Transformers 4 Set to Alter - B.O. Landscape, Eyes $100 Mil Bow
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JUNE 27, 2014 Page 1 of 7
Da
i ly
Transformers 4 Set to Alter
B.O. Landscape, Eyes $100 Mil Bow
By Pamela McClintock
P
a r a mou n t ’s Tr ansformers :
Age of Extinction is hoping to set
off early fireworks this weekend
and become the first movie of 2014 to
cross the $100 million mark in its North
American debut, as well as reboot direc-
tor Michael Bay’s action franchise with
a new leading man, Mark Wahlberg.
Prerelease tracking services show the
film opening in the $100 million range,
although Paramount is trying to temper
expectations by noting it has been three
years since the last film in the series,
Transformers: Dark of the Moon, played
in theaters, taking in $97.9 million on its
first weekend in 2011. Also, Age of Extinc-
tion has a new look and feel without Shia
Dinobots (dinosaur robots) are introduced in Transformers: Age of Extinction, the fourth movie in the toy-to-film series.
LaBeouf, previous star of the Hasbro
toy-to-film series. The first three Transformers movies with $1.12 billion in ticket sales).
Studio insiders say anything on par took in a combined $2.7 billion at the Age of Extinction should do massive
with the debut of Dark of the Moon would worldwide box office, and all opened business overseas, where it is rolling out
be a major victory for Age of Extinction, midweek, making comparisons difficult this weekend in Russia, Australia and
which cost north of $200 million to make. (Dark of the Moon is the highest grosser, s e e pa g e 2
JUNE 27, 2014 Page 2 of 7
movie news
F r o m pa g e 1 photos surfaced of her and Snow White tional box office has become increasingly
most of Asia, including China (it opens and the Huntsman helmer Rupert Sanders important, soccer is becoming more
later in Japan). Normally, it would have (she was dating Twilight co-star Robert palatable to studio executives. Imagine
debuted day-and-date around the globe, Pattinson at the time.) The Entertainment is producing a film on
but Paramount is waiting in many mar- studio emphatically denied soccer icon Pele. The sport is becoming
kets because of the World Cup (Russia’s at the time that Stewart more popular in the U.S. as well. The
team has already been eliminated from was exiting the franchise. World Cup match earlier this week
the soccer championships). Darabont will take the between Team USA and Portugal drew
Domestically, the 3D tentpole is widely Darabont
film-franchise baton from 18.2 million viewers, marking the sport’s
expected to score the best opening of Sanders, whose 2012 pic most-watched event in U.S. TV history.
the year to date, besting the $95 million earned an impressive $396.6 million world- But Victory is much more than a
debut of Marvel’s Captain America: The wide. Universal cast its net wide when sports pic and is steeped in geopolitics
Winter Soldier in April. looking for a director, but it eventually — a cross between The Monuments Men
Young stars Nicola Peltz and Jack Rey- came down to Darabont and Gavin and 2004 hockey film Miracle, which
nor also make their first appearance in the O’Connor (Warrior). O’Connor directed.
Transformers franchise. Age of Extinction Darabont, whose credits include The Bernie Goldmann and Gianni Nunnari
takes place four years after a devastating Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile are producing. Jon Berg and Racheline
face-off between the Autobots and the and The Majestic, hasn’t helmed a feature Benveniste are overseeing for Warners.
Decepticons in Chicago, and introduces film since 2007’s The Mist. He developed Liman most recently directed Tom
the Dinobots (dinosaur robots). and executive produced hit AMC zombie Cruise starrer Edge for Warner Bros.
During production of Dark of the Moon, series The Walking Dead, but left the His helming credits also include Jumper
both Bay and LaBeouf confirmed it would show in 2011. and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
be their final Transformers film. A num- Darabont is repped by CAA and Jack- Liman is repped by CAA.
ber of other directors were considered, oway Tyerman.
Liman in Talks to Direct Film Academy Invites
but Bay ultimately decided to return to
make the fourth pic.
