Time for another link fest. This one is fairly focused on official Transformers toys including a look at the new Masterpiece version of Optimus Prime, a new DOTM toy, more 3rd party stuff and three reviews.
Masterpiece Optimus Prime 2.0 Released - MP-10 | Coin | Packaging | Comparison
The new version, with new mold, of Optimus Prime has now been released from Takara. MP-10 is the most cartoon accurate version of Prime released so far that comes with a mini-Spike action figure along with his trailer modeled on the G1 version. This is a very expensive toy costing around $250 from the usual importer websites (TFSource, Bigbadtoystore, etc) but he does look pretty sweet. Hopefully video reviews will pop up soon so I can make a decision on spending that kind of money. Depending on the company's supplier (Japan or China), your figure might also come with a coin. Hit the links above to view galleries of this must have figure of any Optimus Prime fan. On a related note, it seems Takara is testing the idea of releasing a Masterpiece Ultra Magnus based on this figure. Back in the 80s, Magnus was a while repaint of Optimus Prime with a trailer that the cab fit into. This version seems to make use of the recent development from 3rd party makers (see Fansproject's City Commander) to create a trailer that breaks down into the needed component parts to form the Magnus look. It’s just a test so this may never happen (but don't be surprised if someone fills the void anyway).
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Hasbro's The Hub network along with Blockbuster video (they still around?) have announced a fall tour to promote the network, the season finale of Transformers: Prime, the home video release of Dark of the Moon and the upcoming Transformers: The Ride in 3D that is opening in Universal Studios Hollywood next year. The tour is currently schedule to run from 9/30 to 10/22 hitting 8 Blockbuster stores in six states. The tour is supported with a Facebook contest for chance "to be among first to experience" Transformers: The Ride and will have the Bumblebee Camaro or Sideswipe Corvette on hand. Based on the dates, the tour has two traveling caravans with a TF car attached to each. Below are the locations, click here for the full press release along with mockups of what the tour will look like.
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The HD Room was able to score an early copy of the upcoming release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon and learned just a touch more about the "deluxe" edition that is planned for release later this year. They confirmed the DVD and Blu-ray release is just the movie without any bonus features. It also comes with a $10 off coupon for the "Ultimate Edition with Blu-ray 3D" for DOTM that will come with Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and Digital copy. Again no information on extra features or when the ultimate edition will come out. This re-enforces that there is absolutely no reason to buy the movie when it is released on September 30th until Paramount releases the details on these later editions.
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In an interview with MovieWeb to promote the release of Fast Five, Tyrese Gibson provided the prediction that Michael Bay and Shia LaBeouf will return for Transformers 4.
"My humble prediction would be that... we're at $1.1 billion. This is the biggest year of my life. I'm on the other side of $1.7 billion in box office receipts, between both films. I think, with the success of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, both Michael Bay and Shia probably want a break from the franchise, but there's no way, I believe, that, at some point, they're not going come back to do Transformers 4. Maybe they need a few years to get a few other creative things out of their system, which is understandable, but for people to love this franchise around the world like they do, its damn-near crazy to not give the fans what they love and enjoy again. So maybe two years, maybe three years will go by, you never know, but I believe, and hope, that we are able to do another Transformers. I'm a real Transformers fan, outside of the fact that I'm in the movie, but I just hope we're able to do it again one day. It's the first film in Paramount's 99-year history that has ever grossed $1 billion. I hope we're able to figure this out."Read More »
The Transformers' Chaos storyline continues at comic book stores tomorrow with Transformers #26. Since it is an even numbered issue, event return to Cybertron and The Autobots prepare for Galvatron and decide what to do with the Megatron. The covers and first 8 pages of the issue can be found here.
Mike Costa, James Roberts (w) • Livio Ramondelli (a) • Livio Ramondelli x 2 (c)
“CHAOS” rages on! A hole is punched through to the core of Cybertron itself—but what for? Where’s Galvatron?! And why is Megatron, deep in the Autobot base and stuck in his cell, laughing? It all spells one thing—TROUBLE with a capital “Crush the Heroes!” CHAOS part 2, in which things go from bad, to holy-hell-how-are-we-gonna-get-out-of-this-alive!!!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99 • 2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio.
