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Watching the 2006 Transformers movie and being a mild case of Obsessive Compulsive behavior, I searched for some interesting trivia about the movie. Being a number 1 fan of the Transformers, it is not enough that I satisfy my cravings on the movie itself. There was this “wicked fanatic� in me that urged me to look for some more details that would relieve my nosy tendencies. So here are some of the important “Behind the scenes� facts and videos about the Transformers Movie of 2007. Go get a popcorn and start gobbling the information and below that will blow your mind away as much as the movie has blown my own.

• The slogan for the movie “Their War. Our World”, was the original slogan for the movie AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004), but at the last minute it was switched to “Whoever wins…we lose.”

• It took approximately 38 hours for the animators Industrial Light & Magic to render one frame of the CGI animation to portray the Transformers. This breaks the record set by Weta Workshop for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), where it took 20 hours to animate a frame of CGI to portray the Ent Treebeard.

• Producer Don Murphy decided, after listening to feedback from Transformers fans, to use the voices from the “Transformers” (1984) (and its spin-off The Transformers: The Movie (1986)). Veteran voice actors Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, who provided the voices for the iconic Transformer leaders Optimus Prime (Cullen) and Megatron (Welker), were auditioned personally by director Michael Bay, who feared that their aged voices would be noticeable. Cullen was confirmed to reprise his role, but Welker’s voice had aged too much and besides didn’t suit Megatron’s new alien look, and so Hugo Weaving took the role of Megatron. However, Welker reprises his role as Megatron in Transformers: The Game (2007) (VG).

• Two of the Decepticons in this film are named Bonecrusher and Devastator. In the original toy line and television series, Bonecrusher was one of six Decepticns, known as Constructicons, who combines to form Devastator.

• WILHELM SCREAM: When Megatron flicks a human across the street like a bug (Megatron says “Disgusting,” and the human in question is wearing green and slams into a taxicab).

• Watch the end credits.

• Bumblebee doesn’t actually talk in the film. He communicates through sound bites that include the voice of Lt. Uhura from “Star Trek” (1966) saying “Hailing frequencies open.” and “Message from Starfleet.” and bits of dialog from John Wayne, whom voice actor Peter Cullen used as an inspiration for Optimus Prime’s voice.

• In the “Transformers” (1984) series, the Autobots had blue optics (eyes) and the Decepticons had red optics. The animators created a new eye design resembling a camera shutter in order to make the robots more engaging; however, in a nod to the series, the color scheme remains the same. The only exception being Frenzy, who is a Decepticon, but has blue optics.

• The gunship that successfully damages and drives off Scorponok during the attack on Captain Lennox and his men is the AC-130U Spooky II.

• Josh Duhamel’s character Captain Lennox first appeared in the comic book “G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers.”

• The F-22 Raptor that Starscream turns into is intended to replace the F-15 Eagle that Starscream originally turned into.

• When Bumblebee is reactivated, one of the radio transmissions played back is a sound clip from “Star Trek�. The part of Megatron/Galvatron has been previously played by Leonard Nimoy and Frank Welker, who have also both played Spock on Star Trek.

• Sam’s eBay name LadiesMan217 refers to Michael Bay’s birthday: February 17th.

• In the Pre-Screenings of the movie, an additional scene showing Bumblebee scanning the older model was included just before the cut to Sam at school. This scene was left out of the general release.

• Bumblebee is a 1974 Chevrolet Camaro and reforms into the new 2008 concept Camaro.

• Peter Cullen described reprising his role as Optimus Prime as “slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven’t worn for a while,” and was grateful to the fans for wanting him back. His vocal performance consisted of much improvisation with Michael Bay and bringing a sense of humour to Prime, as well as his traditional heroism.

• To prepare for his role as Sam ‘Spike’ Witwicky, ‘Shia LeBouf’ worked out five days a week for three months and gained 25 pounds of muscle, but he realized during shooting that Spike required agility rather than strength.

• To prepare for her role as Mikaela Banes, Megan Fox gained ten pounds of muscle during filming due to the physicality of her role.

