TF6 Bumblebee stand-alone film (2018) production news

[Smint]

I think he'd get credit for executive producer credit so the studios can use his name...his movies have been financially successful after all.

But good choice anyway. Maybe we'll finally get a watchable Transformers movie.

[griffin]

The logo for the sixth movie, currently referred to as the Bumblebee Movie, is said to now be trademarked in America.
It looks a bit like the angry bee image that featured on the "Bee-otch" air freshener inside the Bumblebee car in the 2007 Movie (which was very similar to an existing air freshener).

[griffin]

Another Bumblebee trademark has been found, called "Bee Vision", specifically relating to role play toys like Masks, and the usual convertible toys concept.

• Trademark Name: Bee Vision
• Trademark Description: Toy masks; role-play toys; toy action figures, toy vehicles and toy robots convertible into other visual toy forms

This is most likely a line-wide gimmick for next year's movie toys (like, to see hidden decos on the toys by wearing a special Bumblebee mask... similar to the 1980s techspec decoders), but we will have to wait a couple months first to see if it shows up during this movie's toyline.

[griffin]

An early promo poster at the Licensing Expo on in America this week, for the Bumblebee movie... so, nothing revealing, as it just has a big Bumblebee head and the release month.
It includes a "Transformers Universe" logo on it though, which could be a temporary thing for this promo poster, or something Hasbro will be featuring on their future Transformers movies (because when you start including numbers beyond 4 or 5 it makes the concept look tired and old... most sequels do worse than the first movie, and more so with later sequels).
Besides, focusing on the titles rather than the numbers makes it easier to remember the different movies, especially when you have the next few so close to each other... you need investors and retailers to distinguish between them when they are currently dealing with things that are a year or two away.

[griffin]

Filming is set to begin in August for the sixth movie, and there was a tease of it including a VW Bug... but could just be like the first movie, or a brief in-joke if Bumblebee takes on a few different disguises.

Apparently Actress Hailee Steinfeld is signed on for this movie.... who at the age of just 20 already has an extensive acting resume and list of awards.

[griffin]

Looks like filming begins this month, for a movie that won't be released for another 12 months (June 22nd 2018). I guess they want to give themselves more time to fix problems in post-production, and not run out of time to do reshoots or edits if test audiences don't like it.

(I don't think Michael Bay ever did test audience screenings, at least, I never heard of one, as it was always being noted that he had just finished right before its release... and some people are claiming that they noticed some TF5 edits done in the two days between the advance screenings and the general release - which could be possible at some theatres, particularly in America)

It is worth noting, that no matter how bad TF5 does, this sixth movie is going ahead, and would need something really drastic to happen for it to be canned. It may see some scaling back of its scale and budget, but in one year's time we should be seeing this movie on screens here, and a whole new batch of Movie toys, which would already be well into production at the Hasbro and TakaraTomy designer offices.

[griffin]

Halie has posted an image of one of an empty open space, saying that she is checking out the filming site. Probably just a car park or a practice area for the stunt drivers who will be driving Bumblebee.

[griffin]

Some more cast members announced for the 2018 movie (slated for June 8th in America), and they are all fresh, new (cheap) actors.

Jorge Lendenborg Jr (seen in the new Spiderman movie)

And these people, whom I've never heard of either, so have just quoted their names and past roles...

• Jason Drucker
• Abby Quinn
• Rachel Crow
• Ricardo Hoyos
• Gracie Dzienny

The film will clearly feature a slew of young rising stars: Drucker was most recently seen in Fox’s reboot Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul. Hoyos starred on Degrassi: Next Class and also was seen in The Belko Experiment. Quinn starred opposite Jenny Slate in Gillian Robespierre’s Landline, which played at Sundance and hits theaters on July 21. Crow has appeared on the TV shows BrainSurge, Big Time Rush and Figure It Out and voiced Carla in the animated film Rio 2. Dzienny’s credits include TV series Zoo and Chasing Life.

The movie is also being noted as having a US$22 million tax credit, as an incentive for being filmed entirely in California.
It is said to be the largest tax credit for a movie, and it will mean that if there are any "foreign" locations in the story, it was filmed on a fake set (like Detroit being used as Hong Kong in TF4).
But note that the money isn't a grant or payment to the movie studio, it is just a refund at the end of the financial year IF the movie studios spend enough to rack up that much in taxes.
The movie "spending" budget will still be the same X amount of millions of dollars during filming and post-production, this just means Paramount gets back $22million on top of the box office earnings. (that said, it might also prompt them to spend a little more on the filming of the movie and/or its marketing, if they now know they have a guaranteed return of $22million before a cinema ticket has even been sold)

[griffin]

The budget for the 2018 Bumblebee movie has been revealed to be US$70 million - a long way off the recent Transformers movies, but hardly a tiny amount if a movie director and producer are smart with their filming, effects and editing.
This would also just be Paramount's investment dollars into the 6th movie, as other cross-promoting businesses (like in previous movies) will be spending their money as well for their products to be featured.

Then there is the US$22 million tax credit, which may actually mean Paramount is only willing to be out of pocket US$48 million, as the 70million could be their spending money (the tax credit comes back at the end of the financial year), or could be their total liability after the tax credit comes back (giving the movie US$92 million spending money, with 22million of that being refunded later from the tax office).

The 2007 movie had the smallest budget of US$150 million, while the 2017 movie had the biggest budget of US$220 million... but just go back 10 years, movies over US$100 million were rare and considered big budget, while 20 years ago, over US$50 million was considered "big budget" (four of the top ten highest grossing movies of 1997 cost 50million or less, while eight were under 100million, and that includes one that only cost US$3.5million).
So with a bit of sensible cost cutting (keeping filming local to where the filming equipment is stored, no expensive A-list actors, less robots and explosions means less CGI and special effects costs), the sixth Transformers movie can still be successful, if the production and script are done well, and the studio doesn't try to downplay it or market it as a "low budget" movie (which would be highlighted by media, before it's even been reviewed).
As such, if the story is good, and the directing/editing makes sense, it would make back its budget in just its first weekend.

From a casting call, we see that filming begins at the end of this month as well, from July 31st.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Casting directors are looking for talent for the speaking extra roles in Paramount Pictures’ new feature film Transformers Universe: Bumblebee, which will begin shooting in Los Angeles and Northern California on July 31, 2017. Three-time Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg will executive produce along with Academy Award winner Akiva Goldsman and Lorenzo di Bonaventura. The 6th movie in the live-action Transformers film series is a spinoff which follows Bumblebee, one of Optimus Prime’s most trusted lieutenants. Starring in Transformers Universe: Bumblebee is Academy Award nominee Hailee Steinfeld playing a tomboy who also holds a job as a mechanic after school. She won’t be the only human getting in Bee’s way while he tries to do cool robot stuff. Steinfeld will be joined by relative newcomer Jorge Lendeborg Jr., who recently appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming and has some role in the upcoming Alita: Battle Angel.

[griffin]

Another person apparently signed up to the Bumblebee movie - Pamela Adlon.

Adlon is to play the role of Hailee Steinfeld’s mother in the movie scripted by Christina Hodson.


Pamela Fionna Adlon is known for voicing Bobby Hill on King of the Hill, for which she won an Emmy Award, and the title character from the Pajama Sam video games. She is also known for playing Dolores in Grease 2 and Ashley Spinelli on the animated series Recess, and for her appearances on Californication and Louie, on which she is also a consulting producer. As of 2016, Adlon stars in the FX comedy television series Better Things which she co-created with Louis C.K