline trickling out, we bring to you more news, though of the business side of making the live-action movies.

As we reported earlier, HuaHua media, via it's funding agreement with Paramount Studios, had incurred larger than expected losses, due to underperforming Paramount films (including this summer's The Last Knight). Well, it now looks as though that agreement is ending, via this story in Variety.

What does this mean for the live-action movies? Jim Gianapoulos, Paramount CEO said “The actions we are announcing today establish a financing model that is better aligned to Paramount’s new strategic approach to film production,” [he] said in a statement. Click on the link above to read the full article, and feel free to discuss this in the Energon pub forums below!

American businesses are learning from the Chinese.......how to put one over the other! This time, it's the Chinese left holding the bag! Paramount's been a victim of so much piracy that they hoodwinked them investors from China into investing on a turd!

This might be related to the chinese government clampdown on foreign investment

Perhaps if the movies and toy lines are underperforming, than maybe they should improve on the quality of their products? Just a thought. I rather enjoy the movies but the toys have really plummeted in quality and skyrocketed in price. Nowadays, the only lines I'm interested in are 3rd party and Masterpiece.

but the toys have really plummeted in quality and skyrocketed in price.

Unfortunately,this apllies to most toys nowdays,it isnt a Hasbro isolated thing.

We bring you today of piece of entirely non-news which will somehow turn out to be news, as it involves the Paramount live-action Transformers movie series and its director (so far) Michael Bay, who's been quiet about what might happen after Transformers: The Last Knight, and whether it actually was his last project on the franchise. Commenting very briefly on a question on Instagram from TFnerd, the director mentioned that the series will indeed take 'a new direction', though we have no idea as to what that refers.

We do know that the Bumblebee Movie will feature a new writer and director team, as well as reimagined setting and some designs, and we have heard rumours and speculation about the sixth movie in the main series, but nothing concrete just yet. Check out the entirely inconsequential non-exchange below, and let us know what might be in the future of the series!

So here we have the latest movies from two very divisive franchises. The #DCEU and the #TFCU. Justice League and Transformers The Last Knight. Both movies that got negative reviews and failed at the Box Office. But both movies that I enjoyed. I think I have a tendency for liking movies that get critically destroyed.

Even if you look at the movies that came before these, Batman V Superman Dawn of Justice and Transformers Age Of Extinction. Both got critically destroyed but I enjoyed both of them! In my opinion the DCEU and the TFCU are a bit similar since they both get so much hate and are now at a place where they have to rethink their whole plan on how they want to move forward. One thing I love about the DC films is that they are made with love and passion from everyone involved.

I mean ask @henrycavill if he loves being apart of the DC universe and ask @markwahlberg if he loves being apart of the TF universe. I don't want to hate on TF but let's face it. The people that are involved with the movies don't love TF as much as we do. I really hope they can bring people in who really care and love this franchise and I absolutely don't want to be disrespectful towards @michaelbay and if you know me then you'll know that I'm a huge fan of his work! What are your thoughts on this and which movie do you like more? #JusticeLeague or #Transformers The Last Knight?

michaelbay wrote:Well 4.5 billion dollars later, 100s of millions of people saw the Transformers movies - I’d say it had great run. Any Studio would take this franchise series success. That said. Now it’s time to take this franchise in a totally new direction.

Unlike the haters, I will take it any way I can get it. I loved them all. Weirdo fan boys who are entitled enough to think they deserve a big budget movie catered to their whims and desires will just have to keep dreaming. And hack critics, well, no one gives a frack what they think anyway. They are long since irrelevant in this world. (BTW, I put Justice League in my top 10 favs)

Long live Transformers!

hausjam wrote:Unlike the haters, I will take it any way I can get it. I loved them all. Weirdo fan boys who are entitled enough to think they deserve a big budget movie catered to their whims and desires will just have to keep dreaming. And hack critics, well, no one gives a frack what they think anyway. They are long since irrelevant in this world. (BTW, I put Justice League in my top 10 favs)

Long live Transformers!

Apparently you're a "hater" and a "weirdo fan boy" if you want the movies to make sense.

The movies objectively have some very specific problems in story-telling, narrative, visualization and direction. These have been hashed and rehashed over and over again, so I'm not going to lay it all out here. If you claim to not be aware of them, then you're either completely new to the franchise or a liar. As we are hearing, the "world" you speak of is rapidly drawing to a close; being "irrelevant" to it in its last death throes is unlikely to be something the critics will lose sleep over.

Compare, for a moment, the reaction to the Combiner Wars and Titans Return series. They are hugely fan-wanky, bringing G1 designs and even G1 actors, but they have been utterly roasted as being the next Energon - and don't forget the Japanese Go! episodes are competition for the title - suffering from a comprehensive list of narrative, characterization and art problems. Whereupon your claims rapidly fall apart.

I'd say the "fanboys" are the ones who are too dogmatic and blindly dismissive to address, or even acknowledge, the legitimate criticisms across 10 years of the Film incarnation, for fear of disrupting their narrow worldview, or acknowledging that "liking" it is not the same as it being "good".

But that might just be me and my completely unreasonable expectation that the films should make sense.

The Last Knight was shit, why did we have to wait 3 years for it? You said you were evolving but you didn't do bits, you just evolved into the first male with tits

The Last Knight wasn't even a movie. It was a bunch of random scenes thrown together that didn't make any sense.

