I ever wonder about former screenwriters for the first to films Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman though about DOTM, Since Ehren Kruger was the Sole Writer though. Since Megan Fox did not saw DOTM Yet, it's time for the writers and the Exctutive producers of Prime to see the Film. Here's some dirt if you dont remember: Don Murphy was planning a G.I. Joe film adaptation, but when the United States launched the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, Hasbro suggested adapting the Transformers franchise instead. Tom DeSanto joined Murphy because he was a fan of the series. They met with comic book writer Simon Furman, and cited the Generation 1 cartoon and comics as their main influence. They made the Creation Matrix their plot device, though Murphy had it renamed because of the film series The Matrix. DeSanto chose to write the treatment from a human point-of-view to engage the audience, while Murphy wanted it to have a realistic tone, reminiscent of a disaster film. But due Kruger's Knowledge of the Transformers Franchise, DOTM had more Transformers and Star Trek References. The A.V. Club also stated that the film had several minor story inspirations from the 80's cartoon The Transformers. Bob and Alex wanted the 1st movie be more "Old School", i guess they are a little mixed about this. Transformers references: The Ark gets its name from the Autobots' crashed spaceship in the Marvel Transformers comics. "Carly" was the name of Spike Witwicky's girlfriend and eventual wife in the original cartoon. When the worker at Accureta Systems is trying to make the photocopier work, it beeps the "more than meets the eye" refrain from the original cartoon's theme song. The corrosive end met by Ironhide comes at the hands of Cosmic Rust, the oxidizing pathogen that first appeared in the Generation 1 cartoon episode of the same name. Though not named in the film, its identity is made clear by production artwork by Josh Nizzi which labels Sentinel Prime's gun a "Cosmic Rust gun". Megatron removing Abraham Lincoln from his chair at the Lincoln Memorial and then sitting in it is a scene taken directly from the Generation 1 cartoon episode, "Atlantis, Arise!", and the Decepticon ending for Transformers The Game (sort of). The idea of bringing Cybertron to Earth via space bridge and enslaving humans was the plot of the well-regarded Generation 1 multi-part episode "The Ultimate Doom." Likewise, the idea of an influential and powerful human joining forces with the Decepticons, resulting in the Autobots being exiled from Earth by the government via a spacecraft, only for that spacecraft to be destroyed, was the plot behind another popular Generation 1 cartoon multi-part episode, "Megatron's Master Plan." The Xantium is the name of the Wreckers' spaceship in the IDW Publishing's Transformers comics. Sentinel Prime continues his predecessor's legacy of being a giant jerk. Optimus now carries the Matrix around in his chest like he has in past incarnations. The robotic pulse noise can be heard at the end of the film when Bumblebee transforms to robot mode, the final onscreen transformation, just as it was heard during Blackout's transformation, which was also the first onscreen transformation in the first film. The idea of the Decepticons invading and fortifying a major metropolitan center, and the Autobots having to take it back, was also explored in the Generation 1 episode City of Steel.
I don't think they care, if you look at their credits they have more important to things to worry about.
They met with Furman? Citing the comics as an influence? I find this hard to believe. Had this really happened, I imagine the movies would've been a lot better plotted.
Yes I Did. The Transformers Refrences were from TFwiki.net, and Sentinel did not say Spoon to carry on his predcessor's legacy by becoming a big jerk.
These little nods, made me appreciate it more when I first seen DOTM on opening day. I don't want canon perfection, but nods to the fans always helps
Little nods always appreciated. I never viewed the movies as pure G1 so when it deviated I never got upset, but the little nods are nice touches.
Bob and Alex have Transformers Prime now where they don't have to worry about Bay wanting something to go boom, GM pushing an alt mode, or the Pentagon advisers butt to kiss to get the use of equipment. I'm sure working on the films was nice, but as the big wheels over on Transformers Prime and doing it in live action not being an issue I'm sure it gives them a lot more freedom for their ideas on Transformers. With a whole big Transformers universe as their playground why worry about what people are doing with the live action films?
For better or worse, Orci and Kurtzman wrote very specifically to cater to a particular audience. They made it clear they were appealing to a wide range with the films and as a result felt compelled to put more focus on the humans than the robots. In Prime, they are catering to cartoon watching children and teens, and TF fans in general, so they can put more into the characters. The difference really shows. So, I don't think it was ever a matter of how much they knew about or respected Transformers, but which ways they felt were best to convey the franchise through different mediums.
