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Gary Chalk and David Kaye have been doing annual holiday themed videos for fans and 2022 is no exception. They keep getting more elaborate with their parodies, enjoy! And of course, Merry Christmas to all!
The director of the upcoming Transformers Rise of the Beasts film, Steven Caple Jr, has posted a new very short video on Instagram. It's of Peter Cullen saying his famous "I am Optimus Prime" line but with a an extra twist at the end which I won't spoil for you.
You can watch it without being an Instagram member at the following link:
The director of the next (and 7th) live action Transformers movie, Rise of the Beasts, spoke to BET after the trailer dropped. Steven Caple Jr. spoke about the importance of telling a Black and Latino story through the film, along with the song chosen for the trailer and how that fits into this story and representation.
“It’s been two years now — Anthony [Ramos, who plays the lead male role] and I talk about having this type of opportunity but also understanding it’s our time. For us to be in this position where we can tell a story about our culture, our people, and see ourselves portrayed on the big screen blending in with these vast genres is special. There are not too many people on the actor or director side to be in this position on this scale and scope, and we’re doing our best to carry this weight. No matter how many times [Anthony] and I look at each other on set, tired and all, we realize we’re able to do something special and for a reason. We created something special, and it feels great to be in this position — super honored and blessed.”
“The movie takes place in the 90s when the album Ready Or Die was released, so that’s why [Juicy] was the perfect record to choose. His voice and what he meant in that era and time captures much of what we’re doing in the film. Fishback, who originally is from Brooklyn — her character and Ramos's character have a lot of big dreams and hit glass ceilings but ultimately become the heroes saving the world discreetly as that’s how the Transformer laws are. You have these average folks transforming into something huge and special we didn't know existed, so the record was a right move — it was our anthem on set, so we played Biggie or Anthony was singing [The Tempations].”
In terms of how the seventh installment will elevate the franchise, Ramos feels the new characters, especially with Black and Brown people in leading roles, will play a factor.
“We have new elements and characters, with Black and Brown people in the lead roles,” he said.
“Things have expanded, and with me being from New York, where the story is set in Brooklyn, this feels like it’s for all my homies in the projects. [Steven] and the creative team allowed us to tell a story in a major franchise like [Transformers] in a part of New York that doesn’t always get highlighted in this kind of way. The series saw Shia LeBeouf and Mark Wahlberg as the lead, and now it’s me. It was Megan Fox, Nicola Peltz, and now Dominique. This film incorporates the Beast wars, the Terrorcons — it’s going crazy.”
We thank Sabrblade for letting us know of some more Transformers Rise of the Beasts movie news. Not only did we get a trailer today but we also got a list of the voice cast. And there is an original voice actor from the Beast Wars show in the mix, David Sobolov. While he played Depthcharge in the original show, he will play both Rhinox and Battletrap in the film. Rhinox is rumoured to have very few lines but Battletrap seems quite prominent in the trailer. And we now know that Scourge, who can be seen maiming Bumblebee in the trailer, will be voiced by none other than Peter Dinklage. We also have news that a character called Stratosphere will be in the film. There is no confirmation yet on whether or not this is the same plane character from the Bayverse toyline or not. The info comes from Deadline, check the full list of names below.
Deadline Hollywood wrote:EXCLUSIVE: A slew have just boarded Paramount’s upcoming ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ including Peter Dinklage (as the voice of Scourge), Liza Koshy (as the voice of Arcee), John DiMaggio (as the voice of Stratosphere) and more https://t.co/UOLLPnkEFm
Voice actor Mitsuaki Madono revealed on Twitteron Monday that voice actor Kiyoyuki Yanada has passed away. He was 57. He was a well known voice actor in Japan, lending his voice to characters in Detective Conan, Digimon Adventures, Death Note, Mobile Suit Gundam F91 and Bleach, just to name a few.
For us Transformers fans, he was Megatron in Chō Robot Seimeitai Transformers Micron Densetsu, the show that we called Transformers Armada in the west. And before that he had played Deptcharge.
We regret to inform you all that Jason David Frank has passed away at the age of 49, due to suicide. While he is most prominent for his role in the Power Rangers franchise, he was very active amongst his fanbase and all fans, and crossed paths with many of us Transformers fans attending the same conventions. We even have this nice image below of our own Seibertronian Cyber Bishop giving him a punch as a Storm Trooper, a pic Jason wanted because he said troopers always get the bad wrap for not being able to hit anything.