Ummmm I dunno whats more puzzling...the directors "new direction" comments or the way the more geeky elements of the fandom disect them.

Im a G1/CHUG guy age 41 and I f**kin love the Bayverse franchise. I always said when you watch the Bayverse films you gotta pretend G1 never existed. You gotta wipe everything pre-2007 from your mind and stop trying to compare it to your favorite Transformers series. Enjoy it for what it is. Keep in mind that G1, Beast Wars, and the Unicron Trilogy had just as many bizzare and often questionable moments as any Bayverse film. No writer is going to be able to explain every question you have about why this or that happened or didnt happen. We all have our list of questions we would love to ask Michael Bay and his team. My biggest question would be what happened to Galvatron and why was no fiction added to show us how Megatron came back from the dead. I hope that gets touched in the 6th movie but if it doesnt, Im not going to hate the franchise and condemn it to hell like so many people do. I understand alot of people dont like the potty humor. For some reason it doesnt appeal to geek portion of the fandom. Personally I love it. Call it a "guy thing" or whatever you like, but remember its a movie so its gotta appeal to all types of audiences. The movies werent made to be your dream franchise. Thats what you got G1 for, or Beast Wars, or RID, or whatever tickles your pickle. I cant think of a Transformers cartoon that didnt have bad humor in it (with the original RID being the biggest perpetrator) Yet I never see Skybytes stupid poetry catch half as much heat as the twins did in ROTF. I loved the twins and if I had it my way, I hope they return for the 6th movie just to piss you off some more. As far as the "new direction" is concerned, I highly doubt they are going to write Unicron out the script because they sunk way too much into setting up the plot for the 6th movie. In my opinion, every segment has went a "new direction" in one way or another. So honestly I take that comment very vaguely. Maybe they could be talking about the acting in the film. I really dont give a s**t about actors. It could be marky mark, john cena, tyrese, or joe schmoe from some reality show ive never seen in my life. Hell, you could let shia laboufs ugly face heal from his last bar fight and give him a spot and ill be cool with it. As long as we got a hot chick for some eye candy im a happy camper. Bring in Mia Khalifa lol. She might do a better job acting than these bimbo model types do. I just wanna have a good time and see some giant robots smash each other and blow a bunch of s**t up. Thats what Michael Bay does and he is damn good at it. I hope he does direct part 6 because this series will most likely define his legacy as a filmaker. If he wants to pass it on to a new guy like they did with star wars thats cool, but at least finish the first 6. Oh no, did I just compare Bayverse to Star Wars and commit the ultimate sin? F**k yeah I just did !!!

Anyways, kill all the hate. If 8 bucks is gonna break you, nobodys going to force you to go to the theater. Ill be there. As much as I hate Bumblebee, Ill be there too. Cena better do at least one wrestling move or I riot !!!

Long live Michael Bay !!! There are plenty of us so called "Gee-wunners" who actually appreciate you ! Rock on !!!

There is a segment of the population that not only feels any criticism of things they like is a raging personal attack, but that any expression of disappointment or regret over how things have turned out makes you an entitled brat/elitist snob. And are ironically devoted to the belief that something designed to satisfy overseas interests reflects what domestic consumers 'really want'.

And I very much doubt that portion of the population will accept it graciously when things swing in a different direction.

Next up: Scavengers: The Musical!

Caelus wrote:the belief that something designed to satisfy overseas interests reflects what domestic consumers 'really want'.

Marky Mark, John Cena, Chevrolet, and Nascar are all about as "overseas" as a philly cheese steak.

Caelus wrote:makes you an entitled brat/elitist snob.

The word "elitist" ? I never heard of the term before in my life until a couple of months ago on this site. I never would have imagined having an opinion about a movie of all things makes someone feel elite. Is this like a millennial thing? Enlighten me...

Rated X wrote:*truth*

I really couldn't have said it better. They are their own thing. I like them for what they are.

Also, Cena has to wave his hand in front of his face at minimum.

Rated X wrote:

Caelus wrote:the belief that something designed to satisfy overseas interests reflects what domestic consumers 'really want'.

Marky Mark, John Cena, Chevrolet, and Nascar are all about as 7"overseas" as a philly cheese steak.

"Marky Mark" has his own rrestaurant chain in China and John Cena speaks Mandarin. NASCAR has been flirting with China for a long time. The stereotypes associated with 'Murica' are more popular there than here.

The word "elitist" ? I never heard of the term before in my life until a couple of months ago on this site.

I doubt tthat's true.

I never would have imagined having an opinion about a movie of all things makes someone feel elite. Is this like a millennial thing? Enlighten me...

Elitist is an insult. No one calls themself an elitist because of their feelings about a movie. Other people call them elitist.

Addendum: "elitist" is used interchangeably with "entitled".

Caelus wrote:

Rated X wrote:

Caelus wrote:the belief that something designed to satisfy overseas interests reflects what domestic consumers 'really want'.

Marky Mark, John Cena, Chevrolet, and Nascar are all about as 7"overseas" as a philly cheese steak.

"Marky Mark" has his own rrestaurant chain in China and John Cena speaks Mandarin. NASCAR has been flirting with China for a long time. The stereotypes associated with 'Murica' are more popular there than here.

