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We thank White Bear PR for putting us in touch with Jongnic Bontemps (aka JB), the composer for the film Transformers Rise of the Beasts. While we of course hope you watch the interview, we have a summary of the key points below. While we do mostly talk about the film itself, there are some interesting bits that could interest those wanting to compose in hollywood as well as parents who would want their kids more engaged with the musical instrument they are learning. Also, please note that this interview was done before the movie's release.
Summary of key points:
- JB grew up with the Transformers brand and his favourite transformers toy was G1 Optimus Prime (with trailer)
- We go over the basics of composition, how even though it involves an entire orchestra, it all starts with a single melody and then the various instruments are included at various moments or renditions
- JB discusses how they got Steven Jablonksy involved in the score and the transition from themes of the previous films into this new one.
- JB does include parts of the Unicron theme from the original 86 Transformers movie within the film. He also notes the irony of how those chilling notes for this immense being come from a tiny glass harmonica (originally)
- JB then talks about the leap of faith he took and the massive investment he made to show the studio his vision of the theme for this film and how what you hear in the film came to be.
- We end on a extra tip for parents who are bringing their kids to music lessons and want to keep them engaged. The key is to make them play something they like and weave that with the more classical compositions they need to learn to hone their skills.
We at Seibertron always aim to bring you the latest and most relevant news on all things Transformers. Occasionally, we do get opportunities to bring you content that's not exclusive to Seibertron, but is very newsworthy, and in this case, we feel is important for all Transformers fans to know. Kevin Lukis, the owner of fellow fan site Unicron.com, was granted an exclusive interview with Hasbro's Ben Montano, who's the Senior Director of Global Brand Marketing. Many thanks to Kevin for bringing this to our attention.
In this interview, Lukis and Montano discuss the biggest (and most expensive) Transformer ever made, the Chaos-Bringer himself, Unicron! They cover all things Unicron, including:
Why the changes to the color of the planet mode's maw was made.
Though he's the biggest Transformer ever made, he was, at one point, going to be even bigger.
He'd actually been planned for the Generations Selects line, which is reflected in his packaging.
When exactly he'll start shipping to U.S. backers.
Issues with distribution outside the U.S.
The unlikely chance of Unicron ever being reissued.
There are many other topics covered in the interview, which you can watch below.
So are you one of the lucky backers that will be getting your figure in the next few weeks? Just curious about what a senior Hasbro figure has to say about him? What did you think of the interview? Let us know below, and sound off in the Energon Pub forums!
(We would again like to thank Kevin Lukis of Unicron.com for the content).
The Netflix Transformers War for Cybertron Siege series is being well recieved by many fans and critics but you may be curious as to what some of the most prominant Optimus Prime voice actors had to say about it.
Firstly we have Garry Chalk, who was the voice of Optimus Primal in Beast wars and the voice of Optimus Prime in the Unicron Trilogy. Here is what he stated on Facebook:
"Ok I watched the first episode of the new Transformers on Netflix .....um...
Everyone tries to sound like a tough guy and as a result they all have the same pace and delivery. Visually it's pretty good but I am sorry the voices were kind of low energy."
And then we have Peter Cullen who was asked how he felt about other people doing Optimus Prime back in March (when conventions were still a thing that happened). He specifically mentions the Netflix series when mentioning that it hurts that he isn't the one doing Optimus Prime and that it is wrong for the production to be using non union talent in order to cut costs. You can tell he cares deeply for the character he voices and his legacy. Now, while it may seem like he is speaking ill of other voice actors or of the idea of others being Prime, his emotional responses are really towards the producers who are using cost cutting tactics that may hurt actors' wellfare in general. Frank Welker, the voice of G1 Megatron, also shares how wrong he feels it is for others to be hired when the known voice actors are available and willing to work.
Thanks to Seibertronian DecepticonFinishline, we have some big news regarding the Transformers brand's management. John Warden, the Transformers brand Design Manager since 2014, has now moved on to another Hasbro property. According to the Twitter account @PwrRngrSite, Warden has moved to the Power Rangers and Ghostbusters brand.
