Transformers People News on Seibertron.com

Voice Actor Hal Rayle to Attend TFcon Toronto 2018

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We are happy to welcome actor Hal Rayle to Toronto for his first ever TFcon. The voices of Shrapnel, Snarl, Pipes and Skuxxoid in Transformers Generation 1, fans of the 80s will also remember him as the voice of Deep Six in G.I. Joe and the voice of the Predator creature in Predator 2.

Hal will be taking part in Q&A panels and autograph sessions with the attendees of the world’s largest fan-run Transformers convention all weekend long.

Hal Rayle is presented by TFcon Toronto 2018 sponsor The Chosen Prime

IDW Artist Jack Lawrence to Attend TFNation 2018

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After the success of his first appearance at TFNation 2017, we are proud and happy to announce the return of artist Jack Lawrence!

One of the several UK-based robot creators hailing from the Transmasters stables - along with Lost Light co-creator James Roberts, also attending the event - Jack has been gracing the interiors and covers of IDW Publishing's fan favourite Transformers title, as well as warming hearts of fans through online presence and event attendance.

Before joining the politically romantic space horror opera that is Lost Light, Jack worked for a wide range of publishers, from Dark Horse to Image, via self-publishing and 2000AD, bringing his skills to characters such as TMNT, Dr Who, Sinister Dexter, and Skylanders.

He is an eager and vocal member of the Dungeons & Dragons community, and table-top gaming in general, and all round nerd. His art can also be found in several collections of reference material for well-love geek franchises, such as Dreamworks' Dragons, Marvel Figurines, and Batman Automobilia.

Jack will be signing autographs, selling sketches and artwork, including commissions, in our guest area all weekend. Launch tickets, bedrooms, pricing, further guests and activities will be announced in the coming months. Keep monitoring this frequency. If you want to ensure all communications are intercepted, join our mailing list at https://tfnation.com

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Writer James Roberts to Attend TFNation 2018, plus Pricing Updates

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A regular guest for the past two years, and a staple name in the new Transformers lore from IDW, we're proud to announce James Roberts' presence at TFNation 2018.

As many current IDW creators, Roberts was a member of the Transmasters UK fan community way back in the day of early Marvel comics. He has been a fan wordsmith ever since, and with All Hail Megatron #15 (2009) and Last Stand of the Wreckers (2010), both next to Nick Roche, he has entered made his mark on the Cybertronian universe.

Currently behind IDW Publishing's Lost Light series next to a number of artists - but mostly Jack Lawrence - and risen to fan-favourite with the series' predecessor More Than Meets The Eye, Roberts has a streak for the dark, the political, cult science-fiction, TV shows, and old New Wave & Britpop music.

He will be signing autographs, breaking hearts, and selling scripts at TFNation 2018.

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Ron Perlman and Star Wars’ Mark Hamill Added to the Cast of Transformers Power of the Primes

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Peter Cullen Interviewed by Den of Geek

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I was a 1980s kid, and I remember seeing Transformers: The Movie and just being devastated by the death of Optimus Prime. How did you first find out about this plot point, and after Optimus died did you find yourself grieving for the character?

I was stunned when I first read about it. I was reading the script, getting ready to go into recording. I was with Frank Welker and I got to the page, and I just read it and when the dust settled in my brain, i said "wait a minute, this is it, I’m not coming back. Oh damn." Or whatever curse words were available at the time, I chose those that were appropriate.

It was disappointment for sure. As an actor you either learn to put up with rejections or disappointments or you’ll break, you'll succumb. I'm used to that. Most actors are used to that, getting hired for something that means a lot to them. You hope, you hope, you hope. Your hopes shouldn't be dashed because you didn’t get the part. But in my case I was a little disgruntled because there was no explanation, there was no intended meaning behind it, other than years later to find out they were just trying to create a new character to sell more toys. But at the time you interpret that as being “my character sucks, God I must have been terrible in this role.”

We didn’t get fan mail. I never received a letter of fan mail although I was told it did come. And we didn’t have the internet so there was no thermomenter to judge how popular or unpopular something was. So move on, go on to the next job.

Of course now you realize how beloved Optimus is. Jumping ahead a few years when you were first cast for the Michael Bay Transformers movie, was your approach to the film version of Optimus different than his cartoon counterpart?

I think the answer is a two-fold answer. The character traits were ultimately for me going to be the same, but how to enact them and make the change from a small television screen with painted pictures to a full-on, blown up 45-foot character who is talking to human beings in real-life form in a believable way, that was something that had to be contended with. And I might add that Michael Bay and the people in his department were very concerned whether or not Peter Cullen could act. In other words could he act in a real-life situation and the way they were going to conceive it and portray it?

