Transformers | |
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International poster |
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Directed by | Michael Bay |
Produced by | Steven Spielberg (executive) Lorenzo di Bonaventura Tom DeSanto Don Murphy |
Written by | Roberto Orci Alex Kurtzman John Rogers (story) |
Starring | Shia LaBeouf Megan Fox Josh Duhamel Rachael Taylor Jon Voight Voices: Peter Cullen Hugo Weaving |
Music by | Steve Jablonsky |
Cinematography | Mitchell Amundsen |
Editing by | Paul Rubell Glen Scantlebury Thomas A. Muldoon |
Distributed by | DreamWorks Paramount Pictures United International Pictures |
Release date(s) | June 28, 2007 (AUS) July 2, 2007 (US) July 27, 2007 (UK) |
Running time | 143 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $151 million[1] |
Gross revenue | $707,675,744 |
Followed by | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen |
Transformers is a 2007 live-action film adaptation of the Transformers franchise, directed by Michael Bay and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. It stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, a teenager involved in a war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, two factions of alien robots who can disguise themselves by transforming into everyday machinery. The Decepticons desire control of the All Spark, the object that created their robotic race, with the intention of using it to build an army by giving life to the machines of Earth. Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight and John Turturro also star, while Peter Cullen and Hugo Weaving provide the voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron respectively.
Producers Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto developed the project in 2003, with a treatment written by DeSanto. Executive producer Steven Spielberg came on board the following year, and hired Orci, Kurtzman and Bay for the project in 2005. The filmmakers wanted a realistic depiction of the story, and created a complex design aesthetic for the robots to stress their alien nature. The computer-generated characters were programmed to have thousands of mechanical pieces move as they transformed and maneuvered. The United States Military and General Motors lent vehicles and aircraft during filming, which saved money for the production and added realism to the battle scenes.
Hasbro organized an enormous promotional campaign for the film, making deals with hundreds of companies. This advertising blitz included a viral marketing campaign, coordinated releases of Transformers prequel comics books, Transformers toys and books, as well as product placement deals with GM and eBay. The film was a box office success despite mixed fan reaction to the radical redesigns of the characters, and reviews criticizing the focus on the humans at the expense of the robots. It is the thirtieth most successful film released and the fifth most successful of 2007, grossing approximately US$708 million worldwide. The film won four awards from the Visual Effects Society and was nominated for three Academy Awards. It revitalized media interest in the franchise, and a sequel Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is expected for release on June 26, 2009.
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The film opens with Optimus Prime, heroic leader of the benevolent Autobots, describing in a voice-over the destruction of the Transformers' home world, Cybertron. It was destroyed by the evil Decepticon leader Megatron in his quest to obtain the All Spark. The Autobots want to find the All Spark so they can use it to rebuild Cybertron and end the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, while the Decepticons want to use it to defeat the Autobots and conquer the universe. Megatron found the All Spark on Earth, but crash-landed in the Arctic Circle and was frozen in the ice. Captain Archibald Witwicky and his crew of explorers stumbled upon Megatron's body in 1897. Captain Witwicky accidentally activated Megatron's navigational system and his eye glasses were imprinted with the coordinates of the All Spark's location. Sector 7, a secret United States government organization founded by Herbert Hoover, discovered the All Spark in the Colorado River and built the Hoover Dam around it to mask its energy emissions. The still-frozen Megatron was moved into this facility and was used to advance human technology through reverse engineering.
In the present day, the group of Decepticons — Blackout, Scorponok, Frenzy, Barricade, Starscream, Devastator and Bonecrusher — have landed on Earth and assumed the disguise of Earth vehicles (except Scorponok, who hides within Blackout). Blackout and Scorponok attack the U.S. SOCCENT FWD military base in Qatar and try to hack into the U.S. military network to find the location of Megatron and the All Spark. Their mission is thwarted when the base staff severs the network cable connections. While Blackout destroys the rest of the base, Scorponok chases a small group of survivors who have photographic evidence of the robots, but he is eventually repelled. During this battle, the military discovers the only effective weapons against the Transformers' armor are high-heat sabot rounds.