Time for another linkfest. With the Dark of the Moon news down to just the upcoming home video releases and repaints, figured time to merge this stuff into one. Have not decided if will start seperating this stuff out yet into a bunch of seperate posts or not. What do you think? This method easier or prefer five or six individual posts? Any case, the latest is a TF pinball machine, a look at more 3rd party figures, TF Prime concept art, repaints and a review.
iGear Masterpiece Cartoon Seekers
Third party Transformers maker iGear announced the next two toys in their not Masterpiece line. They are release cartoon version of not Starscream (December 31st) and not Skywarp (April 30th, 2012) that is based on their modified mold from Takara's Masterpiece Starscream that was released three or so years ago. The newish mold started with their recently released conehead seekers where the back leg wings have been modifed to eliminate the ball joint connection at the hip resulting in a better looking figure. Based on the coneheads, the retail cost will probably be around $130 each.
iGear's not Sharticon
Speaking of iGear, they also revealed the near final look at their next not Generation One Transformeer knockoff with a look at their not Sharkicons based on the Quintessons' evil minions from Transformers: The Movie. Not sure on size, release date, or cost. Keep hoping they will be so cheap that you could practically create an army of them but not holding my breath on that.
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A pieces of news in regards to Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Transformers: Prime for home video.
For DOTM release you can add a new case type on top of a steelcase and alt cover with a Transforming Megatron case, at least in Germany. No idea how widespread these alt cases will be in the other countries but if previous history is a guide usually they become store exclusives somewhere in other regions. Speaking of other regions, it seems Germany is getting the movie on November 10th and the UK on November 28th. 
Also below is the HD version of the US release commercial thanks to JosephNCali.
Shout Factory has announced the December 6th release of Transformers: Prime - Darkness Rising on DVD. The mini-series was the initial five episodes that launched the series last October. Their press release can be found here. The retail price is $14.97 but Amazon currently has it for pre-order at $10.49. Personally I am just going to wait until a season box set comes out.
While my knowledge of films is limited, I do enjoy reading about the tech that is created to help create the movies we love such as Transformers: Dark of the Moon's complex, dangerous vehicle chase sequences. Even though we often think in terms of digital effects, there is still a whole lot of tech required to create the practical shots of cars moving at high speeds for whatever a scene may require. These scenes require specialized equipment designed to get up close to capture the thrill of the chase. Two separate articles from Jalopnik and Gizmodo get into the details of this equipment seen on many sets of movies, TV shows and commercials.
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As promised by Paramount's press release on the home video release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Hostess has started their "Transform Your Treat" contest for a chance to win $25,000. The contest, which runs from September 12th to October 16th, is supported by a TF themed website and limited edition TF named snack food. The boxes (below) will also include a $4 rebate on the purchase of the movie. Press release below.
Read More »TRANSFORM YOUR TREAT WITH HOSTESS®
FOR A CHANCE TO WIN $25,000
This Halloween Hostess joins with “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” to offer an online sweepstakes with exciting prizes
Irving, TX, September 14, 2011 - Hostess®, maker of America's most iconic snack cakes, is partnering with Paramount Home Entertainment this Halloween to offer consumers a chance to win a grand prize of $25,000 and a host of other “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” prizes with the “Transform Your Treat” instant win game. As part of the alliance, Hostess is also introducing limited-edition TRANSFORMERS-themed snack cakes featuring OPTIMUS PRIME®, SHOCKWAVE™, BUMBLEBEE™, and SENTINEL PRIME™ from the box-office blockbuster movie, based on the iconic Hasbro TRANSFORMERS brand, in grocery stores across the country.
Transformers, the brand as a whole, is one of 12 finalists to join The National Toy Hall of Fame in 2011. The Toy Hall of Fame announced the 12 finalists yesterday, 7 of which are Hasbro properties. The competition is stiff for Transformers as the others finalists include Dollhouse, Dungeons & Dragons, Hot Wheels, Jenga, Pogo Stick, Puppet, R/C Vehicles, Rubik's Cube, Simon, Star Wars action figures, and Twister.
As you may have noticed some of the inductees are not a trademarked brand but more of the toy concept like previous inductees the kite, jump rope or checkers. The winner will be based on icon-status, longevity, encouraging learning & creativity, and innovation. Something Transformers has in spades. One November 10th, the two winners will be announced. You can find the full list of previous winners here. Below is the full press release. Read More »
Two new cases for Transformers: Dark of the Moon have popped up online. Amazon Germany has posted the DOTM Triple Play Steelcase featuring Prime and Bumblebee. In the meantime, Wal-Mart will have its own exclusive Sentinel Prime Blu-ray cover that appears to be just the Blu-ray disc for DOTM. Perfect for those not interested in getting an extra DVD and digital download code.
Based on the press release, the 9/30 release is just the movie. No extra bells and whistles which is being saved for a later release, possibly in December. As a result of this lack of information, I continue to maintain that no one should buy the movie until can make an informed decision on which version to buy to avoid being forced to buy duplicate copies of the movie.
Update: A new ad of the upcoming release, promoting "Transformers Friday" has started airing. I saw it last night on Comedy Central. Thanks to Prime, here is a better quality version of the video.