The word "elitist" ? I never heard of the term before in my life until a couple of months ago on this site.

I doubt tthat's true.

I never would have imagined having an opinion about a movie of all things makes someone feel elite. Is this like a millennial thing? Enlighten me...

Elitist is an insult. No one calls themself an elitist because of their feelings about a movie. Other people call them elitist.

Addendum: "elitist" is used interchangeably with "entitled".

So basically youre saying that you just insulted me and im too stupid to get the insult....

Thanks !

Seriously I never heard the word in my life. I live in Miami in a more "urban" environment. Dont assume all guys that collect toy robots speak college jargon.

Not sure what marky marks side ventures or john cenas 2nd language has to do with Michael Bay's targeted audience. I doubt those achievements were listed on their acting resumes when they were chosen among a list of potential actors. I cant confirm or deny that Asians are getting into Nascar. I only know they got their "drifting" and Europeans got their $300,000 racing cars speeding down curvy mountain roads. Nascar has traditionally catered to the same audience who enjoys monster trucks and a whole lot of beer if you get my Drift, lol. I notice you didnt have a reason why Chevrolet and GM was picked as the main car company for the movie, instead of say, Toyota.

I cant tell you for sure if other countries are super obsessed with American culture. They might be. But thats not a reason to suggest that an American director who films an English movie that features mostly American culture is targeting "overseas" audiences. So are you suggesting that Americans dont want to watch movies that feature American culture? How many foreign movies directed by foreign directors featuring foreign actors and foreign cultures win a Grammy or an Oscar in the US? If your going to make wild claims, offer evidence to support them. I suppose star wars was meant for "overseas" audiences too ?

Rated X wrote:So basically youre saying that you just insulted me and im too stupid to get the insult...

I don't know how you got to that conclusion, but I'm too tired to care tonight, especially having written a response to this once already and lost it when my battery died.

Thanks !

You're welcome.

Seriously I never heard the word in my life.

I doubt that.

I live in Miami in a more "urban" environment.

Born and raised in Missouri and living in Tennessee. Y'all and reckon are regular parts of my spoken vocabular. Urban Miami is cosmopolitan AF compared to my background.

Dont assume all guys that collect toy robots speak college jargon.

1) It's not "college jargon", it's the go-to insult for insecure anti-intellectuals everytime they feel threatened because they think they're being assaulted by the opinions of a college-educated millennial.

2) There are dictionaries on the internet; I shouldn't need to worry about using small words.

I notice you didnt have a reason why Chevrolet and GM was picked as the main car company for the movie, instead of say, Toyota.

GM was failing when the first movie was made, and desperate for marketing. Since then, a lot of the GM bots have been killed off and replaced with other makes.

And while Toyota is Japanese owned, most of its cars are manufactured in the U.S., but repping a Japanese brand in a movie marketed to Chinese audiences is probably dodgy.

I cant tell you for sure if other countries are super obsessed with American culture. They might be. But thats not a reason to suggest that an American director who films an English movie that features mostly American culture is targeting "overseas" audiences.

I think the international box office numbers and the last half of Age of Extinction suggest that.

So are you suggesting that Americans dont want to watch movies that feature American culture?

I am suggesting that a certain portion of the population has a very narrow concept of what "American culture" is, and tendd to call anyone who wants more than that "elitist", "entitled", etc., because they doggedly rwsent the notion that most of the rest of the country has lost interest in what they like. And I'm suggesting that their interpretation of "American culture" i plays well to foreign audiences because it conforms to the stereotypes they hold about us as a people.

And I am suggesting that's the reason "Wahlburgers" does well in China, and a WWE superstar learned Mandarin - cheap beer, monster trucks, and half-naked soap operas have more potential fans in China than in America.

Peeps don't diggin' the movies? Hey, nobody says ya gotta watch 'em. I think some peeps just can't be pleased. Bay does the same stuff? They hate the same stuff. Bay says he'll do somethin' different? They figure it'll be more of the same or somehow flop. They get a new director? They gonna complain about that too. Haters gonna hate, so I'm not gonna fight about it. I'll just watch the flicks I like and sip a nice cold Coke while munchin' some snacks and not worry 'bout what noone thinks.

A lot of people are just tired of these movies catering so strongly towards psychos, perverts, bigots, and dimwits.

Not to mention being talked down to the audience.

I'm curious to hear more,especially after they comparing the films with the DCEU and the MCU.

As for the discussion on this news,no matter what they do always gonna be people who support it an those who are critical about it.I just hope they know all the potential they have,and not be afraid to use it.
The dont think people are haters for just disliking the films ans I'm willing the recognize the flaws(more screentime for the bots,carring more continuity between films)but its just as important to remenber the goods things they accomplished(a grand sense of scale,reintroducing many characters while giving a fresh take on other ones,creating many concepts to keep the Transformers moving foward,great battles,a good cast,great soundtrack).

I think hater are the people who hates Optimus for having flames,Megatron for not being a pistol,Hound for having a beard and so forth.

Sabrblade wrote:A lot of people are just tired of these movies catering so strongly towards psychos, perverts, bigots, and dimwits.

Now this is an exaggeration

Sabrblade wrote:A lot of people are just tired of these movies catering so strongly towards psychos, perverts, bigots, and dimwits.

Oh which one am I then?

