Transformers Holy ****!!!i got an e-mail from Don Murphy

[x-fan]

i was gonna say something mm but my mom told me when i was a kid that if you have nothing nice to say say nothing at all

 

[Turd McFurden]

I hate it when celebrities take offense to internet hate, get over it. Reminds me of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back speech.

"You are the ones who are the ball-lickers, we're gonna make you eat our ****, then **** out our ****, then eat their **** which is made up of our **** that we made 'em eat."

 

[x-fan]

but we all laughed when jay and silent bob went on the revenge kick at the end of the movie, them beatin up the kid and priest priceless

 

[Knightsaber Priss]

Well over at my Seibertron account i had on my sig written

"Don Murphy: my nominee for A-hole of the year"

Now i don't know if i got an email from the real deal, but this is what he e-mailed me:

What do I win? Can I get a statue? Anything from "your room" downstairs? Anything at all? What kind of prize is this?

Oh wow. I'm surprised I haven't received any emails from anyone considering how acidic I can be in those messageboards.

 

[Creature SH]

There's one thing that's really odd here.

With all of his Hollywood accolades, his involvement in multi-million dollar productions, with his nice paycheck... Why does Don Murphy care about the opinion of some faraway "little people" that he is never going to meet ?

He could just sit back and ignore all of them, but he doesn't.
Why care when they call the project he's working on a bad joke, why care when they say that he's incompetent, why care when they call him an ******* ?
Why does he constantly rave and rant about those people, why must he point out how wrong they are, and why does he insist that they are no more than socially inept losers ?

Maybe - And this is just a theory - behind all those layers and layers of bolstered ego, there could be something like the glimmer of a terrible suspicion.
The suspicion that they are right.

 

[roach]

There's one thing that's really odd here.

With all of his Hollywood accolades, his involvement in multi-million dollar productions, with his nice paycheck... Why does Don Murphy care about the opinion of some faraway "little people" that he is never going to meet ?

He could just sit back and ignore all of them, but he doesn't.
Why care when they call the project he's working on a bad joke, why care when they say that he's incompetent, why care when they call him an ******* ?
Why does he constantly rave and rant about those people, why must he point out how wrong they are, and why does he insist that they are no more than socially inept losers ?

Maybe - And this is just a theory - behind all those layers and layers of bolstered ego, there could be something like the glimmer of a terrible suspicion.
The suspicion that they are right.

or maybe just maybe...and this might blow your mind...that he is one of us

 

[ragdus]

You're generation is actually vapid... born into the crap that is Power Rangers and Pokemon. And, while my daughter (born in circa 1999) loves Pokemon (I dunno why).... she at least also loves Teen Titans and the original Transformers (believe it or not). So there's hope for your generation yet (yes, I lump you into my 7 yr old daughters generation.... because, well, you sound like you should be).

 

[bluejake01]

Oh wow. I'm surprised I haven't received any emails from anyone considering how acidic I can be in those messageboards.

Your burning demeanor is part of your charm.

 

[Knightsaber Priss]

Your burning demeanor is part of your charm.

Really? I guess i have to cut down on chomping all those extra nuclear reactors then.

 

[bluejake01]

Really? I guess i have to cut down on chomping all those extra nuclear reactors then.

I wouldn't...to put it in the vernacular: u=teh roxxors

 

[Creature SH]

or maybe just maybe...and this might blow your mind...that he is one of us

Who and what would this mysterious "us" you speak of include ?

 

[Octoberist]

Don murhpy is an interesting guy. I like the fact that he does stand up for this movie. At the sametime, he doesn't have enough weight to diss Iron Man just because he's no longer producing it, esp if you look at Don's track record.

Is Don sucessful? Yes, he is. Do I trust him? Not really. That's why I'm glad Tom DeSantos is with TF.

 

[xwolverine2]

or maybe just maybe...and this might blow your mind...that he is one of us

no such thing as "one of us"

who would that include????????

 

[nosebleed.]

no such thing as "one of us"

who would that include????????

Certainly not Christopher Lee...

 

[xwolverine2]

Certainly not Christopher Lee...

Christopher Lee is God.........thats why

 

[Creature SH]

What if god was one of us ?

 

[Spark]

And as for his "stooges"... I'm sure there are a few... But I know many (most?) of the posts on his board (dm.net) are FAKE. FAKE FAKE FAKE.

This is actually bull**** but thanks for playing.

The earth isn't flat either, by the way.

 

[nosebleed.]

What if god was one of us ?

What if God was George Burns?

 

[Knightsaber Priss]

I wouldn't...to put it in the vernacular: u=teh roxxors

Well, gee, I feel really special now. I guess i better not let my head swell too much though.