An unintentional leak over a week ago confirmed that Transformers: Dark of the Moon is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on September 30, 2011. Paramount has finally got around releasing an official press release confirming their own leak. As Nelson indicated, the 9/30 release is for just the movie with no bells and whistles as these will be "followed by a deluxe Blu-ray and DVD release, including a Blu-ray 3D, in the coming months."
The assessment that the editions will come in around December makes the most sense as Paramount will want to take advantage of the holiday buying season. What does not make any sense is for anyone to buy these "standard" editions come the end of the month until all the information is revealed on what the "deluxe" and 3D editions of the movie will have as far as extras so buyers can make an informed decision on what version to buy. In my opinion, unless the deal is too fantastic to pass up (say $5 for Blu-ray version) you should not buy a single copy of this movie until Paramount releases the details on the deluxe editions. Press release below.
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Yet another Transformers: Dark of the Moon link fest and the toy and related news continues to trickle in. Below are few galleries to upcoming toys, a video review and two custom jobs that take two DOTM to the next level.
Leader Class Prowl Custom
Hit the link to view a gallery and how-to on this very sweet custom leader class Prowl created by autobotx23 that sold for $339 on eBay. The figures core is Leader class Bumblebee with parts from leader Brawl, leader Megatron, Sentinel Prime, Halo figures, and more. The result is just a ton of Transformer goodness.
Hasbro's DOTM Wave 5 Gallery
Hit the link for the deluxe class Wave 5 Transformers: DOTM toys. Not entirely sure when these are coming out but guessing in a few months. The line-up includes Armor Topspin (repaint), Darksteel (bio, repaint), and Air Raid (new mold).
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The other day we learned that Transformers: Dark of the Moon home video release is officially scheduled for September 30th, at least in the US. Leaks have indicated that there will be a "Triple Pack" of Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy and a seperate 1-disc DVD. Something confirmed by images from Play.com which also includes images of the DVD Trilogy Box Set and suggested something called the "3D Super Play" (while reusing the regular Blu-ray cover) but no details past that. We have also learned that a Blu-rayTransforming Trilogy Set is in the works. To make your buying decisions even more complicated, Nelson reveals that it there might actually be two release dates.
On the Shoot for the Edit forums, he commented on the planned release date saying "I thought it was October for the regular set, and December for the different Special Editions." He then further elaborated on this saying, "The first is just the movie. The second is the 2-disc Special Edition set. And the 3rd is the trilogy (6 disc) in a special metal encasement. There might be different versions of this across the globe. That box in the form of the Autobot logo is one of the early concepts for the international trilogy."
The questions become buy the third movie on Sept. 30th? Wait for the box set? What about those that already own the first two movies? A "special metal encasement" might make double-dipping a little easier, depending on the price. What we still don't know is anything about the 3D edition, the extra features or even official confirmation of the various editions and their pricing. For a movie that is now about three weeks from coming out, the silence from Paramount on the details is starting to get very odd.
Hitting shelves on September 7th is the Transformers #25, part 1 of the "The Last Story in Earth" which is part of the Choas storyline. I think the idea is even issues of the series will take place on Cybertron focusing on the main Chaos story while the odd issues take place on Earth as a lead up to a decision to leave Earth. Below is the covers and first seven pages of the TF #25 from Issuu.
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Despite the fact that the visuals did come – especially for those who saw it in 3-D – the movie didn’t quite pan out. It was a hodgepodge of incessant humor, unnecessary characters, and dubious character motivations. I never thought I would say this, but the only redeeming quality of Revenge of the Fallen was the presence of the departed actress Megan Fox and her rapport with Sam. This was entirely absent in Dark of the Moon, as new actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley just didn’t seem believable in the girlfriend role.
Now long after a near-lingerie scene, Sam’s (played by an overacting Shia Labeouf) parents come to visit him in the lavish apartment he shares with his new girlfriend, Carly – and the filmmakers pounced on an opportunity to take a bit of a pot-shot at Megan Fox in the film – on a tour bus, of all things. Dressed like mild rappers, if there is such a thing. Sam is in somewhat of a crisis, looking for a job under the expectant gaze of his father, Ron Witwicky (played by actor Kevin Dunn), and is in fact on his way to a job interview, much to the disappointment of Ron, who strongly feels that he should have one by now. Other than the Transformers, themselves, Dark of the Moon was quickly becoming forgettable.
About half-an-hour into the film, we finally meet a Transformer that wasn’t solely into making jokes: A humongous subterranean creature called Driller, who was actually a pet of a more fearsome Decepticon called Shockwave. Shockwave is the big bastard shown in the Transformers trailer leading up to the movie, with a single glaring red robot eye and a gun the size of a jet attached to his arm. Strangely, despite the hyping of Shockwave as the ultimate bas dude, he was dispatched rather easily by Optimus Prime, who sent him back to slag along with his skyscraper-crushing slug.