After Blackout's failure, Frenzy infiltrates Air Force One to again hack into the military network, planting a virus. He finds the map imprinted on the Captain Witwicky's glasses. Witwicky's descendant Sam Witwicky intends to sell the glasses on eBay. Frenzy and Barricade begin tracking Sam's location. Autobot scout Bumblebee is also on Earth, disguised as a 1976 Chevrolet Camaro,[2] and is bought by Sam while shopping for his first car. Bumblebee helps him woo his crush, Mikaela Banes. Bumblebee leaves at night to transmit a homing signal to the rest of the Autobots and Sam sees him in robot mode. Barricade confronts Sam and demands Archibald's spectacles, but Bumblebee rescues him and Mikaela. They leave to rendezvous with the rest of the Autobots — Optimus Prime, Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet — who have landed on Earth and taken the forms of Earth vehicles as well. Sam, Mikaela, and the Autobots return to Sam's home and obtain the glasses; however, agents from Sector 7 arrive and take Sam, Mikaela and Bumblebee into custody.
Frenzy, now disguised as Mikaela's cellphone, secretly accompanies the group to Hoover Dam and releases Megatron from his frozen state. Locating the All Spark, Frenzy sends an alert to the other Decepticons. Sam convinces the Sector 7 agents to release Bumblebee so that he can deliver the All Spark to Optimus Prime. Frenzy's virus has shut down government communications, but a group of humans manage to establish a signal to the Air Force in order to support the Autobot-human convoy, who have gone to nearby Mission City to hide the All Spark. The Decepticons attack and Bonecrusher, Frenzy, Jazz, Devastator and Blackout are all killed during the ensuing battle. Sam, who is ordered to get the All Spark to a rendezvous point for it to be taken to a safe location, instead chooses to ram it into Megatron's chest, destroying it and killing Megatron. Optimus takes a fragment of the All Spark from Megatron's corpse, but realizes that with its destruction, their home world Cybertron cannot be restored. Consequently, Optimus sends a signal to other surviving Autobots in the universe, directing them to their new home, Earth. The government orders the closure of Sector 7 and has the dead Decepticons dumped into the Laurentian Abyss. Starscream, who fled the battle, escapes into space.
"In all the years of movie-making, I don't think the image of a truck transforming into a twenty-foot tall robot has ever been captured on screen. I also want to make a film that's a homage to 1980s movies and gets back to the sense of wonder that Hollywood has lost over the years. It will have those Spielberg-ian moments where you have the push-in on the wide-eyed kid and you feel like you're ten years old even if you're thirty-five." |
— Tom DeSanto on why he produced the film[3] |
Producer Don Murphy was planning a G.I. Joe film adaptation, but when the United States took part in the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Hasbro suggested adapting the Transformers franchise instead.[4] Tom DeSanto joined Murphy because he was a fan of the series.[5] They met with comic book writer Simon Furman, and cited the Generation 1 cartoon and comics as their main influence.[4] They made the Creation Matrix their plot device, though Murphy had it renamed because of the The Matrix film series.[6] DeSanto chose to write the treatment from a human point-of-view to engage the audience,[7] while Murphy wanted it to have a realistic tone, reminiscent of a disaster film.[6] The treatment featured the Autobots Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Bumblebee, and the Decepticons Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Ravage, Laserbeak, Rumble, Skywarp and Shockwave.[8]
Steven Spielberg, a fan of the comics and toys,[5] signed on as executive producer in 2004. John Rogers wrote the first draft, which pitted four Autobots against four Decepticons,[9] and featured the Ark spaceship.[10] Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, fans of the cartoon,[11] were hired to rewrite the script in February 2005.[12] Spielberg suggested that "a boy and his car" should be the focus.[13] This appealed to Orci and Kurtzman because it conveyed themes of adulthood and responsibility, "the things that a car represents in [the United States]".[14] The characters of Sam and Mikaela were the sole point-of-view given in Orci and Kurtzman's first draft.[15] The Transformers had no dialogue, as the producers feared talking robots would look ridiculous. The writers felt that even if it would look silly, not having the robots speak would betray the fanbase.[11] Spielberg read each of Orci and Kurtzman's drafts and gave notes for improvement.[13] The writers remained involved throughout production, rewriting dialogue for the robots during the sound mixing, after finding unexpected quirks in the characters' animation.[16] Prime Directive was used as a fake working title. This was also the name of Dreamwave Productions first Transformers comic book.[17]
