Transformers Movie Advance Screening Report (from Australia).
Tuesday, June 12th, 2007 12:03PM CDT
Categories: Movie Related News, Event NewsPosted by: Tigertrack Views: 18,624
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"So it's now just a bit before 10:30pm Australian time and I just got back to the hotel after seeing the movie.
So, where to begin? Well for starters, we're not allowed to talk about the movie until the 28th.
What we are allowed to talk about is the event it's self...
The red carpet was actually a "camo" carpet and the announcer made the comment "we've transformed this place into a junkyard, to make the Autobots feel at home" which gave me a bit of a chuckle.
What did get annoying though was him constantly referring to Autobots as "Autobarns", someone obviously corrected him though.
He kept handing out free tickets until the celebrities turned up, they also had music blasting away, and Lion's Transformers theme was one of them. It was the only TF related music they played.
They were also hyping the fact they had a Hummer there done up with the Transformers logo, nothing spiffy about that really but apparently we were suppose to be in awe.
A bunch of celebrities attended (Mulla can provide a full list after he swangled a Media pass and scored a media press kit), Megan Fox was the first to arrive and she did over the camo carpet. Michael Bay eventually turned up which is when things got a little crazy as we were told we could begin entering the theatre, except we had no idea where.
It was all quite a bit disorganized at that point but we eventually found our way in. There were two cinemas in use with Bay and the Rachel chick in one and Megan Fox in the other.
Bay got up and gave a speech at the beginning and stated that he had only finished the movie 19 hours ago (complete with one big error), then the movie got started and we were treated to one hell of a fantastic movie.
There's good points and bad points but quite frankly the good definitely outweighs the bad. I'll post more and some pics (provided they turn out) when I got home in a couple of days.
But I'll say this. GO AND SEE THIS **** MOVIE!"
Sounds like we will have more to report and hopefully some pictures to share from other Australian members when they start reporting in and sharing how things went. Thanks Burn!
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Posted by Tigertrack on June 12th, 2007 @ 12:05pm CDT
Posted by Anonymous on June 12th, 2007 @ 12:08pm CDT
Posted by Megatron Wolf on June 12th, 2007 @ 12:15pm CDT
Posted by Maximus Prime on June 12th, 2007 @ 12:17pm CDT
Posted by Anonymous on June 12th, 2007 @ 12:23pm CDT
Posted by mangatron on June 12th, 2007 @ 12:35pm CDT
Salazaar wrote:http://www.seibertron.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7234&sid=
I made that thread for a reason!
There is no review, so there is no point in putting it in that thread. It's likely there might have been a NDA signed, or it's just good common sense to adhere to a hidden NDA through trust. After all, this is like one to two whole weeks before this movie goes wide, and I'm sure it's mandatory to keep reviews at a bare minimum.
Posted by Spooner on June 12th, 2007 @ 1:19pm CDT
Posted by Seibertron on June 12th, 2007 @ 1:32pm CDT
Ryan
Posted by Autobobby1 on June 12th, 2007 @ 2:45pm CDT
Posted by spiritofcat on June 12th, 2007 @ 3:26pm CDT
Glad to hear it was worth watching.
Posted by i_amtrunks on June 12th, 2007 @ 5:51pm CDT
I didnt realise that there were going to be free hand out tickets on the night or I would have stopped working at 5 (like Im meant to) and headed on down to Fox Studios.
I wont bother asking about the film, but how full was it? Was it mainly people like yourself or was it mainly media?
Posted by RaYdeX on June 12th, 2007 @ 6:44pm CDT
I too was there, and I have to say... That it was well done. AWesomely done.
Michael bay was very humble when he gave his quick speech, and seemed quite genuine. Mucho respect.
The movie itself... was awesome. Plenty of big action, Optimus was, and most certianly still is the Optimus Prime we all know and love, albeit with a bit of a style change. Though I think it fit pretty well with the movie in general.
I can honestly say, that any fan that is "boycotting" this movie on any self proffessed principles, is being very narrow minded and silly. You will love it. Theres plenty of fan service for the old school fans, and the "humour" doesn't feel contrived, or out of place.