It wasn’t always easy to tell what was happening in Dark of the Moon and, on a second viewing, I found out why: the ceaseless attempts at humor. They really got in the way of the story, and didn’t mesh with it, as a good film would. On a personal note, the death of Optimus Prime’s oldest warrior friend, Ironhide, should have been more significant.
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| Rest In Peace, Ironhide |
Another grating problem in the film was the sheer lack of likability of Sam; he mentions that he saved humanity several times throughout the film, which is a trait audiences don’t generally warm to in their heroes. As a watcher of the entire collection of Transformers’ films to date, it appeared to me that the Autobots saved the world….with Sam’s help; not the other way around.
In sum; Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon was a massive effort that ultimately fell quite short of both promises (the last script was blamed on the Writer’s Strike; who do we blame for this one?) and expectations. As always, it the story had everything to do with it. Until next time, I suppose.
Mark your calendars as Friday, September 30th is the day that Transformers: Dark of the Moon will be released on Blu-ray and DVD. The information is direct from the official website for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, assuming you are looking at it on a mobile device when it redirects you to a page that says "Own It Friday 9/30 on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital Download." If date sounds familiar that was the date that DVDWorldUSA posted a little over a week ago. The reported editions are "Triple Play" pack of DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Copy, single disc DVD, probably a single disc Blu-ray, and a Transforming Trilogy Case. Hopefully Paramount will issue a press release soon providing specifics on pricing and extras. Thanks to StarscreamDOTM for the heads-up.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon set photographer Robert Zuckerman has posted a large gallery of images from the filming of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. His role is to gather the still images used for help in advertising the movie, for press and related products such as posters, toys and the like. The full gallery of images can be found at Zuckerman's website or at MichaelBay.com.
Amazon France has posted the first look at the Transformers Trilogy Transforming Blu-ray Case that is in the shape of the Autobot logo and comes with Blu-ray editions of all three movies. The listed release date is currently November 2nd, yet another day to add to the theorized listed of release dates for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Still nothing official from Paramount on when Dark of the Moon is coming to home video. The listed price is EUR 67.19 or around $97.00 US but I expect the first week sale price to be in the $60 to $70 range. (via Seibertron)
The Hollywood Film Festival has announced that Transformers: Dark of the Moon Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar will receive The Hollywood Visual Effects Award when the 15th annual ceremony is held on October 24th. He has been in the visual effects industry for 30 years starting with ILM in 1981. His recent work is all three Transformers films, received Oscar nominations for his work on Cocoon, Chronicles of Narnia, Backdraft and the first Transformers film.
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More Transformers toys links, most of them focusing on TFC toys. This 3rd party not Transformers creator is quickly becoming the best around with a product line that any G1 fan would love. Other links include a look at Alternity figures, a review of the first TFC toy, and more.
Hercules Combined Mode Sneak PeekSpeaking of Hercules, TFC Toys has already revealed a sneak peek at the combined mode of the not Devastator figure. The final result looks very impressive. Enough so that I am seriously considering committing the estimated $600 to buy the six robots needed to create this combined figure.
Unicron Comparison Gallery
A more G1 accurate Unicron with Kranix is now exclusively from Amazon. The figure has "sold out" several times (or Amazon just doesn't know how much stock they have). At the link are images that compare the Takara, Amazon, and Hasbro original version. Once you seem them all together, I can see why people are getting the Amazon version.
Hercules Heavy Labor Images
The next figure in the Hercules (not Devastator) line from TFC Toys has been revealed. Heavy Labor (not Long Haul) forms the right torso of the combined robot. The current price of the figure is around $100.
Beast Wars II DVD Box Set
While the US just recently received a new box set for Beast Wars, Japan can look forward to the first time ever DVD release of Beast Wars II on October 20th. The cartoon series continued the Beast Wars story but in traditional cartoon, not CGI, format. No idea if there are plans to bring a subtitled version to the states.
G1 Transformers Slipcase
For those that bought the individual season sets of Generation One Transformers cartoons, Shout! Factory has released a slipcase for them that is priced $6.99.
TFC Toys Future Plans
TFC Toys provided a sneak peak at their upcoming DSLR team (not Reflector) and custom Headmasters based on Ultra Magnus, Megatron and Blaster. Also the third Hercules figure was shown off, Neck Breaker (not Bonecrusher).