Warners’ Victory Remake 271 New Members
No other movie dared to go up against
Age of Extinction and open nationwide
this weekend, although a slew of specialty By Gregg Kilday
films begin their limited runs, including By Tatiana Siegel and Borys Kit T h e Aca dem y of Mot ion Pict u r e
three from The Weinstein Co.: John Car- A s Wor l d Cu p m a n i a r e ach e s Arts and Sciences has invited 271 new
ney’s Begin Again, starring Keira Knight- a fever pitch, a soccer-themed project members to join. That’s a slight increase
ley, Mark Ruffalo and Hailee Steinfeld; at Warner Bros. is heating up with Doug from last year, when the Academy
Korean pic Snowpiercer (a Radius-TWC Liman at the helm. extended invites to 276 new members.
release); and biopic Yves Saint Laurent. The Edge of Tomorrow Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and
director is in talks to helm recent nominees Michael Fassbender,
Darabont in Talks Victory, a remake of the
1981 action film that is
Barkhad Abdi, Sally Hawkins and June
Squibb are among the actors who’ve been
to Helm Huntsman
By Tatiana Siegel and Rebecca Ford
being adapted by Gavin
O’Connor.
Liman
The story is set during World War II as
asked to join the Academy’s ranks. The
list of acting invitees includes veterans
like David Strathairn and action stars
The Walk ing Dead ’s for m er Allied POWs ready themselves for a soc- like Jason Statham; actors best known for
showrunner Frank Darabont is in talks cer match against the German National their TV work like Julia Louis-Dreyfus,
to helm Universal’s The Huntsman, a spin- Team to be played in Nazi-occupied Paris. who scored with critics with her perfor-
off of Snow White and the Huntsman. But amid the preparations, the French mance in last year’s Enough Said; and
Chris Hemsworth is returning as the Resistance and British officers are also relatively new kids on the block like The
titular character, as is Charlize Theron, making plans for the team’s escape. Hunger Games’ Josh Hutcherson.
who played the villain. But Kristen Stew- American studios have traditionally Chris Rock, who actually hosted the
art will not be coming back for an encore, embraced sports movies about American 77th Academy Awards in 2005, received
as The Hollywood Reporter first reported. games like baseball and football but have a belated invitation to join. Musicians
The actress found herself at the center of shied away from soccer pics, despite the Eddie Vedder and Pharrell Williams got
a tabloid maelstrom when compromising sport’s global appeal. But as interna- s e e pa g e 3
JUNE 27, 2014 Page 3 of 7
movie news
F r o m pa g e 2 pest Hotel), Billy Hopkins (The Butler) which was released in February and
the call. Disney’s Sean Bailey and indie and Joseph Middleton (The Twilight starred Kevin Hart and Michael Ealy.
powerhouse John Sloss were among Saga: New Moon). He recently wrapped comedy Hot Tub
the execs who made this year’s cut. And But the branch that issued the most Time Machine 2 for MGM/Paramount;
humorist Paul Rudnick, whose screen- invites was the short films and feature the pic is set for a Christmas release.
plays include In & Out and Jeffrey, also animation branch, which summoned Pink has several other projects in the
was cited. 27 new members to join. They include hopper, among them The Yank, a poten-
The newly invited members come Jennifer Lee and Peter Del Vecho, Oscar tial Will Ferrell starrer which Pink co-
from all corners of the world: Japanese winners for Frozen, and such filmmakers wrote with writing partner Jeff Morris,
animation master Hayao Miyazaki, who as Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin (the and Vacation Friends, which has Anna
won the feature animation Oscar for two Despicable Me movies), Kirk DeMicco Faris and Chris Pratt attached to star.