Michael Bay was asked to direct by Spielberg on July 30, 2005,[1] but he dismissed the film as a "stupid toy movie".[18] Nonetheless, he wanted to work with Spielberg, and gained a new respect for the mythology upon visiting Hasbro.[1] Bay considered the first draft "too kiddie", so he increased the military's role in the story.[19][1] The writers sought inspiration from G.I. Joe for the soldier characters, being careful not to mix the brands.[20] They also experimented with numerous robots from the franchise, ultimately selecting the characters most popular among the filmmakers to form the final cast.[5] Bay acknowledged that most of the Decepticons were selected before their names or roles were developed, as Hasbro had to start designing the toys.[21] Some of their names were changed because Bay was upset that they had been leaked.[22] Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream were the only characters present in each version of the script.[11] Arcee was a female Transformer introduced by Orci and Kurtzman, but she was cut because they found it difficult to explain robotic gender; Bay also disliked her motorcycle form, which he found too small.[20] An early idea to have the Decepticons simultaneously strike multiple places around the world was also dropped.[15]
The filmmakers designed the size of each robot with the size of their vehicle mode in mind, supporting the Transformer's rationale for their choice of disguise on Earth.[23] The concept of traveling protoforms was developed by Roberto Orci when he wondered why "aliens who moonlight as vehicles need other vehicles to travel".[24] This reflected a desire to move to a more alien look, away from the "blocky" Generation 1 Transformers.[25] Another major influence in the designs was samurai armor, returning full-circle to the Japanese origins of the toy line.[23]
A product placement deal with General Motors supplied alternate forms for most of the Autobots, which saved $3 million for the production.[26] GM also provided nearly two hundred cars, destined for destruction in the climactic battle scene.[23] The military of the United States provided significant support, enhancing the film's realism: the film features F-22s, F-117s, and V-22 Ospreys, the first time these aircraft were used for a film; soldiers served as extras, and authentic uniforms were provided for the actors.[1] A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and Lockheed AC-130s also appear. Captain Christian Hodge joked that he had to explain to his superiors that the filmmakers wanted to portray most of their aircraft as evil Decepticons: however, he remarked "people love bad guys".[23]
To save money for the production, director Michael Bay reduced his usual fee by 30%. He planned an eighty-three day shooting schedule,[1] maintaining the required pace by doing more camera set-ups per day than usual. Bay chose to shoot the film in the United States instead of Australia or Canada, allowing him to work with a crew he was familiar with, and who understood his work ethic.[1][19][26] A pre-shoot took place on April 19, 2006, and principal photography began on April 22 at Holloman Air Force Base,[2] which stood in for Qatar.[1] To film the Scorponok sequence at White Sands Missile Range, a sweep was performed to remove unexploded ordnance before building of a village set could begin; ironically, the village would be blown up. The scene was broken down for the pilots flying the AWACS aircraft, who improvised dialogue as if it were an actual battle.[27][1]
The company also shot at the Hoover Dam and the Pentagon, the first time since the September 11, 2001, attacks that film crews had been allowed at these locations.[2] The external Hoover Dam scenes were shot before tourists arrived daily at 10:00 a.m., with shooting moving inside for the remainder of the day.[27] Production in California was based at Hughes Aircraft at Playa Vista, where the hangar in which Megatron is imprisoned was built.[27] Six weekends were spent in Los Angeles, California shooting the climactic battle, with some elements being shot on the Universal Studios backlot and in Detroit.[2][27] The crew was allowed to shoot at Griffith Observatory, which was still closed for renovations begun in 2002.[2] Filming wrapped on October 4, 2006.[19]
