Interview With Michael Bay: Talks About Problems With TMNT

[Commenter 42]

Sounds like no one, at all knew what the **** they were doing, and all of a sudden, Bay is done with TF, looks over at Liebse, and is like "aw hell no son!"

He then got involved to FUBAR the film, but started with a FUBAR film, so the end result was a double negative. (Yes you can have one, apparently, PDTMNT is the proof.)

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Ramboraph4life aka Matt

And, oh yeah, the Turtles will be there. Just don't blink or you'll miss them.

Poor guys may as well stay home.

[The Boston Ninja Turtle]

Originally Posted by NinjaPug

How can anyone read that and have positive thoughts about the future of this franchise?

optimism..

which i get, im a pretty optimist guy...but some people just turn a blind eye to things

[Galactus]

Originally Posted by samxsteal

Bull ****. I said that a Japanese Shredder was a major possibility and i even said that there would be a Japanese Shredder and i was right. I said that I had faith that they was always an option, Was i wrong about the extent of what they planned sure But i was still right that there would be a Japanese Shredder that that it would work out Heck half my half back theories were freaking true. Ive Never called people names. I have been Threatened made fun off definitely called name. and You know what those users still on here still posting. With friends that were banned for much less. Whats that mean.

I can't speak for your conversations on here with Leo656 however I'm sure you remember we've had some discussions on here too and I remember when it was officially announced that it was not going to be William Fichtner playing Shredder you were very vehement (to the point of obnoxious I'd say) that this had been the plan all along and that the idea Eric Sachs character was Shredder to be a red herring that we all just mad we didn't see. Obviously we know now that was not the case.

Very much like how you were adamant that the re-shoots were purely down to Megan Fox having a pre-pregnancy figure like Bay said and not to make last minute changes. How you sneered and tried to make out the rest of us we're paranoid morons for seeing something we know now to be true.

I don't know what theories you had about the movie that turned out to be true but since you've said about how you don't like being called names maybe I didn't like the inference that I was stupid because I could not see they were "obviously going down the reincarnation route" - I guess I wasn't so stupid after all.

Same for any number of claims like Hamato Yoshi being present to the idea after the movie came out there was still a possibility he could still be connected to Yoshi despite Leibesman's own words saying that was not his intention.

The board has a certain tone a lot of times. A lot of posters here are long time fans that know the franchise inside and sometimes a lot of us can come across as know-it-alls on tje subject of TMNT when debates get intense but you don't even need that. You've been one of the worst offenders of this and the sad thing is you don't even see it.

[Leo656]

Reading more of that interview, Bay comes off as the most arrogant prick on Earth. And he contradicts himself constantly!

He swears he has pretty good gut instincts... but admits he thought "Raiders" was going to be trash. He thought the *music* was why Transformers 3 didn't work. He swears they picked the "right" ending for the Elm Street remake, and yet, that movie was totally panned. Which, to be fair, was probably only partly because of the ending, but it shows his judgment is pretty skewed on what "works" vs. what doesn't. The way he casually jokes about lording it over his subserviants and whatnot, flat-out walking out of the room dismissively when people don't agree with him, basically acting like King Dictator of every project he's involved with...

Yeah, gimme more of what this guy's selling. He totally cares about his audience. He says he can hear what people say, but I don't think he could possibly hear anything at all with his head jammed that far up his own ass.

Sh*t rolls downhill, gang.

[TrickOrTreater]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Reading more of that interview, Bay comes off as the most arrogant prick on Earth. And he contradicts himself constantly!

He swears he has pretty good gut instincts... but admits he thought "Raiders" was going to be trash. He thought the *music* was why Transformers 3 didn't work. He swears they picked the "right" ending for the Elm Street remake, and yet, that movie was totally panned. Which, to be fair, was probably only partly because of the ending, but it shows his judgment is pretty skewed on what "works" vs. what doesn't. The way he casually jokes about lording it over his subserviants and whatnot, flat-out walking out of the room dismissively when people don't agree with him, basically acting like King Dictator of every project he's involved with...

Yeah, gimme more of what this guy's selling. He totally cares about his audience. He says he can hear what people say, but I don't think he could possibly hear anything at all with his head jammed that far up his own ass.

Sh*t rolls downhill, gang.

And people are eating it up and are actually EAGER to eat more of it up.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Yeah, gimme more of what this guy's selling. He totally cares about his audience. He says he can hear what people say, but I don't think he could possibly hear anything at all with his head jammed that far up his own ass.