 

[Nebins]

Who and what would this mysterious "us" you speak of include ?

I think the "us" he speaks of are the ones on the message boards. When he isn't producing he is probably just another guy on a message board.

 

[terry78]

People on these boards do complain that the makers of these movies are too busy being Hollywood types instead of getting down with the fans. Murphy does this on a personal level, and suddenly because he's debating with his fans in regards to the movie's design they don't want that. They only want moviemakers to listen, not debate.

 

[Creature SH]

Telling someone "YOU BETTA LIKE DIS, *****" never goes over well.

 

[The Guard]

Please excuse me for not reading the script. I'd like to have some sense of surprise when the movie comes out. And as I have stated many times before...I have concerns about a couple of the designs...not the story. Thanks for chastising me on not spoiling myself though.

I don't care if you read the script or not. I care if you (or others) make broad generalizations about how faithful/serious the material is when you haven't gotten an accurate picture. I don't believe I ever chastised you for not spoiling yourself.

If you are willing to accept completely different looking characters while still adhering to what you typed above then good on you.

Completely-different looking? As in "One is a cartoon, 2D image with basic animation on it, and one is a live-action giant robot with many working parts and movements"? I would never want to see the cartoon designs onscreen beyond the basic ideas. They're inherently pretty silly looking, and almost generic in some ways. Just like the comic book outfits many superheroes and villains wear. The movie Transformers seem to be a lot more intricate, and a lot more alien and feral. I like the concept, even if I'm not thrilled with all the designs.

I'm unhappy with the designs...that's my opinion. I never said Bay isn't sticking to the basic concept...but that doesn't mean its going to feel like a Transformers movie. It may redefine Transformers for a new generation but it could also alienate a couple of generations worth of people who already have a "basic concept" of what they feel Transformers to be.

That depends on if they insist that given Transformers have to look exactly like one or two designs they've seen in the show and comics or if it's enough to have elements of those designs. If its the former, then yes, some will be alienated, and it will be their resistance to any significant visual/story changes for a new medium that alienates them. There will be a few of them. There always are. People who think that the bigscreen image or story changing somehow sullies what they already love about the source material. I'm betting however that most Trans-fans go with the flow when everyone else starts talking about how cool things look on the big screen. It's what most fanboys do.

I agree. But what is the sole reason for changing so much?

Because it's a freaking movie adaption. This is what happens when material is adapted, both storywise and visually. A lot of creative minds and a lot of important people have a say, and material rarely remains exactly the same as you knew it to begin with. That's the nature of the adaption process. Transformers doesn't get to skip over this adaption process just because it's Transformers. Hell, if Dickens novels can undergo major changes in adaptation, so can this.
There are a lot of creative minds (read: artists) working on what they view as a very complex story and design process. In some ways, they are building a franchise, while trying to bring something new to the game, so their careers don't get stagnant, and they don't go home at night feeling like uncreative hacks. Would you ask artists to simply copy someone else's work, or to limit themselves to only simple designs or a pre-existing story concept if the overall movie concept didn't neccessarily call for it?

Energon in the context of "food" or Energon renamed from Matrix of Leadership?

Either. Energon's taken many forms, and had many uses in the Transformers mythology. This is the point. That the movie is bringing in one of the most important factors of their mythos.
Even if they're calling it The AllSpark.

Sorry for the digression, back the subject. DM's personal opinions and wants represent the production of the movie when he voices it in a public forum.

That's absurd. We're to judge an entire production on the ranting and opinions of one man? Sorry, don't buy it. Never have. A movie is a group effort. One person choosing to voice their thoughts on it does not tell me how an entire studio/production team feels about it.

Its all wordplay...he said she said.

No, it's not "wordplay". While it's clear that he wanted Bumblee to be a bug, and that he wanted several other aspects to be in the film, he never promised them, or said they were a done deal, or any of that. You can spout "wordplay" and "semantics" all you want, but in the end, unless you simply do not comprehend the English language, there's only one meaning you can glean from his actual words without reading a ton into them. He said "We're working on it". And just as saying that scientists are working on a cure for cancer doesn't mean they won't neccessarily be able to promise us one (though I'm sure it exists somewhere), Don Murphy saying they're working on getting the VW backing doesn't mean he can promise it.

He knew that he was the sole voice for Transformers at the time. Nobody else was talking to the fans, the other producers, writers, or director (not selected at the time). If he didn't want his concerns heard as what's happening in production at the time then he should have hired a PR agent.

And he told the truth it seems. "We're working on it". We know they were working on it, and it was news when it didn't happen. Obviously it didn't work out the way he wanted.

If they were able to successfully procure permission to use a VW bug then he would have taken complete credit. So why can't he take the blame for saying, "Bumblebee HAS to be a bug"?