John Warden (former Design Manager, Transformers 2014-2020) is now the Global Design Lead for #PowerRangers (and Ghostbusters). If you held a Transformer in your hand in the last 6 years, chances are John had a part in its creation.
Click on the photo above to be taken to the Tweet.
It's unknown at this time who his replacement will be, but he's certainly overseen the design for some very well received lines (Siege, Earthrise, Prime Wars Trilogy), not to mention the biggest Transformer to reach production, Unicron!
How do you feel about this news? Please feel free to speculate about his successor, his influence, and what you think below!
Okay, in all seriousness, in parallel to Garry Chalk's annual Christmas greetings, David Kaye also does the same, as seen last Christmas Eve. David Kaye, in dark and ominous lighting, who is ready to tuck us in after a little Christmas Carol from Beast War's Megatron.
For those who don't know, David Kaye, in Transformers, has voiced Megatron and Savage Noble in Beast Wars and Beast Machines, Megatron/Galvatron in the Unicron Trilogy, Optimus Prime and MANY more characters in Animated, and finally, Hardshell, Hammerstrike, and Slashmark in the Aligned continuity.
So, we hope this gets you in the jolly mood, as Beast Wars Megatron puts you to sleep.
With Bumblebee getting praise from critics and fans alike, Paramount and Hasbro are both looking to continue the live action film franchise and not waste a minute. Lorenzo Di Bonaventura has provided us with the very first details for the next Transformers film. You can read the quotes he gave to Slash Film below, but the major take away is that the next film will be a BIG Transformers film rather than a smaller character based film, and while it will be going a different direction than where the Michael Bay movies left us (i.e. probably no Unicron), it will not be a full on reboot. The fact that we get both appearances of Simmons and Bumblebee's Camaro mode in the Bumblebee movie is proof enough that what came before will not be fully ignored going forward, but the goal is still to give fans something new.
Take that as you will. Oh and Lorenzo also states clearly why he is not a fan of Unicron (which may give us a hint as to why the only live action TF film to have Unicron was the worst in the series so far).
“Reboot, I always hate that word because for one, I’m not sure I really understand what it means.” “We are going to do another big Transformers movie. It is going to be different than the ones that we’ve done before.”
“It’s not like we look at the elements of what we did before and go, ‘Well, let’s not do this’ or ‘Let’s not do that'.” “It’s more about how do you evolve the experience for the fans. Let the fan have a new experience.”
“When we did the first movie, at first there was a lot of pushback that we weren’t doing it the way it was done before." “My feeling was always that if we’d done it, you would’ve gone, ‘Well, I’ve already seen it.’ So how do you evolve things forward is I think the hardest thing because you’ve got to retain why people love it, but at the same time if you give them the same experience, they’re going to be bored with it.”
“Okay, I’m going to be controversial.” “I’m not a fan of Unicron. It’s too big. It’s so big it’s beyond any sort of relatable thing I think, for me personally. That doesn’t mean it’s not going to be in the series someday. I don’t know that I’ve thought much about it honestly because we’ve been focused on this movie.”
“I think we’ve learned something in this movie about tone that I would think the next big Transformers movie is going to have.” “It’s not like we’re going to copy it but we’ve learned something. There’s more freedom than I think we originally thought in terms of what we can do.”
Looking forward to this event? Well the organisers have reached out to us to let us know that famed Transformers Comic Artist, Alex Milne is joining the line up! Alex Milne is well known for his work on IDW Transformers Comics, notably the More Than Meets The Eye series.
Here is the official press release.
TFcon USA 2019 wrote:TFcon is very pleased to welcome back Alex Milne to TFcon Los Angeles 2019. Transformers fans will recognize his work as the primary artist on IDW’s Transformers: More than Meets the Eye comic book, Transformers vs ROM and most recently the Unicron mini series that brought an end to the IDW Transformers Universe. He will be attending all weekend while offering prints and commissions to attendees. Alex Milne is presented by The Chosen Prime.
