Deadline has posted a brief article naming the final writer of Akiva Goldsman’s writer’s room to brainstorm story ideas for the Transformers Cinematic Universe. The final member of the writer’s room will be Steven DeKnight, who created Spartacus on Starz and worked on Marvel’s Daredevil television series. It will be interesting to see what ideas DeKnight and his colleagues bring to the table.
Let us know what you think of this news on the boards, and keep checking TFW2005 for future new regarding the Transformers live-action films!
AutobotSkids
I honestly have high hopes for these movies now. Say what you will about Bay as the director, there's not much he can do to make a good movie if he doesn't have a writer churning out good dialogue and a coherent story. It's just such a damn shame a lot of the fan favorites are already dead.
Zhadow
Yep, cheer up man.
Ash from Carolina
My worry is not just Bay being in the way of any meaningful change but producers like Lorenzo di Bonaventura seem to be an obstacle as well. Some of the di Bonavenrtura interviews come across as someone who thinks he knows what people want better than they know themselves and definitely hasn't come across as a fan friendly producer.
I don't know if the producers can put their ego aside to let a production team do something different.
Moy
I would like to imagine the future Transformers without Michael Bay as director. Now if Bay stays, but as a producer, the movies will get the opportunity to be made through the eyes of a new visionary.
I don't doubt changes will be made on the scripts but the movies may not be very bad next time around. After the announcement that Paramount is interested in expanding the transformers universe, and all the writers working on future films, my interest has grown slightly.
I'm remaining optimistic for the most part, but there's no guarantees obviously.
Autovolt 127
That's true.
Dmhead
You people act like Bay has supreme power over Paramount. He doesn't.
Jochimus
Pretty much, yeah.
This is essentially a variation of writing-by-committee, which is frowned upon by many writers in Hollywood and has been for a long time, usually because it ends up becoming a real pain in the ^$$ – and it usually happens when studio executives try to "involve" themselves beyond their own creative capacity (the development of what became "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", as well as the twisted and tortured road from "Superman IV: The Quest For Peace" to "Superman Returns", are good examples of this).
Once Bay comes back in (because I'll be stunned if he doesn't), and brings in his own writer (which I'm pretty sure will probably be Krueger again), I suspect we'll have another script that bears little if any resemblance to what this quote-unquote "writer's room" came up with, and it'll just be more of the same of what you got the last four times.
Duskscream
This is all so pointless, they can shove every good writer in the world into that room and it will just make it harder to get a good script.
At the end of the day, egos will clash, ideas will be dropped, Bay will change things, the scripts will end up messier than before.
unicronic
Let's not forget though that this pool of writers have been brought together to create a universe much like Marvel have done, DC are trying to do and Star Wars is doing again.
To shun the writers is to immediately put a roadblock in the ambition to create a universe.
The TFCU should aim for the sweetspot that Marvel have hit equal parts action, cerebral, character rich and comedic. Jurassic World is in that same sweet spot which is why it is being received so well.
Autovolt 127
So true.
Ash from Carolina
That's very true. That's one of the reasons I was glad Netflix decided to go with the director's cut of Nightbreed instead of the ending the studio put on the movie.
Theoutcast87
We'll see
Agree on what you say. But we'll see who got the bigger balls to deviate from Bay's work. And if TF5 continues with the same disaster formula before, than I think it will flop in the box office. Maybe that's the only way to get rid of Bay. So any robot movies coming out in 2017, bring it on.
Jochimus
Not to mention the possibility of the shooting script being mauled DURING shooting; or post-production, wherein things can also get taken out. That's not unheard of either. You can have a quote-unquote "final" draft script be the one that's put before the camera, and STILL have the finished movie having only the barest resemblance to it.
Ash from Carolina
I think part of the problem will be that writers are at the dead bottom of the Hollywood ladder. They could come with something so brilliant that fans of every type would have tears of joy in their eyes but Hasbro, Paramount executives, the producers, or the director could say nope and that idea would never make it to film. It's possible a script could be shot down for being too cerebral, not being summer popcorn actiony enough, or because it might not sell well in China.
But even if it gets past everyone that can possibly shot down a script you have the question of can the production team translate the script into a motion picture? Some production teams and directors just aren't good story tellers.
CKPRIME
Yeah, Bay getting rid of all the writers on a whim is completely ridiculous.
Theoutcast87
We don't know yet.
We don't know that yet. People can change their mind. And who knows? Perhaps Bay is so tired of Transformers that he won't come back at all.
Also, don't you think PP is awared about Bat's stubborness? Don't think they hired 10 writers when they know it won't work with Bay. It's not logical at all.
Jochimus
It's not so much a question of his intelligence as it is his tastes and abilities. He's not gonna want to back a script that's outside his comfort zone. And I don't see Paramount being THAT willing to alienate him after giving them four movies worth of da moolah.
Theoutcast87
Bay isn't that dumb..
I don't think Bay is that stupid. And Paramount are aware that the last TF movie didn't do vell domestically as they expected..
moylan55
Cool, maybe Bee will go the blind ninja route