Spielberg encouraged Bay to restrict computer-generated imagery to the robots and background elements in the action sequences.[1] Stunts such as Bonecrusher smashing through a bus were done practically, while cameras were placed into the midst of car crashes and explosions to make it look more exciting.[27] Work on the animatics began in April 2005.[9] Bay indicated that three quarters of the film's effects were made by Industrial Light & Magic, while Digital Domain made the rest,[1] including the Arctic discovery of Megatron; Frenzy's severed head; a vending machine mutated by the All Spark, and the Autobots' protoforms.[28] Many of the animators were big Transformers fans and were given free rein to experiment: a scene where Jazz attacks Devastator is a reference to a scene in The Transformers: The Movie where Kup jumps on Blitzwing.[23]
"I just didn't want to make the boxy characters. It's boring and it would look fake. By adding more doo-dads and stuff on the robots, more car parts, you can just make it more real." |
— Michael Bay on the level of detail he wanted for the robots[29] |
ILM created computer-generated transformations during six months in 2005, looking at every inch of the car models.[30] Initially the transformations were made to follow the laws of physics, but it did not look exciting enough and was changed to be more fluid.[31] Bay rejected a liquid metal surface for the characters' faces, instead going for a "Rubik's Cube" style of modeling.[1] He wanted numerous mechanical pieces visible so the robots would look more interesting, realistic, dynamic and quick, rather than like lumbering beasts.[29][1] One such decision was to have the wheels stay on the ground for as long as possible, allowing the robots to cruise around as they changed.[32] Bay instructed the animators to observe footage of two martial artists and numerous martial arts films to make the fights look graceful.[1]
Due to the intricate designs of the Transformers, even the simplest notion of turning a wrist needs 17 visible parts;[2] each of Ironhide's guns are made of ten thousand parts.[29] Bumblebee uses a piece below his faceplate as an eyebrow, pieces in his cheeks swivel to resemble a smile, and all the characters' eyes are designed to dilate and brighten.[32] According to Bay, "The visual effects were so complex it took a staggering 38 hours for ILM to render just one frame of movement;"[2] that meant ILM had to increase their processing facilities.[33] Each rendered piece had to look like real metal, shiny or dull. This was difficult to model because the aged and scarred robots had to transform from clean cars. Close-up shots of the robots were sped up to look "cool", but in wide shots the animation was slowed down to convincingly illustrate a sense of weight. Photographs were taken of each set. These were used as a reference for the lighting environment, which was reproduced within a computer, so the robots would look like they were convincingly moving there. Bay, who has directed numerous car commercials, understood ray tracing was the key to making the robots look real; the CG models would look realistic based on how much of the environment was reflecting on their bodies.[23] Numerous simulations were programmed into the robots, so the animators could focus on animating the particular areas needed for a convincing performance.[33]
Composer Steve Jablonsky, who collaborated with Bay on The Island, scored music for the trailers before work began on the film itself. Recording took place in April 2007 at the Sony Scoring Stage in Culver City, California. The score, including the teaser music, uses six major themes across ninety minutes of music.[34] The Autobots have three themes, one named "Optimus" to represent their friendship with Sam, and another played during their arrival on Earth. The Decepticons have a chanted theme which relies on electronics, unlike most of the score. The All Spark also has its own theme.[35] Hans Zimmer, Jablonsky's mentor, also helped to compose the score.[1]
Minor roles include Peter Jacobson as the humorless high school teacher Mr. Hosney; Bernie Mac as Bobby Bolivia, a used car dealer from whom Sam purchases Bumblebee; Tom Lenk as a member of Maggie's hacker team; Rick Gomez as a Sheriff who attempts to apprehend Sam after finding his dog's pain pills; and Brian Stepanek as a Sector 7 agent.
