Transformers #2 Covers

IDW Editor in Chief Chris Ryall has revealed the covers for the second issue of Transformers via his blog Ryall Time. Issue #1 is coming out in November. The write is Mike Costa, art provided by Don Figueroa. The Bumblebee variant cover is by Andrew Wildman. (via TFormers)

ROTF The Game Concept Designs

Head over to The Bad Flip blog for a huge volume of concept artwork for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen The Game. The blog is from Luxoflux's Ken Christiansen who was the character design artist on the game. He writes and posts images about the design work of many of the characters in the game including the Map & Character DLC pack that just came out. Posts cover design for G1 Starscream, movie Soundwave, the OmniBots, Stunicons, Aerialbots, and much more. It is interesting to read just how much thought that goes into many of these designs. From what I can tell the Transformers related posts go all the way back to January 2009 so there is a lot of material to look at so click here to get started.

Masterpiece Grimlock, Prime In Packaging

Two new Masterpiece line Transformers (well repaints anyway) are coming soon and now the packaging for them has been released. One is for Masterpiece MP-8x King Grimlock that has a crown and color scheme based upon his appearance in the Marvel comic book back in the 80s. The Japan exclusive toy is estimated to be released in December and will cost around $150. The other figure is Masterpiece MP-01B Black Convoy that is basically a black version of Prime (hence the all black look). That figure is also Japan only and will be out in January at a cost of around $110USD.

Transformers ROTF Nominated For Scream Awards

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen recieved six nominations for Spike TV's 2009 Scream Awards. The award ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 17th at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. I guess the Transformers crew should feel honored but realistically the Spike Awards have no credibility to speak of as it is a popularity contest that attempts to mimic (poorly) the MTV Movie Awards.

The movie was nominated for "Ultimate Scream", "Best Science Fiction Movie, "Best Sequel", "Best Director", "Best Actor in a Science Fiction Movie or TV Show" (for Shia LaBeouf) and "Best Actress in a Science Fiction Movie or TV Show" (for Megan Fox). I am a bit suprised that the movie didn't get a nomination for "The Holy Sh#@ Scene of the Year" category for the forest battle or Devastator merge especially considering what was nominated (see below).

The nominations were decided by the awards "Advisory Board" that includes Tim Burton, Wes Craven, Roland Emmerich, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller and Eli Rith. If you want to vote for your favorite movie, head to the Scream Award website.

The six categories to see the competition:

THE ULTIMATE SCREAM
-"Drag Me to Hell"
-"Let the Right One In"
-"Star Trek"
-"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"
-"Twilight"
-"Up"

BEST SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE
-"Knowing"
-"Moon"
-"Outlander"
-"Star Trek"
-"Terminator Salvation"
-"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"

BEST DIRECTOR
-J.J. Abrams; "Star Trek"
-Tomas Alfredson; "Let the Right One In"
-Michael Bay; "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"
-Pete Doctor & Bob Peterson; "Up"
-Duncan Jones; "Moon"
-Sam Raimi; "Drag Me to Hell"

BEST ACTOR IN A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Nicolas Cage; "Knowing"
-Josh Holloway; "Lost"
-Shia LaBeouf; "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"
-Chris Pine; "Star Trek"
-Zachary Quinto; "Star Trek"
-Sam Rockwell; "Moon"

BEST ACTRESS IN A SCIENCE FICTION MOVIE OR TV SHOW
-Moon Bloodgood; "Terminator Salvation"
-Eliza Dushku; "dollhouse"
-Megan Fox; "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"
-Lena Headey; "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"
-Katee Sackhoff; "Battlestar Galactica"
-Zoe Saldana; "Star Trek"

THE HOLY SHIT! SCENE OF THE YEAR
-The Death Eaters Attack London; "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
-The Destruction of Manhattan; "Watchmen"
-Space Dive onto Orbital Drill; "Star Trek"
-The Sance; "Drag Me to Hell"
-The Subway Crash; "Knowing"
-The Swimming Pool Scene; "Let the Right One In"

Play Luxoflux Developers In ROTF Game

Considering the lack of any real information, it seems the chance to play Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen The Game with Megan Fox fell flat. However, that hasn't stopped XBox Live from continuing this time for their "Game with Developers" program which will include more people and longer play time compared.

