More on Transformers 2 From Writer Roberto Orci
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:37 pm
Transformers Movie writer Roberto Orci has dropped by Don Murphy's message boards to give a quick update on the story for the film's sequel, set for release on June 26th 2009.
Here's what he had to say in this thread:
Question: Will Starscream have more than 3 English lines in the sequel ?
Answer: Yes.
Question: If TF1 was Bumblebee and Primes movie (as far as robot stars go), who's movie would you say TF2 is going to be?
Answer: Too early to tell. Obviously, Prime will always be central, but our structure allows the freedom to have others step up. Will know more later.
Question: Will the Decepticons have any scenes to themselves like the Autobots had in the first one?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Also, Roberto, can you provide any hints as to the tone of TF2? Even with a short ouline, I'm sure there is much work to be done. I'm not horribly concerned that Mike went all Batshit-crazy during your hiatus. As egomaniacial as he seems, he also seems to know his place. Perhaps I'm wrong on that.
Answer: The tone will be similar to TF1, although I think the stakes will be higher. There will still be much humor, but I think many of the Transformers themselves will be more in line with fan expectation. More serious to some degree. Again, we're early in the process.
Bay's statements should be taken merely as confirmation of his enthusiasm and desire to make his date. He does not want anyone to lose confidence in the project.
Question: Bob, are you looking to strike the exact same tone as film 1 or will the sequel be more serious and thought-provoking? Will it be a smarter film, more science-fictionny?
Answer: More "science-fictionny." Yes.
Question: Any possibility of a TF arrivel scene similar to the first but with decepticons this time ?
And i take it there will be a mix of new and existing G1 characters for the next ?
Answer: New mix. Yes. No comment on Decepticon arrivals!
Question: Also Bob i would like to add, are we gonna see more of Cybertron in this one ?
Just in flashbacks or will it take place in present time ?
Anwer: No comment on Cybertron.
Question: My major problem with "Transformers" were the humans. Most of them acted like they were on a mix of speed, ecstacy and too much coffee. Their behaviour was IMO way over the top, almost like highly exaggerated comic-book caricatures. I think it wasn't so much due to the writing, but more due to the direction they were given by Michael Bay.
Was it your intention to write the human characters (Sam, Sam's parents, Simmons, the cop guy in the police station) in such an exaggerated, over-the-top way or did that evolve during filming and are there any plans to tone the humans down a little for the sequel to make them appear more ... normal and not so over-caffeinated?
Answer: We'll have to take some of the blame for that. We pitched Sam as "Marty McFly on crack." And Simmon's is pretty much the way he read on the page. But I agree that it went even further than it should've, and editing could've helped that a bit. As I've said before, tone on TF1 was the absolutely hardest thing to crack. Hopefully, we'll be better at modulating this time.
Question: Roberto could you tell us about the cooperation sofar? You know, you had a way to write with alex, how did it change with Ethan? Or was it he, who conformed himself to you?
Answer: We'd worked with Ehren before, so we knew his personality would be a good fit for "the band." We agreed to split up scenes and then pass them around to each other to make our own tweaks without anyone's feelings getting hurt -- one big jam session after which we'll hopefully have an album called TF2.
Question: Roberto, cheers for answering my first question. Predictably, I have another. Does Bumblebee talk all the time now, or does he still have issues with his voice box?
Answer: Minds not made up yet.
Question: Also about the humor and jokes in the next one, any chance of making them alittle "smarter" ?
Some of the jokes in the first is okay in a American Pie type movie but not in Transformers in my honest opinion.
Answer: Don't know how the humor will turn out yet. We have to find it. But we know it has to come from whatever situation Sam finds himself in. Any similarities to American Pie were the result of our character being in a similar situation (age, high school, etc.).
Question: Any idea what they're doing with those old S7 sites? They could be used in another viral game for TF2, or (more preferably) they could be taken offline.
Answer: No idea.
Question: Hey Roberto, Hasbro said at Toy Fair that they've been working with Paramount on designs for TF2 for weeks now, and Bay has indicated several times that they're well on their way with the robot designs. I'm just curious if you're getting kept in that loop, and if you get to comment along the way, or if they're keeping all of that amongst themselves. It doesn' so much matter for new characters, but for those based on past incarnations it'd be great if there were parties involved to assure they get "the Prime treatment", so to speak. Maybe Hasbro's more hands-on this go-around? Thanks!
