TF2: A Day with Bay in Tokyo

For those who may have not seen it, below are two videos that cover one of the extra features that are on the Blu-ray release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The featurette follows director Michael Bay as he spent the day in Tokyo, Japan promoting the movie for its world premiere. (via MB.com)

Bendy-Bus Prime, the 1st UK Transformer

As part of the promotion of the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen in the United Kingdom, Paramount UK commissioned the creation of Bendy-Bus Prime. It is being called the "first British inspired" Transformer that is valued at 50,000 pounds. The robot is made of 100 bus parts, stands 13 feet high and took 650 man hours in 25 days to build. More interesting is The Sun is holding a contest for UK residents for a chance to win the robot.

Click here for a full gallery of pictures. Click here for a brief making of video and to enter the contest. (via TFormers)

25 Years of Transformers Clip

From Seibertron.com, below is a clip from the "25 Years of Transformers" extra feature that came with the home video release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on DVD and Blu-ray. The clip was released by Paramount to help promote the release of the movie in the UK on November 30th. Thanks to Kaly for the link. Video below or click here to view.

Signed Transformers 1 and 2 (Updated)

Thanks to Chris, here is an image of the signed copies of Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on Blu-ray by Tyrese Gibson and Michael Bay for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. If you haven't got yours yet, I assume its coming but you will need to check at MichaelBay.com for more details. Hopefully MB.com will announce soon how much Transfans, Bay and Tyrese helped make for the charity.

Update: An additional note from Chris, "in the package there was printed note saying they raised almost $20,000 for Make a Wish Foundation."

T-1000 Easter Egg

Michael Bay has made it clear in comments made in the special features for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and in various media interviews that he held much disdain for Terminator Salvation's McG for his use of suspiciously Transformer like robots in his film. As a sign of that, here is an image captured by IloveMcG that illustrates a dig at the film by apparently labeling one of the cannon fodder Decepticons in the desert battle with "T1000", the classic name for the original Terminator model.

Update: As pointed out in the comments I had my Terminator models confused. The T-1000 is the classic villain Terminator played by Robert Patrick in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. The T-800 is the Arnold Schwarzenegger's role as the villain in Terminator 1 and hero for T2. For Terminator 3, he was the "'850 series Model 101', a 'T-850', and a 'T-101'". Long story short, T-1000 is appropriate name for a Decepticon when taking a dig at the Terminator franchise since both are bad guys.

The AllSpark Experiment Transformers 3 Secret Video

The rumors are true; there is a secret video with the Blu-ray edition of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. With the right combination vehicles in the Blu-ray exclusive extra feature "The AllSpark Experiment" the video will unlock with Michael Bay discussing some of ideas he has for Transformers 3.

In the video, Bay suggests he is going to try to go "sideways" rather than bigger with more research into Transformers lore (and image of animated Unicron is shown). His desire is for something that isn't just action but something darker and more emotional. The video was likely recorded before he committed to getting TF3 out for summer 2011 and really its way to early to draw any definitive conclusions from the video as likely the film is still in the spitballing phase to see what sticks.

The video is below or click here which also has the solution to unlock the video. Thanks for Katie for the link.

Transformers 2 Sells 7.5M Copies

The first week of sales for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on DVD and Blu-ray was a smashing success with 7.5 million copies sold in the first week of release according to the Hollywood Reporter. Two million was sold on the first day of release. The movie was also the highest selling Blu-ray movie of the year with 1.2 million units sold (500,000 of that on the first day).

"It's certainly an encouraging sign for the business," said veteran industry analyst Tom Adams. He added that the strong Blu-ray Disc sales count is particularly good news "because if the business is going to turn around it's going to be because Blu-ray starts performing, and this is certainly an indicator that Blu-ray is starting to play its role and help stabilize the business."

"Transformers" easily debuted at No. 1 on all three charts: the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert sales chart, Home Media Magazine's rental chart, and the Nielsen VideoScan Blu-ray Disc sales chart.

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen Easter Eggs

Easter Eggs isn't as common on video releases as they use to be but Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen does have two (if don't count R2D2 and Shockwave) on the second disc for Blu-ray and DVD editions. Both are essentially short bloopers. The titles are made up by me. Thanks to LionBoogy for the first egg.

Big Hero Moment
- Load Special Features, disc two > under "Human Factor: Enacting Revenge of the Fallen" > go to "Domestic Destruction" > toggle right and a Decepticon symbol will appear > confirm choice
- Bay warns Josh Duhamel to not screw up who then precedes to fall while running from the huge gas explosion for the desert fight finale.

Mojo Action
- Load Special Features, disc two > under "Deconstructing Visual Bayhem > go to "Jackhammer Fight" > toggle right, see Autobot symbol > confirm choice
- This feature is a montage of Mojo humping Frankie.