Ten Luxoflux developers who helped create the ROTF Game will be on XBox Live this Friday, September 4th from 5PM EST to 9PM EST for your buttkicking enjoyment. To participate you will need an XBox Live Gold account and the Map and Character Pack DLC that was released last week. The gamer tags to send invite to are LuxoDev01, LuxoDev02, etc all the way up to LuxoDev10. Good luck. (via TFormers)

Disney Label Donald Duck Images

New images of Disney Label Donald Duck have popped up online thanks to Hobby Search. The images show off the Japan only figure in his yellow painted glory. His alt mode a Bumblebee-like Voltswagon Beetle. The tentative release date is December for around $45.00USD. (via Tformers)

MP Skywarp And Fiery Fallen

Two more toy galleries of exclusive toys. One is for Masterpiece Skywarp, a Wal-Mart exclusive and the other is Fiery Fallen, a repaint for Target. About the only difference I can see between the Japan MP Skywarp and the US version's shade of purple is closer to the Generation One color for the character. Below are a few images or click the links above to see the full galleries. (via TFW2005)

Interview With ROTF Designer Hisashi Yuki

Takara-Tomy recently interviewed Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen product designer Hisashi Yuki about his work for the toy line and some of his past work on other Transformers. From the ROTF toy line he designed Sideways, Scapel, and The Fallen toys. Below are excerpts, but click here to read the entire interview that was translated by SydneyY.

What was your first impressions on "the Fallen", who is the key character in the story?
Yuki: When we first heard that the Fallen would appear in the movie, we thought of the American comic character with the same name right away and wondered if he would be in the story, but the robot design we were given was different from what we imagined. His design looked like something from an ancient civilization. I understand while he is a homage only hardcore fans would appreciate, his design is completely original for the movie.

With the Fallen design, which part did you have trouble with, or put the most thoughts into?
Yuki: For the most of the TFs who appeared first in the second movie, we were only given the images of the front and the back views of robot and vehicle modes. We had to develop (the toys) without any knowledge of what roles those characters would play.

As for his robot mode, I tried to re-create the images as closely as possible. When we started (with ROTF toy development), the rise of the crude oil price was at its worst. Also to make the re-creation of the robot mode easier, I was not able to allocate many parts to the vehicle mode. Those were the difficulties I had.

As for the characterization ideas, we hardly had any information as to how he would be featured in the story, which made it very difficult for me to come up with a character-based gimmicks. Among the small amount of information we had was a tidbit that there would be a scene in which the Fallen crushed a primitive man under his foot. That's how I came up with his toe gimmick, and it made me grin when I actually saw the scene in the movie.When developing his "Mech Alive" mechanism, I thought his could be different from other characters' since his body is made with more exoskeleton. We reached an agreement among the members of the staff, and I designed the protruding clear red parts, which is a homage to the flames the Fallen wears in American comics.

Tell us about Sideways.
Yuki: He was the first I designed from this line. He does resemble Barricade (from the first movie), but in the earlier stage his character sketch had a completely different look from Barricade. I was going along with it and had no regards (to Barricade design), and a prototype had already been built. Then we received a new robot design with some major changes. He had tires on his arms where he had none in the earlier design. I had to rush to alter the design to hide the arms inside the body while in vehicle mode.

Tell us about Scalpel.
Yuki: Perhaps the most intelligent of all (ROTF Transformers). (*laughs) Most of the scout class characters do not appear in the movie, but he has a role as "Doctor". I wasn't informed how his microscope mode looked like at all, so the toy's microscope mode is quite different from the one in the movie.... Well, he has a little hidden fun feature. His face looks as if he is wearing the glasses to begin with, and I made the glasses part detachable.

