Transformers (live-action movie)

In an interview on the official movie website, Steven Spielberg revealed that he's been the biggest Transformers fan since day one; hence his participation in the production of this film.

Michael Bay, best known for his adult-oriented action films, wanted to make a family-oriented film. When he was first approached to direct this film, he initially dismissed it as a "stupid toy movie." However, he had a change of heart upon hearing Spielberg's concept of the film being a story of "a boy and his car," and shortly after visiting Hasbro's headquarters to take a course in Transformers School.

The movie marks the debut of the next-generation Chevrolet Camaro (as the Autobot Bumblebee), which did not hit showrooms until 2009. Since the actual car hadn't been produced yet, GM commissioned Saleen (which normally works with rival manufacturer Ford) to retrofit a handful of Pontiac GTOs (originally released in Australia as the Holden Monaro) into working Camaros. Saleen's other creation, the S281 (based on the Ford Mustang), also appears on the film as the Decepticon Barricade.

Instead of the classic boxy look, Bay opted for more complex designs and transformations for each of the robots. He felt that more moving parts would give a better impression of mass. In addition, the new designs reflect the robots' alien origins.

Optimus Prime was originally intended to be a Freightliner truck like in the original series, but a flat nose would've resulted in him standing at approximately 20-25 feet tall. Thus, Bay opted for a long-nose Peterbilt truck, which makes Prime stand 28 feet tall in robot mode. Red flame artwork on the body is used not only to accentuate his ribs, but as a compromise to the decision to use blue as Prime's main color (given that red does not photograph well on film).

Producer Don Murphy wanted Bumblebee to retain his Volkswagen Beetle form, but Bay opted for the Camaro, to prevent comparisons with Herbie the Love Bug. As an inside joke, a yellow Beetle is parked next to Bumblebee's first Camaro form at the beginning of the film.

As part of a tie-in deal, the supporting Autobots are General Motors vehicles: Bumblebee (Chevrolet Camaro), Ironhide (GMC Topkick 4500 Crew Cab), Jazz (Pontiac Solstice GXP) and Ratchet (Hummer H2). For the film, the Solstice was given a hardtop, custom black alloy rims and a larger rear spoiler, while the H2's body was chopped and built with a new frame to become a Search and Rescue vehicle. For Ironhide, the GMC Topkick - a medium-duty utility vehicle - was fitted with custom wheels, smoke stacks and chrome and stainless steel accessories.

For the Japanese language release, Tessho Genda reprised his role as Optimus Prime (who was, until the film, known in Japan as Convoy), much like Peter Cullen in the English language version.

Peter Cullen and Frank Welker were personally auditioned by Bay to reprise their roles as Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively. Cullen got his part, but Welker's voice was too old to fit Megatron's new alien look. Although Welker was replaced by Hugo Weaving in the film, he went on to voice Megatron in the video game adaptation and Transformers: Beginnings (the semi-animated adaptation of the prequel comic book series). Welker went on to reprise his original TV roles as Soundwave and Galvatron in the further sequels, as well as Megatron in Transformers: The Last Knight.

Stan Bush, who recorded two songs for Transformers: The Movie (1986), reportedly recorded a song for this film, which did not make the cut on the soundtrack.

The introduction of Brawl caused confusion among viewers, as the subtitles labeled him as "Devastator." According to co-writer Roberto Orci, this was a mistake on the part of the film crew, as the character was named Devastator during pre-production, but had failed to correct the name before the release of the film. The DVD release still uses Devastator's name.

Because Bumblebee's voice box was crushed by Megatron in a previous battle, he communicates via random dialogue and music playing on his radio. Many of the sampled dialogue tracks he uses come from Paramount Pictures titles like Star Trek and Top Gun. One of the tracks he plays when introducing himself to Sam and Mikaela is, "Across the immense gulf of space," a line spoken by the late Orson Welles from the 1939 radio adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds. Twenty-one years earlier, Welles final performance before his death was the voice of Unicron in Transformers: The Movie.