I had to audition a total of three times, they weren’t quite convinced. I don’t blame them, because at the audition Michael asked me if I played any other characters and I said yes, I played Ironhide and Ironhide had a scene with Optimus Prime. There was a girl reading Ironhide not giving it any dimension. I assumed that Michael Bay was at least aware of some of these characters so I said “if you don’t mind I’d like to read that part, I did him two and half years on the television series." She said ok.

Musician Stan Bush to Attend TFNation 2018, plus Concert Info

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If you attend TFNation in 2018 you'll have the touch! You'll have the power! Most importantly, you'll also have the Emmy award-winning, Transformers Hall of Famer, Stan Bush!

To Transformers fans, Stan is best known for performing iconic songs "The Touch" and "Dare" which featured prominently in 1986's Transformers: The Movie. He has subsequently released additional tracks inspired by the Cybertronians, perhaps most notably, 2007's "Till All Are One".

As well as appearing on countless releases of Transformers: The Movie, his work can also be heard during the Transformers: War for Cybertron video game.

Of course, there is much more to Stan's arsenal than giant robots! He is an Emmy award-winning artist who has released fourteen studio albums over an incredible 35-year career. His most recent album, "Change the World", was released in 2017 and is available at http://www.stanbush.com and on itunes.

Stan has also lent his considerable talents to various movies such as The Wraith (1986) and Kickboxer (1989). He provided music for the US dub of Sailor Moon and most recently, the Netflix series GLOW. In the video game world, as well as the aforementioned Transformers: War for Cybertron, his work has also been included on Saints Row IV and even Guitar Hero!

We'll be putting Stan right in the eye of the storm for the full weekend of TFNation 2018, where he will be participating in panels, meeting fans and signing autographs at no additional cost.

In addition, Stan has kindly offered to perform a full concert for his fans at TFNation!

The concert will take place on the Saturday evening of the convention, after the conclusion of our "Clubcon" evening entertainment for weekend pass holders. Like all events taking place at TFNation, attendance is strictly subject to availability and room capacity.

We appreciate this may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for many of our attendees so, to ensure the concert is as impressive as it deserves to be, TFNation has hired suitable function space, instruments, a professional audio set up and a full live band. This is an additional event, taking place beyond our usual budget, so to accommodate these extra measures (and to avoid a price rise across all ticket types) there will be an additional concert entrance fee.

Tickets will be available from our website, in addition to regular TFNation packages, on 3rd February 2018. For Saturday only attendees, concert tickets will be £20.00. For full weekend pass holders, concert tickets will be on sale at the reduced price of £15.00.

At this time we do not have plans to open ticket sales to non-attendees, as we believe demand will be extremely high and it is important to us that TFNation attendees have first option to watch Stan in action. We may reassess the position closer to the event, but only if available places and capacity allow.

After all is said and done, Stan Bush will be joining TFNation for the entire duration of the convention, from 17th to 19th August 2018, at a place where dreams survive; the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel!

Launch tickets, bedrooms details, further guests and activities will be announced in the coming months. Keep monitoring this frequency.

If you want to ensure all communications are intercepted, join our mailing list at https://tfnation.com


Further transmissions to follow.


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Peter Cullen on Optimus Prime in Machinima Transformers Titans Return

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During a conversation about Transformers: Titans Return, a webseries that brings Cullen back together with Transformers: The Movie co-star Judd Nelson and other legendary Transformers names, the voice acting legend (who long played Eeyore in Disney's Winnie the Pooh franchise) recalled the wild days of early Transformers seasons when none of the cast were sure anyone was watching.

“I’m a Generation One fan, always have been for many reasons, obviously,” Cullen told ComicBook.com. “It’s the beginning and a successful beginning and a continuing journey of success. Generation One, to see it all happening that way again, reminds me sentimentally of the old days. The only thing missing is the cast; I don’t work with the full cast the way that we used to. I miss the days when we would have laugh attacks and production would shut down for five or six minutes due to everyone laughing so hard they couldn’t stop. Those were the days that I cherished.”

He added that in those early days, working with people like Mel Blanc (in some non-Transformers work) and Frank Welker (Megatron), he was constantly floored by the level of talent that he was working with, even if animation was still considered something of an acting ghetto at that time.

“These creative minds, these vocal geniuses playing multiple characters, inventing them, there’s no greater thrill to be sitting and recording with people who are that capable. You’re just in awe; it’s jaw-dropping,” Cullen said. “I have great appreciation for them; and it's great to get someone like Judd Nelson back. What a great, talented person and a special kind of human being. His approach to acting is a great, great asset to the franchise. We don’t have much opportunity to work with too many other people, but Frank Welker I do. We convene together at conventions, et cetera, and we get an opportunity to back and forth with each other, which is laugh-attack-ville.”