Nominus Prime Sketches & Alex Milne's Deviant Art Page
If you have been keeping up with the comics, another Prime was introduced called Nominus Prime. He was the Prime in charge of Cybertron before Megatron ignited the Great War. A war essentially caused by his corrupt, near dictatorship government (something to be explored in the upcoming Autocracy mini-series). While the succession of Prime varies depending on which universe (cartoons, Marvel, etc) you adhere too, the IDW/Hasbro current continuity seems to be Nova Prime (lost in Darkness dimension, becomes Nemesis Prime), Nominus Prime (vacates office to avoid assassination), Sentinel Prime (leader during some of the war that ignites under him, killed by Megatron), Zeta Prime (killed by Megatron), Optimus Prime (killed by ?), and next is likely Rodimus Prime.
Alternity Goldbug and Dai Atlas Images
Robot Kingdom has revealed the latest repaints for the Alternity series from Takara. This Japan exclusive line started a few years ago based on the Binal-Tech/Alternator line but with a smaller deluxe size scale. The potential was pretty good except it devolved into a repaint fest of about three to four releases per mold. In this case I think Goldbug is the third repaint of the 'Bee mold and Dai Atlas is the fourth (or fifth) from the Prime mold. If you have the money for import prices, I do recommend the line but not necessarily for getting all the repaints.
Exgraver Video Review
A Peaugh review of the Exgraver (not Scavenger) that shows off the expensive but pretty sweet looking figure. He shows off the robot mode, vehicle mode and arm mode. Real tempted to start my set.
Transformers fans with the money will have an opportunity to own Bumblebee starting this September. Available for purchase now for sale next month, the package lets you own a tricked out 2012 Chevrolet Camaro with Transformers: Dark of the Moon inspired touches. A new article and video (below) from GM breaks down all the details from Adam Berry, Senior Creative Manager at GM who helped work on the special edition. Images of the car can be found at Camaro5.
Below is a video that provides a sneak peak at Transformers: The Ride that will open at Universal Studios Singapore on December 2011. The Universal Studios Hollywood version of the attraction is expected to open Spring 2011. The "sneak peek" is actually less footage then was teased at the San Diego Comic-Con last month. The video is part of the first blog post for the official blog for the Singapore attraction.
From the blog:Read More »
Yesterday Michael Bay said that Paramount was working on bringing Transformers: Dark of the Moon back to IMAX theatres and today that has now been officially confirmed. The Hollywood Reporter writes that DOTM will have a limited two week run in 246 North America IMAX theaters from August 26th to September 8th. However, it seems show times might be limited at "the film will play simultaneously with other movies already booked by IMAX." It is an interesting decision that makes me wonder what Paramount is hoping to accomplish with the re-release. My thinking is they are hoping to earn the relatively small $23 million to climb up the all-time box office ladder. If the release had come a month or so later I would have thought it would be a useful way to promote the home video release but this early makes that a non-factor.
If DVDWorldUSA is to be believed, the home video release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon will occur on Friday September 30th, 2011. The date is kind of odd because with few exceptions most new releases for movies and music occur on Tuesdays. Previous reports had set the release date of the Blu-ray/DVD release of the movie on Tuesday November 15th, 2011. Also the previous movies had an October release. Transformers 1 was released on October 16th and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on October 20th. Keep in mind that Paramount has not yet released any official information on when the movie will be released for home video sale so for now all this is unconfirmed speculation. Thanks to Wynton for the heads-up.
It seems that Transformers: Dark of the Moon may return to theatres or at least to IMAX again according to a post in the Shoot for the Edit forums by Michael Bay. He wrote, "I think they are really considering re-releasing Transformers on IMAX again. From what I heard from Paramount."
I am not exactly sure when Paramount would squeeze into the IMAX schedule as the year seems locked up with Contagion (released date 9/9), Real Steel (10/7), Puss in Boots (11/4), Happy Feet Two (11/18), and Mission Impossible 4 (12/21) on the schedule. Often the studios will have contractually set date run for their IMAX releases in part to lock out the competition and also because the conversion to IMAX format has its own cost they want to make sure to recoup. A return to IMAX theatres might just be enough to overcome the $23.6 million deficit (likely around $10 million by time international run finishes) to become 4th on the all-time box office list. As of now it does seem to be a long shot.
Another weekend draws to a close with more added to Transformers: Dark of the Moon coffers. The US total added an estimated $585 thousand for US total of $348.5 million. International sales added $6.1 million for a total of $747 million. The worldwide box office is now $1095.5 million. To move into fourth place on the all time box office total, it will need to earn another $23.6 million to tie Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
IDW Publishing has released their publishing plans for November that continues the Chaos storyline that will run through the books through the end of the year. Two comics, one hardcover and one trade is being released this month. A teaser slug includes "Cybertron No More!" If you are interested in the books, just let your local comic book store know. For the full details of IDW's other books including GI Joe, Star Trek, and more click here.