2001’s Spirited Away; Ukranian-born (The Croods) and Didier Brunner and Pink is repped by UTA, Mosaic and
financier Len Blavatnik, who has part- Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine). Morris Yorn Barnes.
nered with The Weinstein Co. on such The Academy, whose membership
films as Lee Daniels’ The Butler; Israeli-
born Palestinian helmer Hany-Abu Assad,
generally hovers around the 6,000 mark,
invites new members once a year to fill X-Men Franchise Hits
whose most recent film Omar was a best
foreign-language feature nominee; and
Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, whose
vacancies that occur when current mem-
bers retire or pass away. Under Dawn
Hudson, who has served as CEO of the
$3 Bil worldwide Mark
By Pamela McClintock
film The Great Beauty was the most organization since 2011, the Academy Fox and Marvel’s X-Men fr anchise
recent foreign-language Oscar winner. has been making a particular effort to has become a $3 billion baby.
Megan Ellison, who received two diversify the ranks of its members. The latest superhero offering, Bryan
best picture nominations last season Click here to see the complete list. Singer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, hit
for American Hustle and Her, was asked $702.2 million in global ticket sales on
to join the producers branch, as were
Anthony Katagas, a winner for 12 Years Pink Set to Direct Tuesday, pushing the combined total
gross of the seven films to $3.003 billion.
a Slave; Dana Brunetti, a nominee for
Captain Phillips; and Tracey Seaward,
a nominee for Philomena.
Disney’s Overnight
By Borys Kit
Overseas, the franchise total stands
at $1.7 billion, while the domestic cume
is $1.3 billion.
12 Years a Slave’s Oscar-winning scribe St ev e Pi n k h a s been ta pped to Days of Future Past, combining the
John Ridley is among the screenwriters to helm Disney’s Overnight, a family adven- casts of the first X-Men installments and
have been enlisted, as are Dallas Buyers ture project Neal Moritz is producing. X-Men: First Class, has quickly become
Club’s Craig Borten and Melissa Wallack, Oren Uziel, who worked the top-grossing title in the series. It is
Philomena’s Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope, on 22 Jump Street, wrote also on the verge of becoming the top-
Nebraska’s Bob Nelson, American Hustle’s the script, which has been grossing pic of the year to date, eclipsing
Eric Warren Singer and The Wolf of Wall described as Home Alone the $703.2 million earned by The Amazing
Street’s Terence Winter. in an FAO Schwarz-esque Spider-Man 2 and Captain America: The
Morgan Neville, who directed Oscar- Pink
toy store. Figuring into the Winter Soldier’s $710.7 million cume.
winning 20 Years From Stardom, was plot is an absent-minded, Days of Future Past’s cast is led by Hugh
invited to join the documentary branch, recently divorced father trying to save his Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fass-
along with Malcolm Clarke, whose film relationship with his son — and defuse a bender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry,
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My hostage situation. Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage,
Life, won the award for doc short. The project, which was once titled Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.
Dallas Buyers Club’s Oscar winners Overnight at 42nd Street, was initially Singer, who directed the first two
Aduitha Lee and Robin Mathews were set up at Columbia/Sony but was put X-Men films, returned to helm Days
tapped by the makeup artists and hair- into turnaround, with Disney quietly of Future Past. He also produced the
stylists branch. picking it up a year ago. Ruben Fleischer $200 million-plus tentpole alongside
Having created a separate branch for (30 Minutes or Less) was in discussions Lauren Shuler Donner, screenwriter
casting directors last year, the Academy to board it as director in February, but it Simon Kinberg and Hutch Parker.
made an effort to populate it by inviting never got past the talking stage. The franchise’s previous best grosser
22 casting directors to come aboard: They Pink most recently directed Screen was X-Men: The Last Stand, which earned
include Douglas Aibel (The Grand Buda- Gems’ remake of About Last Night, $457.4 million worldwide.JUNE 27, 2014 Page 4 of 7
tv news
Extra Taps New Co-Hosts
in Wake of Menounos’ Departure
By Lesley Goldberg I put Tracey and Charissa on stage with Mario and Tracey and the whole team.”
