The Paramount Japan website has been updated with more details on the Japanese DVD release of the live action Transformers movie.

The Transformers Movie will be released in hour different version in Japan. They are :-

1. The regular DVD release - 2 disc collectors set priced at 4,179 yen
2. The Optimus Prime Transforming DVD boxset, limited to 10,000 and priced at 5,670 yen
3. The HD-DVD two disc version, priced at 4,935 yen.
4. A, "to be specified" Special Edition set

By pre-ordering the DVDs, you will receive a Japanese exclusive recolour of the Spychanger Scourge figure into Transformers Movie Optimus Prime, whilst stocks last.

Thanks to Snakas for the link.

Thanks to Protoform-S for posting on our Transformers Discussion Forum the following information.

Cybertron Philippines was able to get a sample of the Transforming DVD case. Here are some pics we'd like to share with you:



You can see more pics in this LINK

The Allspark have two nice little news stories rounding up some information / speculation regarding the Transformers 2 movie. The first covered information from Steven Spielburg, the second regarding a story document (called a Treatment) which had been leaked.

As with the first Transformers Movie, we'll only be printing official images / stories concerning the production of the Transformers Movie, and not reproducing any leaked images / documents.

This has nothing to do with Transformers really, but it's interesting to see an auction on Yahoo Japan at the moment for a 1974 Camaro, in Bumblebee colours (complete with dodgy bodywork) listed in the Transformers section of the Japanese auction website.

You can see the auction here, if you fancy a giggle. The auction is around £2,700, which probably isn't bad for the car.

IGN have an article entitled ILM on Transformers Effects where they talk to Scott Farrar regarding the effected on the live action Transformers movie. You can read the article here.

Comics Continuum has a obtained a first look at the DVD menus for the Transformers movie DVD. You can view their report here (be warned the site contains popups) or you can directly access the images using the following links.

here - here - here - here - here - here - here

The Hollywood reporter reports that screenwriter Ehren Kruger and the writing team of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are currently in talks with Paramount Pictures / Dreamworks to write the screenplay for the second live action Transformers Movie. Director Michael Bay, star Shia LaBeouf and producers Tom DeSanto, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Don Murphy and executive producer Steven Spielberg are also reported to be back on board.

The report states that the teaming of -"A-listed writers to write such a huge project" is an industry first, and points to the fact that Kurtzman and Orci are busy writing the new Star Trek movie as one of the main reasons for the collaboration. The three writers are not strangers, as they are working together on the DreamWorks picture Nightlife.

Kruger met with Michael Bay and Hasbro president Brian Goldner, impressing both with his knowledge of the Transformers mythos.

Interstate Bakeries Corporation have released the following press release regarding their Transform Your Entertainment competition

In connection with the DVD release of the box office hit Transformers, the maker of America's most iconic snack cakes is offering a chance to win the ultimate entertainment experience with Hostess'® "Transform Your Entertainment" instant win game. Sixty prizes are up for grabs. The Grand Prize is a 50" Plasma TV and Home Entertainment System.

Starting October 1, 2007, specially marked family-sized packages of Hostess Twinkies®, Cup Cakes, HoHos® and Donettes® and specially marked snack packs of Hostess Twinkies, Cup Cakes and Donettes will feature a game code inside. By registering the game code online at HostessTransformers.com consumers will find out instantly if they are a winner.

A $4 mail in rebate on the Transformers DVD is also offered with the purchase of two family-sized packages of specially marked Hostess products. For official rules, additional information, or to find out how to receive an instant-win game piece by mail, visit HostessCakes.com.

"We are thrilled to be a promotional partner with Paramount Home Entertainment for the DVD release of Transformers," said Barbara Clements, Consumer Promotions and Licensing Manager for Hostess. "In aligning Hostess with one of the must-see movies of the year we are reinforcing our commitment to partnering with entertainment properties that generate excitement for the Hostess brand."

"Hostess is an exceptional partner and we're very excited to team-up with them on Transformers," said George Clement, Executive Director, Promotions for Paramount Home Entertainment. "We're very pleased with the promotion, especially the creative packaging which ties in so well with the theme of the movie."

The DVD of Paramount Home Entertainment's Transformers, which earned an estimated $650 Million in theaters globally, is available starting October 16, 2007.