Air Force Maj. Brian Reece played the Decepticon hologram. Reece was talking to Bay while filming at Holloman Air Force Base in May 2006, when one of Reece's men "walked by singing that stupid Team America song". Reece gave what he called a "death glance", and Bay chose him to play Blackout's hologram when the robot makes his attack. Reece was later called to Los Angeles, where ILM scanned his head and took pictures of him in different costumes for other scenes. Reece wore a fake moustache.[50]
Transformers had its worldwide premiere at N Seoul Tower on June 11, 2007.[51] The film's June 27 premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival used a live digital satellite feed to project the film on to a screen.[52] A premiere took place at Rhode Island on June 28, which was a freely available event giving attendees the opportunity to buy tickets for $75 to benefit four charities: the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the Autism Project of Rhode Island, Adoption Rhode Island, and Hasbro Children's Hospital.[53] The film was released on IMAX on September 21, 2007,[54] with an additional two minutes of footage that were not included in the general theatrical release.[55]
Hasbro's toy line for the film was created over two months in late 2005/early 2006, in heavy collaboration with the filmmakers.[25] Protoform Optimus Prime and Starscream were released in the United States on May 1, 2007, and the first wave of figures was released on June 2.[25] The line featured characters not in the film, including Arcee.[23] A second wave, titled "All Spark Power", was set for release late 2007, which consisted of repaints and robotic versions of ordinary vehicles in the film.[56] The toys feature "Automorph Technology", where moving parts of the toy allow other parts to shift automatically.[57]
Deals were made with 200 companies to promote the film in 70 countries.[58] Michael Bay directed tie-in commercials for General Motors, Burger King and PepsiCo,[59] while props—including the Camaro used for Bumblebee and the All Spark—were put up for charity sale on eBay.[60] A viral marketing alternate reality game was employed through the Sector 7 website, which presented the film and all previous Transformers toys and media as part of a cover-up operation called "Hungry Dragon," perpetrated by a "real life" Sector 7 to hide the existence of "real" Transformers. The site featured several videos presenting "evidence" of Transformers on Earth, including a cameo from the original Bumblebee.[61]
Reviews of the film were "generally favorable".[62] Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 57% of critics gave the film positive write-ups, based on 206 reviews,[63] with a 68% rating from selected "notable" critics.[64] At the website Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received an average score of 61, based on 35 reviews.[62] IGN's Todd Gilchrist called it Michael Bay's best film, and "one of the few instances where it's OK to enjoy something for being smart and dumb at the same time, mostly because it's undeniably also a whole lot of fun".[65] The Advertiser's Sean Fewster found the visual effects so seamless that "you may come to believe the studio somehow engineered artificial intelligence".[66] The Denver Post's Lisa Kennedy praised the depiction of the robots as having "a believably rendered scale and intimacy",[67] and ABC presenter Margaret Pomeranz was surprised "that a complete newcomer to the Transformers phenomenon like myself became involved in the fate of these mega-machines".[68] Ain't It Cool News's Drew McWeeny felt most of the cast grounded the story, and that "it has a real sense of wonder, one of the things that’s missing from so much of the big CGI lightshows released these days".[69] Author Peter David found it ludicrous fun, and said that "[Bay] manages to hold on to his audience's suspension of disbelief long enough for us to segue into some truly spectacular battle scenes".[70]
Despite the praise for the visual effects, there was division over the human storylines. The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt liked "how a teen plotline gets tied in to the end of the world",[71] while Empire's Ian Nathan praised Shia LaBeouf as "a smart, natural comedian, [who] levels the bluntness of this toy story with an ironic bluster".[72] Ain't It Cool News founder Harry Knowles felt Bay's style conflicted with Spielberg's, arguing the military story only served as a distraction from Sam.[73] James Berardinelli hated the film as he did not connect with the characters in-between the action, which he found tedious.[74] Los Angeles Times' Kenneth Turan found the humans "oddly lifeless, doing little besides marking time until those big toys fill the screen",[75] while ComingSoon.net's Joshua Stames felt the Transformers were "completely believable, right up to the moment they open their mouths to talk, when they revert to bad cartoon characters".[76] Daily Herald's Matt Arado was annoyed that "the Transformers [are] little more than supporting players", and felt the middle act was sluggish.[77] CNN's Tom Charity questioned the idea of a film based on a toy, and felt it would "buzz its youthful demographic [...] but leave the rest of us wondering if Hollywood could possibly aim lower".[78]
"From the king movie geek Harry Knowles of AintItCool.com to newspaper film critics and regular Joe (and Jane) comments, there is general raving about the mechanical heroes and general grumbling about the excessive screen time given to some of the human characters played by Shia LaBeouf, Anthony Anderson, Tyrese Gibson and Jon Voight. Optimus Prime, the leader of the good-guy Autobots, doesn't appear until midway through the film." |
— USA Today[79] |