Transformers #29
Mike Costa (w) • Brendan Cahill (a) • Marcelo Matere, Cahill (c)
“The Last Story On Earth” ends here! When Prowl makes a breakthrough in his investigation, he assumes that he has the answers to all his questions… until a shadowy adversary brings some shocking revelations to the Autobot's attention. Could this be the end of the human/Autobot truce? Mike Costa and Brendan Cahill bring this tale to its unexpected conclusion!
• 2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio • FC • 32 pages • $3.99
• Variant covers: Black & White Brendan Cahill cover!
• The truth comes out!
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While Transformers: Dark of the Moon is winding down its theatrical run, a little of toy related news continues to pop up now and then. Below is the latest, most of it about repaints and the like.
FDR Bay-ized
This tongue in cheek poster is an amusing take on what a Michael Bay version of President Roosevelt may be like. At the link is more images (not really Bay related) that places other Presidents in classic movie type settings like George Washington vs. Zombies and Andrew Jackson vs. aliens.
More Warren Manser Concept Art
Hit the link to look at more images of concept art from Transformers 3 posted by Warren Manser. It seems he may continue to add to the set but it’s still worth looking at all the cool artwork created for the movie.
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IDW with Issuu has posted the the covers and first five pages of the Transformers #24 which launches the main Chaos storyline. The last few issues that provided a look into the origins of the Cybertronian Civil War with an Autobot government that birthed Megatron and his Decepticons. The result is some of the best Transformers comics created in a long time. Hopefully the Chaos story can live up to that new standard. I think the main thrust of the Chaos storyline is Galvatron's attempt to unite the Transformers to face off against the threat of D-Void from another dimension.
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Transformers: Dark of the Moon's domestic run is coming to a close as it drops out of the US top ten but not before hitting another milestone. The movie, with a $1071.2 million total, is now fifth in the worldwide all-time box office moving past Pirates 4 ($1066.2M) and Toy Story 3 ($1063.2M). The next movie on the list is The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King at $1119.1 million but it is unlikely to pass that total.
As for the weekend box office, US side an estimated $1.35M was added for domestic total of $347 million. International sales added another $12.5 million, most of it from Japan ($4.6M) and China ($4.7M) who were last in getting the movie for an international total of $724 million. I am guessing the movie is about 2 weeks away from ending its primary run and moving into the cheap seat theatres.
Time for another linkfest of Transformers news. It remains heavy on third party Transformers with a mix of G1 past and a new teaser for the Transformers Universe MMORPG coming next year.
Fansproject Heavylabor Teaser
The next vehicle in the Hercules (Devastator) set has been teased. The dump truck Heavylabor (aka Long Haul) will be the torso and hips once all the figures are out later in 2012. The estimated release date for the $100 figure is September 2011.
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Below are links to the various Transformers related panels held during the San Diego Comic Con. The panels include a look at upcoming toys, IDW's comic plans, Shout Factory on their various DVD sets and cast and creators of Transformers: Prime. If you are interested in viewing even more SDCC panels, links to more than two dozen panels from movies, TV, comics, toys, and video games have been collected here.
Hasbro Transformers Toy - Part 1 | Part 2
IDW Transformers Comics - Part 1 | Part 2
Shout Factory (DVDs) - Part 1 | Part 2
Transformers: Prime - Part 1 | Part 2
Transformers: Prime Roundtable - Part 1 | Part 2
Today is the 25th Anniversary of the release date of Transformers: The Movie, the true first movie for the one of the most successful toy and now movie franchises in the world. While the movie didn't do so hot in theatres, it seems it did just fine in home video sales since the movie keeps getting re-issued. This movie is why most Generation One fans bring up Unicron, proof that Optimus Prime is a bad@$#, and Hot Rod is an idiot among other now iconic aspects of Transformers.
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It seems the theatrical run of the Transformers: Dark of the Moon is soon to end as the movie is on the verge of dropping out of the top 10 after this week but not before passing Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides as 7th on the all-time box office list. The US box office
added $3.0 million (for $344.1M) while international sales added another $17.5 million (for $693.5M). This puts DOTM's worldwide total at $1038 million. Assuming international sales continue at a decent pace, Dark could pass Toy Story 3 ($1063.2M) and Pirates 3 ($1066.2M) for 5th place on the all-time list in about two weeks.
Update: It seems UK's The Guardian became aware of Frank Welker's unofficial status as Hollywood's top earner. Also The Numbers site has a new chart that breaks down the totals but oddly most are half the size they use to be so not really sure what changed from the chart below to the new one. Still Welker remains top dog at $6.2 billion followed by Samuel L Jackson ($5.2B), Tom Hanks ($4.4B), John Ratzenberger ($3.9B) and Harrison Ford ($3.7B).