Thanks to SuperHeroHype.com for the report

Min Lee, AP Entertainment Writer, has published the following article regarding how Transformers has become the 2nd highest grossing foreign movie of all time in China.

HONG KONG (AP) -- "Transformers" raked in $37.3 million at the Chinese box office, making it the No. 2 grossing foreign movie of all time in the country after "Titanic," an official said Monday.

Film Bureau Deputy Director-General Zhang Pimin said in a phone interview "Transformers" was now second after surpassing the "The Da Vinci Code," which drew in more than 100 million yuan ($13.3 million).

"Titanic" made 359 million yuan ($48 million) in China.

"Transformers," which was released in China with more than 500 copies, will also get an IMAX screening at five theaters starting Tuesday.

Zhang denied a report in the Ming Pao Weekly magazine over the weekend that China's government banned media coverage of "Transformers" and its box office earnings when it neared the 200 million yuan ($27 million) mark.

"How could it do so well at the box office without publicity?" he said.

China carefully screens media content and only allows in about 20 foreign movies a year, although that quota can be bypassed through co-productions with local companies.

Regulators have also tried to maximize revenue for Chinese studios by banning foreign films from theaters during holidays and school vacations, when audiences are biggest.

China's box office is still small compared to the U.S. A movie making tens of millions of U.S. dollars in China is considered a major hit while a big hit in the U.S. can rake in several hundred million domestically.

"Transformers" is a production of DreamWorks and Paramount, which are both divisions of Viacom Inc. The characters in the movie are based on toys from Hasbro, Inc.

Snakas reports that in the latest edition of Hyper Hobby Magazine (on sale today in Japan), its announced that the Rescue Ratchet along with othrs will now be released in the middle of November in Japan as oppose to the previous announced release date of October. This report is also apparently in Figure King and Dengeki Hobby magazines. Snakas also reports that in an interview with TakaraTomy's Masahiko's Yamazaki, its announced that when the live action Transformers movie DVD is released in Japan, there will be a limited item and will also have a campaign run with it, so there may be some more Japanese exclusive Transformers Movie figures on the way

" Scott Farrar, visual-effects supervisor and second-unit director of Michael Bay's Transformers, told SCI FI Wire that the recently announced sequel will be more ambitious visually.

"We want to improve on some of the processes that we did," Ferrar said in an interview at Industrial Light & Magic in San Francisco, where the film's transforming robots were created. "I think what we're going to do is get faster and know our problems sooner and quicker. And then, of course, I know Michael's always thinking about new, crazy actions. And we're open to that."

After discussing the monumental task of creating the effects for the first film, Farrar groaned and fell off his chair in jest when asked about the sequel, which was announced last week with an anticipated release date of June 26, 2009.

"It's a circus, and they're going to raise the tight-wire walker a little bit higher next time," he said. "But it's all going to be dramatic. I think the commitment is not to just chuck out a sequel. The commitment is—and this makes us really happy here—that it's a deep story. There are lots of layers to the story of all these Decepticons, everybody. And so they want to really keep the characters rich."

Farrar added that the filmmakers plan to use the techniques and technology they learned on the first film to make the second even better. "It was difficult and, I think, laborious and I think we learned a lot by the end," he said. "I think we've learned a lot about lighting, and I think we can go to much moodier lighting. Lots of things. It'll be improved."

Transformers will be released on DVD and HD DVD Oct. 16."

The original report can be found here.

The National Movie Awards are on TV tonight, on ITV 1 at 9:30, where Transformers is amongst various films which are battling it out to win awards including Best Action film.

If you're not planning on watching the show, then you may be interested in who won. If you are watching it, then don't read any further until after the show airs.

SPOILERS

It also won best family film title at the ceremony, at the Royal Festival Hall in central London.

Other winners include:

ACTION/ADVENTURE
Casino Royale

ANIMATION
The Simpsons Movie

COMEDY
Hot Fuzz

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD
James Bond Genre

The latest 007 film beat off competition from Die Hard 4.0, 300 and Transformers to take home the Best Action Film gong at the ceremony.

Amazon.com have put up a video preview of one of the extras on the Transformers movie, Transformers: Inside The Allspark. You can view the video here.

Credit to MichaelBay.com for the report.