Can't say I like the DCEU (which is a shame cos I love DC Comics but at least I have the CW TV shows to keep me happy there... Enjoyed Crisis on Earth X far more than any big screen ensemble superhero film in years)
I really do enjoy the Transformers movies. They are my favourite series. I care not for MCU and I've come to truly despise Star Wars (the hum of a light saber is enough to make me shudder) but the TF movies I just sit there and love gazing at the gorgeous complex robot designs, vehicles, transformations and battles and find some if not all the human characters enjoyable enough too. Not gonna say they are perfect or masterpieces or anything but for me I find them hugely entertaining and the main reason (along with their toyline) I still even care about this franchise since not much else appeals to me (I've never really liked any TF tv show and actually rate the G1 toon as one of my least favourite 80s cartoons. I hated it so much in comparison to the Marvel comic). There's the odd update toy of a G1 character I buy but even then those are few and most I sell off anyways because I just far prefer realistic alt-modes and robot modes that just make more real-world sense and aren't just a bunch of rearranged blocks.

Anyways that's my opinion. Hate me if you like. I don't care. Peace out.

Caelus wrote:

Rated X wrote:So basically youre saying that you just insulted me and im too stupid to get the insult...

I don't know how you got to that conclusion, but I'm too tired to care tonight, especially having written a response to this once already and lost it when my battery died.

Thanks !

You're welcome.

Seriously I never heard the word in my life.

I doubt that.

I live in Miami in a more "urban" environment.

Born and raised in Missouri and living in Tennessee. Y'all and reckon are regular parts of my spoken vocabular. Urban Miami is cosmopolitan AF compared to my background.

Dont assume all guys that collect toy robots speak college jargon.

1) It's not "college jargon", it's the go-to insult for insecure anti-intellectuals everytime they feel threatened because they think they're being assaulted by the opinions of a college-educated millennial.

2) There are dictionaries on the internet; I shouldn't need to worry about using small words.

I notice you didnt have a reason why Chevrolet and GM was picked as the main car company for the movie, instead of say, Toyota.

GM was failing when the first movie was made, and desperate for marketing. Since then, a lot of the GM bots have been killed off and replaced with other makes.

And while Toyota is Japanese owned, most of its cars are manufactured in the U.S., but repping a Japanese brand in a movie marketed to Chinese audiences is probably dodgy.

I cant tell you for sure if other countries are super obsessed with American culture. They might be. But thats not a reason to suggest that an American director who films an English movie that features mostly American culture is targeting "overseas" audiences.

I think the international box office numbers and the last half of Age of Extinction suggest that.

So are you suggesting that Americans dont want to watch movies that feature American culture?

I am suggesting that a certain portion of the population has a very narrow concept of what "American culture" is, and tendd to call anyone who wants more than that "elitist", "entitled", etc., because they doggedly rwsent the notion that most of the rest of the country has lost interest in what they like. And I'm suggesting that their interpretation of "American culture" i plays well to foreign audiences because it conforms to the stereotypes they hold about us as a people.

And I am suggesting that's the reason "Wahlburgers" does well in China, and a WWE superstar learned Mandarin - cheap beer, monster trucks, and half-naked soap operas have more potential fans in China than in America.

I couldn't disagree with you more on why you think the Bayverse franchise was made for "overseas" audiences. Its all in your mind. Every movie gets subtitles and shipped out overseas these days. It has nothing to do with who the movie was allegedly made for as your conspiracy theory suggests. With China having the highest population in the world of course their box office numbers will surpass the USA. News flash: They eat more Big Macs than we do too ! I suppose that means the founder of Mcdonalds woke up one morning and said let me start a fast food chain because Asians love Hamburgers...Cmon now. You say Americans don't want American culture in their movies, then what the hell do we want ? Ive tried watching all types of foreign stuff with subtitles and what doesn't put me to sleep leaves me with some serious culture shock. (Including the Headmasters Japanese G1 series) And here we go again with that elitist word....Sheesh. I swear on my fathers grave I never heard that damn word in my life. Does it make you feel professional when you use it? Can you just say snob instead? (It makes you sound just an bit cooler) You lost me on the whole college jargon explanation so ill just skip that. You talk about dictionaries online, but if I didn't know a word exists, why would I look it up just to get on your level? I'm gonna take it back to the old school and ask you what the hell are you talking about? You're from Tennessee and I'm perfectly aware they have both country and urban areas. I'm guessing you're probably not from Memphis. If you ever stop by Memphis, make sure to visit this nice little cosmopolitan neighborhood called Orange Mound. You can say hi to all the elitists and they will welcome you with open arms.

The one thing I give you is that a lot GM bots have been killed and replaced by foreign autos. But considering they are all either super expensive foreign autos or vintage/antique foreign autos, its kind of hard to believe the pick of cars was tied to a particular culture any country can relate to. Maybe the "elitists" who actually own those cars can relate to them when they watch the movie. (Did I even use the stinkin word right?) Anyways, I get what you're saying about stereotypes. But that doesn't mean a particular movie was made for any particular audience. Stereotypes can be regional too. There's a lot of things we don't have down here that you have in middle America. Some of those things are really cool and I wish we had them. Other things we make fun of because they don't appeal to the heavy multicultural population we have down here. And people don't like hamburgers in China because they are American, they like hamburgers because they are freakin good to eat.