Extr a is f i l l i ng i ts co -host voi d Mario, their chemistry was off the charts. For her part, Edmonds also appeared
with two familiar faces. They are generous with each other, they as a correspondent a handful of times in
Special correspondents Charissa complement Mario, and together they April on Extra. She is CEO of Edmonds
Thompson and Tracey Edmonds will will be an unstoppable team that will Entertainment Group and COO of Our
replace Maria Menounos as co-hosts take Extra into the future.” Stories Films. She is on the board of direc-
alongside Mario Lopez, The Hollywood Thompson previously appeared on tors at the Producers Guild of America.
Reporter has learned. They Extra in April as a special correspon- Edmonds is currently an exec producer
will begin Sept. 8. dent. She has hosted Fox Sports Live on OWN’s Deion Sanders reality show
Renee Bargh will remain on the new Fox Sports 1 network, and Deion’s Family Playbook, where she
on as weekend co-host. has had stints as a host and sportscaster appears as herself. (She’s romantically
Menounos departed in with Versus, GSN and the Big Ten Net- linked to the former NFL and Major
May, signing an overall Thompson
work. Thompson also co-hosted ABC’s League Baseball star.) And she has pro-
deal with E! and inking reality competition series Splash, along- duced such features as Good Luck Chuck
a first-look pact with the side Joey Lawrence. An ESPN alum, and Josie and the Pussycats, as well as TV
NBCUniversal-owned she previously co-hosted the sports net- series College Hill, among others.
network that includes work’s Numbers Never Lie and replaced “I am thrilled to join Extra and am
hosting Untold With Maria Michelle Beadle as co-host of SportsNation. so excited about being a part of such a
Menounos, a new hourlong Edmonds
“Working for Extra has always been a dynamic and progressive entertainment
entertainment news series. dream job for me,” said Thompson in a show,” Edmonds said in a statement.
“Tracey Edmonds is one of the most statement. “I met with Lisa G a few years “I look forward to working with Mario,
accomplished television forces in Holly- ago and she didn’t hire me — actually I’m Charissa, Lisa G and her whole team.
wood,” Lisa Gregorisch-Dempsey said not sure if she remembered me. I made Extra already set the bar high, but I look
Thursday in an announcement. “She is it a goal of mine to work hard and get forward to contributing new ideas and
already a star with A-list relationships. back in front of her to knock her socks exploring new horizons on the show as
Charissa Thompson is one of the quickest, off, and I guess I made a better second I enter the next chapter of my career.”
sharpest and best interviewers on sports impression. Now everything has come Both Thompson and Edmonds are
TV and was born to juggle the demands of full circle. I am so excited to be joining repped by CAA, with Edmonds also
fast-paced television. From the moment Extra and can’t wait to get started with repped by Fox Rothschild.
GLEE THE WALKING DEAD SURVIVOR THE BIG
BANG THEORY GREY’S ANATOMY AMERICAN
IDOL THE VOICE MAD MEN GAME OF THRONES
SCANDAL ARROW NEW GIRL THE VAMPIRE DIA-
RIES GLEE THE WALKING DEAD SURVIVOR THE THE LIVE FEED
BIG BANGYOUR
THEORY
DAILY JOLT OF GREY’S ANATOMY
TV NEWS, RECAPS, AMERICAN
CASTINGS AND MORE.
IDOL THE VOICE MAD MEN GAME OF THRONES
SCANDAL ARROW NEW GIRL THE VAMPIRE DI-
ARIES GREY’S ANATOMY AMERICAN IDOL Click Here
THE
VOICE MAD MEN GAME OF THRONES SCANDALJUNE 27, 2014 Page 5 of 7
tv news
more players join hbo’s board as obnoxious, cocaine-addled radio
station executive Frank “Buck” Rogers.
curate the funniest show on TV.”