I hate the film as much as anyone else, but keep in mind that they did bother to reshoot to include Saki. Of course, we ended up with an even worse film than we would have had they just kept Sachs as Shredder, but at least they tried.

I don't know if they were trying to please longtime fans in some misguided fashion or just trying to cover their own asses. Either way they're at least in tune with what the audience wants to some degree.

[Leo656]

I do give 'em credit for being willing to bend, but it doesn't at all change the fact that from the very start, their entire approach was wrong.

Maybe if they'd gotten people who actually knew TMNT and cared about it, instead of a few guys who watched the show a few times 20 years ago and then forgot about it, they could have started things off on the right foot and gone from there, instead of scrambling to "fix" things when it was already too late.

[Candy Kappa]

Technically, we don't know that Shredder's name is Saki, or Oroku Saki. They never said his name. We only "know" it, because we are familiar with TMNT as a brand. They never bothered to provide the supposed main baddie an actual name, even Slinter don't know Shredder's name.

[NinjaPug]

Originally Posted by Candy Kappa

Technically, we don't know that Shredder's name is Saki, or Oroku Saki. They never said his name. We only "know" it, because we are familiar with TMNT as a brand. They never bothered to provide the supposed main baddie an actual name, even Slinter don't know Shredder's name.

They didn't even explain how Splinter knew who Shredder was to begin with.

[sethmartin]

Eh, the movie isn't that bad. I went in with mid to low expectations but just accepted it for what it is. I try to imagine how I would have felt about the movie if I had seen it at 8 years old. I would have thought it was incredible. That being said, I can do without the origin story. I'm tired of seeing it. I just want new turtle adventures. Now, I own the movie and even though it's not a great movie and I'm not crazy about the old tired (bad guy poisoning the air/water supply) storyline, there are scenes that I really enjoy watching.

A. Splinter/ Shredder fight- Yes, in context of the movie, who cares, but the fight itself is awesome! Also the first time Splinter actually fought Shredder in a movie. I like the Shredder suit and blades (although I would have liked to see his eyes. I think that would have helped) also I kind of like the fact Splinter uses his tail to fight. I know he never did it before, but honestly, why wouldn't he?

B. Snow battle- By far my favorite scene in the movie. Yes it's crazy over the top and certain things aren't realistic, but hey, it's human size turtles fighting crime. I check realism at the door. VFX are awesome and the scene was well done.

C. Elevator scene, turtles being punished scene, meeting April O'Neil on the rooftop- These were the most "Ninja Turtles" scenes out of the whole movie so I liked them.

D. Turtles vs. Shredder fight- once again, in the context of the movie, who cares. However, the fight itself is badass and I liked that the turtles fought in the bright sunlight so you could see every detail and how they still managed to go unseen. Also liked how they had to work together to defeat Shredder. If there had been a more interesting backstory with Shredder, it would have made this scene pay off more but it's still awesome in and of itself.

Bottom line, I was entertained through the whole thing even though it's not great. I think if they keep what worked, scrap what didnt, and move the story forward by bringing in characters we remember from childhood. A sequel could be good. I don't know if any of the filmmakers "learned from their mistakes" but hopefully Paramount did and will take more time and consideration with the sequel. Redesigning the turtles a bit wouldn't hurt. Technodrome, Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady is what I want to see. "The Dark Knight" I thought was way better than "Batman Begins" so there is no excuse as to why Paramount can't get it right the second time out. As fans, let's just make our voices heard about what we WANT and maybe we'll get it.

[TrickOrTreater]

Originally Posted by sethmartin

Eh, the movie isn't that bad. I went in with mid to low expectations but just accepted it for what it is. I try to imagine how I would have felt about the movie if I had seen it at 8 years old. I would have thought it was incredible.

I love that some fans of this property are perfectly okay with mediocre to bad just because.

And as I've said before, even kids deserve better than what they got. Because kids movies don't have to suck ass for them to like it.

[Leo656]

I agree with his sentiment that if we raise our voice we might get some positive change rolling. But I maintain that nothing truly good can come from THIS group of filmmakers, as far as TMNT. The wrong people are making it; everything else is just band-aids on bullet wounds.

...which the Turtles would know nothing about... because... they're bullet-proof... because that's a good idea... for... some... reason...

[sethmartin]

Originally Posted by TrickOrTreater

I love that some fans of this property are perfectly okay with mediocre to bad just because.

And as I've said before, even kids deserve better than what they got. Because kids movies don't have to suck ass for them to like it.

