ROTTEN TOMATOES: "Transformers" Get Shia With Their First Cast Member

"Transformers" Get Shia With Their First Cast Member

by Scott Weinberg | March 29, 2006

Busy young actor Shia LaBeouf is in late-stage talks with Paramount to star in their (and Michael Bay's) upcoming big-screen rendition of "The Transformers," says IGN FilmForce. Modern movie fans will recognize the young Mr. LaBeouf from his work in flicks like "Holes," "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," "I, Robot," and "Constantine."

Says IGN FF: The Allspark first reported that 19 year-old actor Shia LaBeouf is in the running to play human protagonist "Sam" in the big-screen version of The Transformers. IGN FilmForce has now confirmed via reliable sources that LaBeouf is indeed in negotiations for the role.

A casting breakdown making the rounds online describes the human characters as follows: "Sam - teenage male, somewhat nerdy, but ultimately heroic. Miguela Barns - teenage female, Sam's love interest. Cpt William Lennicks - 30s male, leader of the military. Maggie - female, really hot, really smart, works as a codebreaker for the government. John Kellar - 50's/60's male, US Secretary of State. Glen Whitman - 20's male, technogeek, comic relief."

Michael Bay is directing "The Transformers" for Paramount (it was a co-venture with DreamWorks until Par bought the studio). Steven Spielberg is exec producing the film."

--

I still don't think a live-action movie can touch the magic that is 1986's "Transformers: The Movie." (But you know I'll be there opening night!)

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(1-20 of 35 posts) | Reply

tyler8186 writes:
on Mar 29 2006 06:06 AM

sounds pretty bad... but i don't know, I'll see it

(Reply to this)

Spike1967 writes:
on Mar 29 2006 08:13 AM

Sounds like a train wreck

(Reply to this)

elziard writes:
on Mar 29 2006 08:13 AM

//Maggie - female, really hot, really smart, works as a codebreaker for the government.//

how about 'denise richards as a nuclear scientist' in the bond franchise; that was really believable.
how is your self image if cast as Miguela? 'oh, i didn't get the really hot role? now i'm gonna starve myself even more.'

this movie is gonna suck. like all of bay's films: big, loud and dumb.

(Reply to this)

nogard64 writes:
on Mar 29 2006 09:12 AM

[b]HECK YES!!![/b]
that just made my day! Look at my avatar! Huge fan and any Transformers news is good news to me! TIL ALL ARE ONE!!!!

(Reply to this)

dracus writes:
on Mar 29 2006 09:17 AM

It's going to take more than Spielberg to Transform this into a hit. What's next; Rubik's Cube: The Movie? Damn, I just gave someone in Hollywood an idea for a movie, didn't I?

(Reply to this)

Akuza writes:
on Mar 29 2006 09:20 AM

In reply to this comment (#832923)
If there is one thing I know it is this...
Transformers is big, loud...and kinda dumb. And I love it all the same. Michael Bay I think is going to be great directing this.

(Reply to this)

jumbonaut writes:
on Mar 29 2006 09:47 AM

One thing I think will make or break this movie is how they explain how alien robots have the ability to transform into earth-made automobiles and vehicles. In the comic books and cartoons, things like that are taken for granted. In movies, they have to pass as somewhat possible or it would appear "stupid" to non-fans of the franchise.
In any case, from what I remember from the cartoon, Shia LaBeouf seems like a good fit for the human character.

(Reply to this)

thadeus_79 writes:
on Mar 29 2006 09:55 AM

I just can't wait until the Captain Planet movie is made in Hollywood!!! With our forces combined...now, thats funny!!!

(Reply to this)

nogard64 writes:
on Mar 29 2006 10:13 AM

wow its threads like these that dates everyone. And I'm generalizing but if you are a male who lived in the 80's in USA (Japan too I guess) Transformers is a huge huge deal!

If you're like 11 or 12 you'd think its silly but collecting a stack of over priced Yu -gi-Oh cards and prentending magical mosters can appear from them is ok.

hmmm go figure

(Reply to this)

Silver Snake writes:
on Mar 29 2006 11:14 AM

This movie was in danger of sucking hard and long when Bay got the gig, and now Shia LeQueer? Whatever. It'll make money anyways. Way too many Transformers fans out there, old and young alike.