Cicha said all three shows were devel-
rock ’n’ roll drama pilot
By Michael O’Connell
The Sopranos alum Funaro gets back
to his HBO roots as mob enforcer Tony
Del Greco, and Essandoh will play a for-
oped in-house by Brown and his team,
and plans to distribute them in syndica-
tion will be firmed up when and if they
HBO’s rock ’n’ rol l dr a m a pi l ot mer singer and ex-colleague of Richie’s. do well in their tests.
is getting crowded. The untitled project The lone female addition in this round Cicha said that Fox will put all three
from Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger and of casting, Sorensen, will play Ingrid — shows on more stations than it has
Terence Winter has added eight more an Edie Sedgwick-esque favorite of used in past tests, which typically were
actors — including Mick’s son, James. Andy Warhol and a friend to Richie’s limited to about six markets. The two
The 28-year-old thespian is joined by wife (Wilde). daily shows are scheduled for six-week
fellow additions P.J. Byrne, Joe Caniano, Byrne and Mackenzie round out the tests, and the weekly show for as long
Andrew Dice Clay, Ato Essandoh, Robert staff of American Century, portraying as 13 weeks. However, if the shows do
Funaro, Birgitte Sorensen and J.C. Mac- the heads of the legal and sales depart- not perform well in the ratings, the tests
kenzie. They join previously announced ments, respectively. could be shortened.
castmembers Bobby Cannavale, Olivia Production on the pilot is now under- Hollywood Today Live, from BiteSize
Wilde, Juno Temple, Max way in New York. Entertainment Networks, is a daily
Casella, Jack Quaid and entertainment magazine which will offer
Ray Romano.
The drama project has Fox Stations Will Test celebrity, pop culture and red-carpet
coverage. It will be produced in a studio
J. Jagger
been in the works for some
time. It follows record
executive Richie Finestra
3 Shows This Summer
By Alex Ben Block
enclosed in glass on the corner of Holly-
wood and Vine. The show’s hosts will be
Kristen Brockman, AJ Gibson, Tanner
(Cannavale) as he navi- Fox- ow n ed TV stat ions w i l l Thomason and Porscha Coleman.
gates the music scene of test three new programs this summer: Daily Helpline is described as an up-
1970s New York City, trying Hollywood Today Live, The Daily Help dated version of popular advice columns
to resurrect his label with Line and Laughs. of the past, with an interactive element.
Clay
the next big thing while Each show will air on Fox-owned A panel of therapy experts will answer
navigating the world of stations in several markets, including questions from callers, tweeters, social
sex and drugs that go hand-in-hand New York and Los Angeles. Hollywood media and the in-studio audience. The
with the onset of punk and disco. Today Live and The Daily Help Line, show, hosted by Miles Adcox and Spirit,
The ever-growing cast is just a small both one-hour daytime strips, will debut will address issues including relation-
part of the production’s lengthy roster. July 14 and Laughs, a half-hour weekly ships, addiction, health, trauma and
In addition to Scorsese, Jagger and Win- program, will premiere Aug. 2. grief counseling, and celebrities includ-
ter, George Mastras, Victoria Pearman, In recent years, Fox has run tests for ing Marie Osmond, Tom Green, TLC’s
Emma Tillinger Koskoff and Rick Yorn a number of shows including Wendy Tionne Watkin, Loni Love, Tabatha
are all on board as executive producers. Williams and Bethenny, as well as last Coffey and Brandy will share their own
Scorsese is attached to direct the pilot, summer’s Kris (which was not picked up) experiences. Matt Lutz will serve as
reteaming with Boardwalk Empire’s and The Real, which is going to series in executive producer.