Flickering Myth discovered an interesting stat on The Numbers.com. Transformers' Frank Welker is the highest grossing movie star ever with a total gross of about $12.5 billion. This is based on the total movie worldwide box office gross of movie actors, regardless of the size of their role in a film. This large total is despite most of his voice work being for television with the Transformers movie franchise (as Megatron) accounting for about 40% of that total. The next four top actors are Samuel Jackson ($10.15B, thanks to Marvel movies), Warwick Davis ($9.7B, mostly due to Harry Potter), Tom Hanks ($9.16B due to his legendary film career), and John Ratzenberger ($8.3B, mostly due to all the Pixar love).
Mr. Welker's other movie voice credits include Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Dumbo, others), Caddyshack II (the Gopher), All Dogs Go To Heaven (Devil Dog), Gremlins 2 (Mohawk), A Bug's Life (Thumper), Toy Story 2 (Bullseye), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Max the Dog), and many more. If you have never read his credits you really should give them a pass at it is truly amazing just how many childhood favorite shows and characters he has lent his voice too over his 40+ years long career. He probably has had more of impact on people's childhood then most people are even aware and really is deserving of more credit than the Hollywood establishment gives him and other voice actors.
The next issue of the Chaos saga hits comic book stores next Wednesday with Transformers #23. Below is the covers and first five issues of the story. The last issue explored the millions of year long relationship that has developed between Megatron and Optimus Prime revealing that Megatron has started out as a peaceful protestor against the Autobot leadership of the time. After being arrested, unintended encouragment from Prime led him to continue the fight. I assume this issue will explore how Megatron went from nonviolent to deciding that absolute control by any means necessary was the only solution.
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Transformers: Dark of the Moon has officially crossed the $1 billion threshold. The movie is the 10th movie ever to cross the threshold and the first movie in Paramount Picture's 99 year existence. The movie crossed the mark Tuesday after international numbers came in. The total breaks down to $338 million from US, $663 million from international sales.
DOTM helped add a few other feathers to Paramount's cap. Its $180.7M opening weekend aiding in the studio beating other studios to $1 billion in ticket sales for the year. In addition the studio is also the first to reach $2 billion in worldwide ticket sales, obviously thanks to DOTM providing literally half of that total. At this pace 2011 will be the studio's most successful year ever.
Brad Grey, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures [said,] “We are grateful for the extraordinary work of Michael Bay and his film-making team, executive producer Steven Spielberg, and everyone at Paramount around the globe who played a part in helping make this latest TRANSFORMERS one of the 10 highest grossing films worldwide of all time."Congratulations to the cast and crew of Transformers: Dark of the Moon for achieving this significant entertainment milestone.
The Society of Digital Artists website has posted an interesting article with key members of the Digital Domain crew that helped created the visual effects used in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Digital Domain was bought by Michael Bay after the first movie but has a long history working in Hollywood. Much like with Revenge of the Fallen, the company focused on certain characters and scenes while ILM focused on the key Transformers and larger scale effects.
The crew help created Brains, Laserbeak and the cannon fodder Decepticon protoforms. Key scenes the crew worked on include "Bird Men" (the Chicago skydiving sequence) and the Space Bridge jump from the Moon to Washington, DC. Below are a few highlights but best to read the details in the full article here. Note that references to "stereo" is referring not to sound but creating everything in 3D.
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It is a good news/bad news weekend for Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The good news is the movie joined the Top 10 of All Time Worldwide Grosses at the box office. The bad news is Harry Potter 7.2 beat it to the $1 billion club by $20 million. On the brighter side, the movie is practically guaranteed to cross the threshold in just a few short days.
The current tally for DOTM stands at $337.9M domestic and $645M from international ticket sales. That number includes $9.5 million from the movie's first weekend in Japan with 82% of those sales coming from IMAX. The international ticket sales this weekend added an additional $42M to the total. On the U.S. side the movie slipped to 8th place with $6M for the weekend.
As of now, Dark of the Moon rests as the top movie of the year in the US with its $337.9M ahead Harry Potter 7.2 ($318.5M) and Pirates 4 ($238.2M). However it’s $982.9M in worldwide sales places it behind Pirates 4 ($1032.8M) and Potter ($1008.5) for the year. Still a touch soon to know for sure but chances are DOTM will be the top movie of 2011 in the US (something that matters a great deal to studios) and may land at number 2 in worldwide sales (another important studio stat). All this means that not only did the movie hold its own against stiff competition like Potter 7.2 but makes a heck of an argument on why the franchise needs to continue sooner rather than later.