Answer: As a result of the strike, we were not able to comment on anything that was going on within the production. As a result, Hasbro has been MUCH MORE involved. However, we had a ton of character and development conversations with them before the strike (going all the way back to before the movie's release). So we've had our input and Hasbro in general knew where we were going with the story. During the strike, some dates had to be met in order to assure all the designs would be ready for multiple purposes, and it now seems that is where Bay and Hasbro spent most of their efforts. Doesn't mean we can't lose or add characters, but it probably means our core group is somewhat locked.
Luckily, the folks at Hasbro are truly great people and their collaboration with Bay has probably kept this movie on track.
Question: Bay was quoted as saying that there would be some new/different "species" of Transformers. What do you think he meant by that?
Answer: No comment! But they're in the outline, so don't worry.
You can also probably guess what he means in his non-fan way.
Question: So when you guys are working on the outline...do you work on it from beginning to end? Or do the three of you figure out big spots that you want to have and go back and fill in the holes? What I mean by that are huge set peices, stunts or moments that you want to accent on screen. Im sure Bay has plenty of spots that he'd like to do and that would only add to the collaboration. How is that process completed?
Answer: Well, normally we don't hand over outlines. Normally we do those for ourselves and then hand in a script. Thanks to the strike, we felt it was only fair to give them a snap shot of where we were going so they could plan from a treatment. So naturally, a treatment is not a script, and there are many things that need to be filled in at script. Knowing where we were going, and what we intended the major set pieces to be, Bay could start to plan how he would attack some of the action.
Question: Is it safe to assume there are a bunch of new robots designed for the transformers movie, but have no name as of yet, or are subject to change?
Answer: Safe indeed.
Question: Roberto without going into details, how many parallel storylines do you think you might have running in this movie?
Answer: Story lines in this movie should be more organically interconnected in that TF1 had the structure of 3 story lines coming together at Hoover. TF2 will have a different structure.
Question: Roberto, I just wanted to know what comes first: The design of the Transformers then the names, or names first, then their design.
Answer: No hard and fast rules, and almost impossible to remember as it's a case by case basis.
Question: Will there be more emphasis on new transformer/s? Or will characters such as Bumblebee still be the main focus?
Answer: Just started playing around, but the short answer is both.
Question: So Roberto, what would the time estimate for the final script be? A couple weeks? A month? A couple months?
Answer: THE FINAL? The day before shooting.
A first draft? who knows -- everyone needed it last month, but we're contractually accorded 10-12 weeks or so for the first draft.
Question: can changes be made DURING shooting if Bay or someone else demands
Answer: Yes. We're usually the ones demanding it.
Here's what he had to say in this thread:
Question: Will Starscream have more than 3 English lines in the sequel ?
Answer: Yes.
Question: If TF1 was Bumblebee and Primes movie (as far as robot stars go), who's movie would you say TF2 is going to be?
Answer: Too early to tell. Obviously, Prime will always be central, but our structure allows the freedom to have others step up. Will know more later.
Question: Will the Decepticons have any scenes to themselves like the Autobots had in the first one?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Also, Roberto, can you provide any hints as to the tone of TF2? Even with a short ouline, I'm sure there is much work to be done. I'm not horribly concerned that Mike went all Batshit-crazy during your hiatus. As egomaniacial as he seems, he also seems to know his place. Perhaps I'm wrong on that.
Answer: The tone will be similar to TF1, although I think the stakes will be higher. There will still be much humor, but I think many of the Transformers themselves will be more in line with fan expectation. More serious to some degree. Again, we're early in the process.
Bay's statements should be taken merely as confirmation of his enthusiasm and desire to make his date. He does not want anyone to lose confidence in the project.
Question: Bob, are you looking to strike the exact same tone as film 1 or will the sequel be more serious and thought-provoking? Will it be a smarter film, more science-fictionny?
Answer: More "science-fictionny." Yes.
Question: Any possibility of a TF arrivel scene similar to the first but with decepticons this time ?
And i take it there will be a mix of new and existing G1 characters for the next ?
Answer: New mix. Yes. No comment on Decepticon arrivals!
Question: Also Bob i would like to add, are we gonna see more of Cybertron in this one ?
Just in flashbacks or will it take place in present time ?
Anwer: No comment on Cybertron.
Question: My major problem with "Transformers" were the humans. Most of them acted like they were on a mix of speed, ecstacy and too much coffee. Their behaviour was IMO way over the top, almost like highly exaggerated comic-book caricatures. I think it wasn't so much due to the writing, but more due to the direction they were given by Michael Bay.
Was it your intention to write the human characters (Sam, Sam's parents, Simmons, the cop guy in the police station) in such an exaggerated, over-the-top way or did that evolve during filming and are there any plans to tone the humans down a little for the sequel to make them appear more ... normal and not so over-caffeinated?
