ComicBookMovie and ComicBook.com caught up with Amy Johnston (voice of Maxima) and Eric Calderon (co-creator of the series) to have a chat regarding Machinima’s Transformers: Combiner Wars webseries.
CBM: How did you get involved with Combiner Wars?
Amy Johnston: “I got involved with Transformers: Combiner Wars through Bat in the Sun whom I had worked with previously on their show “Super Power Beatdown”.
CBM: How did you find the right voice for Maximia?
Jonston: “Maxima was described to me as a strong female character who had a relationship wtih Windblade so I made sure to give her strength and passion yet retain a femininity about her.”
CB: Is there a challenge that’s inherent to doing [a web series] like this?
Eric Calderon: The great thing is, both Machinima and Hasbro, they have never used that word with me. They said “You are making a series.” They always put it at a higher level, and the show is budgeted, and distributed in a very sophisticated way, that to me, is not like a webseries at all.
So I think about this as an adaptation, I just go “Hey, it’s my job as a creator to make the best work I can” and I don’t think about “Oh it’s only for this category so let’s have fun”, I want to tell this combiner wars story, and I’m going to tell it in 40 minutes. That’s almost a movie, so I really treat it like that. There’s act breaks, there’s a solid structure to the character development, there’s resolution. That’s what I’m worried about.
Read the full interviews here: Amy Johnston | Eric Calderon
Rodimus
PS: I'd date her.
Rodimus
This. I couldn't believe what I was reading. And the fact she said Hasbro led them to believe there was actually a budget worth mentioning. Something is terribly wrong about this situation. She is obviously in the dark about everything. We made a Scramble City 2 video that was on the same quality level as this and that was all done and animated by fans for free, simply dedicating their time and love for Transformers and the art. We didn't have no stinking' budget. We were amateurs years ago who made it. Yet I'd say it can compare in quality. I need a drink.
QLRformer
Well, she does make a nice Android 18 (unofficially).
Autovolt 127
You know what, I'd be fine of that.
She could make a great holo-matter avatar.
Bass X0
Cyclonus wouldn't allow anyone to kick his little buddy, unless he is the one doing the kicking.
MyloTron
Lol, Rodimus at your Bayverse jokes. She would be kicking Autobot tailgate if it was to happen.
primalxconvoy
Then please explain, madam, why the show has an awful framrate, poor lip-syncing, Mary-Sue characters,thin plot and the entire "show" is about 20 minutes in length?
What an awful thing this cheaply produced websisode thing has become.
Rodimus Prime
I was wondering how she'd manage to fight off a Transformer, but then I remembered that in the Bayverse an idiot with anger management issues managed to kill Starscream. So use some movie-magic to give her some parkour skills, and I could totally see her kicking Con tailgate.
Starscream Gaga
Yes. Because it'd be much more appropriate for an interview with the voice actress of a character who died in the first 5-minute episode to involve her apologizing for people not liking the first two episodes, desperately trying to excuse its short-comings and begging fans for their forgiveness.
I know that Combiner Wars has been pretty substandard, but really?
Megastar
This is the internet so of course they'd know, but would probably be torrenting the show like they did for Street Fighter: Resurrection.
SPLIT LIP
Would the casual fans even know it exists?
GR1ML0CK
That was awesome!
Megastar
I wonder what the casual fans think about CW compared to everyone here?
Nevermore
Knowing Michael Bay, he'll use her as eye candy and nothing else.
MyloTron
Hot. We need to get her a role in tf6.
TCJJ
So they basically spouted a bunch of nonsense and failed to sum up why Combiner Wars is an epic failure in every conceivable way.
I loathe Machinima even more than I used to.
Gojira Prime
Why would you ever have Amy Johnston just do voice over?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR5-NKFYB9Q
dgold93
I'm still in for this show. If it sucks oh well, no need to get butthurt. I'm glad we're getting a show geared towards fans rather than just a mainstream kids show. Hopefully this inspires other studios to pick up the slack and do something similar.
Bass X0
I'm a fan of Channel Awesome, but I'm not a fan when they do acting. Just stick to sitting in front of a camera and review stuff. Thats what you're good at.
bman29
Guess that's what happens when you have YouTubers do your programming for you?