IESB Exclusive: Kurtzman and Orci on Transformers 2! PDF Print E-mail Written by Stephanie Sanchez Tuesday, 16 September 2008 IESB.net - Movie News, Reviews, Interviews and More! - IESB Exclusive: Kurtzman and Orci on Transformers 2! Part Two of IESB's exclusive interview with writing/producing team Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci! In the second part of our exclusive interview with Kurtzman and Orci we touch up on Michael Bay's upcoming sequel to the massive hit Transformers. What can fans expect to see in the next one? What has additional writer Ehren Kruger brought to the mix? And why are they like the Traveling Wilburys? At one point, Kurtzman, Orci and new Transformers recruit Ehren Kruger were locked in a hotel by Bay to pound out the sequel's shooting script, read about the process below! IESB: On Transformers it's a bit different on the writing process because you've got Ehren [Kruger] working as well. How did that work out for you guys? Bob: We couldn't have done it without Ehren. It would have literally been impossible because we were producing Eagle Eye... Alex: And with the strike, it really ran out the clock so when the strike ended, we had four months to get a shooting draft together. And so the three of us locked ourselves into a hotel, or I should say, Michael Bay locked us in a hotel... Bob: Posted a guard outside the door, they slid food under, we got to talk to our wives every couple of days...(laughter) Alex: We would work in one room, Ehren in another room and then we'd get together twice a day and trade pages and go over each other's stuff. It was actually great, it was a lot of fun and having him come in with a fresh perspective and not having had any of the baggage we had from the first movie was key to making the second one it's own movie, distinct from the first one. Bob: And Ehren's the greatest too because he's equal parts fan boy and grown-up and I think he is able to get the best of both perspectives and so it was just a very fun team and it felt, we worked together on a movie he had written for us as producers, but this was the first time to really sit down and write together and I think it was the easiest transition I can imagine. Alex: It was like the Traveling Wilburys (laughter). IESB: So who's Roy Orbison? Bob: The Bee-Gees may be better (laughter) Alex: The Bee-Gees...just keep digging the hole deeper. IESB: Real quickly on Transformers, it looks like it's definite that the Constructicons and Devastator are in, Soundwave is in, can you give us any hints, any clues of what else we are going to see? Bob: You are going to find out a lot about the mythology. It's officially going to tell you what the Transformers history is and I think a lot of it is going to be taken, somewhat, from gospel. I think we all settled on the fact that the source material and the myth that established in much of the Transformers back story was perfect for this movie. And that should be satisfying to genuine fans. IESB: One of the things that we got teased about, and that I loved, was looking at Cybertron. Are we going to actually see it this time? Are we getting the same - explain it in the beginning of the movie and then back to Earth? Alex: I think in the spirit of what we gave you in the first movie, there will be similar things in this movie. Bob: Meaning, "no comment." (laughter)
I don't understand that last exchange about Cybertron--I thought it was pretty much a given that we were going to see more of it for the sequel. Am I misremembering, or did I read that somewhere, like in the recent fan interviews with Orci?
Guys, I think Ehren has actually saved the Franchise. It appears that he's a much bigger fanboi then Alex and Robert. That's why we're getting Devastator, Jetfire, Wheeljack, The Fallen, etc. He's the true transformers expert, that's why he was brought on board. And it appears like he's having a HUGE impact on the creative process. Ehren you're the fucking Man! So is Bob, since he comes here and answers our questions -
It sounds like Ehren's had an important role in the creative process, but two things need to be addressed. First, we don't really know much about the movie (certainly not the Corvette's name), so it's far to early to judge whether this movie "saves the franchise". Second, Bob and Alex have tried to appease the fan community while injecting the kind of hollywood extraterrestial realism into the movie-verse to make it more marketable beyond the bounds of the mere fanbase. I don't think it's at all fair to say that Ehren's more of a fanboy, or that he is friendlier to the fanboys (as you point out, ganymede2010, Bob's been here and *way more* than courteous!). From what I can tell, I love all three of the writers, both Alex, Bob and Ehren. (But we'll see when the sequel is finally released in June whether that appreciation is misplaced! Just kidding.)
Which Transformers history..? Guess we'll find out next year (or earlier). I must admit, it's definitely sounding like it could well be an improvement on the first, which I liked as movie, but didn't really work as a Transformers movie for me. So far, this seems to be pushing quite a few of the right buttons.
Sweet... I PRAY this means we get an origin similar to Primus/Unicron, and it REALLY suggests that The Fallen is this universe's iteration of the same Transformer...
When I read that article, I get the sense that by "gospel" they meant the more generally known stuff about core transformers lore, not the more specific things like the Quintessons or the Primus/Unicron origin.
BUT the Quintessons where in the cartoon which EVERYBODY SAW AND REMEMBERS! Primus was in the comics which about ten people ever read!
Exactly. You know, when I think about it, though, the Quintessons were pretty freaking cool, at least in the '86 movie--five faces each apparently with distinct personalities and various creepy-ass old man beards/goatees, octopus arms, and a bizarro conception of justice. I wasn't even considering it, but perhaps having the Quintessons show up at some point in the movie-verse (maybe not this movie, but sometime) would be pretty cool. Oh no. Maybe TF: ROTF is a courtroom drama after all.