I couldn't disagree with you more on why you think the Bayverse franchise was made for "overseas" audiences. Its all in your mind. Every movie gets subtitles and shipped out overseas these days. It has nothing to do with who the movie was allegedly made for as your conspiracy theory suggests.

I don't believe the Bayverse franchise was initially created for overseas audiences, I believe Age of Extinction reoriented the franchise to pander to Chinese audiences because the movie series hasn't held up well in the United States over the past decade.

Only a limited number of American movies are allowed in Chinese theaters, and their content has to pass scrutiny of the Chinese government. What passes cultural gatekeepers in China (narrow stereotypes of Americans) does not necessarily appeal to the majority of Americans anymore, but with bigger boxoffice potential in China, Paramount has less and less reason to care.

News flash: They eat more Big Macs than we do too ! I suppose that means the founder of Mcdonalds woke up one morning and said let me start a fast food chain because Asians love Hamburgers...

No, because those markets weren't avalable to him, and like Bay, I'm sure he started out focused on American profits. Also, food and movies simply not comparable; adjusting a menu to satisfy dietary restrictions in India does not require you to make changes to menus in the U.S.

You say Americans don't want American culture in their movies, then what the hell do we want?

NO. For the love of God, this is the last time I'm explaining this.

I believe Americans want American culture in their movies, but I believe for most Americans American culture encompasses more than:

- Cheap beer
- Big Boobs and tight butts
- Big Trucks
- Urination and Flatulence
- Sparkly Explosions
- Comic relief black-guy/voice
- Ubiquitous American flags

And I'm saying American audiences want movies with editing, dialogue, and action sequences that are coherent enough that they don't seem like they've been recut from other movies. And because of that, many audience members abandoned the franchise after #4 (like me) if not before.

And here we go again with that elitist word.... Sheesh. I swear on my fathers grave I never heard that damn word in my life. Does it make you feel professional when you use it? Can you just say snob instead? (It makes you sound just an bit cooler)

You mean except for the 397 times the word has been used on these forums since 2007? Including a conversation you were involved in last January?

Does it make you feel professional when you use it? Can you just say snob instead? (It makes you sound just an bit cooler)

I used "entitled brat/elitist snob" because those are the labels people get hung with if they faintly criticize Bay movies or anything else that is beloved by that particular demographic of Americans. You, personally have never called me an "elitist"? Okay, but plenty of other people have, and I'm not going to vigilantly edit my posts down to whatever reading level you're pretending to have.

You lost me on the whole college jargon explanation so ill just skip that.

YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CALLED IT "COLLEGE JARGON".

You talk about dictionaries online, but if I didn't know a word exists, why would I look it up just to get on your level? I'm gonna take it back to the old school and ask you what the hell are you talking about?

Because that's the reason dictionaries exist!!!!!!!!! To look up the meaning of words you don't know, so you don't look like shmuck when you whine and moan because you can't work out the meaning of "elitist" from the root word "elite", or understand the sentiment from the context provided by the redundant use of the words "entitled", "brat", and "snob".

English language dictionaries have been around since 1604!!! They are LITERALLY "old school".

The word "Elitist" has been in use for over 50 years, and its definition is very easy to find and understand: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=elitist

The only communication barrier here is prideful ignorance, a desire to feel superior in a lack of knowledge that is so desperate that you're willing to throw a multipost tantrum over someone using an easily deciphered word, either feigning unfamiliarity with a common English word or the inability to use a freely available dictionary.

I have thus far assumed you to be 'playing stupid' in order to embrace the stereotypes associated with Bay fans, but at this point, being as you have doggedly insulted your own intelligence I'm just going to knuckle under and agree with you - you win; you're an idiot.

I'm just soooo much smarter than you that you just can't possibly understand the "college jargon" I use in my writing. Poor you, so sad, so hopelessly outclassed by those intellectual "snobs" with their seven-letter words.

Stay strong, brother. Without people like you we wouldn't have anyone to advocate for a flat earth.

Caelus wrote:

I couldn't disagree with you more on why you think the Bayverse franchise was made for "overseas" audiences. Its all in your mind. Every movie gets subtitles and shipped out overseas these days. It has nothing to do with who the movie was allegedly made for as your conspiracy theory suggests.

I don't believe the Bayverse franchise was initially created for overseas audiences, I believe Age of Extinction reoriented the franchise to pander to Chinese audiences because the movie series hasn't held up well in the United States over the past decade.

Only a limited number of American movies are allowed in Chinese theaters, and their content has to pass scrutiny of the Chinese government. What passes cultural gatekeepers in China (narrow stereotypes of Americans) does not necessarily appeal to the majority of Americans anymore, but with bigger boxoffice potential in China, Paramount has less and less reason to care.

News flash: They eat more Big Macs than we do too ! I suppose that means the founder of Mcdonalds woke up one morning and said let me start a fast food chain because Asians love Hamburgers...

No, because those markets weren't avalable to him, and like Bay, I'm sure he started out focused on American profits. Also, food and movies simply not comparable; adjusting a menu to satisfy dietary restrictions in India does not require you to make changes to menus in the U.S.

You say Americans don't want American culture in their movies, then what the hell do we want?

NO. For the love of God, this is the last time I'm explaining this.

