QUOTE
And now screenwriter John Rogers has chimed in at Murphy's board...
"John Rogers here. Let the angry flaming begin.
A few things off the bat. First off: I KNEW that CATWOMAN credit would come back to bite me in the ass. To tell you the truth, I haven't actually even seen the CATWOMAN movie. Let's leave it at that. Don't get me wrong, I liked the people and appreciate the check. But, err, no.
(And don't slag THE CORE. I liked THE CORE. It was one of my first assignments as a young writer and I'm very proud of it. That and creating JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES )
Look, we've got to both respect the massive fanbase and mythology of a twenty-year legacy, at the same time expand it in filmic ways, and streamline it for a new audience who wouldn't know G1 from Dreamwave with a gun to their head. Look at that Citroen commercial -- why shouldn't we make this movie so the big bots become current in today's culture, rather than treating them as some artifact? There's plainly a zeitgeist for it out there. There should be, after this movie, another whole generation of Transformers fans.
Now, to throw you ravenous jackals some marrow. What little marrow I can without ticking off the powers-that-be. Some random stuff, with a few obscure clues for you to chew over:
Yes, Mr. Spielberg is very involved in the movie. He pitched out a couple very cool ideas during the development of the story. It's a huge frikkin' honor to be working for him, and know he takes this project very seriously.
G1. G1. G1. Period. Finito.
Size-shifting is an integral part of the movie, but basically on a scale that'll allow the transformations from earth-disguise vehicle forms to robot to make sense. Some of the power-scales of the Transformer megaweaponry here in my Simon Furman-penned guide sitting next to my computer would be a little ridiculous in a live-action movie. But I want big robots. You want big robots. We'll have some very big robots. And they will fight. I'm writing big-robot-fights. There are some days my job couldn't get cooler.
Ark? Check. Cybertron? Check. Energon Matrix? Check plus, actually. Think more about what it means in the greater sense of Transformer identity and sentience. We won't mention Primus, but that points you in the direction of why the Autobots and Decepticons want it, more than just a leadership squabble. As in: "Spark."
As to who's showing up -- If you want real, well-defined characters, we need to spend more time on the personalities of each Transformer as a charcter. Autobot faction, Decepticon faction, and humans, they all need to come across as real, um, "people." So, much like the X-Men model, a tight focus on a few leads, with an expansion in the possible second and third movie to a bigger roster.
Having said that, why wouldn't I want a cool shapeshifting spy Decepticon? Although, you know, cassettes are so passe ... I think he'd adapt a bit more ...
Freedom IS the right of every sentient being.
Who's the coolest two-seater high octane brother? I'm asking you.
And one small change -- from ambulance to fire truck. Fire truck's more interesting on-screen and to watch transform, and they're both emblematic of his personality, so I think you guys will forgive me. Or at least, I'm asking you to right now.
(this is representative of the only changes we're allowing in the movie from mythology. When we change something, we have to keep the spirit of the original intact. Don't worry, Tom and Don are breathing down my neck constantly ...)
Witwicky -- check. Witiwicky girlfriend -- modified check. Human characters in general -- like most of you have noted, not exactly the strongest factor in the original cartoon. So a lot of new ones, but they'll be vaguely familiar to fans.
No little kid sidekicks.
There will be Easter Eggs.
Some of the Decepticons don't seem that bright. Some are an absolute scream.
Megatron as a gun -- not going to happen, for the stated reasons. Alternate forms of 'Bots than just the two ... could be.
Well, that ought to keep you busy arguing among yourselves for a while. I'll check back in later this month, see ho things are going.
Thanks for all the support and interest,
john"
He also later added...
"Missed one of your questions.
"2. on a scale of 1-10 , predict how dark this movie will be?"
Decepticons think humans are ... squishy. Enough said."
"John Rogers here. Let the angry flaming begin.
A few things off the bat. First off: I KNEW that CATWOMAN credit would come back to bite me in the ass. To tell you the truth, I haven't actually even seen the CATWOMAN movie. Let's leave it at that. Don't get me wrong, I liked the people and appreciate the check. But, err, no.
(And don't slag THE CORE. I liked THE CORE. It was one of my first assignments as a young writer and I'm very proud of it. That and creating JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES )
Look, we've got to both respect the massive fanbase and mythology of a twenty-year legacy, at the same time expand it in filmic ways, and streamline it for a new audience who wouldn't know G1 from Dreamwave with a gun to their head. Look at that Citroen commercial -- why shouldn't we make this movie so the big bots become current in today's culture, rather than treating them as some artifact? There's plainly a zeitgeist for it out there. There should be, after this movie, another whole generation of Transformers fans.
Now, to throw you ravenous jackals some marrow. What little marrow I can without ticking off the powers-that-be. Some random stuff, with a few obscure clues for you to chew over:
Yes, Mr. Spielberg is very involved in the movie. He pitched out a couple very cool ideas during the development of the story. It's a huge frikkin' honor to be working for him, and know he takes this project very seriously.
G1. G1. G1. Period. Finito.
Size-shifting is an integral part of the movie, but basically on a scale that'll allow the transformations from earth-disguise vehicle forms to robot to make sense. Some of the power-scales of the Transformer megaweaponry here in my Simon Furman-penned guide sitting next to my computer would be a little ridiculous in a live-action movie. But I want big robots. You want big robots. We'll have some very big robots. And they will fight. I'm writing big-robot-fights. There are some days my job couldn't get cooler.
Ark? Check. Cybertron? Check. Energon Matrix? Check plus, actually. Think more about what it means in the greater sense of Transformer identity and sentience. We won't mention Primus, but that points you in the direction of why the Autobots and Decepticons want it, more than just a leadership squabble. As in: "Spark."
As to who's showing up -- If you want real, well-defined characters, we need to spend more time on the personalities of each Transformer as a charcter. Autobot faction, Decepticon faction, and humans, they all need to come across as real, um, "people." So, much like the X-Men model, a tight focus on a few leads, with an expansion in the possible second and third movie to a bigger roster.
Having said that, why wouldn't I want a cool shapeshifting spy Decepticon? Although, you know, cassettes are so passe ... I think he'd adapt a bit more ...
Freedom IS the right of every sentient being.
Who's the coolest two-seater high octane brother? I'm asking you.
And one small change -- from ambulance to fire truck. Fire truck's more interesting on-screen and to watch transform, and they're both emblematic of his personality, so I think you guys will forgive me. Or at least, I'm asking you to right now.
(this is representative of the only changes we're allowing in the movie from mythology. When we change something, we have to keep the spirit of the original intact. Don't worry, Tom and Don are breathing down my neck constantly ...)
Witwicky -- check. Witiwicky girlfriend -- modified check. Human characters in general -- like most of you have noted, not exactly the strongest factor in the original cartoon. So a lot of new ones, but they'll be vaguely familiar to fans.
No little kid sidekicks.
There will be Easter Eggs.
Some of the Decepticons don't seem that bright. Some are an absolute scream.
Megatron as a gun -- not going to happen, for the stated reasons. Alternate forms of 'Bots than just the two ... could be.
Well, that ought to keep you busy arguing among yourselves for a while. I'll check back in later this month, see ho things are going.
Thanks for all the support and interest,
john"
He also later added...
"Missed one of your questions.
"2. on a scale of 1-10 , predict how dark this movie will be?"
Decepticons think humans are ... squishy. Enough said."
)