So he can do "Where are my glasses" gag?
Yuki: I had a little fun as a designer without an extra cost with this typical Japanese joke, "The glasses are meant to be dropped and desperately looked for". (*laughs)

Tell us about the development of Mixmaster.
Yuki: It took me a while to come up with the best way to store the arms inside the mixer drum. You can see it once you have the toy in hand that his level of complicity is rather high. In the movie robot mode design, the caterpillars separate, but unfortunately that couldn't be done with the toy because of the cost, the probability of even more intricate transformation and such. I could include the "Artillery" mode we were given the design sketch of, and I was glad to see it in the movie. It does make me happy to see the same features as the toys' gimmicks in the movie.

Which do you think is more difficult to develop, a Transformer with a futuristic car mode or one with a licensed actual car mode?
Yuki: There isn't much difference in futuristic and realistic designs when I think up the transformation. It is easy if I am just given a robot mode image to come up with a cool looking vehicle mode for it. As for the movie toys such as Sideways, both of their robot and vehicle modes had already been decided, and to make the figures true to both modes was a big struggle. I can see the movie designs do have some regards as to which part of the vehicle goes to which part of the robot, and I try to re-create them as closely as possible. Also, we always have to keep the product cost in mind. If it is a 1000 yen figure, it must have the 1000 yen class measurements and parts number. It is very difficult. Especially a car TF requires at least 4 parts just for the tires, and the challenge is to think of the best way to allocate other parts.

ROTF Wave Delayed, Another Cancelled In UK?

If you’re in the United Kingdom, some potential bad news for Transformer collectors regarding the Revenge of the Fallen toy line. According to Kapow Toys, via TFW2005, wave 4 Deluxe toys (Ice Cream Truck Twins, Dead End, Jolt, and Blaze Master) may be delayed and Wave 5 Voyagers (Long Haul and Grindor) maybe cancelled. The reason for the delay is meet increased demand in the United States for toys and no reason given for the cancellation. There are reports that wave 4 has shown up at some UK retail stores so likely it just means finding a toy you are after will be a little harder and possibly the entire wave 5 Voyagers are going to be allocated to the US.

Custom Chrome ROTF Megatron

The Toys R Evil blog has posted images of a custom chrome-finish leader class Megatron that looks pretty sweet. Below are sample images, click here for the full gallery. Over at the link is also a repaint of Iron Man Mark 3 toy in Iron Patriot colors who is Norman Osborn aka Green Goblin, part of Marvel's Dark Reign storyline.

Fast Action Battler Arcee Gallery

From HK-TF, click here for a gallery of Fast Action Battler Arcee images that isn't nearly as ugly as has been the norm for the motorcycle gang. The little pink cycle is Launchin' Arcee from Burger King Kid's Meal.

Top 100 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Shows

For those that love ranking and debating them, IO9.com has created a whopper of a list with the top 100 science fiction / fantasy shows of all time. Our favorite show, Transformers, was ranked number 89 by the website.The full list can be found starting here.

The Top 10 are: 10) Lost, 9) Battlestar Galactica (remake), 8) Babylon 5, 7) The X-Files, 6) Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 5) Max Headroom, 4) Star Trek: The Next Generation, 3) Firefly, 2) Doctor Who, 1) Star Trek

Transformers

The original Transformers animated series is where we learned where we stood. Did you side with the Decepticons of the Autobots? Transformers was the ultimate imagination generator — anything is possible when you have a robotic alien species that can transform into a truck or plane, or even a boombox. Plus Optimus Prime could very well be one of the best leaders on television. He was noble, caring, big-hearted, driven and had a velvety voice, all without being as treacly as Adam Prince of Eternia.