I believe Americans want American culture in their movies, but I believe for most Americans American culture encompasses more than:

- Cheap beer
- Big Boobs and tight butts
- Big Trucks
- Urination and Flatulence
- Sparkly Explosions
- Comic relief black-guy/voice
- Ubiquitous American flags

And I'm saying American audiences want movies with editing, dialogue, and action sequences that are coherent enough that they don't seem like they've been recut from other movies. And because of that, many audience members abandoned the franchise after #4 (like me) if not before.

And here we go again with that elitist word.... Sheesh. I swear on my fathers grave I never heard that damn word in my life. Does it make you feel professional when you use it? Can you just say snob instead? (It makes you sound just an bit cooler)

You mean except for the 397 times the word has been used on these forums since 2007? Including a conversation you were involved in last January?

Does it make you feel professional when you use it? Can you just say snob instead? (It makes you sound just an bit cooler)

I used "entitled brat/elitist snob" because those are the labels people get hung with if they faintly criticize Bay movies or anything else that is beloved by that particular demographic of Americans. You, personally have never called me an "elitist"? Okay, but plenty of other people have, and I'm not going to vigilantly edit my posts down to whatever reading level you're pretending to have.

You lost me on the whole college jargon explanation so ill just skip that.

YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CALLED IT "COLLEGE JARGON".

You talk about dictionaries online, but if I didn't know a word exists, why would I look it up just to get on your level? I'm gonna take it back to the old school and ask you what the hell are you talking about?

Because that's the reason dictionaries exist!!!!!!!!! To look up the meaning of words you don't know, so you don't look like shmuck when you whine and moan because you can't work out the meaning of "elitist" from the root word "elite", or understand the sentiment from the context provided by the redundant use of the words "entitled", "brat", and "snob".

English language dictionaries have been around since 1604!!! They are LITERALLY "old school".

The word "Elitist" has been in use for over 50 years, and its definition is very easy to find and understand: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=elitist

The only communication barrier here is prideful ignorance, a desire to feel superior in a lack of knowledge that is so desperate that you're willing to throw a multipost tantrum over someone using an easily deciphered word, either feigning unfamiliarity with a common English word or the inability to use a freely available dictionary.

I have thus far assumed you to be 'playing stupid' in order to embrace the stereotypes associated with Bay fans, but at this point, being as you have doggedly insulted your own intelligence I'm just going to knuckle under and agree with you - you win; you're an idiot.

I'm just soooo much smarter than you that you just can't possibly understand the "college jargon" I use in my writing. Poor you, so sad, so hopelessly outclassed by those intellectual "snobs" with their seven-letter words.

Stay strong, brother. Without people like you we wouldn't have anyone to advocate for a flat earth.

Thank you for finally showing your true colors after all these posts. Its nice to see that you finally decided to come out the closet and present your true self as you are in real life.

Unlike you, I dont hide behind big words. I dont hide behind a degree or a dictionary. I dont call everything that dives too deep into one culture a "stereotype". You must have fell into the group I labeled as being pissed off by the ROTF twins....big time.

Im not exactly sure what you mean by "culture" but the word may not mean the same thing to me as it means to you. When I say "culture" im referring to things I see in my neighborhood that you might not see in yours. Obviously I dont live in middle America. Since your from Tennessee Ill use what I perceive to be your states culture as an example. Ive never been to a honky tonk but I know they exist. Its definitely not Miami culture but it is surely Tennessee culture. Ive never eaten at a real Memphis BBQ but KFC exploited the "culture" to make a buck on "Memphis Hot" flavored chicken. So if they have a scene in TF # 6 showing a bunch of white people dancing in a honky tonk or eating at the stereotypical BBQ pitt named "Porkys" or "Piggys" are you going to get offended? I wouldnt doubt it. Kind of like when Mexicans said to people wearing mariachi suits for Halloween that "my culture is not your costume". That story hit the news big time like a year ago. But in retrospect, I never saw white people complain about cowboy costumes on Halloween. The take-away from all this is some people are more sensitive than others and they have a right to be. But just because you are, dont try to shove it down my throat. If I enjoy a movie with cheesy references towards any particular culture, let me have it. Theres plenty of movies more geared towards your taste. No need to trash, whine, and b**th about how horrible Michael Bay and his movies are. I kind of fail to see the shift towards "overseas" with AOE. Maybe my poorly educated ass failed to catch it, but all I saw added was Dinobots that looked like knights which eventually led to a historical plot setting in TLK. I also saw a whole lot of mindless clone decepticons created by humans, reminicant of vehicons. I failed to see how this storyline was geared towards any particular audience. The opening scene of ROTF took place in China but that means nothing. Jetfire went from being in the Smithsonian to falling through a wall and ending up in the Aircraft graveyard in Arizona. In the same movie they destroyed the great pyramid of Giza. Where havent transformers been on Earth in the last 5 movies? That doesnt mean it was geared towards "overseas" audiences. That just means an entire movie filmed in middle America would get pretty damn boring.

Oh yeah, im kind of sick of you using the word "overseas" to purposely sound unbiased. Every example you have used has been China, China, China (besides John Cenas 2nd language) Stop saying "overseas" to make it sound like youre including Euorpean countries in the mix. Just say it....Asian audiences. Thats what you mean. Thats what culture group your dying to say the Bayverse franchise is targeting. But youre smart enough not to drop a stereotype yourself since youve become the champion against stereotyping typical American cultures. Your a hypocrite. I see right through you.