Can't wait for the sequel
Posted by Wheeljack35 on June 12th, 2007 @ 7:36pm CDT
Posted by Phelan on June 12th, 2007 @ 7:46pm CDT
Glad you guys enjoyed it. I loved it and was sad the cars didn't change into robots when I was driving home.
I also got to chat to Michael Bay after the event. He liked my red Autobot t-shirt
Posted by polymorphic on June 12th, 2007 @ 8:01pm CDT
Posted by Phelan on June 12th, 2007 @ 8:09pm CDT
Posted by Mulla on June 12th, 2007 @ 8:26pm CDT
I just got home from my little venture down south and I must say, damn it was worth it!
As Burn already said, we can't give reviews for some time, but the date is actually the 23rd, which is one week before Australian release and two before American and worldwide. So we don't have to wait until thw 28th it turns out.
In regards to your question MP, we did not sign disclosure agreements, we were simply asked nicely by Phelan. This is however at the behest of Paramount, and after speaking with the media a bit I found out there is an embargo on reviews until that date for all media outlets. So I won't be able to publish mine in the local paper until then either.
So like Burn said, I was in the media section rubbing shoulders with bigshots from Showtime, Movie Extra, Nickelodeon, Filmink, Empire, and all the trashy mags like New Idea and stuff. It was awesome to be in there, got to speak with Fox, Taylor and Bay in person.
Unfortunately I did not have a camera with me so I will not be able to post any pics, which is a shame because Megan (pronounced Meggan) Fox is gorgeous up close. I never realised she had so many tattoos. That's one thing you won't see in the movie
Rachael Taylor was amazing to deal with, very polite, still grounded to her Australian roots.
Surprisingly, Michael Bay was actually the most interesting and polite person I dealt with, an absolute pleasure to deal with. He didn't have such a strong American twang in his voice which surprised me. To me that made him seem more human He dodged a question from some guys from Youtube when they asked about Welker. That was the one thing he trailed off on. The best part was he signed my custom-made Lil 'Formers shirt, Burn might have a photo, if not it will also end up the video blog by the boys from Joffre Street Productions (http://www.joffrestreetproductions.com - follow the links) later this month. Bay thought my shirt was awesome (his words, or close to, might have been 'amazing'), either or point is he loved it. He asked me if there was a strong Transformers fanbase in Australia, of course we said yes, but we had to sit back and go 'Duh!' considering he was showing the first ever screening of the film in Australia. So kind of goes without saying right?
I'll post pics of my shirt and all the other goodies from the night when I get a camera later today.
Now I could go into a list of all the other celebrities that were there, but really there's no point. Most were local Aussie actors from Big Brother, Neighbours, Home and Away and other no-namers. Standouts to me though were Claudia Karvan, Jeremy Sims and Samantha Lang, Michael Falzon, Clayton Watson, and Nash Edgerton. I'll try take a photo of the list so everyone can see.
Walking down the camo carpet was awesome, as ticket holders we were entitled to tbhat, but yes, the night was very unorganised when it came time to queue and be seated. I had a seat right at the front to the right, so on the big screen it was often discerning trying to take in all the action because it is so fast moving. But Bay has brought his style for action to this film, and it works.
His speech to the cinema was short and sweet, he mentioned the film had only been finished 19 hours earlier, he did not mention the error, that is mine and Burn's personal opinions, but after speaking we suspect they may change it before release. Either that or check Hasbro's official site under the Deluxe Toys listings and it may be a clue as to what will happen.
The experience was awesome, which I suspect the same goes for many people as there were often bouts of applause and cheering throughout the film and at the end.
So that's all I have for now. I'm sure I'll think of something more later on, but I have to get going. Overall, well worth the $500 to go down to Sydney and have the experience of my lifetime. If any one has any qestions feel free to ask.