A quick run through of impressions while watching the extra features. Over all the two disc edition of ROTF was more informatative than expected. There was the usual butt kissing (it's inevitable) but not nearly as much as I was expecting. Bay does comes across as a bit of a harda$$ but with a great sense of humor. Really he reminds me of every boss I have ever had. Do your job, do it right, and all is well. Don't and I will rip you a new one. There are only three deleted scenes, two with the lovely Julie White, an extended bit of her high act at college and more of Sam's parents in Paris. It was pretty clear why they were cut but still a shame. Probably my favorite feature was "Giant Effing Movie" as it was a behind the scenes with a more light touch from the first day of filming to the last with an angle on showing the fun side of filming a movie.

The commentary was ok; a real attempt was made to be informative as the writers talked about what they were thinking when writing scenes while Michael Bay talked about some of the challenges faced while filming. I believe the commentary track is actually two separate tracks (one for Bay, one for writers) that were edited together as there no overlap in talk and no back and forth that usually occurs when all the commentators are together.

Revenge Sells 2 Million On First Day

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen sold 2 million discs on its first day of release. This total does seem to include both DVD and Blu-ray sales. This is half the estimated 4 million reported the other day but still considered good news.

..the real talk of the town was Paramount/DreamWorks' "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which arrived in stores Oct. 20 and within 24 hours had sold 2 million discs, according to industry sources -- giving the sell-through business, down 13.9% for the year, a badly needed shot in the arm.

Shockwave Cameo Plus IMAX Edition Review

Earlier this week Star War's R2D2 was found in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and now another appearance has been found. Site reader Jason reported that Shockwave could be found in the movie and now thanks to David here is the photographic proof. The image was part of a worth reading review at High Def Disc News of the Wal-Mart's Big Screen Blu-ray Edition of the movie that breaks down all the features and might help in deciding what edition to buy.

The image is from the Devastator sequence when he is trying to suck the Twins up as they hang onto a pipe. Shockwave is on the front page photo below the headline "-ERIOUS ROBOT SPOTTED". Most Transfans would prefer he have more than a cameo appearance (always TF3) but still this nod to Generation One by the folks at ILM (as I pretty confident that is a CGI newspaper not a set prop) is appreciated.

I wonder what other goodies ILM have hidden in this movie. Thanks to David for the link and image.

ROTF Sells 4 Millon?

According to Nelson, the admin for MichaelBay.com, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has sold four million copies on its first day of release.

Nelson here...

I've been getting emails from LA, Chicago, NYC, and Houston of people going to their local retailers to only being told that they ran out of TF2 DVDs and Blu-rays. It's insane!!

I've also received unconfirmed reports that about 4 million copies of TF2 were sold today.

I will keep you posted!

Those numbers seem high but its nearly identical the numbers that Transformers posted back in 2007 (when released on DVD and HD-DVD) with a first day total of 4.5 million copies and first week sales of 8.3 million units. To compare the top selling movie for the year (through 10/11) is Twilight with 9,188,197 sold and it was released back in March. If that early report holds, then Revenge of the Fallen will reside in fourth place for the year behind only Twilight, Madagascar 2 (7.0 million), and Bolt (4.6 million) and those movies have out about 10 months. Since Harry Potter 6 isn't coming out until December, Transformers 2 is probably going to be the undisputed king of the home video market for the year inside of two weeks.

G4's Transformers: ROTF DVD Review

On G4's Attack of the Show for DVDuesday, Chris Gore reviews Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and the Transformers Generation One Box Set. Over all he didn't like the movie but did like the special features and thought the Generation One set was good but likely will destroy your childhood memories of the show (as its not as good as your decades long memory makes it seem).

Video Games - E3 2009 - Attack of the Show

Prime Wants You To Buy ROTF

For those that might have missed it, here is the most recent commercial for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on DVD and Blu-ray with Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) offering an important message of buying "an object of tremendous value to all". Kind of hokey but I think it. For those still debating where to buy, click here for the price guide for the best deals for the first week of release. Thanks to NHLFan for the link.

R2-D2 Spotted in Transformers 2

Way back in June, it was leaked that R2-D2 makes a cameo appearance in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen but exactly when was never revealed. Thanks to Jetfire_J here is the proof of his very brief appearance as part of the debris field during the desert fight.

Update: From the comments, the moment occurs during the merge of Jetfire's parts to Optimus Prime, specifically at 2 hours 17 minutes and 52 seconds into the movie.

