Transformers: Dark of the Moon (also known as Transformers 3) is a 2011 American science fiction-action film. It is the third film of the live-action Transformers film series, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and was released on June 29, 2011. The film is presented in regular 2D, Real D 3D and IMAX 3D, featuring Dolby Surround 7.1 sound.
Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro reprise their starring roles, with Peter Cullen returning as the voice of Optimus Prime and Hugo Weaving returning as the voice of Megatron. Ehren Kruger, who collaborated in the writing of the last film, was again involved in the writing. Despite having been initially confirmed for the film, and with the film already into principal photography, it was announced that Megan Fox would not be reprising her role from the previous two films. With Fox's character (Mikaela Banes) being dropped, Sam was assigned a new love interest, portrayed by English model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Also, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, having written the last two films, did not return for this installment in the series, which Orci had earlier somewhat anticipated, fearing the duo would "risk getting stale". Bay has stated this would be his last installment in the series. In May 2011, it was announced that Paramount Pictures had bumped Transformers: Dark of the Moon's release date of July 1, 2011, two days earlier, June 29, in order to receive an early response to footage. The film was then released one day earlier, June 28, in select 3D and IMAX theatres, nationwide. The film currently stands as the 44th highest-grossing film of all-time.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (also known as Transformers 2 or Revenge of the Fallen) is a 2009 American science fiction-action film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Transformers and the second film in the live-action Transformers film series. The plot revolves around Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), the human caught in the war between two factions of alien robots, the Autobots and Decepticons. Sam is having near-epileptic episodes and visions of Cybertronian symbols, and is being hunted by the Decepticons under the orders of their long-trapped leader, The Fallen, who seeks to get revenge on Earth by finding and activating a machine that would provide the Decepticons with an energon source, destroying the Sun and all life on Earth in the process.
With deadlines jeopardized by possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild, Bay managed to finish the production on time with the help of previsualization and a scriptment by his writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and series newcomer Ehren Kruger. Shooting took place from May to November 2008, with locations in Egypt, Jordan, Pennsylvania and California, as well as air bases in New Mexico and Arizona.
Revenge of the Fallen was released on June 24, 2009, and was a box office success, setting records upon release, and grossing a total of $402 million in North America and $836 million worldwide. It was the second most successful film of 2009 (behind Avatar) and 11th overall domestically, and the 24th highest-grossing film of all time and fourth highest of the year (behind Avatar, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs) internationally. Despite its success at the box office, the film was panned by critics and won three awards at the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony, including Worst Picture, making it the first film that grossed more than $800 million to win the award.
Transformers is a 2007 American science fiction action film based on the Transformers toy line. The film, which combines computer animation with live-action, is directed by Michael Bay, with Steven Spielberg serving as executive producer. It stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, a teenager involved in a war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, two factions of alien robots who can disguise themselves by transforming into everyday machinery. The Decepticons desire control of the AllSpark, the object that created their robotic race, with the intention of using it to build an army by giving life to the machines of Earth. Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, Anthony Anderson and John Turturro also star, while voice actors Peter Cullen and Hugo Weaving voice Optimus Prime and Megatron respectively.
Produced by Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto, they developed the project in 2003 and DeSanto wrote a treatment. Steven Spielberg came on board the following year, hiring Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to write the screenplay. The United States Armed Forces and General Motors (GM) loaned vehicles and aircraft during filming, which saved money for the production and added realism to the battle scenes. Hasbro organized an enormous promotional campaign for the film, making deals with hundreds of companies. This advertising blitz included a viral marketing campaign, coordinated releases of prequel comic books, toys and books, as well as product placement deals with GM and eBay.
Transformers was a box office success,despite mixed critical reaction to the radical redesigns of the characters, and reviews criticizing the focus on the humans at the expense of the robots. It is the forty-third most successful film released and the fifth most successful of 2007, grossing approximately US$709 million worldwide. The film won four awards from the Visual Effects Society and was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound Editing.