• Michael Bay instructed the ILM animators to watch martial arts films to get an idea on how to effectively portray the Transformers’ movements.

• Charlie Adler, who voices the Decepticon Starscream in this film, voiced the Autobot Silverbolt in “Transformers” (1984). He was the only other voice actor from the series besides Peter Cullen to get a role in this film.

• Michael Bay originally turned down directing the film, considering it “a stupid toy movie.” However, as a young man he worked at Lucasfilm Ltd. and had a similar opinion about Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which became a classic hit. Realizing he was wrong about that film and perhaps about this one, he signed on to direct the film. He also took the job because he desired to make a family film, though he wanted to make it edgier than usual.

• Hasbro released several toys based on the movie’s characters. These toys feature new “Automorph Technology,” where moving parts of a toy in transformations allowed some other parts to shift automatically. This marks a rare time when Transformers toys are designed ‘after’ the characters in the fiction, whereas normally, the toys are designed first.

• Optimus Prime’s line before facing off with Megatron “One shall stand, one shall fall” is the exact some line he said before facing off with Megatron in The Transformers: The Movie (1986).

• The movie was shipped to theater as ‘Cobra’.

• While the film’s scriptwriters experimented with additional characters, their scripts always included the Autobots Optimus Prime and Bumblebee and the Decepticons Megatron and Starscream.

• In terms of characterization all the Autobots in this film are based on their Generation One incarnations. However, their alternate modes have undergone modern interpretations and overhauls for a realistic portrayal in the live-action film; in particular, all their modes, except for Optimus Prime’s Peterbilt truck, are now owned by General Motors as part of a tie-in deal.

• Stan Bush is composing a song for this film. He also composed the songs “Dare” and “The Touch” for The Transformers: The Movie (1986).

• The character of Arcee was included in the script, but poor fan reaction caused her to be cut out and replaced with Ironhide.

• Megatron’s classic alternate mode was a Walther P38 pistol, but Hasbro the owners, and official distributors of the toyline stated that they would not produce a gun of any kind for their characters (it’s also illegal to make replica toy guns in several jurisdictions). Also the writers thought it was like “having Darth Vader transform into his own lightsaber and someone else swinging him around,” so it was changed to an “interstellar jet.” Megatron was also given a less humanoid face to make him more menacing.

• As part of the promotion campaign for the film, early trailers showed as little of the Transformers as possible. Many parts of the robots were hidden from view due to quick cuts. However, later trailers and commercials showed more of the Transformers.

• Barricade’s side reads; “To punish and enslave” rather than “To protect and serve”.

• The Optimus Prime portrayed in the film is a Peterbilt 379. In “Duel” (1971), directed by this film’s executive producer, Steven Speilberg, the antagonist is a Peterbilt 281. This marks two Speilberg films with Peterbilt trucks as main characters, 36 years apart.

• Don Murphy originally intended to do a “G.I. Joe” (1985) film in 2003, but he instead negotiated with the Hasbro Company to make a Transformers film.

• The Decepticon Bonecrusher was originally named Devastator. The Decepticon Brawl was originally named Demolishor, while the Brawl name was originally given to the character who would later become Barricade. Interestingly, during the premier in some foreign countries, Brawl was referred to as “Devastator” in subtitles. And in the North American release, he refers to himself as “Devastator” (through subtitles, as he speaks an alien language rather than English) instead of Brawl.

• The Decepticon Frenzy was originally named Soundbyte. The writers had Soundwave in the original script, but decided to change the character to one of his cassettes from the original ‘84 series due to the size the robot has in the role. They plan to “do Soundwave correctly” in the sequel.

• The Decepticon Soundwave was originally in the script, but was replaced with Blackout (who had originally been named Vortex, and later Incinerator). He is to appear in the film’s sequel.

• Michael Bay did not want the VFX aspects of the film to overwhelm the live-action elements, and spent most of the film’s $150 million budget on 15 practical action sequences.

• According to Lorenzo di Bonaventura, working out the transformations was done with the help of a mathematical equation, which explained where each of the parts of the robot went when it become a vehicle.

