Clarity and Updates

[Don Murphy]

Some thoughts after returning from holiday and catching up on reading every post.

1- Core characters- when I indicated that there would have to be a core team of Autos and Decepticons it was just common sense. The audience needs to care for the characters. Of course we will need a human way in- but when you think about it, the X-MEN films featured Wolverine FIRST, then Professor X and Magneto and then Cyclops and Jean and then.... petering out. I never said that there would be only 7 on either side. Just seven that are fully prominent and fleshed out. And hell, it might be 6 or 8.
2- Delays on news- we've spent the last 6 weeks since the announcemnt negotiating Paramount into the Dreamworks deal. Boring stuff but it needed to be done. Now we will have a writer IMMEDIATELY and more news will follow.
3- Simon Furman has contacted me directly offering to consult. What do you fans think of this?
4- Drew "Moriarty" McWeeney at Ain't it Old News has officially been declared an enemy of Hollywood by the Steering Committee. He seems to lack taste, morals, purpose, talent and a belt. What he lacks in respect he makes up for in blind arrogance. Friends of this site will send him unsolicted opinions about his dearth of knowledge and his girth of flesh when they have a minute. Thanks in advance.


Remember- we are listening to you. Kinda like Big Brother and Dick Cheney, but you know, more benign.

[Stormwolf]

Thanks Mr Murphy, the fandom was dying for some updates on the project.

--Edit

I think it's a good move to take Furman onboard to consult, I'm a big fan of his Marvel UK and War Within stories.

[DarkProwler]

#3 - I think it is definitely a good idea to get Mr. Furman in as a consultant. He's been writing for years about Transformers, so he knows the mythos forwards and backwards.

[JesterJJZ]

Simon Furman is ok with me.

[COR]

Don,

Thanks a ton for the update! Normally I wait for you to post questions, drop in, leave my two cents, and drift away, lurk, or occasionally post here and there in between updates. My thoughts as to your post:

1. Bravo! I felt this was probably the case anywho, but thank you for coming out and saying it. I think this will allay the fears of many fans on this board.

2. I'm just glad to know that the Transformers movie is in good hands, and is not the fiasco that Superman V has become. News that a writer will be on board, in your words, immediately, is extremely encouraging!

3. Yes!! Simon knows Transformers in and out. He has his detractors but for the most part (and speaking for myself as well) he is well liked (even loved?) by the fan community and has in the past put out some really great Transformers stories. If you have the time I suggest picking up Transfomers: The War Within vol 1 for a sample of his best recent work.

4. Never liked him anyway. He always seems to be full of BS

[megs4ever]

Simon Furman would be a good consultant. Having someone with a backround in the transformers is needed. Thanks for the update Don!

Simon Furman is a great idea as a consultant. I'm really glad he took the initiative to contact you and your team. I think it's fair to say that whether you're a fan of Simon Furman's work or not, anyone on the inside would have to respect that his knowledge of the material and of the fandom is unparalleled within the entertainment industry--if for no other reason than he's been working in it, with it, and on it for longer than anyone else I can think of.

The only crazy thing about Simon Furman as a consultant is that you guys didn't seek HIM out. If you need someone to keep you aware of such oversights, I've got 2 years experience in development and I come cheap

[spiderfrommars]

Simon Furman would be an excellent choice as consultant. His stories for Marvel UK, War Within and G2 really are the closest Transformers has come to being a serious sci-fi property, giving a real feel for an epic galactic-spanning war without end. Kind of like Lord of the Rings but with robots instead of hobbits.

[Prime Evil]

Kewl. Glad we are still getting up dates.

1) I kinda expected it to be like that. No problems with it.

2)Who's the writer?

3)I'm all for Simon Furman as a consultant. I think he would be a valuable asset especially with his knowlegde of G1 from Marvel or Dreamwave. You don't want to have Sunstreaker, for example, being a wuss (like huffer) or out of character from what the fandom knows.

4) Meh, I don't really care for anyone's opinions on movies anywho. I'm my only movie critic. I end up liking movies that no one likes and end up hating movies that everyone goes gaga over.

I just hope this doesn't turn out like LXG!! Too many minor mistakes took away from enjoying that flick.

Regarding the potential choice of Simon Furman as a consultant on the film - I think anyone would agree that without him you would lose serious credibility from the fanbase. He knows more about the subject of Transformers than most people - and what he doesn't know is probably not worth knowing anyway !!!