TF2 Bumblebee Transforming Case

United Kingdom retailer HMV has indicated it will have a Bumblebee transforming case for the DVD two-disc and Blu-ray release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The case is essentially the same as the Optimus Prime and Megatron transforming cases that were released for the first movie. Prime at the time was a Target exclusive and Megatron was used to promote a re-release of the DVD. It wouldn't surprise me if Bumblebee makes a stateside appearance as a store chain exclusive when the movie is released on October 20th. As for the UK, the movie isn't coming out until November 31st. (via TFormers)

Transformers And FCC Content Filtering Inquiry

The Transformers movies have been caught up in a content filtering inquiry by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that is being done for Congress. Apparently the goal is to come up with a compendium of all the various blocking, filtering and rating devices used by the various entertainment industries. As a result the many lobbyists are coming out of the woodwork to add their two cents. From Ars Technica:

Earlier this month the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood filed a response to a key question in the FCC's NOI—"the extent to which inappropriate commercials [are] aired in programming viewed by children and on possible solutions to this problem." CCFC was happy to oblige, updating the agency on one of its key campaigns. The group, a coalition of 30 media reform organizations, wants the Federal Trade Commission to "ensure that PG-13 movies are not marketed to young children." Bottom line: CCFC has asked the Motion Picture Association of America to limit television advertising of PG-13 movies to shows where over half of the viewers are thirteen or over, or just set 9:00pm as the "watershed" for the promotion of these films. That would put the ceiling an hour earlier than when TV stations can broadcast fare that the FCC defines as indecent.

CCFC complains of a phenomenon that it calls "ratings creep." Your typical PG-13 movie these days is more violent and sexual than it used to be, the group says. "In other words, many of the PG-13 films that are routinely marketed today to children as young as seven—and often marketed to preschoolers—are films that would have been rated R fifteen years ago." On top of that, parents have no tools that filter commercials for these movies, and "are left without any options by the current regime."

High on CCFC's list of disliked films are the Dreamworks productions Transformers and its recent sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The advocate launched a veritable crusade against the marketing of the first film in the summer of 2007. CCFC's protest against the campaign pointed out that despite its MPAA PG-13 tag—"intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, brief sexual humor, and language"—the public has been treated to a tsunami of Transformer toys, games, themed Lunchables, lollypops, and gummy candy. Ads for these items and more have been shown on children's shows like Fairly Odd Parents and Jimmy Neutron, that are rated TV-Y ("appropriate for all children ... including children from ages 2-6"). And indeed, to get a sense of the intensity of these selling sprees, check out toymaker Hasbro's current Revenge of the Fallen webpage.

This is just a political move, with Transformers being used as an example of why a change in policy might be needed. Considering the huge amount of advertising revenue involved, the networks, movies studios, and more will happily throw some lobbyist dollars into making sure no changes are made that could affect their revenue and the selling their movies.

Transformers 2 DLC Interview

The Character and Map Pack Plus pack for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen The Game is official out and Superherohype has an interview with Luxoflux producer Ray Cobo about the the DLC.

Superhero Hype!: How many new maps will this downloadable "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" content include? How did you decide on these levels and what makes them unique?
Ray Cobo: The DLC pack will include three new multiplayer maps. The Courtyard is a Fast paced East Coast map that focuses on a heavily contested center action point. This key strategic area allows for views of the entire map as well as control of the high ground surrounding the middle courtyard and its perimeter. Flying characters are able to utilize the open skies and tall skyscrapers to quickly get to advantageous positions, but ground based characters can make use of numerous back alleys to flank around the sides of the map and attack from unprotected angles.

Another new map is called Hillside. It's a tiered map in a dense urban area of Cairo. There are varied height sections on the map that make for multiple small arenas of combat, while allowing sneaky players to move throughout the level virtually un-noticed under the cover of surrounding buildings. A central marketplace provides a high point to get views of almost the entire level, but the maze-like street layout and numerous buildings mean that you will have to hunt your enemies down in the alleys.

Lastly, we have Sandstorm. It's a very fast paced map that takes place in a smaller section of Cairo. It's mostly populated with low level buildings and an open central area, so combat on this map will be fast and frenetic, as there is almost no place to hide. Flying characters can hover above the buildings for clear views of almost the entire map, but this will also leave them wide-open to ground fire from almost any angle.