• To portray the sentient cars, stunt drivers wore black and balaclavas to conceal themselves from view.

• Ironhide’s gun is composed of 10,000 pieces (more pieces than any other robot), thus making him the bulkiest Transformer in the film.

• At one point the Decepticon animal Ravage was included in the script, but he was removed and replaced with Scorponok, another robotic animal.

• The Decepticons outnumber the Autobots eight to five. This was a deliberate move by the writers to emphasize the Autobots’ teamwork, and the threat the Decepticons pose to the world.

• Producer/writer Tom DeSanto originally intended eight Transformers on each side to appear in the film; the Autobots would comprise Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, Ratchet, Wheeljack and Bumblebee; and the Decepticons to comprise Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Ravage, Laserbeak, Rumble, Skywarp and Shockwave. In the event, only seven of those Transformers (five Autobots and two Decepticons) made it into the film.

• The Transformers have been given a new design that reflects their alien origin. According to ‘Lorenzo Di Bonaventura’ , during the design process, Optimus Prime was designed in CGI in his classic boxy look (as seen in the 1984 series), but he looked “fake and silly.” So now, heavily stressed in their looks are advanced kinematics, realistic engineering and thousands of body parts (which all move during transformations and produce a better impression of mass). The Transformers were created with a mix of groundbreaking computer-generated imagery (by Industrial Light and Magic) and ten close-up props (by KNB Effects). The props built include Optimus Prime’s head, Bumblebee’s robot mode, Megatron’s legs and Blackout’s feet.

• Don Murphy brought in screenwriter Tom DeSanto to write the plot, impressed with the way DeSanto had managed the many characters and storylines in X-Men (2000). DeSanto, a big fan of the series since childhood, carried out extensive research on the Transformers; he held several meetings with comic book writer Simon Furman; and he invited fans to discuss the film on Murphy’s online message board. His treatment explored the Transformers’ existence and history, as well as the real possibilities and consequences of “their war on our world,” similar to a disaster film, which was what Murphy wanted the film to resemble.

• As an in-joke for fans and a tribute to the original cartoon, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle, which Bumblebee originally was, can be seen at the car dealership where Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) buys the Chevrolet Camaro, that is later found out to be Bumblebee. Bernie Mac’s character Bobby Bolivia, even attempts to sell Sam and his father, Ron (Kevin Dunn) the Beetle when they refuse to pay his asking price for the Camaro.

• During filming, Mark Ryan acted as a stand-in for the Transformers on set, to give the actors a physical presence to react to/act against. He also ad-libbed characters during the film’s post-production.

• The release date was set without a script or a cast.

• The US government supplied planes and assistance to the production

• According to one of the CGI artists that created the animated robots at ILM, if you took all the polygons (CGI building blocks) from all the autobots and decepticon models they created at the studio, and strung them end to end, they’d reach to the moon and back and you’d still have enough left over to build the coliseum in Rome two times.

• “Transformers� was shipped to theaters on seven reels in two separate cases. The second case contained reels four through seven and was locked with a master-lock combination four-digit lock. The combination to this lock is director Michael Bay’s birthday, 0217 or Febuary 17th.

• When the Autobots first crash to earth in meteor form, a man with a video camera exclaims “this is so much better than Armageddon” a possible allusion to Director Michael Bay’s earlier 1998 film _Armageddon (1998).

• To help prevent piracy, the last three reels of the “Transformers� prints were shipped in cans that had a timelock on it. Motion picture presentation specialists could build up the trailers and the first three reels, but had to wait until a certain date and time before they could open the second can and build up the rest of the print. This would prevent any pre-release screenings that could end up being captured by another device (like a camcorder).

• At one point in the film Glen Whitmann makes a comment about the gashes in the metal wall made by robots activated by the All Spark, saying that three gashes are like “Wolverine’s claws”. In addition to Tom DeSanto being a Co-Producer on this and the ‘X-Men’ films, it was Marvel Comics that gave Optimus Prime his name.

Video Source: HBO

Text Source: IMDB