It's just a small story illustrating how involved he was with fans from any pop culture fandom. And he did brush with the Transformers fandom as well since he was the voice Emissary in Transformers Titans Returns. This is a sad day for many many fans and we wish his family our our sincere condolences.
While Hasbro releases cartoon toy lines in many waves to help store shelves stay stocked, like in the first three years of the Cyberverse show/line or the Robots in Disguise show/line, they have front loaded movie lines in the past, both in terms of the amount of product in the first wave and the amount of different toys in the first wave. You can see an example of this below for the Age of Extinction movie line. The pandemic has definitely changed things with disrupting distribution of both movies and their toylines. Hasbro has been burnt in the past with Snake Eyes and it seems the disruption for the Rise of the Beasts Transformers movie has left a real bad taste in their mouth since they had to re-align their distribution approach and keep many toys stored in warehouses.
So, according to an interview with Hasbro’s VP of EMEA and Asia, Marianne James, those big movie lines or big marketing pushes will be distributed in multiple waves instead of a big push to have all classes and many toys available all at once. That will be easier to manage for them. Of course, we are just talking of big movie lines and big marketing pushes for kid targeted toys. This is unrelated to Legacy/Studio Series lines which already adhere to the slow trickle wave model.
Tried and tested models still have their place, especially when you’ve got a Consumer Products program that leans on core pillars like toys and games. What is interesting now is that we can test and learn. Instead of dropping products based on seasons, we’re now looking to where a rollout could be more relevant to a culture in one of our specific markets.
If the content is pushed back and we experience a delay at retail, or there are problems getting product on the water, it’s better to be flexible and have a softer, more phased-out launch instead of using a big, all-encompassing 360 strategy.
This is especially important for Hasbro’s “vault” brands such as Transformers, Peppa Pig, and My Little Pony, which exists in highly competitive toy categories, most notably preschool. To have a major rollout fall flat due to timing problems is not an option, so the company is expanding its arsenal of marketing and engagement tools.
It is with a heavy heart that we report on the passing of composer Michiaki Watanabe (known professionally as Chūmei Watanabe) at the age of 96 due to heart failure at a Tokyo hospital on June 23. Having been trained in jazz composition his music often combined brass instruments with synthesizers to make his signature sound. Among Transformers fans he'd be best known for composing the score to both the Transformers Victory and Zone animated series. However, among fans of Japanese giant robots and superheroes in general he's considered the father of their respective soundtracks. To his anime credit are Getter Robo Go, Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, Kōsoku Denjin Albegas, and Kotetsu Zieg. On the live action side he composed for Jinzo Ningen Kikaida, Mechanical Violator Hakaider, Toei's Spider-man, and perhaps most importantly the first six Super Sentai series. As a man that never formally retired he was still working in his advanced years including 2021's Muteking anime series and Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger.
Michael Bay is currently in the limelight again and on a media tour, promoting his new movie Ambulance. The publication Unliad had an interview with him where they asked about his past with the Transformers franchise. Here is what he says, regarding how monumental the first one was for special effects along with the advice Spielberg gave him, which he did not take.
Looking back, he said: "The first one was scary. It was technology we didn’t know would work, and then it became very successful. It was the first time digital effects were that highly reflective, so it broke a lot of new ground."
"It was a fun experience. It made more than [$709 million], that’s a lot of movie tickets and a lot of people that have seen it."
"I made too many of them. Steven Spielberg said, ‘Just stop at three’. And I said I’d stop. The studio begged me to do a fourth, and then that made a billion too. And then I said I’m gonna stop here. And they begged me again. I should have stopped. They were fun to do."
That's not to say Bay didn't give each sequel his all. "I’m passionate about any movie I do, from Pain & Gain to 13 Hours. I like going from big to small, you want to move off the same thing," he said.
This week has been full of random news, like our first look at a toy for the Rise of the Beasts film released in the Cyberverse line when that cartoon is being replaced by a new one. Well, this one might take the cake for randomness. An Australian phone ap for betting called TAB touch has released an ad where they have Gene Simmons in his full Demon garb singing Stan Bush's The Touch but with modified lyrics about betting on horses. If you are wondering how this would be related to Transformers, well, we have that iconic clip below for you as well.
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