SHH!: How many new characters will appear in this DLC? How did you decide which characters would debut in the DLC? What specific skills or powers do they add to the game?
Cobo: The pack contains eight brand-new playable characters and three new character skins, most of which are usable in both the single-player campaign and multiplayer. Many of us at Luxoflux are huge fans of the original Transformers series, so we wanted to share that passion with the fans.

SHH!: Will there be new storylines introduced in single player DLC campaigns?
Cobo: We don't have any new storylines for the single-player campaign, but we have made it possible to play many of the single-player missions with the new characters.

SHH!: What other features does the DLC contain? What types of Achievements?
Cobo: It's never enough for you guys, is it? Just kidding… We have also added a new "expert difficulty" mode to the single player campaigns that will require even quicker thinking and reflexes to earn a medal. We also created some new leaderboards to track/compare your stats on expert mode with your friends and the rest of the community.

As for the new Achievements/Trophies, they all relate to the new content in the DLC. We have achievements for completing a percentage of the Autobot or Decepticon campaigns on "expert", defeating certain DLC characters using other DLC characters, and winning multiplayer matches using the DLC characters.

SHH!: How many hours do you think it will take gamers to master the new expert single player modes?
Cobo: This one is a bit tough to quantify. We have made the platinum medal times on expert slightly more forgiving to compensate for the increased difficulty, but given the increased challenge of expert mode, we predict that it will take players about double-triple their overall playtime from normal mode to clear all expert missions with a platinum medal.

SHH!: Will there be additional TF:RoTF DLCs in the future?
Cobo: Anything's possible.

Play Transformers : ROTF With Megan Fox

As part of XBox Live's "Play with Fame" program, XBox Live Gold subscribers only have the chance to play Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with Megan Fox. To play you have to send a friend request to the Gamertag Megan Fox 2009 by 5:30pm EST on Saturday, August 29th. Consider it a lottery, many will enter, few will "win" and play with the lovely Transformers actress.

Speaking of Fox, the rumor that she has been cast as Catwoman in Batman 3 has been proven false. The response from her publicist: "Megan is a huge fan of the Batman movies and of director Christopher Nolan but these discussions have not taken place. Thank you for checking." A script is probably months away from even existing which makes it a bit hard to do any casting for characters that may not be in the movie by the time the various drafts are completed.

ROTF's Paul Ozzimo's Concept Art Preview

Paul Ozzimo, conceptual illustrator for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, had posted a preview of some of his concept art from the movie on his website. Ozzimo is a concept artist and model maker who designed the facial designs for Optimus Prime and worked on Avatar, Watchmen, Transformers I, Mission Impossible III, X2: X-Men United, Superman Returns and more. Sadly the images have seemed to since been pulled and replaced with "Coming Soon" for ROTF but below are the available images for your enjoyment. (via TFW2005)

Bumblebee, Scorponok Concept Art

New concept art from the first Transformers movie has appeared online from TFG2. The art focuses on Bumblebee and Scorponok and give a hint in some of the early designs that were created for the two characters. Below are a few images but click the links below to view all of the pictures. (via TFormers)

Bumblebee Scorponok

Transforming Movie Bumblebee Costume

A few months ago we got a look at a highly detailed movie Bumblebee costume that didn't transform. Now a car dealership in Mexico took it to that next level with a costume that turns into a Camaro. A little detail is lost but that it works so well is pretty amazing. (via TFW2005)

Megan Fox To Host SNL Season Premiere

According to Life & Style Magazine, Megan Fox will host the season premiere of Saturday Night Live on September 26th, the shows 35th season.

Megan is psyched to have gotten this opportunity," the insider tells Life & Style. "She has a lot of surprises in store for the audience. This is the perfect opportunity for her to show off her comedic skills, as she's launching her new movie Jennifer's Body [on Sept. 18]."

This should be interesting to watch. She could have a great unknown sense of humor to display but I am guessing this episode will be highly scripted and controlled to minimize any problems. I also expect there to be plenty of Transformer jokes, most probably making fun of Transfans.