Really? What else has he "taken credit" for? Because I don't see him "taking credit" for a whole lot beyond being a fan of the material and listening to the fans a bit about things like Peter Cullen's involvement.
Why can't he take the blame? For what, exactly? Somehow causing you to misinterpret his statements and engage in false hope? Even if he came out and said "Yes, I said Bumblee has to be a bug and he isn't", it has nothing to do with what ended up happening in relation to his rapport with the fans. You (and others) seem to think it's somehow Don Murphy's fault that he essentially said "We hope Bumblebee will be a bug" and you got your hopes up and Bumblebee wasn't. When in fact this is your own blatant misinterpreation of Don's original statements into what you wanted to hear (not what was said), not some kind of deviant spreading of misinformation on his part.
It's entirely possible that this situation is going to happen again with Megatron's voice actor. It's the same concept. The studio representatives are saying "We've listened to you about Frank Welker, we've talked to him, he's been in, we all hope Frank Welker as Megatron will work out". No one has PROMISED the fans that Welker will be chosen to voice Megatron, but I guarantee you that when/if he ends up not being chosen, someone will go "They promised us Frank Welker as Megatron!"
When they haven't.

Except that's not what he said.

He said "We're working on it", and he expressed, in fairly obvious terms, that he thought Bumblebee should be a bug. Essentially, he stated an opinion (his and perhaps someone else's belief that Bumblebee should be a bug) and a fact (that the studio was working on getting permission from VW). He never promised anyone anything.

You're example is a poor one because Ra's Al Ghul looked like himself for the most part...in a realistic tone. Megatron looks nothing like any incarnation that came before this movie. This is from a design perspective...which is where my complaint stems from. Not his characterization...which I don't know because its my fault that I don't want to read the script. Boo on me.

Bunk. Liam Neeson's Ra's Al Ghul in BATMAN BEGINS looked next to nothing like he did in the comics beyond a few basic design elements. Ra's Al Ghul in the comics wears expensive suits and capes/cloaks (often green or earth-tone ones) with ornamental attachments, and even swords. He does not tend to wear only "suits" (at least this is not the design people have come to know for him). And he has certain facial features/characteristics that Neeson's Al Ghul (as fantastic as he was in the movie) does not have. In fact, Ra's Al Ghul's decoy pretty much looked more like the comic book version of Ra's Al Ghul designwise than Neeson did. The only similarity Liam Neeson's Ra's had to his comic book counterpart in terms of design elements? The basic design of his hair and mustache/beard...his fairly chiseled features, and his height/weight similarities. Now then...what seem to be the similarities that movie Megatron has to his comic book and show counterpart? Oh. His helmet (hair), his shoulders, his massive gun, and his height/weight similarities (as he does still seem to be a giant robot). And his coloring (he still looks to be silver/gray), so he's almost one or two up on Ra's Al Ghul in terms of design adaption.
You speak of "realistic tone". Fair enough. In the comics and show and movie, Megatron is a giant alien robot, yes? Then why the bloody hell would his legs be designed to look like Earth-people's bellbottoms as they were in the show, why would he have what can best be described as a "generic polygonic robot face", and why would be transform into a giant gun of all things? It's one thing to have issues with his fragmented/shattered look (who knows, that may become armor in battle or something, the angles of it suggest this could be the case, and we do know he has a "battle mode"), but to say the basics of his design aren't there makes little sense. It's just, as you said earlier, in a more "realistic" (or relevant) vein, if such a thing can be applied to the Transformers movie.

Once again, let me point out my complaints..Megatron does not look like any incarnation whatsoever. Starscream's only point of resemblence is the jet parts. Other than that they look like completely different characters.

Welcome to the world of moviemaking. Very few designers want to rip off what has gone before. It depends on how much you want thim to resemble them. Some important key elements of Megatron's design ARE there. The size and color. The shoulders. The helmet. The big ass gun. Starscream's another story entirely.

I really don't feel like getting a half assed flamebaited answer, so I think I'll pass.

You assume it would be flamebait? Has anyone actually said to him. Say, Don, is this what you meant by this statement? Anyone? Of course then it's just him "spinning" what you obviously misinterpreted to begin with. I have half a mind to ask him. Seriously, link me to his board.

We will see, but as far as the designs for Megatron and Starscream are concerned I don't feel that your statement is true.

I reffered to the basics of the mythos. Not neccessarily the design aspects of Starscream. I think the basic elements of Megatron's design are still there.

So according to you studios don't use spin tactics to make the unfavorable seem favorable? That is naive thinking.