Lastly, GO SEE THIS DAMN MOVIE! I am not telling you that it will blow your mind (though it sure as Primus did mine), but for all the naysayers and people with negative feelings and thoughts towards this film, do me a favour, see it at the cinema, and then be the judge. It deserves to be seen on the big screen, for crying out loud it's a live action movie of Tranformers! We've waited years for this! And you will be surprised. I have always loked forward to it, though I admit I did have negative feelings towards it when the designs started coming out and whatnot, but I tell you one thing. It made the movie work. SO SEE IT!
Posted by Robinson on June 12th, 2007 @ 8:34pm CDT
Phelan wrote:You do know I'm the guy who works with Paramount don't ya, and who organised the competition?
So Um, any chance of some freebies?
Posted by polymorphic on June 12th, 2007 @ 8:52pm CDT
Phelan wrote:You do know I'm the guy who works with Paramount don't ya, and who organised the competition?
Nope! I worked in advertising for about 7 years directly with Disney, Dreamworks, Miramax, Universal, etc., etc., too, for the record. Never cared for Paramount. Our competitor had their account.
So, why don't you write a secret review, send it to me, and I'll post it?
Posted by Bartrim on June 12th, 2007 @ 9:29pm CDT
Burn and Mulla basically summed up the event quite well. I enjoyed walking down the carpet but no media took photos of me . Getting into the movie took a long time because bag checks which was about the only thing that irritated me about the whole event. But I got a free lanyard (sp???) I agree with both you when you say GO SEE THE DAMN MOVIE.
I'm pretty sure I know what error Burn was referring too. I hope they rectify it before the rest of the world get to see it.
Posted by Tigertrack on June 12th, 2007 @ 9:31pm CDT
It sounds like a really fun time. Megan fox's tats become apparent at the MTV awards, but yeah...(sigh).
Anyway, looking forward to some pictures, if possible!
Posted by Gutsman Heavy on June 12th, 2007 @ 11:29pm CDT
Bartrim wrote:I was there too. Lots of love to Gutsman BTW.
grats to all who made it. I cant wait!!
Posted by Burn on June 13th, 2007 @ 1:57am CDT
Why? Because I offered him my camera knowing all too well he'd be at a better vantage point and he turned me down!
Still not home, should be there in 12 hours.
Posted by Mulla on June 13th, 2007 @ 6:57am CDT
Burn wrote:And can I just say, I only have a few pics, mostly boring. If anyone's not happy with that then they are more than welcome, in fact I highly encourage them, to blame Mulla.
Why? Because I offered him my camera knowing all too well he'd be at a better vantage point and he turned me down!
Still not home, should be there in 12 hours.
Turned you down!? Hell no. YOU said you'd be fine. YOU'RE just jealous the closest you got to Fox/Taylor/Bay was 10 metres away, instead of hugging distance like myself
Though yes, I admit, I should have being more with it and borrowed Burn's camera. Stupid
Posted by Felafel on June 13th, 2007 @ 7:05am CDT
I was there and met Burn and Mulla... and i'll lay claim to being the FREAK who took his Leader Megatron and got it signed by Bay and Megan.
And at least you guys got to relax... we got to the airport with like 5 minutes to spare for the last flight back down to Melbourne. My gf had an exam at 9am this morning, and i had an 20 hour day, 4 hours of sleep and 9 hours at work... really shopuld have gone up a day early or something.
As for piccys... the rush to teh airport meant all our bags were put in a mates car... and i figured my camera was better there than getting left outside the cinema etc etc
Posted by Bender Prime on June 13th, 2007 @ 7:12am CDT
Would have loved to have met Michael Bay and Co, you guys are lucky.
Film sounds great as well.
Posted by Mulla on June 13th, 2007 @ 7:43am CDT
Felafel wrote:I hardly ever post here... but i will for this occasion....
I was there and met Burn and Mulla... and i'll lay claim to being the FREAK who took his Leader Megatron and got it signed by Bay and Megan.
And as I recall that FREAK's Leader Megatron was the focus of attention from the announcer a number of times, and also filmed and photographed by a number of media outlets.
Well done.