Also - McWeeney and the other inmates at asylum 'aint it cool' are arrogant schoolboys who like to blow their own trumpet - frankly I think they need a sharp stab of reality between their collective legs

Pete

[Victory Saber]

Simon Furman would be ok if he kept the story with just Transformers and Humans...don't bring any third party matter into it like G2 and the Beast Wars stuff, I don't want the Transformer (both Autobots and Decpticons) to team together to fight some other oddity.

Remember, for this movie to be a success it needs to appeal to the mass, and not just sci-fi geeks. I am a huge Transformers fan...but not a Sci-Fi fan, so target me.

Having Simon Furman as a consultant is an excellent idea. As many have said he knows the Transformers universe inside and will be an invaluable resource for everyone involved.

Thanks for listening to the fans!

To have Simon Furman as an consultant is a very wise decision. Please make it COOL, and not too overly HOLLYWOOD.

[Redstreak]

I would say Simon Furman would be good to have on board in any respect. Certainly many TF fans would find him lacking in some areas, but I for one think that there are more than enough positives, many good things that he has done, to offset those offended sensibilities. Simon's got a good mind for the whole thing, and that's why he's the top guy for DW.

[Hans B.]

Originally posted by Victory Saber
Simon Furman would be ok if he kept the story with just Transformers and Humans...don't bring any third party matter into it like G2 and the Beast Wars stuff, I don't want the Transformer (both Autobots and Decpticons) to team together to fight some other oddity.

Well, he wouldn't be a writer, he would be a consultant.

Although, having him as one of the writers wouldn't hurt either IMO.

Simon Furman is the man! He's been writing TF's for 20 years and knows them inside and out.

well I guess I will be the first to go against the grain with my fellow transfans. I do not think it would be a good idea to have Simon Furman involved. I've loved Simon's past work up to G2 but his new stuff since returning to the Transformers has been extremely weak. He seems to have lost touch with who the characters are or how to tell a coherent story or both. My opinion yes, but if you look around at the message boards you will see that it is shared by quite a few.

Additionally I think the key to this movie will be to establish a "real world" type of feel just as the X-Men was able to. Without that you are not going to make a movie that will appeal to wide audiences beyond the kids and transformers fans. That said Furman is most at home in sweeping earth shaking cosmic saga's, not close-knit group stories with dynamic character relationships.

Now having a consultant familiar with the TF mythos is, in my opinion an excellent idea, so let me offer some other suggestions:

1. me... uh, oh well can't blame a guy for trying.

2. Bob Budiansky. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I believe he is the one who created the personalities, histories, and mythologies of the original Transformers characters. who better to advise on the big screen project? Plus he told the kind of stories I think you would want to tell in a movie (not car wash of doom, but some of the other stuff guys).

3. Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio. These were the story editors of Beast Wars and during that series they had to get very acquainted with the TF mythos and they produced a phenomenal show with great character development and dynamics. Related to that Ben Yee who acted as a fan consultant for them might be beneficial as well.

4. James McDonough (sp?) aka "Brad Mick". I've been very impressed with his work on the new TF G1 comic for Dreamwave. Plus he is "new blood" in the field of tf storytelling and is very familiar with all the characters. I think he has a lot of new ideas.

5. Whoever the japanese fans are who are coming up with the material for the BinalTech and Masterpiece Convoy figures. These guys seem to have an indepth knowledge of the characters and stories and they've added some nifty back story bits for the BinalTech line that ties them into the original TF G1 cartoon continuity. not sure who these guys are but I think you can find out more at the fan to fan site.

my 2 cents.

[CapnJack]

No one knows Transformers as intimately as Simon Furman. He would be most welcomed and encouraged by most of the fandom as a consultant on this film. I say you should take him up on the offer.

Just remember, when he offers his opinions, that this guy knows Transformers like the back of his hand.

Thanks for the update, Don!

[Prime Evil]

Originally posted by Victory Saber
Simon Furman would be ok if he kept the story with just Transformers and Humans...don't bring any third party matter into it like G2 and the Beast Wars stuff, I don't want the Transformer (both Autobots and Decpticons) to team together to fight some other oddity.

