We have received a press release from Hasbro, giving the names of the two human inductees into the Transformers Hall of Fame 2011. In recognition of their sterling work in transforming Transformers from a boy’s toys franchise into a multi-million worldwide blockbuster smash franchise, the Hall of Fame will this year be honoring Transformers live action movie series director Michael Bay, and Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg, who has served as executive producer for the three live action Transformers movies. Michael Bay will be attending Botcon 2011’s Hall of Fame event on June 4 in Pasadena, California.
Read on for the full press release.
THE TRANSFORMERS HALL OF FAME
Bay to attend ceremony at TRANSFORMERS “BOTCON” Fan Convention in Pasadena, California, on June 4
Pawtucket, R.I. (MAY 18, 2011) — Earlier today on its official TRANSFORMERS Facebook page, Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) announced the induction of film industry legends Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg—the director and executive producer of the blockbuster TRANSFORMERS film franchise—into its TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame. The second annual TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame ceremony, which celebrates more than 25 years of “MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE” action, will take place during the 2011 TRANSFORMERS “BOTCON” fan convention in Pasadena, California, and will feature TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON director Michael Bay in person to accept his honor and share some special surprises with the audience.
Founded in 2010 to honor those influential in creating and building the iconic TRANSFORMERS franchise, as well as actual “ROBOTS IN DISGUISE,” the 2011 TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame will induct the two legendary filmmakers who were instrumental in launching the live-action film franchise that brought the TRANSFORMERS brand to more fans than ever before. Bay and Spielberg will join previous honorees Bob Budiansky, Peter Cullen, Yoke Hideaki and Kojin Ohno in the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame.
Michael Bay: For the last sixteen years, Michael Bay has been one of the world’s boldest filmmakers as both director and producer. His films have grossed over $4 billion worldwide. Since his 1995 breakout Bad Boys, Bay has directed a succession of international hits that have redefined the action genre, including The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys 2, The Island, and three Transformers films. The third movie in the franchise, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, will hit theaters July 1; it is Bay’s first live-action film shot in 3D. A graduate of Wesleyan University and Art Center College of Design, Bay began his career as a distinguished commercial and music video director. He has won virtually every major award in the commercial industry, including Cannes’ Golden Lion, the Grand Prix Clio, and the Directors Guild of America’s Commercial Director of the Year award. His “Got Milk?” campaign resides in the permanent collection of New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Bay is also co-owner of production company Platinum Dunes and owner of Digital Domain, one of the entertainment industry’s premier special effects companies.
Steven Spielberg: One of the industry’s most successful and influential filmmakers, Steven Spielberg has directed some of the top-grossing films of all time, including Jaws, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, and four Indiana Jones films, including the most recent, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Among his myriad honors, he is a three-time Academy Award® winner, earning two Oscars® for Best Director and Best Picture for Schindler’s List, and a third Oscar® for Best Director for Saving Private Ryan. He has been awarded the Academy’s prestigious Thalberg Award. He earned his first Directors Guild Award for The Color Purple and has been nominated by the DGA a record ten times. He has received the Kennedy Center Honor for his body of work. Last year he served as an executive producer on the Academy Award nominated film True Grit, which was directed by the Coen brothers. A principal partner of DreamWorks Studios, he is also the producer of Super 8, directed by J.J. Abrams, an executive producer on TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, directed by Michael Bay and Cowboys & Aliens, directed by Jon Favreau, all of which will be released this summer.
Hasbro will also induct four more iconic robot characters into the TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame. Heroic AUTOBOTS RATCHET and IRONHIDE, as well as evil DECEPTICON SOUNDWAVE will join 2010’s class of five robots, as chosen by Hasbro’s TRANSFORMERSHall of Fame internal panel of judges. In addition, TRANSFORMERS fans around the world voted on Transformers.com for a fourth robot to receive the 2011 “Fans’ Choice” honor. The winner, from among the nominees GRIMLOCK, SHOCKWAVE, ERECTOR, WASPINATOR and JAZZ, will be revealed for the first time at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony at “BOTCON” on June 4, 2011.
First introduced in 1984 by Hasbro and Takara as a toy line, the TRANSFORMERS brand
has provided kids with hours of MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE fun with their action figures that convert from robot to vehicles and back again. Legions of boys around the world grew up creating fantastic adventures and battles set on both the planet CYBERTRON and Earth that featured the “good-guy” AUTOBOTS and the “bad-guy” DECEPTICONS. Since then, more than 7500 robots have been introduced in countless animated TV series, comic books and two live-action feature films. A third film, TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, will be released on July 1, 2011, as the first 3D film in the franchise.
For further information visit the official TRANSFORMERS Facebook page at Transformers.com/facebook.
# # #
About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company’s world class brand portfolio. From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, video games and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its customers through the strategic leveraging of well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY. The Hub, Hasbro’s multi-platform joint venture with Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) launched on October 10, 2010. The online home of The Hub is www.hubworld.com. The Hub logo and name are trademarks of Hub Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved. Come see how we inspire play through our brands at http://www.hasbro.com. © 2011 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Sizzle
Fair enough.
G.B. Blackrock
I wouldn't say "non-fans," so much as "people who don't make it to the convention and may not rabidly check the message boards." There are a lot of more casual Transformers fans out there.
Draven
Have you ever actually been to a Botcon? I'm asking because you don't really seem to know too much about it.