(Reply to this)

nogard64 writes:
on Mar 29 2006 11:55 AM

why the Bay bashing?? come on, for what he sets out to do, I think he does a fantastic job! We all know hes no Scorsesse, but thats not what he tries to be. Hes an action director and I've been a fan ever since Bad Boys, he took a mediorce buddy cop story and turned it into something super stylized and exciting film. And quite frankly The Island was a really good movie too. The action, the story, I enjoyed it emensely. I really dont get it.

(Reply to this)

Banana Kid writes:
on Mar 29 2006 12:03 PM

It's a movie about giant robots fighting. Giant robot fights beget explosions. And nobody does explosion movies better than Michael Bay. And since Spielberg's on board, I have some hope about this movie.

And I liked Shia LaBeouf in Holes, thank you very much.

(Reply to this)

zbbrox writes:
on Mar 29 2006 01:44 PM

1: The ability of Transformers to turn into earth vehicles was actually explained in the cartoons and comics. They were re-modeled by their repair systems to look like vehicles here so as to blend in.
2: I really, really hope Michael Bay doesn't F this up.
3: This cast description for the humans makes me want to spew blood on the screen. Sounds like stupid stereotypical BS and I hope to god it's fake. even beyond how bad it sounds, the movie should be about the goddam Transformers, not humans. We who grew up with the show don't give a crap about the humans. No kid gives a crap about the humans. The humans will only serve to annoy, probably with hokey dialogue, pathetic romantic subplots, and terrible acting. I don't want this movie turning into Alien vs. Predator.
4: I've only seen Shia LeBeouf in a few sidekicky roles, and he was annoying. I don't know if that's his fault, or if it was just the characters, so I won't write him off. But my reaction so far is not great.
5: I really, really hope Michael Bay doesn't F this up.

(Reply to this)

TheBlackGuy writes:
on Mar 29 2006 02:46 PM

Michael Bay is the best director for this movie. Big robots, big booms, big guns all read michael bay. And Shia is cool too

(Reply to this)

rockstarfrank writes:
on Mar 29 2006 03:01 PM

In reply to this comment (#832932)
[b]transuckers[/b]
Transformers had a story that was more than just about robots fighting. Who are these human characters? What about Spike and Spikes dad? I have given up all hope that this movie will be any good.

(Reply to this)

nogard64 writes:
on Mar 29 2006 03:59 PM

In reply to this comment (#832935)
exactly trust me the movie won't work unless it has good realistic human interaction.

because rule number one of film making is realize how selfish and self centered all of us human beings are, go ahead and flame me for this but deep down you all know its true. We will only care about this movie if the characters are relatable and we can have a visceral experince through the humans. In the cartoon this was established through Spike and his dad, it was like a gateway, a lay man introduction into the complex history and struggle of the transformers world. yeah *sigh* I think my hopes are a lil too high for this film.

(Reply to this)

zbbrox writes:
on Mar 29 2006 04:39 PM

In reply to this comment (#832936)
Nogard64--

I disagree, at least in part. I think the challenge is to make non-human characters human enough that we relate to them, not too different from how Pixar has made bugs, fish, and toys relatable for years. I think the human characters are mostly superfluous. Now, I'm all for Spike and his dad (or Spike and Daniel, even) being there as those gateway characters, but I think the absolute focus needs to be on making the robots empathetic. Think about Hellboy; the "gateway" character was likable and identifiable, but the crux of the movie was how awesome Ron Perlman was as Hellboy.

If this human cast becomes the focus instead of Prime, Jazz, Iron Hide, and the others, the movie will be a stupid scifi gimicky piece of crap. There's no avoiding it.

(Reply to this)

245_trioxin writes:
on Mar 29 2006 05:44 PM

damn youse michael bay

(Reply to this)

jeremyd4 writes:
on Mar 29 2006 08:25 PM

It's amazing how some people absolutely love Michael Bay and others absolutely hate him... no other director seems to divide people as much.

As for Transformers - I really hope the robots turn out something like in this ad I saw (which I'm struggling to remember which car company it was for) but it had the car turn into a dancing robot. It's sounds tacky but the FX were fricken' awesome!! Does anyone know the ad I'm talking about?? or even better a link to it??

(Reply to this)

jeremyd4 writes:
on Mar 29 2006 08:35 PM

ok just found the ad if anyone's interested:
http://www.visit4info.com/details.cfm?adid=18560

..it was for Citroen

(Reply to this)

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