I'm sure they use spin tactics. I don't think every spin tactic is neccessarily "bad", and I don't think everything a studio says to defend their film is one. The tactics used thus far don't strike me as having that much "spin" to them. They've been pretty upfront about the changes that can be expected, and why certain changes have been made. the ONLY thing that might be taken as "spin" is Bay's reasoning for Optimus Prime being a different kind of semi cab in the film, but even that has value to it. It does give him some more height, be it 30 feet or 50 feet.

He didn't say most of the things that you say he meant either...the door swings both ways.

It can easily be interpreted my way. Easily. It's not so easy to actually look at what he said, consider what the words mean in plain English, and go "Hey, he PROMISED us!" and find any proof for that in his actual statement.

tone - the tone I'm getting is that of a badass Michael Bay movie. We've yet to see anything involving character so I can't really judge it but it seems kind of heartless as far as tone is concerned.

I have to ask then...what constitutes "heart" regarding Transformers for you? This isn't just a movie about giant robots fighting each other. There's a point behind it, and an energy to the story. A cliche, tired point, but a point nontheless. And there seems to be a lot of good drama to the movie, if a bit melodramatic. But anyone who's a Transformers fan to this point who actually condemns a Transformers movie for melodrama is just an insanely large hypocrite.

Why do people believe that just because some people don't like some of the current designs that we want exact replicas of G1?

Because there's a gray area, but swing too far into "trying to be faithful to the original designs", and you might as well just slap G1 on the screen and go "There. We copied it enough that fanboys are happy". If you can't accept any major design changes or concept changes, then I tend to think you pretty much just want them to look like G1 Transformers.

I want modernized designs that still remain faithful to G1.
So you want the G1 designs? Describe the kinds of designs you could live with. What would you like the movie versions of these characters to look like?

That's why I can live with Optimus. I'm not 100% happy with it but I can accept it because the resemblence is there whereas the current Megatron looks completely alien from ANY previous incarnation...pun intended.

It depends on if you ignore the helmet, the shoulders, the massive gun, the color/size, etc. If you put all those Transformers in a lineup and asked someone who Megatron was, I'll bet they'd be able to pick him out pretty easily.

Um. in that huge diatribe, Energon did one thing. Power. Not give "life" to.

It certainly seems to in the script. And to a robot, wouldn't staying powered up mean life?

I can throw a hamburger at the wall and give it a dirty look, but it wont create a human being. Yes, you're right the... the WORD "Energon" is in the movie. That's about it.

No, the Transformer's dependency on Energon is also in the movie. Which is a pretty important point of the mythos.

Machines / Fossil Fuels. G1 story at the outset. Pretty freaking central mythology if you ask me. Millions of years in the mountain. Volcano... also pretty freakin symbolic considering fossil fuels came from the Dinosaurs and plants that were here when they first landed.

So...dinosaurs fell into volcanoes and...turned into fossil fuels? Help me out here...because I could swear most of the fossil fuels were formed in swamps and forests. Not volcanoes. What is the significance of the time passage? That the Transformers slept while the fossil fuels were being made? And the point of that is...
And as for "machines/fossil fuels" being part of Transformers lore and not being in the film: Stop me if you've heard this one.
This is TRANSFORMERS, right? Ok. So if you have the Autobots and Decepticons and humans battling over fossil fuels in THIS movie...then what the heck do they battle over in TRANSFORMERS 2? They use fossil fuels to make Energon. And Energon is pretty much gone by the end of the script. So they have a conflict now with no energon to power them...enter (and the brilliance of this is staggering) FOSSIL FUELS as a major point in the sequel, as a way to keep the Transformers and humans in conflict. It actually kind of makes a lot of sense to introduce Energon first...and then have them NEED our fossil fuels (which we ALSO need) to make it. Can't blow the "conflict" load this early in the franchise, or you only have "Decepticon revenge" plots to look forward to in 2 and 3.

Sure, perhaps neither the show, nor the comic, nor the blurbs and tech spechs on the backs of the freakin toys themselves were nowhere near that deep. Or maybe, to some of us, it kinda was. It was a pretty well written and original story. And some of us just think it would make a GREAT movie serious sci-fi movie... if respected.

It does seem to have been taken pretty seriously, from what I read. Two warring alien factions having it out on someone else's planet over energy resources? People dying? Sacrifices?

Again, *to me*, I don't see why making BB tall isn't the same as making Frodo taller then Gandolf. It's personalities that matter right??? Not the symbolism or any of that other B.S.... right? RIGHT?

Has anyone thought about a reason for Bumblee being so tall? Or does everyone just hate it? I keep trying to figure out why he's taller than Jazz, and slightly shorter than the other Transformers in the story.

 

[millennium movies]

Someone needs to step back for a little...

 

[xwolverine2]

...or maybe someone needs to read