Transformers fans were initially divided over the film due to the radical redesigns of many characters, although the casting of Peter Cullen was warmly received.[23] Transformers comic book writer Simon Furman and Beast Wars script consultant Benson Yee both warmly received it as spectacular fun, but Furman argued there were too many human storylines.[80] Yee felt that being the first in a series, the film had to establish much of the fictional universe and therefore did not have time to focus on the Decepticons.[81] Nonetheless, the film created a greater awareness of the franchise and drew in many new fans.[82] Transformers' box office success led to the active development of films based on Voltron and Robotech,[83] as well as a Knight Rider remake.[84]
After the film's 2009 sequel was titled Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Roberto Orci was asked if this film would be retitled, just as Star Wars was titled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope when rereleased. He doubted the possibility, but said if it was retitled, he would call it Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye.[85]
Worldwide, the film was the highest grossing non-sequel movie in 2007. It grossed $706.5 million, making it Michael Bay's highest grossing film to date, not adjusting for inflation.[86] The film was released in ten international markets on June 28, 2007, including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the Philippines. Transformers made $29.5 million in its first weekend, topping the box office in ten countries.[87] It grossed $5.2 million in Malaysia, becoming the most successful film in the country's history.[88] Transformers opened in China on July 11, and became the second highest-grossing foreign film in the country (behind Titanic), making $37.3 million.[89] Its opening there set a record for a foreign language film, making $3 million.[90] The film was officially released in the United Kingdom on July 27, making £8.7 million, and helped contribute to the biggest attendance record ever for that weekend. It was second at the UK box office, behind The Simpsons Movie.[91]
In the United States, the film had the highest per-screen and per-theater gross in 2007.[92] It was released on July 3, 2007, with 8 p.m. preview screenings on July 2. The U.S. previews earned $8.8 million,[93] and in its first day of general release it grossed $27.8 million, a record for Tuesday box office attendance. It broke Spider-Man 2's record for the biggest July 4 gross, making $29 million.[94] Transformers opened in over 4,000 theaters in North America,[86] grossed $70.5 million in its first weekend, amounting to a $155.4 million opening week, giving it the record for the biggest opening week for a non-sequel.[95] The opening's domestic gross was 50% more than Paramount Pictures expected. One executive attributed it to word of mouth that explained to parents that "it [was] OK to take the kids". A CinemaScore poll indicated the film was most popular with children and parents, including older women, and attracted many African American and Latino viewers.[96]
Transformers was released in Region 1 territories on October 16, 2007 on DVD and HD DVD formats. The standard DVD was released in single-disc and two-disc editions.[97] The Wal-Mart edition of the DVD included an animated version of the prequel comic book, titled Transformers Beginnings. Mark Ryan, Peter Cullen and Kevin Dunn reprised their roles, while Frank Welker played Megatron.[98] The Target casing is a transformable two-dimensional image of Optimus Prime,[99] and it contained a prequel comic book about the Decepticons.[98] The DVD sold 8.3 million copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling DVD of 2007 in North America, and it sold 190 thousand copies on HD DVD, which was the biggest debut on the format.[100] The DVDs sold 13.74 million copies, making the film the most popular DVD title of 2007.[101]
It was released on Blu-ray on September 2, 2008.[102] In the first week, the two-disc edition of the Blu-ray DVD was number one in sales compared to other film on the format. The Blu-ray version accounted for two-thirds of the film's DVD sales that first week, selling the third most in overall DVD sales.[103] The film has earned approximately $278,025,537 in DVD sales.[104]
Before its release, Transformers was voted "Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet" at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards,[105] and at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards, it was voted "best film". Entertainment Weekly named Bumblebee as their fourth favorite computer generated character,[106] while The Times listed Optimus Prime's depiction as the thirtieth best film robot, citing his coolness and dangerousness.[107] Visual effects supervisor Scott Farrar was honored at the Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony on October 22, 2007 for his work on the film.[108] The film also received a Jury Merit Award for Best Special Effects in the 2007 Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival.[109]
In 2008, the Visual Effects Society awarded Transformers four awards: for the best visual effects in an "effects driven" film and the "best single visual effects sequence" (the Optimus-Bonecrusher battle). The film's other two awards were for its miniatures and compositing.[110] Broadcast Music Incorporated awarded composer Steve Jablonsky for his score.[111] It was nominated for three Academy Awards, in the fields of Achievement in Sound Editing, Achievement in Sound Mixing, and Achievement in Visual Effects.[112] It received a 2008 Kids' Choice Award nomination for Favorite Movie.[113] In 2008, Premiere named Bumblebee as their eighth favorite robot in film.[114]
Preceded by Ratatouille |
Box office number-one films of 2007 (USA) July 8, 2007 |
Succeeded by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix |
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