The use of Hoover Dam as one of the film's settings is a reference to the Autobot/Decepticon battle at Sherman Dam (a fictional version of Hoover Dam) on episode 2 of the original series.

Some of Optimus Prime's lines in the film are directly taken from the original series. For example, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings," is Prime's motto found on his Tech Specs file. "One shall stand, one shall fall," is the same opening line used in Prime and Megatron's final battle in Transformers: The Movie.

Sam's eBay ID is "LadiesMan217;" the numbers 217 correspond to Michael Bay's birthdate (February 17).

Hasbro's other products make appearances throughout the film. In the scene where the Autobots arrive on Earth, a little girl walking by the swimming pool at her home is holding a My Little Pony doll. In the final battle scene, Bumblebee and Ironhide lift up a truck decorated with a Furby billboard as a shield against an incoming attack from Starscream.

The storyline underwent numerous changes, and many Transformers characters were eliminated through all the drafts. According to Orci, the Ark/Teletraan I was omitted because he wondered why "aliens moonlighting as vehicles need other vehicles to travel." Arcee, a female Autobot, was eliminated because the film had no time to explain robot genders. Prowl, best known as an Autobot police car, was removed from the script in favor of the evil Decepticon police car Barricade.

In an unusual move, the Japanese release uses the U.S./western Transformers names and terminology instead of the Japanese ones used in the animated incarnations. This means that the Autobots (オートボッツ) and Decepticons (ディセプティコンズ) are not known as "Cybertron (サイバトロン)" and "Destron (デストロン)," respectively. Optimus Prime (オプティマス・プライム), Bumblebee (バンブルビー) and Jazz (ジャズ) retain their names instead of using "Convoy (コンボイ)," "Bumble (バンブル)," and "Meister (マイスター)," respectively.

The scene where the troops run away as Scorponok bursts out of the sand was achieved by detonating primer cord under the sand. Because the explosions occurred at a very close proximity, Bay told the actors to keep running no matter what happens, or they could be seriously injured, or worse, killed by the explosions. This resulted in a 100% genuine look of panic on the actors' faces on the scene.

Josh Duhamel's character Capt. Lennox is based on the character of the same name from the G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers comic book series.

ACWO Jorge "Fig" Figueroa is named after Don Figueroa, who is best known as the artist for most of the current-generation Transformers comic book titles.

Megatron's flail and Optimus Prime's sword are homages to the energy-based melee weapons (Megatron's mace and Optimus Prime's battle axe) used on episode 2 of the original series.

In contrast to Transformers: The Movie's failure at the box office in 1986 (earning just over $5 million), this film shattered all box office records worldwide. In the U.S. alone, it set a new record for Tuesday openings, earning over $28 million on July 3. It then earned $70,502,384 during the Fourth of July weekend - second only to Spider-Man 2's box office performance. It was also the biggest-selling non-sequel film of 2007. In Box Office Mojo's website, Transformers ranked at #1 among all Cyborg/Android/Robot movies, beating Terminator 2: Judgment Day and I, Robot in that category. That record was beaten by the 2009 sequel Revenge of the Fallen.

The tank used to portray Brawl/Devastator was previously used in the 2005 film xXx: State of the Union.

Optimus Prime is made out of 10,108 computer-generated pieces. Prior to this film, Industrial Light & Magic's most complex robot character was General Grievous of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Transformers marked the first time Hoover Dam and The Pentagon were used for a feature film since the September 11, 2001, attacks (Hoover Dam was not attacked on that day, but security around it was heavily fortified since then).

Originally, Bay wanted to use an iPod on the scene where Agent Simmons demonstrates the power of the Allspark, but Apple CEO Steve Jobs objected to the use of one of his products. So instead, a Nokia cell phone was used in the scene.

Force Protection, Inc.'s Buffalo mine-protected vehicle makes its on-screen debut as Bonecrusher. The only difference between the film version and the actual vehicle is its claw (the actual one is only 14 inches wide).

Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor makes its official on-screen debut as Starscream.

Easter Egg: During the Downtown battle, in the scene where Ironhide blasts at Brawl/Devastator, a sign behind Brawl/Devastator reads, "Takara Sushi." Takara created the toys that became the foundation of the Transformers franchise.

The designation number "4500X" on Blackout is taken from that of Bay's private jet.

Frenzy's line, "Oh, s**t!" was reportedly a reference to the same line Spike uttered in Transformers: The Movie.

It was revealed on the Special Edition DVD that Bay had filmed a cameo role as the driver of a Mercedes-Benz SUV hanging on for his life as Megatron flings him over. Despite destroying the Benz, Bay decided not to include the scene in the film. Instead, you see Megatron grab the Benz and throw it in the air while chasing Sam.

One Transformer that was on the original draft, but didn't make the cut was "Stryker," a Decepticon that transforms into an armored personnel carrier. His design eventually made it to the comic book tie-ins and toy production line as "Wreckage."

To capitalize on the surging sales of the Transformers movie line, Hasbro introduced newer character toys loosely based on vehicles featured on the film. Longarm is a Ford F-series version of the GMC tow truck used to tow Bumblebee during the final battle. Landmine is a Sector 7 Desert Patrol Vehicle. Stockade is a black SUV derived from the Cadillac Escalade that is accidentally activated when Sam drops the Allspark on it. Incinerator is a V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft as seen in the beginning of the film.

Roland Emmerich was interested to direct this film, but Dreamworks wanted Michael Bay instead.

According to Megan Fox, she was attending a Linkin Park concert and when it concluded, the band met her personally. The band stated that they heard about her being casted in an upcoming live-action "Transformers" film, and requested whether they could have a song of theirs be used in the film, and thus "What I've Done" was used during the closing credits.

Peter Cullen described reprising the role of Optimus Prime as "slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven't worn for a while," and he was grateful to the fans for wanting him back for the role.

In order for the film to look realistic and still be under the budget, the U.S. Department of Defense provided their support towards the film's production. This movie was the largest project that the Department of Defense had assisted on since the film "Black Hawk Down (2001)." The military’s role was providing their vehicles as the alternate modes of the Decepticons Starscream and Bonecrusher. They also allowed their F-22 and CV-22 aircraft to be filmed, this was the first time that these planes were featured in a film since "Hulk (2003)." Actual soldiers served as extras, while authentic uniforms were provided for the actors to wear. As a way of showing appreciation, the filmmakers provided an advance screening of the film to the soldiers, free of charge.

Within one hour and 45 minutes of the film, the Decepticons were originally going to have more dialogue in the film, but most of their lines were cut out to keep them mysterious. Roberto Orci explained that the more a group of bad guys talk, the less threatening they are. As a way to please the fans, though, Megatron's classic berating of Starscream "You fail me yet again, Starscream." was put in the film.

In the film, Megatron doesn’t have an alternate disguised mode, he instead out of arrogance, choose to not to disguise himself on Earth. He instead maintains his alien jet mode. His original alternate disguised mode in The Transformers (1984) was a Walther P38 pistol, in which every time he transforms, he decreases in size and has to rely on one of the other Decepticons to fire his gun form’s ammunition. The writers decided to not have him transformed into a gun as they felt it would be like "having Darth Vader transform into his own lightsaber and someone else swinging him around". So Megatron was given a more realistic alien design, and made more hideous, to make him more menacing.

Brian Reece who portrayed the "Moustache Man" hologram projected by the Decepticons was an actual serving MH-53 pilot. He was spotted while piloting one of the Blackout helicopters, in which both Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg believed he had the right look for a hologram projected by a Decepticon. As a result of being casted in the film, Reece had to reschedule his wedding and honeymoon.