Winter, who is writing the script. September. Laughs will be a weekly roundup of
As for whom the latest castmembers “These three programs are all very the American comedy scene hosted and
will be playing, many of the parts expand distinct,” said Fox Television Stations executive produced by Steve Hofstetter.
the world outside of focal point American executive vp of programming and devel- The program offers comedians, comedy
Century Records. opment Stephen Brown, who made the teams and funny people a platform for
The young Jagger will be channeling announcement Thursday with program- their talents, Submissions will be taken
his father’s musical roots, albeit in a dif- ming senior vp Frank Cicha. “Hollywood online. Hofstetter, a popular stand-up
ferent genre. He will play Kip Stevens, Today Live is like a Sharknado version of comic who has 20 million YouTube views,
lead singer of the punk band Nasty Bits. The View. Help Line answers the question: has produced Trial by Laughter for Com-
Caniano, who has appeared on Board- Will people be as honest with our ther- cast and 100 Advantages to Having Kids
walk Empire, will play Richie’s longtime apists as they are with their own? And for Nick Mom, as well as appearing at
chauffeur and confidante, Leo. Laughs will determine if one talented guy, comedy festivals including Laughing
As for Clay, the actor-comedian is on Steve Hofstetter, can aggregate and Skull and Laughing Devil.JUNE 27, 2014 Page 6 of 7
international news
Sony to Buy U.K.’s June 2014 and December 2016 and
$80 million for repaying bank loans.
“Financial strength is the best guar-
CSC Media Group antee for the scale and quality of film and
TV projects,” Huayi said in a statement.
“This offering will further enhance the
By Georg Szalai viewers per month that way. company’s financial strength, break
LONDON — Sony Pictures Television CSC was founded in 2007 via the through capital restraints and provide
said Thursday it has agreed to acquire acquisition of the Chart Show portfolio capital support for film and TV proj-
U.K. TV networks group CSC Media of channels by private equity group ects, in order to improve the company’s
Financial details weren’t disclosed. Veronis Suhler Stevenson and a new strength in the film and TV business and
The deal, which comes after the recent management team. enhance the industry competitiveness
Viacom agreement to acquire U.K. broad- and market share.”
caster Channel 5, will add 16 channels in
the kids, music and general entertainment Huayi, Enlight to Raise It’s been a busy week for capital raising
in China. Investment fund Fosun, headed
space to Sony’s portfolio.
Sony said the acquisition
will make it the No. 5 cable/
$854M for Expansion
By Clifford Coonan
by venture capitalist Guo Guangcheng,
has put hundreds of millons of dollars
into Robinov’s venture to develop digital
satellite/multichannel play- SHANGHAI — Two of China’s leading and TV content, with Huayi to take part
er in the U.K. in terms of private film and TV companies, Huayi at a later date.
Marsh
commercial ad views. Brothers Media and Beijing Enlight
“The acquisition of CSC
further demonstrates our commitment
Media, have unveiled separate plans to
raise a total of $854 million to help them Senator Raises $6.5M
to the U.K. market and our intent to con-
tinue to grow our tremendously successful
global portfolio of networks,” said Andy
expand in the booming film business.
The funds will come via private place-
ment offerings.
in First Bond Issue
By Scott Roxborough
Kaplan, president of worldwide networks Enlight plans to raise around $451 mil- COLOGNE, Germany — Berlin-based
for Sony Pictures Television. “These new lion through the sale of 140 million new producer and distributor Senator Enter-
channels perfectly complement our cur- shares, including nearly $370 million for tainment has successfully raised around
rent offerings, allowing us to provide movies and more than $80 million for €4.75 million ($6.5 million) to help
viewers with a variety of entertainment TV content. finance its restructuring efforts after
choices and advertisers with greater The company has made no secret of its the first tranche in its short-term bond
reach and cross-channel opportunities.” international ambitions, which it hopes issue was fully subscribed.