Call me an idiot if you like. I know I stick out like a sore thumb on this site for not being the stereotypical geeky transformers fan. If you would open up your mind and realize that more than one type of people enjoy Transformers (and Michael Bay films) you wouldnt come at me with obscure dictionary words never used at the typical American dinner table. Were not in some Havard classroom discussing philosophy or humanity. Were on a stinking internet forum and smart phones gave dumb people a one way ticket to invade your little world. I dont consider myself dumb, but if being dumb means not being like you, im good with it.

BTW: if you took the time to use a search engine and count 397 times the word "elitist" has been used on these forums since 2007, you probably need to go out and get some fresh air. If you read all 397 boards to see which conversations I was involved in, you got way too much time on your hands. January huh? It seemed like only a few months ago that happened. Time flies when your having fun. Or maybe its all the beers....

I get to use this GIF again!

Rated X wrote:Oh yeah, im kind of sick of you using the word "overseas" to purposely sound unbiased. Every example you have used has been China, China, China (besides John Cenas 2nd language) Stop saying "overseas" to make it sound like youre including Euorpean countries in the mix. Just say it....Asian audiences. Thats what you mean. Thats what culture group your dying to say the Bayverse franchise is targeting. But youre smart enough not to drop a stereotype yourself since youve become the champion against stereotyping typical American cultures. Your a hypocrite. I see right through you.

Oh my god, it's not a stereotype to say that Hollywood has been targetting the Chinese market. They're a huge cash cow right now, it's not a secret, everyone in Hollywood is open about it. Iron Man 3 had a scene shot exclusively for Chinese theaters, with a cameo by a popular Chinese actor. The entire third act of Age of Extinction was set in China for no reason but to pander to the Chinese market because domestic box office tickets were dropping. They even did product placement for goods that were available only in China in that movie. It is not racist to point that out.

Call me an idiot if you like. I know I stick out like a sore thumb on this site for not being the stereotypical geeky transformers fan. If you would open up your mind and realize that more than one type of people enjoy Transformers (and Michael Bay films) you wouldnt come at me with obscure dictionary words never used at the typical American dinner table. Were not in some Havard classroom discussing philosophy or humanity. Were on a stinking internet forum and smart phones gave dumb people a one way ticket to invade your little world. I dont consider myself dumb, but if being dumb means not being like you, im good with it.

Are you freaking serious?

I'm just going to leave this https://youtu.be/Zz5vEfa7UvI and spend the rest of the day laughing intermittently at (1) how much this exchange 100% demonstrated my original point, and (2) how s/he apparently doesn't realize Mandarin is what they speak in China, and doesn't understand that searching text on a message board does not require sifting through posts and counting them manually.

JazZeke wrote:

Rated X wrote:Oh yeah, im kind of sick of you using the word "overseas" to purposely sound unbiased. Every example you have used has been China, China, China (besides John Cenas 2nd language) Stop saying "overseas" to make it sound like youre including Euorpean countries in the mix. Just say it....Asian audiences. Thats what you mean. Thats what culture group your dying to say the Bayverse franchise is targeting. But youre smart enough not to drop a stereotype yourself since youve become the champion against stereotyping typical American cultures. Your a hypocrite. I see right through you.

Oh my god, it's not a stereotype to say that Hollywood has been targetting the Chinese market. They're a huge cash cow right now, it's not a secret, everyone in Hollywood is open about it. Iron Man 3 had a scene shot exclusively for Chinese theaters, with a cameo by a popular Chinese actor. The entire third act of Age of Extinction was set in China for no reason but to pander to the Chinese market because domestic box office tickets were dropping. They even did product placement for goods that were available only in China in that movie. It is not racist to point that out.

Call me an idiot if you like. I know I stick out like a sore thumb on this site for not being the stereotypical geeky transformers fan. If you would open up your mind and realize that more than one type of people enjoy Transformers (and Michael Bay films) you wouldnt come at me with obscure dictionary words never used at the typical American dinner table. Were not in some Havard classroom discussing philosophy or humanity. Were on a stinking internet forum and smart phones gave dumb people a one way ticket to invade your little world. I dont consider myself dumb, but if being dumb means not being like you, im good with it.

Are you freaking serious?

My advice would be to let me duke it out with this guy and just sit back and enjoy the show. You seem to be a lot smarter than this guy. Im not saying China doesnt give Hollywood a huge cash boost. I know they do. But this guy basically thinks movies are made to be super American on purpose to make Chinese audiences laugh. Hes putting way too much thought into it and trying to see something that isnt there. Its like saying Dana White brought out Conor McGregor only to make UFC appeal to more European audiences. The reason Dana White brought him out is because he is a talented fighter. The fact that he is Irish in a sport saturated by Brazilians and Americans is irrelevant. The same thing goes for "culture" in Michael Bay movies. Funny is funny no matter what culture your from. (Unless you dont appreciate that type of humor) Take the movie Borat for example. It was all about the culture of Kazakhstan. It was loaded with sterotypes and was laughed at all around the world. (Where ever it wasnt banned, lol) It wasnt made to target American audiences. It was made to target audiences of people with a twisted sense of humor. And it did well if it raised enough eyebrows to get banned in some countries. But this guy just doesnt get it. Hes trying to come off as being too educated for his own good. One day hell realize. He is like the new Tsutsukakushi. You might not know who im talking about but trust me Va'al does. R.I.P. May Overlord bless his soul.