Will you be going to this con? Let us know in the Energon Pub and stay tuned to Seibertron for all the latest news and reviews.
We have two pieces of news concerning the final chapter of the Unicron mini-series. Firstly, Scotty P has made us aware of a five page preview over at Comic Crusaders. For those unaware, this final issue is a double issue and Alex Milne will be accompanied by Sara Pitre-Durocher, Andrew Griffith, and Kei Zama for art duties.
The preview is below but before that we wanted to share a variant cover sent to us by artist John Paul Paras who also wrote to us the following:
I've been a Transformers fan all my life and when I heard they were doing a Unicron Mini Series, I knew I had to be apart of it. I wanted to do a cover homaging the Classic "Infinity Gauntlet" Issue 4 George Perez Cover. IDW and Hasbro approved of the concept and I was off into the creative phase. I wanted to show that although Unicron was small compared to vastness of space, he was ready to conquer it. KRSComics.com are taking Preorders for the Release date of November 14th. The Variant is limited to 500 copies and is only available their online. I'm proud to be apart of Transformers history and hope you guys enjoy my cover to Transformers Unicron issue #6.
Transformers: Unicron #6 (of 6)
Cover A: Alex Milne / Cover B: James Raiz
John Barber (w) • Alex Milne (a & c)
FC • 48 pages • $7.99
November 14 2018
This is it! The end of an era! Finishing off 13 years’ worth of continuity with a bang!
EARTH WAR!
With Unicron’s ultimate goal revealed, the shaky alliance of Autobots and Decepticons is all that stands between Earth and the planet-eater. Heroes will rise—and fall—as Optimus Prime journeys into the dark heart of Unicron for the final confrontation with evil. At stake: the soul of a universe.
TFCon have reached out to us to tell us that another high profile guest, joining already announced participants such as Casey Coller is attending TFCon 2018 in Chicago! This time it's Transformers Designer Aaron Archer!
Here's the press release from TFCon:
TFCon wrote:Chicago, Illinois. TFcon USA is pleased to announce that Aaron Archer will join its exciting guest line-up for its upcoming show, which will take place inside the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare Hotel & Conference Center (5440 North River Rd. Rosemont, Illinois 60018); October 26-28, 2018.
As an American Toy Designer, Archer’s spectacular involvement in the Transformers universe is well known amongst fans worldwide. Having designed toys like the Transmetal 2 creations for Cheetor, Iguanus, Dinobot, Optimus Minor and Megaton, Archer became the lead designer for the Transformers brand in 2000 where he played a large role in planning Armada, which was released in 2002. He also played a similar role in developing Energon and Cybertron, as well as Alternators. He even penned story concepts for 3 Unicron Trilogy lines before being promoted 3 times to Vice President of Intellectual Property Development at Hasbro. Archer was also the creative lead for all Transformers partnerships including 4 feature films, 4 video games, 5 animated series, theme park rides and countless publishing projects.
Beyond the Transformers Universe, Archer designed a variety of toys for various lines for Hasbro/Kenner including but not limited to Batman, Jurassic Park and Alien Resurrection while being directly involved with the G.I. Joe brand. More recently, Archer made multiple appearances on both Season 1 and 2 of Netflix’s The Toys That Made Us airing now.
"We are pleased to welcome Aaron Archer back to TFcon USA," says General Manager Colin Douglas. "His work has inspired generations of fans both new and old. His appearance will be warmly welcomed.”
Following up on our article of Kei Zama joining TFCon 2018, Alex Milne, one of the most well known IDW Transformers artist is joing the guest list too! This news comes from the con directly, who reached out to us:
TFcon is very pleased to welcome back Alex Milne to the TFcon USA guest list this year.
Transformers fans will recognize his work as the primary artist on IDW’s Transformers: More than Meets the Eye comic book, Transformers vs ROM and most recently the Unicron mini series that is bringing an end to the IDW Transformers Universe. He will be attending all weekend while offering prints and commissions to attendees.
Does this make you more excited for TFcon? Let us know in the forums below!
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