C-O-N-S-U-L-T-A-N-T!

personally, i have to agree with JasonPrime on this - Furman would not be a good idea for this film - he can't get beyond his own work - to me, the stories he's telling today are really no different (or better) than they were 15 years ago, and if in that amount of time, a writer can't come up with something new and more creative, well...........

i've read interviews with him, and quite frankly, i think the man thinks way too much of himself, and the fact that he did the calling on this just proves that more to me - it was driving him crazy that he couldn't dabble his fingers in this universe so he took it upon himself to try to get himself added into the mix -

IMO, if they had wanted him, they would have contacted him - maybe it's time to find some new blood who has some respect for the entire TF universe as a whole, not just his own 15+year old stories - and i know he would only be CONSULTING, but i still think it would be a bad idea as he only knows his own work, and wouldn't be able to CONSULT on anything past that

Simon Furman definitely knows his stuff, and keeps in close contact with the fans, so I agree with everyone that he'd make an excellent consultant. He's a fan favorite at the conventions, a good guy, and very imaginative.

Ben Yee, of bwtf.com consulted on the Beast Wars cartoon, and certainly knows his stuff from a fan's standpoint, so I'd think he's another good person to touch base with.

The Beast Wars crew, while responsible for some absolutely brilliant scripts, and my favorite characters in Transformers history... well, they mostly know Beast Wars stuff, which is not what this is about, right? I mean, I'm all for you guys hiring them as writers, but I'm not sure what they bring to the table to consult with on a G1 style movie. I suppose they do provide some insight on how to write for transforming alien robots.

Bob Budiansky is great... but while he did add his own dash of genius to the mythos (the guy came up with Megatron!), from his appearance at the OTFCC this year he seemed to have forgotten most of it. So he's not as effective a resource for tapping the fan community and providing some then-til-now history to the mythos. On the other hand, he is one of the main progenitors of the Transformers, so if he says he has insight to share, I'm sure it's worthwhile.

Originally Posted by Don Murphy

3- Simon Furman has contacted me directly offering to consult. What do you fans think of this?

I can think of no-one better to spin a tale of Transformers for the big-screen. Mr. Furman is well versed in Transformerology as has been stated by others in this thread. Having finally met him in person at this past year's Official Transformers Collector's Convention, I know that his head's in the right place and he has the desire to do it. My advice as a Transformer fan is hand 'im the reigns!

Core characters have probably been hashed over time and again in other threads on here, but I don't get a chance to drop by that often, so here's my 2¢:

Using the trickle-down effect like X-Men as you stated, I'd go like this:
1. Optimus Prime 2. Megatron (duh.) 3. Starscream 4. Soundwave 5. Grimlock 6. Bumblebee 7. Jazz 8. Shockwave 9. Ironhide 10. Devastator (The Constructicons)
Granted some of those characters I gave a little more importance than most may give them, but in my humble opinion, you have a core cast that can entertain there. Of course, other characters can (and should) be featured, but their characterization would be minimal. I also kinda cheated by mentioning Devastator in there as he's comprised of 6 individual personalities, but it would be a shame if he or other combiners weren't in the movie. The movie is about big honkin' robots after all, and in the early characters they didn't come bigger than Devastator.

Also, here's an enormous plea to include as many of the original voice actors as possible! Please!

James McDonough needs to be involved in the Script writing.
He's the best thing to happen to transformers since the toys. His writing has DEhumanized the Transformers. Making them more mysterious, and more Alien.

Something the film makers must keep in mind. This is more a story about an Alien civil war than it is a story about Giant robots.

James Mc's storys are engaging, and often very surprising. He knows the characters well and writes for them perfectly. He's expressed interest in writing the movie also.

I want to see his ideas translated to the screen.

[spiderfrommars]

Originally posted by tapestry100
i still think it would be a bad idea as he only knows his own work, and wouldn't be able to CONSULT on anything past that.

I see. Not read the Ultimate Guide then? Where he writes about practically every single Transformers continuity? Thought not.

[Victory Saber]

Originally posted by Prime Evil
C-O-N-S-U-L-T-A-N-T!

Yea...my point exactly...a consultant creates the specification for which the project is to be based on. If he dictates that a space alien should attack the Transformers on earth...well that is what the writer should write about. It depends on where he is in the process, but being that they are using his name and no one elses, I would assume he might be the first person to have a say in the creative direction of this project...so NO SPACE ALIENS!

[garfield]

Originally posted by Don Murphy
3- Simon Furman has contacted me directly offering to consult. What do you fans think of this?[/b]

He's knowledgeable, grounded, and intelligent, and he is justifiably credited with having created some of the best written Transformers stories we've read. I think it is a wise decision to leverage some of Simon Furman's ability. Furman as a consultant is a very smart idea.