Transformer trivia

Some trivia from the movie Transformer (2007). Complete list at IMDB -
The slogan for the movie "Their War. Our World", was the original slogan for the movie AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004), but at the last minute it was switched to "Whoever wins...we lose."

It took approximately 38 hours for the animators ILM to render one frame of the CGI animation to portray the Transformers. This breaks the record set by Weta Workshop for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), where it took 20 hours to animate a frame of CGI to portray the Ent Treebeard.

Producer Don Murphy decided, after listening to feedback from Transformers fans, to use the voices from the "Transformers" (1984) (and its spin-off The Transformers: The Movie (1986)). Veteran voice actors Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, who provided the voices for the iconic Transformer leaders Optimus Prime (Cullen) and Megatron (Welker), were auditioned personally by director Michael Bay, who feared that their aged voices would be noticeable. Cullen was confirmed to reprise his role, but Welker's voice had aged too much and besides didn't suit Megatron's new alien look, and so Hugo Weaving took the role of Megatron. However, Welker reprises his role as Megatron in Transformers: The Game (2007) (VG).

Two of the Decepticons in this film are named Bonecrusher and Devastator. In the original toy line and television series, Bonecrusher was one of six Decepticns, known as Constructicons, who combines to form Devastator.

WILHELM SCREAM: When Megatron flicks a human across the street like a bug (Megatron says "Disgusting," and the human in question is wearing green and slams into a taxicab).

Bumblebee doesn't actually talk in the film. He communicates through sound bites that include the voice of Lt. Uhura from "Star Trek" (1966) saying "Hailing frequencies open." and "Message from Starfleet." and bits of dialog from John Wayne, whom voice actor Peter Cullen used as an inspiration for Optimus Prime's voice.

In the "Transformers" (1984) series, the Autobots had blue optics (eyes) and the Decepticons had red optics. The animators created a new eye design resembling a camera shutter in order to make the robots more engaging; however, in a nod to the series, the color scheme remains the same. The only exception being Frenzy, who is a Decepticon, but has blue optics.

The gunship that successfully damages and drives off Scorponok during the attack on Captain Lennox and his men is the AC-130U Spooky II.

Josh Duhamel's character Captain Lennox first appeared in the comic book "G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers."

The F-22 Raptor that Starscream turns into is intended to replace the F-15 Eagle that Starscream originally turned into.

When Bumblebee is reactivated, one of the radio transmissions played back is a sound clip from “Star Trek”. The part of Megatron/Galvatron has been previously played by Leonard Nimoy and Frank Welker, who have also both played Spock on Star Trek.

Sam's eBay name LadiesMan217 refers to Michael Bay's birthday: February 17th.

In the Pre-Screenings of the movie, an additional scene showing Bumblebee scanning the older model was included just before the cut to Sam at school. This scene was left out of the general release.

Bumblebee is a 1974 Chevrolet Camaro and reforms into the new 2008 concept Camaro.

Peter Cullen described reprising his role as Optimus Prime as "slipping into an old pair of very comfortable shoes that you haven't worn for a while," and was grateful to the fans for wanting him back. His vocal performance consisted of much improvisation with Michael Bay and bringing a sense of humour to Prime, as well as his traditional heroism.

To prepare for his role as Sam 'Spike' Witwicky, 'Shia LeBouf' worked out five days a week for three months and gained 25 pounds of muscle, but he realized during shooting that Spike required agility rather than strength.

To prepare for her role as Mikaela Banes, Megan Fox gained ten pounds of muscle during filming due to the physicality of her role.

Michael Bay instructed the ILM animators to watch martial arts films to get an idea on how to effectively portray the Transformers' movements.


Charlie Adler, who voices the Decepticon Starscream in this film, voiced the Autobot Silverbolt in "Transformers" (1984). He was the only other voice actor from the series besides Peter Cullen to get a role in this film.

Michael Bay originally turned down directing the film, considering it "a stupid toy movie." However, as a young man he worked at Lucasfilm Ltd. and had a similar opinion about Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which became a classic hit. Realizing he was wrong about that film and perhaps about this one, he signed on to direct the film. He also took the job because he desired to make a family film, though he wanted to make it edgier than usual.

* Hasbro released several toys based on the movie's characters. These toys feature new "Automorph Technology," where moving parts of a toy in transformations allowed some other parts to shift automatically. This marks a rare time when Transformers toys are designed 'after' the characters in the fiction, whereas normally, the toys are designed first.

Optimus Prime's line before facing off with Megatron "One shall stand, one shall fall" is the exact some line he said before facing off with Megatron in The Transformers: The Movie (1986).

While the film's scriptwriters experimented with additional characters, their scripts always included the Autobots Optimus Prime and Bumblebee and the Decepticons Megatron and Starscream.

In terms of characterization all the Autobots in this film are based on their Generation One incarnations. However, their alternate modes have undergone modern interpretations and overhauls for a realistic portrayal in the live-action film; in particular, all their modes, except for Optimus Prime's Peterbilt truck, are now owned by General Motors as part of a tie-in deal.

The character of Arcee was included in the script, but poor fan reaction caused her to be cut out and replaced with Ironhide.

As part of the promotion campaign for the film, early trailers showed as little of the Transformers as possible. Many parts of the robots were hidden from view due to quick cuts. However, later trailers and commercials showed more of the Transformers.

Barricade's side reads; "To punish and enslave" rather than "To protect and serve".

The Optimus Prime portrayed in the film is a Peterbilt 379. In "Duel" (1971), directed by this film's executive producer, Steven Speilberg, the antagonist is a Peterbilt 281. This marks two Speilberg films with Peterbilt trucks as main characters, 36 years apart.

Don Murphy originally intended to do a "G.I. Joe" (1985) film in 2003, but he instead negotiated with the Hasbro Company to make a Transformers film.

The Decepticon Frenzy was originally named Soundbyte. The writers had Soundwave in the original script, but decided to change the character to one of his cassettes from the original '84 series due to the size the robot has in the role. They plan to "do Soundwave correctly" in the sequel.