And I love how some fans are just cynical just because. Why can't I like certain things but not others. Turtles 3 was terrible, Turtle Tunes is the worst tape ever and let's not forget Turtles Christmas! That's what I got as a kid. I would have preferred this movie over any of that. Not everything has to be black or white, terriffic or terrible. Most movies fall somewhere in between and it's perfectly ok to like certain aspects of a film without just dismissing it as terrible. There are many many movies I feel this way about so being a "turtle fan" has nothing to do with it.

[sethmartin]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I agree with his sentiment that if we raise our voice we might get some positive change rolling. But I maintain that nothing truly good can come from THIS group of filmmakers, as far as TMNT. The wrong people are making it; everything else is just band-aids on bullet wounds.

...which the Turtles would know nothing about... because... they're bullet-proof... because that's a good idea... for... some... reason...

They already replaced the director so that's a start. I would like to see different screenwriters. I don't mind that the shells are bulletproof because that's the reason turtles have shells to protect them from danger, but their skin shouldn't be.

[NinjaPug]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I agree with his sentiment that if we raise our voice we might get some positive change rolling. But I maintain that nothing truly good can come from THIS group of filmmakers, as far as TMNT. The wrong people are making it; everything else is just band-aids on bullet wounds.

...which the Turtles would know nothing about... because... they're bullet-proof... because that's a good idea... for... some... reason...

$$$ is the only thing that will force positive change. PD knows they can produce drivel and people will still go see it. Why put time and energy into making something good if you don't have to? The general movie-going audience has screwed us on this one.

[Autbot_Benz]

Originally Posted by sethmartin

And I love how some fans are just cynical just because. Why can't I like certain things but not others. Turtles 3 was terrible, Turtle Tunes is the worst tape ever and let's not forget Turtles Christmas! That's what I got as a kid. I would have preferred this movie over any of that. Not everything has to be black or white, terriffic or terrible. Most movies fall somewhere in between and it's perfectly ok to like certain aspects of a film without just dismissing it as terrible. There are many many movies I feel this way about so being a "turtle fan" has nothing to do with it.

Just Ignore/put on ignore TrickorTreater he is nothing but negativity.

[TrickOrTreater]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I agree with his sentiment that if we raise our voice we might get some positive change rolling. But I maintain that nothing truly good can come from THIS group of filmmakers, as far as TMNT. The wrong people are making it; everything else is just band-aids on bullet wounds.

...which the Turtles would know nothing about... because... they're bullet-proof... because that's a good idea... for... some... reason...

Because being badass ninja turtles just wasn't good enough for Lord Bay.

Originally Posted by sethmartin

And I love how some fans are just cynical just because.

Ha. Yeah, I'm not cynical "just because." Because I love the cartoon. Which is genuine and genuinely good with creative and talented people who are also fans working on it. No cynicism there, sport.

I've seen the movie. It was awful. That's the reason I have zero faith in this creative team for a sequel. The VERY TINY LITTLE BIT of good that it had is completely outweighed by the sh*t. And there's a lot of it.

The "wait and see" period is over. I saw, and it sucked.

Originally Posted by NinjaPug

$$$ is the only thing that will force positive change. PD knows they can produce drivel and people will still go see it. Why put time and energy into making something good if you don't have to? The general movie-going audience has screwed us on this one.

Boy howdy is that true.

[pennydreadful]

I log into the 'drome, and the first two threads I look at make me want to slam my head repeatedly with a car door.

Is it too early in the day to start drinking? It's always 5.00pm somewhere, right?

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by sethmartin

They already replaced the director so that's a start. I would like to see different screenwriters.

I hear ya, brah. Problem is, they replaced the director because he didn't match Bay's "vision", though. Bay said he thought the movie needed more humor. We all know now what he meant: boner and fart jokes and buck-buck and a bunch of other misfires.

Liebsman was only hired in the first place because he would fall in line, and... apparently, he didn't quite fall in line enough, and that's why he's out. So, using deductive reasoning, that implies his replacement will be even more of a figurehead with no voice, no power, and no authority.

Doesn't fill me with any confidence at all. Even new writers wouldn't fix anything, knowing what we know now. It's Bay's Movie/Series. Always was, always will be. There really can't be any debate about that, anymore, it's impossible to dispute who The Boss is when it's coming from his own mouth. And Bay, frankly, is an asshole. All the biggest problems start and end with him. I wasn't entirely certain of that until literally just today.

It's not what I want to be true, but... it is true. Until the franchise is rescued from being kept hostage by PD, nobody should expect anything more than what we already got. Some folks are okay with that; most folks aren't. I'm not.