My dude, Paramount had a deal directly with a number of Chinese companies and properties to up the marketing of AoE and The Last Knight. Guess what: they didn't keep up their side of the deal, and got sued. Then lost the deal.

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... ght/36864/

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... hua/39183/

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... eal/39989/


The last two movies were intentionally aimed at the Chinese movie market. This is not new news.

Va'al wrote:My dude, Paramount had a deal directly with a number of Chinese companies and properties to up the marketing of AoE and The Last Knight. Guess what: they didn't keep up their side of the deal, and got sued. Then lost the deal.

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... ght/36864/

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... hua/39183/

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... eal/39989/


The last two movies were intentionally aimed at the Chinese movie market. This is not new news.

And exactly how do you "aim" at the chinese market?

We got a guy here who believes that Asians are obsessed with watching Americans being themselves.

Maybe more money was dumped into promoting. And marketing the movie in China. But I dont think and Hollywood CEOs sat down with Michael Bay and told him load the movie full of American stereotypes on purpose because Chinese people love it. Thats just Michael Bay being Michael Bay. People are trying to make more out of it.

Rated X wrote:

Va'al wrote:My dude, Paramount had a deal directly with a number of Chinese companies and properties to up the marketing of AoE and The Last Knight. Guess what: they didn't keep up their side of the deal, and got sued. Then lost the deal.

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... ght/36864/

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... hua/39183/

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... eal/39989/


The last two movies were intentionally aimed at the Chinese movie market. This is not new news.

And exactly how do you "aim" at the chinese market?

We got a guy here who believes that Asians are obsessed with watching Americans being themselves.

Maybe more money was dumped into promoting. And marketing the movie in China. But I dont think and Hollywood CEOs sat down with Michael Bay and told him load the movie full of American stereotypes on purpose because Chinese people love it. Thats just Michael Bay being Michael Bay. People are trying to make more out of it.

And Michael Bay and his writers (though less so than him) think that audiences want to see what Caelus has been telling you for the good part of the past day or so. Domestic audiences did not, Anglophone audiences in general did not. They pitched the movie elsewhere - i.e. China.

It's ...not that hard to grasp.

Carnivius_Prime wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:A lot of people are just tired of these movies catering so strongly towards psychos, perverts, bigots, and dimwits.

"A response D-Max liked"

the first part of this post pisses me off. Come on Sabr.

Carnivius had a good post and some good words. I am a movie fan too, it is my favorite. I acknowledge that TLK didn't feel that good and it was not my favorite, but I still like the movies, the designs, and pretty much everything about them. They are a whole different kind of fun, a type of fun I enjoy.

I too enjoy the movies. Are they good movies? No. They are bad movies. But I have a fun time watching them and I do like their designs and toys. As bad as it is, even ROTF I have a good time with. I want us to get something more though, after four films, it's getting tired. It's time to bring in a new director, shake things up a bit and give us something new for the story instead of always being "Ancient thing that tied earth and Cybertron together and rewrite all it's history is now present and needs to be stopped by finding a different item first which will lead you to the main item." That's one thing I liked in AOE. The story was all about a present day stuff and there was no quest to find something else.


And yes, I said four. The Last Knight does not count to me after the first 30 minutes or so.

Coming at us via Deadline, and from a while back admittedly - blame Toy Fair 2018 coverage, that's what I'm doing - we have the news that producer Ian Bryce, who worked on all of the five live-action Transformers movies, has left Paramount for streaming company Netflix.

You can read more about the move and the projects involved directly at the source, or look at the relevant snippet right below! With the alleged movie reboot still wafting in the air, having a complete overhaul of producing and creative team may not be entirely unfeasible, and this seems to be another point for that camp. Check it out, and join the discussion in the Energon Pub.

In a move that signals the growing feature film ambitions of Netflix, the streaming service has made a multi-year first look deal with Ian Bryce, the producer of big scale films that include Saving Private Ryan, Almost Famous, War Machine, and the Transformers franchise. Bryce and his Ian Bryce Productions will move from Paramount Pictures. The producer first worked with Netflix on the David Michod-directed Brad Pitt-starrer War Machine, and the plan is to build on that relationship and have Bryce be a core supplier. On the film side, this follows a recent deal with War for the Planet of the Apes and the next Batman director Matt Reeves and his 6th & Idaho banner. It also follows the groundbreaking TV deal Netflix made with Ryan Murphy.

Who cares, Producers do nothing but fuck films up. They put in their two cents when it isn't need.

Galactic Prime wrote:Who cares, Producers do nothing but **** films up. They put in their two cents when it isn't need.

Producers are needed in film making regardless of what one thinks, surprise surprise they do serve an important role in the creation of a film.

Deadput wrote:

Galactic Prime wrote:Who cares, Producers do nothing but **** films up. They put in their two cents when it isn't need.

Producers are needed in film making regardless of what one thinks, surprise surprise they do serve an important role in the creation of a film.

Yes, they fund the movie, they should simply pony up the cash and trust they hired the right people to write and direct and then kindly they should all STFU.