Answer: We'll have to take some of the blame for that. We pitched Sam as "Marty McFly on crack." And Simmon's is pretty much the way he read on the page. But I agree that it went even further than it should've, and editing could've helped that a bit. As I've said before, tone on TF1 was the absolutely hardest thing to crack. Hopefully, we'll be better at modulating this time.
Question: Roberto could you tell us about the cooperation sofar? You know, you had a way to write with alex, how did it change with Ethan? Or was it he, who conformed himself to you?
Answer: We'd worked with Ehren before, so we knew his personality would be a good fit for "the band." We agreed to split up scenes and then pass them around to each other to make our own tweaks without anyone's feelings getting hurt -- one big jam session after which we'll hopefully have an album called TF2.
Question: Roberto, cheers for answering my first question. Predictably, I have another. Does Bumblebee talk all the time now, or does he still have issues with his voice box?
Answer: Minds not made up yet.
Question: Also about the humor and jokes in the next one, any chance of making them alittle "smarter" ?
Some of the jokes in the first is okay in a American Pie type movie but not in Transformers in my honest opinion.
Answer: Don't know how the humor will turn out yet. We have to find it. But we know it has to come from whatever situation Sam finds himself in. Any similarities to American Pie were the result of our character being in a similar situation (age, high school, etc.).
Question: Any idea what they're doing with those old S7 sites? They could be used in another viral game for TF2, or (more preferably) they could be taken offline.
Answer: No idea.
Question: Hey Roberto, Hasbro said at Toy Fair that they've been working with Paramount on designs for TF2 for weeks now, and Bay has indicated several times that they're well on their way with the robot designs. I'm just curious if you're getting kept in that loop, and if you get to comment along the way, or if they're keeping all of that amongst themselves. It doesn' so much matter for new characters, but for those based on past incarnations it'd be great if there were parties involved to assure they get "the Prime treatment", so to speak. Maybe Hasbro's more hands-on this go-around? Thanks!
Answer: As a result of the strike, we were not able to comment on anything that was going on within the production. As a result, Hasbro has been MUCH MORE involved. However, we had a ton of character and development conversations with them before the strike (going all the way back to before the movie's release). So we've had our input and Hasbro in general knew where we were going with the story. During the strike, some dates had to be met in order to assure all the designs would be ready for multiple purposes, and it now seems that is where Bay and Hasbro spent most of their efforts. Doesn't mean we can't lose or add characters, but it probably means our core group is somewhat locked.
Luckily, the folks at Hasbro are truly great people and their collaboration with Bay has probably kept this movie on track.
Question: Bay was quoted as saying that there would be some new/different "species" of Transformers. What do you think he meant by that?
Answer: No comment! But they're in the outline, so don't worry.
You can also probably guess what he means in his non-fan way.
Question: So when you guys are working on the outline...do you work on it from beginning to end? Or do the three of you figure out big spots that you want to have and go back and fill in the holes? What I mean by that are huge set peices, stunts or moments that you want to accent on screen. Im sure Bay has plenty of spots that he'd like to do and that would only add to the collaboration. How is that process completed?
Answer: Well, normally we don't hand over outlines. Normally we do those for ourselves and then hand in a script. Thanks to the strike, we felt it was only fair to give them a snap shot of where we were going so they could plan from a treatment. So naturally, a treatment is not a script, and there are many things that need to be filled in at script. Knowing where we were going, and what we intended the major set pieces to be, Bay could start to plan how he would attack some of the action.
Question: Is it safe to assume there are a bunch of new robots designed for the transformers movie, but have no name as of yet, or are subject to change?
Answer: Safe indeed.
Question: Roberto without going into details, how many parallel storylines do you think you might have running in this movie?
Answer: Story lines in this movie should be more organically interconnected in that TF1 had the structure of 3 story lines coming together at Hoover. TF2 will have a different structure.
Question: Roberto, I just wanted to know what comes first: The design of the Transformers then the names, or names first, then their design.
Answer: No hard and fast rules, and almost impossible to remember as it's a case by case basis.
Question: Will there be more emphasis on new transformer/s? Or will characters such as Bumblebee still be the main focus?
Answer: Just started playing around, but the short answer is both.
Question: So Roberto, what would the time estimate for the final script be? A couple weeks? A month? A couple months?
Answer: THE FINAL? The day before shooting.
A first draft? who knows -- everyone needed it last month, but we're contractually accorded 10-12 weeks or so for the first draft.
Question: can changes be made DURING shooting if Bay or someone else demands
Answer: Yes. We're usually the ones demanding it.