I also recall it was a good looking autograph from Bay too
Posted by Skowl on June 13th, 2007 @ 8:03pm CDT
Posted by Burn on June 14th, 2007 @ 12:22am CDT
Skowl wrote:Question: Did Jazz have his "eyes" from the older stock photos and concept art, or does he have the visor down for the whole movie?
Good question. No idea, didn't really pay much attention to Jazz.
Anyhoo .... home now! Which means ....
PICTURES!
And a little video. Sorry I couldn't get any better but someone also asked me to make sure his entry got into the draw for the $25,000 so I had to hang around there to do that.
Just want to add as well some of the concerns people have whined about.
The Sam/Makayla love story
Is a very MINOR thing. It's barely there at all and the bits that are there push the movie forward quite nicely.
The soundtrack
Okay seriously, this people can also get over. I might have missed the snippets of songs but what's on the soundtrack is barely noticeable in the movie. If anything, Linkin Park's song gets the most airplay.
Michael Bay and his big explosions
Think Bay does nothing but make movies with big explosions? Well guess what. They were absoloutely necessary in this movie.
Seriously, it's a change from what we've experienced over the last 20 years but it's one hell of a fun enjoyable movie, and I know as a TF fan i'm probably bias but I really do believe that this movie will be able to take on Harry Potter and I wouldn't be suprised if it blows away some of the records POTC and Spider-Man got.
Posted by Sguisewing on June 14th, 2007 @ 2:11am CDT
Posted by Burn on June 14th, 2007 @ 2:26am CDT
And I swear, dark at 5:30? That just isn't right. Way to screw up the internal clock of a country boy from the tropics!
Posted by on June 14th, 2007 @ 6:14am CDT
Posted by Burn on June 14th, 2007 @ 7:14am CDT
Stalinglad wrote:Thanks for the information, Burn. You sound like a decent chap, and I take my pipe out and salute you!
Someone will be along later to correct you.
Posted by Robinson on June 14th, 2007 @ 7:29am CDT
Burn wrote:Stalinglad wrote:Thanks for the information, Burn. You sound like a decent chap, and I take my pipe out and salute you!
Someone will be along later to correct you.
You will be corrected at a time and date of our choosing.
Posted by on June 14th, 2007 @ 5:34pm CDT
Burn wrote:Stalinglad wrote:Thanks for the information, Burn. You sound like a decent chap, and I take my pipe out and salute you!
Someone will be along later to correct you.
No one corrects the Vozhd!
Posted by Mulla on June 14th, 2007 @ 6:25pm CDT
Wish I'd noticed that the other night, huh Burn?
Posted by Burn on June 14th, 2007 @ 8:06pm CDT
Posted by Mulla on June 15th, 2007 @ 2:14am CDT
Burn wrote:I pointed it out to you the other night it had a list of all the VA's!
Hahahaha, oops. Guess I just got caught up in all the excitement. Seriously, we were some of the select few people able to see Transformers for the first time ever
Posted by Burn on June 15th, 2007 @ 2:46am CDT
Mulla™ wrote:Burn wrote:I pointed it out to you the other night it had a list of all the VA's!
Hahahaha, oops. Guess I just got caught up in all the excitement. Seriously, we were some of the select few people able to see Transformers for the first time ever
You were excited? I never noticed. What with you flitting back and forth across the park.
Posted by Bartrim on June 15th, 2007 @ 3:29am CDT
Skowl wrote:Question: Did Jazz have his "eyes" from the older stock photos and concept art, or does he have the visor down for the whole movie?
He had his visor down. Looked pretty sweet too
Oh no! Did I just say too much about the movie . I hope the big studio types don't come after me
One downfall about the movie... I have to wait another two weeks before I see it again
Posted by Burn on June 15th, 2007 @ 8:01am CDT
Posted by mangatron on June 15th, 2007 @ 8:34am CDT
I guess they are keeping mum too. In other words nothing much.
If anyone else like to hear Aussie voices, watch that clip. Great way to learn how to talk like in the outback
Posted by Burn on June 15th, 2007 @ 9:16am CDT
Posted by Wheeljack35 on June 15th, 2007 @ 12:20pm CDT