CSC Media CEO Remy Minute said, to build using its strong domestic base. Senator’s nine-month bond has a pos-
“CSC has grown from a small bouquet In 2012, its low-budget comedy Lost in sible total volume of $13.6 million, half
channel operator to become one of the Thailand took $202 million here. of which the group successfully placed
leading multichannel ad-supported TV Enlight said it will make 32 movies in with institutional investors. After the five
networks in the U.K. This combination the period from June 2014 to May 2017, percent discount on the bond, Senator
with SPT allows us to accelerate our investing a total of $550 million. is left with $6.5 million to keep the lights
growth trajectory, both internationally Earlier this month, Enlight imported on while its overhauls its business.
and domestically.” the Rising Star format for the Chinese After a disastrous 2013, in which the
The CSC team will report to Kate market. company booked a net loss of $38 million,
Marsh, SPT senior vp networks, Western The Shenzhen stock exchange-listed Senator has changed tack to fill its distri-
Europe. Huayi, which was recently linked to Jeff bution slate more with in-house produc-
SPT entered the U.K. TV market Robinov’s Studio 8 venture in China, said tions and international co-productions
in 2011 with one channel feed of Sony it plans to raise ¥2.5 billion ($403 million) and less with costly U.S. acquisitions.
Entertainment Television on BSkyB from the issue of 120 million shares, and Many of Senator’s highest-profile
and has grown to nine channel feeds will use the capital to invest in film and pick-ups released last year, including
across multiple platforms, including TV projects and pay bank loans. David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook,
two free-to-air national feeds on Free- The company’s capital raising includes Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects and Paul
view. The company says it reaches a $320 million earmarked for the funding Thomas Anderson’s The Master, proved
combined total of more than 20 million of 12 movies and five TV series between to be duds at the German box office.JUNE 27, 2014 Page 7 of 7
film review
Transformers:
Age of Extinction
By Clarence Tsui
The age of Tr a nfor mer s is ov er ,”
announces counterintelligence agent
Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer) dur-
ing the fourth entry in the Paramount/
Hasbro-backed fighting-robots series.
But don’t believe it: Given the recent
announcement that a fifth installment
will ship in 2016, it’s clear the mutating
androids’ reign is far from finished.
Some viewers, though, likely will
A redesigned Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen)
side with Attinger after watching Trans- fights off annihilation in Transformers: Age of Extinction.
formers: Age of Extinction. True, there’s
a lot of state-of-the-art 3D chicanery, he intends to dismantle and sell to pay dialogue (from the good guys, no less)
and the pic is an improvement on the in- rent and college tuition for his daughter, includes such lines as “Die, bitch!” and
human chaos of the previous two install- Tessa (Nicola Peltz). “This one’s for you, asshole!” as they
ments, 2009’s Revenge of the Fallen and But the vehicle is none other than cannonade targets into, well, extinction.
2011’s Dark of the Moon. But the bloat of Optimus Prime (once again voiced by A trio of editors make a technical
this entry suggests director Michael Bay Peter Cullen), leader of the Autobots. marvel out of the fight scenes, but can
and his team are struggling to rejuvenate Several years after the Decepticons do little to link the story’s multiple
the premise. were defeated by a human-robot alliance, threads into something coherent.
Fanboys (and Middle America) should Optimus and his world-saving colleagues
connect with the broad sentiments that are being hunted by Black Ops squadrons Opens: Today (Paramount).
shape Age of Extinction: Times (in the led by Attinger and Captain Savoy (Titus Production: A Paramount Pictures
U.S., at least) are tough, the government Welliver). Their patriotic veneer conceals presentation in association with Hasbro
is bad and men (and only men) should a darker motive: They are hocking parts of a Di Bonaventura Pictures, Tom
fight for their health, home and auto- of captured robots to Joshua Joyce (Stan- DeSanto/Don Murphy production.
mobile. All of this is embodied in Bay’s ley Tucci), a Steve Jobs-like egomaniac Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci,
new protagonist, Cade Yeager (Mark hoping to build “better” Transformers. Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Sophia Myles.
Wahlberg), a broke Texan who gets in The clatter of metallic mano a mano Director: Michael Bay.
trouble after buying a patched-up truck remains Bay’s calling card, and the robot Rated PG-13, 165 minutes.
BEHIND THE SCREEN
WHERE TECH, CRAFT AND HOLLYWOOD MEET
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