Transformers: ROTF Price Guide

Update: Another update, this time for what is probably the deal of the week from Wal-Mart with Blu-ray "Big Screen" edition for $13.00 (but up to $19.96 depending on area but over all they are offering the edition cheaper then anyone else). As for how the IMAX footage works, it is the same as The Dark Knight where the scenes expand to fill the screen (removing the black bars) and then shrink back once the IMAX specific moments end. If I remember right the areas it's used in is the Demolisher fight, forest fight and for Devastator.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has hit store shelves (special features details here. To help promote the release, some national chains have exclusives such as the type of case, extra scenes and the like. Also most stores have sale prices for the first week of release.

Below is an exclusive feature and sale price guide to help determine where is the best place to go to buy Revenge of the Fallen in its various editions. I will add stores (or alter prices) as new information becomes available.Read More »

Transforming Bumblebee Case Demo

I plan on doing a Price Guide Sunday once the various circulars come out to help decide where to buy your copy of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but until then below is a demo of Target's exclusive gimmick with the Transforming Bumblebee case for two-disc DVD and Blu-ray edition of the movie.

So far, the breakdown of exclusives is:
Wal-Mart: two-minutes of IMAX footage
Target: BB transforming case
Best Buy: Optimus Prime head statue
Futureshop (Canada): Blu-ray Steelcase
FYE (US): DVD Steelcase

Target Exclusive Bumblebee Transformers ROTF DVD Packaging @ Yahoo! Video

The Optimus Experience Preview

Below is a preview look at the Augmented Reality extra feature for the two disc DVD and Blu-ray editions of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The Optimus Experience website currently just shows the video but I assume on October 20th it will update to support the feature. Thanks to NHLfan for the heads-up.

Transformers Goes to College

A new clip is up to help promote the home video release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The clip talks with the cast and crew as they filmed at Princeton. Sadly these clips continue the extra features meme of selling the movie (and back patting the actors) even though if you are watching the extra features then it’s safe to assume you are already sold on the film therefore no longer need the sales pitch.

Years after the Lord of the Rings trilogy showed how to extra features right and the extra feature producers still can't do it. It is real simple - give me information about how the movie was made, not a sales pitch with back patting and ego stroking. I get it, the movie was hard work. Do a special feature on just the required ego stroking and then the rest can be the real information. It’s not a Transformers thing; it’s a Hollywood home video approach thing that is getting very tiresome because they all do it. Sorry for the small rant.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - Going to College @ Yahoo! Video

Previous clips: TF Mythology, TF in Egypt and Action

Paramount Plans Flash Mob Event

Paramount is planning a flab mob robot dance to help promote the October 19th release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on home video. The video of how to do the dance is below. The flash mod is planned for October 19th, 9PM Pacific at the West Hollywood Gateway Best Buy in California. From the Facebook entry:

Be the first to own the #1 movie of the year, TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN on DVD and Blu-ray.
Come down to the Best Buy @ the West Hollywood Gateway (corner of La Brea and Santa Monica Blvd.) on Monday, October 19th from 8 to 10pm.
Look for the 18 foot tall Bumblebee on the corner who will be available for photo ops! The KROQ street team will also be there with tons of giveaways, including Insignia Blu-ray players from Best Buy!
Also, don't miss your chance to be a part of the Transformers Robot Dance Flash Mob at 9pm!

For East Coasters it will be 1 AM so many will likely have already picked up the movie at Best Buy's midnight event or at Wal-Mart. Thanks to NHLfan for the link. (video via TFormers)

Best Buy TF2 Midnight Release

I was in Best Buy today for giggles and found a flyer indicating that my local stores will open on October 20th at 12:01am for a midnight release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on DVD and Blu-ray. A quick search online confirmed the news including the deals that Best Buy will offer that week.

According to Video Business, around 110 Best Buy stores in the United States will participate in the midnight event but check your local store to verify as I couldn't find a link that compiles to entire list of participating stores. My flyer indicates "Free Transformers Giveaways and Sideshowcollectibles.com gift cards" during the event. I would post the flyer but it’s a really bad black & white photocopy that is difficult to read as it is.

As part of the release of the movie Best Buy "Doorbuster Deals" includes an extra $3 off the Blu-ray and $2 off the DVD editions of the movie in the first two hours the store is open. I assume for stores participating that is from midnight to 2 am and non stores from 10am to noon but check the store to verify. As a result you have two sale prices depending on when go into the stores. The price for the two-disc Blu-ray edition will be $24.99 (or $21.99), the two-disc DVD will be $22.99 (or $20.99) and the one-disc DVD will be $15.99 (or $13.99). The limited edition Blu-ray set with Optimus Prime head will be $44.99 (or $41.99).

It looks like those that want the movie as early as possible now have two options, hit up Best Buy or their local 24 hour Wal-Mart.