Time for another Transformers link fest not related to Transformers: Dark of the Moon stuff. In many cases it also seems like a repeat of previous link fests with new galleries to previous toys with the main difference being that many of them are available to buy.
BTS-04 Sonicron (Soundwave) Gallery
Hit the link to view more pics of the 3rd party Sonicron (Soundwave) that uses his classic G1 look with a new alt mode of a more modern tape recorder. The toy works with classic G1 cassettes but apparently the company is working on making new ones to at some point.
Generation One Series Bible Auction
Heritage Auction has posted images and the chance to buy a copy of the Transformers Series Bible from Sunbow Productions back in 1984. The 75-page book is the specifics on the character designs, episode synopses and more that was used when creating the animation for the series that started it all. (via Seibertron) Read More »
IDW Publishing has released their publishing plans for October that continues the Chaos storyline that will run through the books through the end of the year. A total of two books is being released. If you are interested in the books, just let your local comic book store know. For the full details of IDW's other books including GI Joe, Star Trek, and more click here.
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The movie has been out for weeks now and yet the Transformers: Dark of the Moon related merchandise news keeps coming.
Figure King 162 ScansHit the link for a scan of Japanese toy magazine Figure King #162 featuring Takara's release across the entire line of Transformers including DOTM, Masterpiece, and more. It also has interviews with Takara Tomy toy designers (but obviously in Japanese).
DOTM Galleries - Armored Topspin | Leadfoot | Shockwave Repaint | Shockwave and Ratchet Action Sets | Target Exclusives
A bunch of links to upcoming DOTM toys that should be hitting toy shelves soon or already have (Target exclusives). The Shockwave repaint is very odd and not confirmed if official. I am sure one is coming as Hasbro reuses every mold at least two (or more) times but I would be really surprised if that color scheme is the final version. Read More »
Another weekend has drawn to a close and Transformers: Dark of the Moon continues to hold its own at the box office despite stiff competition from Harry Potter 7.2 and Captain America. DOTM now has an estimated worldwide total of $882.4M, passing the previous two Transformers films in lifetime box office revenue. The film's domestic total breaks down to $325.8 million in the US and $556.6 elsewhere. That total makes DOTM the most successful international release ever for Paramount. The continued overseas success accounts for 63.1% of the total as the film still lags behind Revenge of the Fallen in the US.
This weekend DOTM added another $12 million in the US and $62 million international to the total with a big thanks to China's $40 million contribution as the film finally debuted there this weekend. Next weekend is Japan's turn to finally see the movie. At this point it is pretty much a forgone conclusion that Transformers: Dark of the Moon will join the billionaire club of movies that currently only has 8 members.
The question is will Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows beat the movie there considering in its second weekend the world wide total sits at $834.6 million thanks to even greater international success then Dark of the Moon. Domestically Harry Potter 7.2 suffered a huge 72% drop in sales from last weekend thanks to Captain America so there is still a chance that Dark of the Moon will hit a billion first.
The second day of the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con as ended with a few more Transformers related bits with gallery of Soundwave & Ironhide, the TF Animation panel, and when the exclusives will be available to buy online.
Update: Nothing new happened on the final two days of SDCC. The only things of note is a new gallery from the dealer room by AllSpark and a look at Bumblebee Kre-O costume.
Human Alliance Soundwave Gallery
Hit the link to get a good look Human Alliance Soundwave that appears to come with Laserbeak and Dylan Gould figure. I have to admit he is looking pretty sweet. Wheeljack is also getting released but no word on Mirage/Dino. The scheduled release date is December.
Cannon Force Ironhide Gallery
At this link are images of the red paint job for voyager class version of Ironhide that will be released in September.
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Yesterday was the preview, today was the first official day of the San Diego Comic-Con 2011. Transformers held multiple panels today from Hasbro, IDW, and Transformers: Prime revealing upcoming toys (including asked about DOTM toys), comics news, and hinting at a significant story arc for Prime.
Hasbro Transformers Panel
The Hasbro panel revealed a bunch of new toys that are in the works. The Generations line is getting relaunched with Junkheap (Wreck-Gar repaint) and Sky Shadow (Thunderwing repaint). Dark of the Moon wave 6 toys will include deluxe Wheeljack (specifically not Que) and Soundwave who will come in deluxe, Human Alliance (with Dylan Gould), and legion sizes. Additional DOTM toys include Air Raid and Darksteel. Target will be getting two score exclusives in the form of Leadfoot and a Leadfoot/Twin Twist two pack. Not sure why they just don't do a Wrecker trio set. Even more Transformers: Prime toys were teased with concept art for legion & deluxe class Wheeljack, legion Bumblebee, commander class Ironhide, deluxe Soundwave with Laserbeak, deluxe Knockout, voyager Skyquake, and voyager Starscream.
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