With the exception of last year, I've been to every Botcon since 2004. And I have never felt like anything has been "squeezed out". 2007, for example, the release year for the first TF movie, the biggest buzz of all seemed to be for the exclusive preview of TF Animated. Botcon always seems to do its best NOT to sacrifice one thing at the expense of another, abd they've gotten pretty damn good at it.
According to the schedule there is ONE movie related panel this year, and that's for the game. Pretty much everything else is related to other sublines. The exclusives are Animated themed. The movie stuff is largely confined to the evening events.
Sizzle
You could be right. I just have a difficult time believing any non-fans are spending time reading about Botcon in newspapers or magazines. We do, but I am pretty sure they don't.
Batman
Man some of you guys are just miserable bitter angry people. Love the movies or hate them, these two do deserve the recognition. Congratulation guys !!!
Ash from Carolina
Yes but it's hard to really put in the forever part when it's the last film and the general public will be running off to The Avengers or whatever is the big summer film next year.
By next year's Bot Con the films will just be a part of history.
G.B. Blackrock
At a guess, for the press releases and news articles that will be written about BotCon and the HoF. What happens here will be reported to an audience well beyond those of us who attend.
Waverider
You hit the nail right in the head. Plus, the general public don't even know that a "Transformers Hall of Fame" exist.
Sizzle
I don't understand how people figure that they need to induct Bay/Spielberg to the Hall of Fame to "promote the movie."
I mean, seriously, this is Botcon. Do you think anyone imagines that THIS group, of all the groups in the world, is NOT going to buy a ticket to DOTM? There is not going to be a soul in that room that wasn't already going to see that movie, either in the theater or on DVD. Even the people who hate Michael Bay enough to send death threats are going to be there on opening night, just so they can get online and bitch about it the next day.
Why promote it to a group of sure things?
Sizzle
You are teetering perilously close to RUINED FOREVAR!
VAwitch
IIRC – Tyrese was supposed to be at a panel on Saturday, but he was in the hospital very sick, and made it to the dinner-stage on some good meds.
And given that he spent like 20min signing autpgraphs & taking pics w/ fans; then repeated as he went through the dealer room – for over an hour – he's a fan & he was one of the friendliest "stars" I've ever seen – and I've gone to a Con w/ well over 200 celebrities/Guests of Honor, many of whom don't interact directly outside of their autograph table.
G.B. Blackrock
An important reality check. Frankly, if it didn't cost me $45 extra bucks to get to the HoF event, I wouldn't be all that bothered by that portion's movie-centric focus (as I've noted before, the publicity DID promise a celebration of the franchise's 27-year history. That means more than just movie stuff, and so far I'm not seeing it.)
airfox
Wow. That's very odd … and cool.
I suppose it's possible, but other than the HoF thing (and I guess part of the Hasbro panels), we've given confirmation that:
1) Most of the exclusives and the fiction are based around Animated.
2) 7 out of 9 guests are G1 guests. 1 doubles as a G1/RiD guest. And the remaining one has been in so many TF series (except the movies ), that why bother pointing out which TF line he'll represent.
3) The Artist Alley also seems to have a varied representation.
Not even in 2007 and in 2009 I felt the con was only promoting the movie, so I'm reasonably sure that 2011 won't be different.
-airfox
unicron’s blues
I went to both the 2007 and 2009 one and that's pretty much how it was and the fact it's in Pasadena again so soon were pretty much the factors in my deciding not to attend this years.
Fit For natalie
Last I checked, BotCon 2007 was the most awesome BotCon ever, mostly to do with the fact a shitload of fans got to see the movie together, as fans. Of course, the first movie being relatively decent helped.
We're probably not going to recapture that magic, either in the movies, or in terms of convention experience, but hey, it can't hurt to try.
Matty
Although I think we're on different sides of the road with the HOF inductees, I can't help but agree with this statement.
Ash from Carolina
It's just that movies tend to take over things. Comic Con used to be about comic books now it just seems like a platform for launching movies. Dragon Con used to be gamers, Trekkies and assorted geekdom but when they decided to go more mainstream it seems like the other stuff got squeezed out.
With it being the last Transformers film for who knows how long you could hardly blame Hasbro and Bot Con for going all out for the last film. So I'm thinking they will go a bit overboard.
Fit For natalie
I don't understand why people are so upset about this. I've seen arguments from people saying the movies destroyed Transformers (seems perfectly alive to me); the movies disrespected Transformers (since when does a brand created and maintained solely to peddle toys to children have any respect?); comments that it's "another reason" not to care about BotCon" that seem to suggest it's because it sold out to the mainstream; arguments that the people involved with the movies don't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame (even though the human inductees are generally people who had a major hand in making the brand what it was, what it is today and how successful it has become, which fit the bill for Bay and Spielberg, whether you like the results of what they did or not).
As I recall, it was because Gibson was supposed to be in the movie panel the previous day, but was in hospital at the time. He turned up for the Paramount party under the weather, so they shuffled him into the Sunday Hasbro panel, which was apparently the only panel on that day without anything particularly important going on/guest that costs Fan Publications money.
Foster
Last time Botcon was in Pasadena the Hasbro design panel was cut off after 15 minutes when it was crashed by LEFT CHEEK LEFT CHEEK, whatever his name is. Pissed me off. They should have given him his own panel so those of us who wanted to talk toys could do so.
I wouldn't be at all surprised to see more of the same this year, especially with this HOF announcement.