Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
That certainly appears to be the case. At the very least, we’re gearing up to see another round of development on the property. The last major attempt I remember was by Chris Lee and his SuperMegaMedia Entertainment. That didn’t go as well as was hoped. So what’s different this time? Why is there a chance we’ll actually see the TRANSFORMERS on film this time?
Well, first and foremost, it’s an easily recognizable brand name of a franchise, and that’s going to be what anyone is looking at when they’re deciding if they are going to greenlight a film as big as this one would need to be. TRANSFORMERS has proven itself to be one of those properties that simply doesn’t die. It’s always in the market in some way, and it always seems to be fairly successful. For a lot of you who are a little younger than me, TRANSFORMERS was a giant, giant part of your childhood, and I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard about nascent geeks weeping at the death of Optimus Prime. This is one of those projects where it’s more than mere nostalgia... it’s dormant fandom, waiting to be rekindled.
So who’s got the balls to pull this off?
Cool Ass Shit!!! I grew up on The Transformers. I could not be more excited to see it on the big screen. I'm thinking CGI. As long as they do it right. I love your site, Thanks.
From the Hollywood Reporter.
'Transformers' rolling out in live-action pic
June 11, 2003
"The Transformers" - the ever-morphing Hasbro toy line introduced in the mid-1980s that has gone on to spawn comic books, multiple television series and an animated feature - are being prepped to change shape again, this time into stars of the big screen. Angry Films topper Don Murphy (whose next film is "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen") and writer-producer Tom DeSanto ("X-Men" and "X2: X-Men United") have teamed to produce a feature-length, live-action movie based on the popular brand. The duo are expected to shop the project to studios shortly, and DeSanto said they have already received interest from a handful of directors hoping to get involved in the project. DeSanto is currently working on a story treatment for the project before he and Murphy hire a screenwriter to adapt it for the big screen.
Call me, Esai.
Chris Gardner is the reporter over at HR who broke the story. Thanks, Esai, for passing it on.
The reason this has a good chance of working is because of the peculiar chemistry that is promised by the mixture of Tom DeSanto and Don Murphy. I’ve had many encounters with both guys, and I have respect for each of them in their own way. Murphy and I have had various heated exchanges over the years, but that’s because we’re similar personality types. We both tend to rage first, ask questions later. I know people who love Don who have worked with him, and people that... well... don’t. Even Don’s most ardent detractors have to admit, though, that when he sinks his teeth into something, he doesn’t let go. Don Murphy will whip a piece of material until he gets it onscreen, and it takes truly extraordinary circumstances to force him to give up.
DeSanto’s a very different kind of guy. Any BNAT veterans will gladly tell you the story about how DeSanto showed up at the Christmas 2000 BNAT carrying the actual leather jacket that Wolverine wore in X-MEN, just so all the assembled geeks could try it on and snap pictures in it. This was midway through a 24 hour film festival, so I’m guessing he had to have it fumigated afterwards. Poor jacket. Point being, DeSanto’s a good ol’ fashioned geek. He just plain loves this stuff, and whatever he loves, he has a real primal, direct sort of passion for. When he was trying to get his BATTLESTAR GALACTICA up and going, it’s because he genuinely had a passion for it based on his memories of the show. When he tried to get Bryan Singer interested in the first X-MEN, that was because he had a deep, abiding love for the characters, and he genuinely believed Bryan could make a great film. DeSanto is smart and enthusiastic, and that coupled with the unflagging tenacity of Murphy, stands at least a good shot of finally getting this longtime geek wet dream up on the screen in some upcoming summer.
Trust me... we’ll keep our eyes on this one, because we know how much it means to many of you.
"Moriarty" out.