The visuals on the Transformers possessed such a rich level of detail and complexity, that it took the ILM animators 38 hours to fill them in a single frame of the film.

As part of the promotion campaign for the film, a special “Sector 7” website was launched which featured videos showing "evidence" of the Transformers having already arrived on Earth. The videos are of the following: Grimlock destroying a construction site, Reflector transforming at a birthday party, Kickback and Laserbeak being accidentally videotaped, and a security video showing Bumblebee (in his old Volkswagen Beetle mode) transforming in a parking garage.

For her role as Mikaela Banes, Megan Fox gained 10 pounds of muscle in order to be more compatible for the action scenes.

In order to make the car forms of the Transformers appear as sentient vehicles, stunt drivers would wear black balaclavas, and concealed themselves from view; and wherever possible, the cars were also given tinted windows, and have their interiors darkened.

Shia LaBeouf's first filmed scene of the movie was when Sam was attacked by the pack of guard dogs. One particularly dog would keep chasing him even after the filming of scene commenced. He would later summed up the experience as "Welcome to Michael Bay's set. Release the hounds!"

The release date for this movie was already set without a written script or an assembled cast beforehand.

According to the ILM animators, each and every transformation that happened in the film is unique, even if it was carried out by the same robot. There were thousands of components moving around in significantly different orders/sequences and via different routes around the body. This is because the Autobits and Decepticons transform in a fluid, instinctive manner depending on their circumstances (speed/terrain/intent of action). The animators however, admitted that each transformation was mainly animated to look interesting and believable.

Tyrese Gibson actually paid the filmmakers to get a role in this movie.

Michael Bay at first believed that Shia LaBeouf was too old to portray a teenager, after watching his performance in the film “Constantine” (2005). LaBeouf however after getting a make-over and audition, convinced the filmmakers that he could indeed appear younger than he actually was.

During the composing for the music score, Steve Jablonsky received assistance from his mentor Hans Zimmer.

During the filming, Mark Ryan would act as a stand-in for the Transformers on-set. This was to give the actors a physical presence in which to react, and against whom to act. Ryan was eventually brought on-board to voice Bumblebee.

For the scene in which Megatron corners Sam at the top of a tall building where Sam clings on to a statue out of sheer panic and fright. Shia LaBeouf really was actually on top of the building wearing only a safety harness, but with no safety net beneath him, in which the look of fear he had during the scene was genuine.

Shia LaBeouf was so amazed with the "Project Iceman" set that he would secretly visit the set during the weekends, and sometimes brings his friends along during these secret visits.

Optimus Prime's body language and movements were modelled after actor Liam Neeson.

The film's tagline "Their war. Our world." was originally meant to be the tagline for film “Alien Vs. Predator” (2004).

Michael Bay deliberately cut his fee by thirty percent, in order to save expenses on shooting, and to keep the film within the United States, a territory he was familiar with.

In order to keep up the film's frenetic mood, most of the action sequences were shot practically, with the actors performing their stunts live in front of the camera. All computer graphics imagery was restricted only towards the Transformers and certain essential scenes. Due to the intensity of the action scenes (a majority of it being car crashes and explosions), the camera was kept in a box made out of bulletproof glass. Shia LaBeouf later commented, "The camera's protected, but the actors are expendable!"

As a way to prepare for their film roles, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson spent three days in a boot camp. Gibson also spent time with combat controller Ray Bollinger in order to make his dialogue sound more natural.

Within six minutes of the film, when the Decepticons' pilot holograms flickered, the face of Optimus Prime's can be seen for an instant.

In his police car mode, Barricade's front side bears the Decepticon symbol, accompanied with a Latin phrase which reads "Pacis Quod Alcedonia" ("Still, Halcyon days of Peace") and the phrase "Incorporated since June 1865." His back side also has a phrase that reads "To punish and enslave," which is a twisted version of the Los Angeles police motto "To protect and to serve."

#2 best selling DVD in Grupo Ilhsa retail stores (from Argentina) during January 2008.