Transformers 4 - ongoing news thread

[Megatron]

Again, no new info regarding TF4 but here's an excerpt from a recent interview with Jack Reynor.

'Transformers 4' Star Jack Reynor: It Was Intimidating Auditioning For Michael Bay (Entertainmentwise, 21/01/2013):

Star speaks about big break at Critics' Choice Awards

Reynor told BBC Newsbeat: “I did [audition], which was an intimidating thing to do,” adding: “We sat down, we had a long chat one day, which was great. I felt totally comfortable with Michael, he’s a really nice guy, but, you know, in the back of your mind he is such a huge director and he does these really high scale type of films. It can be a bit intimidating, but I went for it as best I could and it came out alright.”

...

The actor will play Mark Wahlberg's character's daughter's race car-driving boyfriend, although he's not prepared to reveal much about the plot, however he is in training for the role.

Reynor said: “At the moment I am training a lot, trying to get myself ready for it and we will see how it goes. We are still waiting for our shoot date but it will be around May.”

***

Jack Reynor Talks TRANSFORMERS 4 Training And Audition Process (ComicBookMovie, 21/01/2013) some more:

It was recently confirmed that Irish actor Jack Reynor (What Richard Did) would star opposite Mark Wahlberg (Broken City) in Michael Bay's fourth Transformers film, which the director calls the start of a new trilogy in the multi-billion dollar franchise. Speaking with BANG Showbiz at the London Critics Circle Film Awards, Reynor confirms that he is bulking up for Transformers 4. "I'm training very intensely at the moment. I'm going to keep that up until we shoot. I'm going to do some different courses, some different things I need to pick up for the film. My character seems to be a race car driver so I'm going to be doing a couple of driving courses and getting out on the track." He also briefly comments on his audition process and how he nabbed the coveted role. "It was after a film I was doing, 'The Delivery Man', with Dreamworks. I went through quite a rigorous audition process out in L.A., and after a certain amount of auditions and meetings with different executives, I managed to pull it off."

Concerning Wahlberg, Reynor says that he hasn't met him yet, but he's excited. "I haven't met him before, but I'm really excited. He's one of my favourite actors. I just think he's brilliant. I have a huge amount of respect for him as an actor so I can't wait to get on set with him." He also has this to say about director Michael Bay. "I think Michael Bay has his ideas about it and I'm going to go along with him. He seems to know what he's doing."

With production commencing this May, Transformers 4 is set to hit theaters June 27th, 2014.

***

Meanwhile, Shia LaBeouf Thinks Transformers 4 Will Be ‘Really Cool’ (NBC Universal, 22/01/2013):

Shia LaBeouf won’t be hanging with Optimus Prime anymore, but the actor thinks Mark Wahlberg, newcomer Jack Reynor and director Michael Bay will make a great fourth installment in the shape-shifting robot franchise

“There’s a lot of fun to be had there in terms of the action and what not,” the actor told Access Hollywood at the premiere of his new movie, “The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman,” at the Sundance Film Festival on Monday.

Adding, “I’m sure they’re going to make a really cool movie.”

***

And in case you were interested in what Shia's been up to these days, he's been dropping acid for his role in The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman...

[RageOnTheRoads]

I can't source it exactly but I did remeber reading somewhere that Ehren was once again attached to write TF4....

Cheers SkyWarp91. It does indeed appear to be the case: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...labeouf-315801 (Damn! I really want that prime statue he has in the background there. ) Though this article is a little old, and we haven't heard any confirmation since.

Funny, you never really hear much about the poor script writers. Equally as important as the director or any actor, yet receive none of the attention and about half the pay.

[RageOnTheRoads]

I know it's not the biggest news, but for those of you interested in the artistic side of film development, Josh Nizzi (http://joshnizzi.com/TF3.htm) has returned to do the concept art for TF4.

[Megatron]

Michael Bay On Doritos, Super Bowl Ads And 'Transformers 4' (Forbes, 02/02/2013). Excerpt:

Director Michael Bay got his start directing commercials and now he’s going to give another aspiring commercial director his big break. Since 2007, Doritos has allowed amateur filmmakers to offer up homemade commercials with the favorite airing during the Super Bowl. This year, two ads will air, one selected by the Doritos team and one by an America votes contest that ran on Facebook. Whichever filmmaker has the highest-ranking commercial on the USA Today Ad Meter ranking will get a job working with Bay on Transformers 4.

...

Will that change the way you do anything on Transformers 4?

We’re going to start off smaller. There’s a brand new cast. To freshen the franchise we’ve redesigned everything from top to bottom. The history of the first three movies is still there, we start four years later and there’s a reason why we’re meeting a new cast.

Mark is really excited about it and it’s a great redesign. I said that 3 [which grossed $1.1 billion] was going to be my last one. Paramount was letting me do Pain & Gain and the Transformers ride was opening at Universal and it was bittersweet to think of passing it off. I wanted to set it up on a really sure footing and to bring someone else in on that, it would have been overwhelming.

So is 4 a reboot?

No, that’s wrong. We keep the Transformers the way they were, it’s just four years later. There’s a reason the Transformers are redesigned. We’re trying to broaden the franchise and give it more places to go.

[Skullcruncher]

Redesigned into Pretenders and Action Masters! Oh I can see the hate now

[Trent]

There’s a reason the Transformers are redesigned. We’re trying to broaden the franchise and give it more places to go.

Translation:

"Hasbro have come to the realization that they just can't push anymore Primes and Bumblebees onto kids in their present forms. So they instructed me to come up with a whole new look so that Hasbro can start a whole new era of Prime and Bumblebee marketing"

[Autocon]

Bay has said the TFs will be redesigned. I think this is a ploy by hasbro to get new molds out, something different, in order to sell the line instead of repaints of BBs.

How do you think the bots will be redesigned? Will it be so they are easier to transform as toys perhaps.

[SkyWarp91]

Maybe Bay will ditch the alien look and go for blocky TFs. Oh primus imagine shiny chrome-plated face plates in a Bay film...

[VERT]

Well they did a big re design for the last movie. Optimus and Bee had alot of work done......And still looked the same. They had new CG models built from the ground up.

[Megatron]

I imagine it will mean a new look, due to a regular rebuild or upgrade. New alt mods, colour schemes, weapons, armour, etc. but the basic style/Bay design should remain unchanged, because otherwise how could that be explained into the story? It's only four years later, so why would their technology change so drastically all of a sudden especially after millions of years of evolution (unless Unicron shows up with magical reformatting powers for everyone, or some totally unexpected McGuffin makes them all look G1 again?). So I think it'll be akin to scanning for a new alt mode, getting repairs or an upgrade. Heh, can you imagine Bumblebee not being a yellow car this time???

The other possibility is that it may follow the idea of "Beast Hunters," as this would "broaden the franchise and give it more places to go." I hope not, though.