DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, in association with Hasbro, Inc., will develop a live-action, motion picture based on the globally popular Transformers franchise. Steven Spielberg will executive produce. The film is slated for release in the summer of 2006. Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Constantine), Don Murphy (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) and Tom DeSanto (X-Men and X2: X-Men United) are attached to produce.
DreamWorks Head of Production Adam Goodman stated, “Steven and everyone at DreamWorks are very excited about the prospect of expanding the world of Transformers into the live-action feature film arena. The possibilities for a thrilling action adventure are virtually endless, and a film holds the definite promise of expanding an already worldwide fan base to new audiences.”
“This is a tremendous franchise that offers us the opportunity to create an inventive and thrilling action-adventure film,” said Donald De Line, Vice Chairman, Motion Picture Group and President of Paramount Pictures. “We’re happy to work with our colleagues at DreamWorks to develop this project with Hasbro. There couldn’t be a better team to bring the Transformers to the big screen.”
“We are truly fortunate to have the best talent in the entertainment industry on board for the Transformers movie and are excited at the opportunities this powerful collaboration will bring to the property,” said Brian Goldner, President of Hasbro’s toys segment. “The Transformers franchise has been successful in many entertainment arenas and we are thrilled to give millions of fans an extraordinary experience that’s never been done in the history of the brand.”
Hasbro will work with the production team, DreamWorks and Paramount on all aspects of the film’s creative development, marketing, promotions and will manage merchandising in conjunction with the release of the film. Hasbro will also team up with Takara, who has been the co-developer of the Transformers brand since its beginning in the early 1980s.
“The Transformers brand has always struck a chord with fans around the world and remains one of our strongest franchises since it was introduced 20 years ago,” said Keita Satoh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Takara. “Together with Hasbro, DreamWorks and Paramount, we will bring the property to a new level for fans in the Japanese market, as well as around the world.”
DreamWorks will distribute the film domestically, while Paramount will distribute internationally.
In 1984, the Transformers brand took the world by storm with its compelling saga of the Robots in Disguise, and quickly became a childhood rite of passage with a tremendously successful toy line from Hasbro and Takara, comic book series, television program and animated feature film. Twenty years later, a new generation of kids has discovered the excitement of the Transformers brand and the legendary characters, such as Optimus Prime and Megatron, that truly are “more than meets the eye.” Today, the franchise features a popular toy line, an animated series on Cartoon Network and a chart-topping comic book series from Dreamwave Productions, which sold two million Transformers comic books last year.
