Transformers 4

[trekkiebot1701]

Here is the latest info. Hope I,m not too late.
Michael Bay Discusses TRANSFORMERS 4 Story; Confirms Lower Budget


http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansit.../news/?a=62135

[Bot of Badassness]

So this film will be the last? Hope that means we will see scenes to close of storylines.

So, when will the Unicron talk start?

[Albershide]

I see that many people are concerned about the lower budget. Keep in mind that the VFX back in 2007 were more expensive than now. Actually from around 2009 there was a huge decrease of the post production value. So $170 million budget is not small amount at all.

[Bot of Badassness]

Not to mention that Bay always delivers under budget. It's shocking to see that DOTM cost only $190mil when movies like The Avengers cost $250mil and seem to really have used their budget poorly.

The action scenes and CGI are still very much safe.

[starscream1017]

damn, i was hoping for a fresh start...

the fact that he says it will use the last 3 movies as history, means he is going into the future.. so megatron, starscream, soundwave, shockwave might not return! :head

if he goes down the rodimus, galvatron route.. this movie is going to be hard to watch for me.. i suffered through season 3 & 4 of G1..

[Crainy]

Lower budget is... interesting. One would think after TF3 the budget would rocket to the sky. However, dont worry about it, Budget goes off to alot of stuff, not just post production. So 195 million down to 170 million is really not that big of a cut. The special effects are getting cheaper and cheaper, and if you remember correctly you will notice that ROTF had the biggest budget, yet the worst special effects out of all three movies.

[Flyingheart]

Cool yeah sounds good

[Bayhem]

The special effects are getting cheaper and cheaper...

That's a pretty broad statement. They might be cheaper if you want to make a CG explosion or a car/bike crash (think "Torque"), but they're certainly not cheaper when you're making something as big and challenging as "Transformers". Exactly the opposite, it's getting more expensive: Michael and Jim Cameron talked about that last year - it was basically "You can do anything with visual effects now.....if you have the money". The good news is that Michael can rely not only on ILM, but on "Digital Domain" too - a visual effects company he co-owns. I'm sure he'll get a discount.

As far as the budget is concerned, let me just remind you folks that Bay shot "Bad Boys" for $12 million and the final product looks like a $40-$50 million movie. In other words, the man knows how to handle a budget.

[Autobot 47]

Dear Michael,

First, thanks again for taking the suggestions in my old TF3 thread to heart, what should not be in - it made a better film. And I respectfully bow before you for admitting TF2 was a bit messy.

Now, I got some suggestions again for you what TF4 can be. It's good to continue where you left TF3 - I'm sick and tired of all reboots, seems like just a few like you have common sense left in the business :borat.

Don't make too much changes to the Autobots (I know, Hasbro want to sell toys), like TF3 it's ok.
Maybe the Autobots are forced to go into space to save Earth - let Lennox and Epps be a connection to the last film. If some Decepticons are left, please do some deep characterizations, which was lacking in all films (and boy, the villains of TF can be interesting, I can assure you). Maybe you can find some story from G1/Transformers Animated/TF Prime, which you can almagamate into a silver screen version like you did with TF3. Ehren might be you best man to brief you on those things. Oh and Frank Welker with Peter Cullen are THE VAs you shouldn't miss. I'd like to see Bumblebee talking again in his own voice, make him interesting in another way. "The Five Faces of Darkness" might be an interesting plot, change the Quintessons from the creators of the Autobots to something else that are connected to Cybertron. To incorperate the human factor, you can create a mecha, which is controlled by a pilot - "Nightbird" is an episode, which can serve you as an additional idea giver. You can introduce some new Decepticons, who are scattered across the universe.

Thank you for reading and I cross my fingers for you for TF4!

[Jim]

Well I look forward to Transformers 4, be sweet if Michael Bay comes back to finish blowing up Chi Town!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Jim...

[Steve A]

To clarify uninformed reports coming out of Toy Fair - Steven Spielberg and I are working on a whole new re imagining of Transformers, the fourth installment. We have been working on the idea for a few months. I'm excited about where it's headed. But first I'm doing a small $20 million dollar edgy black comedy of a true crime story set in Miami called "Pain and Gain," staring Mark Wahlberg and Dwanye Johnson, and very close to signing on a couple other great actors. I'm extremely excited to simplify my film career this spring with a great character piece.


That starts filming at the end of March. I might then jump onto a very cool television show my company Platinum Dunes is selling to a major cable network. It might be my first pilot I might potentially direct. We are still working out the details of the deal.




Michael

a Pilot. that sounds really smiple haha, infact thats pretty cool. Thats awesome Mike. Cant see what this Pilot is on. I would however stick to Sfi many bec you can WILD!!!!!!!!!!

[alexsm]

That's a pretty broad statement. They might be cheaper if you want to make a CG explosion or a car/bike crash (think "Torque"), but they're certainly not cheaper when you're making something as big and challenging as "Transformers". Exactly the opposite, it's getting more expensive: Michael and Jim Cameron talked about that last year - it was basically "You can do anything with visual effects now.....if you have the money". The good news is that Michael can rely not only on ILM, but on "Digital Domain" too - a visual effects company he co-owns. I'm sure he'll get a discount.

The cost of CGI lowers when you reuse assets. Using the same Optimus model, a bit improved, is cheaper than making a new one. I think the lower budget will most likely mean we will have less new characters than in DOTM.

Also it may be lowered in wages. New actors may mean cheaper actors. It may be lowered in Bay's own wage (considering he is also an exec he is probably going for a cut of the box office). It may also mean shorter shooting period. Maybe this time they are not moving around the world, or maybe they shoot most of the movie in a cheaper country.

There are lots of ways to lower the budget, if you are not talking about a dramatic reduction (doesn't look like). IMO the smarter way is to write a movie that really doesn't need that much money, to keep every FX appearance as awesome as possible. If it goes to space, then I have the feeling that space shots using previously made assets are not that expensive. If it stays in earth I bet for less bots on screen.

[Bayhem]

The cost of CGI lowers when you reuse assets. Using the same Optimus model, a bit improved, is cheaper than making a new one. I think the lower budget will most likely mean we will have less new characters than in DOTM.

Also it may be lowered in wages. New actors may mean cheaper actors. It may be lowered in Bay's own wage (considering he is also an exec he is probably going for a cut of the box office). It may also mean shorter shooting period. Maybe this time they are not moving around the world, or maybe they shoot most of the movie in a cheaper country.

You make it sound like they'll shoot the movie for only $10 million. Michael said that they'll cut back around $30 million, that's it. The movie will still have a "blockbuster budget". It'll definitely be more expensive than the first one. And there's still time before they actually start shooting, so anything can happen - who knows, they may end up with a budget of $250 million and make it bigger than "Dark of the Moon".

As for the CGI, yes, they'll use the same Optimus model, but there will be new robo-characters, and knowing Michael's vision and ambition, some of these characters will be big and very complicated. And it's not cheap making those. It is cheap for the Asylum mockbusters, but it's certainly not cheap when you're working with an ILM crew.

[alexsm]

Well, the first Transformers has mostly everything I did. Less bots, less bots on screen each time, probably the same actor where cheaper, probably Bay's wage was cheaper... I didn't say "cheap", but "cheaper". And the same goes for the reused assets.

To reduce the budget a 15% you have to cut from everything. Also 160-170 millions of 2013 are more or less the same (or a bit less) than 150 millions of 2007.

[metsuke]

Maybe means just more CG than real shooting (location fees and insurance, extras, and the full team and equipment for traditional films)... sounds more like Armagedon