Cultural WI: Another Director for Live-Action Transformers Movies

I just watched a YouTube clip entitled "Hitler Hates Michael Bay Transformers," which puts new subtitles on Hitler's ranting scene from Downfall.

In the clip, Hitler references Zach Snyder or James Cameron directing the live-action Transformers films.

So what would be the results, both in terms of the films' content and their cultural impact, if there'd been another director?

I think that if Megan Fox still plays Mikaela Banes, there's a higher chance she'd stick around for all three. No Bay-esque sexualized directing that Fox apparently didn't like, no "Hitler" spat, etc.

BTW, here's the Hitler clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri853pg74kc
 
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Anyone but him or Uwe Boll ... and I almost sure that the crazy German would not botch the film as much as tha man ...

I saw the first one and did not see anyone more ... enough is enough.
 
Anyone but him or Uwe Boll ... and I almost sure that the crazy German would not botch the film as much as tha man ...

I saw the first one and did not see anyone more ... enough is enough.

The first one was actually really good.

It was the second two that were bad. I actually was so disappointed in the second film I wrote a "fix fic," which can be found here:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5208263/1/Revenge_of_the_Fallen_Reboot

I've got better things to do than reboot the third film, but sometimes I'm tempted. :)
 
According to Wikipedia, Bay was brought in back in 2005 - too early for Snyder (whose breakout film, 300, didn't come out until 2007 - he had done the Dawn of the Dead remake in '04, but it wasn't anything spectacular) and not a good time for Cameron (who was busy doing documentaries). It's conceivable that Bay could've decided against directing - Wikipedia claims he was initially dismissive of the project. Not sure who would've directed instead.

If Bay doesn't direct Transformers, what does he direct? One thing to note is that prior to Transformers, his last film was The Island, which completely flopped.
 
Some ideas:
Guillermo del Toro could direct it just coming off of Pan's Labyrinth. Right now he's working on a mecha/kaiju movie in OTL, so he has some basic interest in the genre. He could do this to make a deal with Paramount, essentially being "you do this movie and if it's successful, we let you make At The Mountains of Madness with a decent budget and complete creative control".
OR
JJ Abrams, who's just coming off of Mission: Impossible III to direct, and if we're sticking close to OTL, would be working with much of the same writing team that helped him create Star Trek. A Bad Robot Transformers would be fun.
 
Let's see, now. How about:

Joe Wright: Okay, during the time in question, he was stuck doing period costume pieces and mini-series, but Hanna was/is pretty darn solid.

Christopher Nolan: He gets talked into doing this instead of The Prestige, and the second instead of Inception. Except, I think he has an exclusive contract with Warner Brothers.

David Fincher: During the time in question, hs career was in the wilderness directing commercials and music videos for Madonna, Paula Abdul and George Michael. Let's say he's talked into doing this instead of Zodiac. I think he could be persuaded with a relatively small paycheck, at least for the first movie.

Doug Liman: Fresh off Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. He decides to do this instead of trying to turn Mr. and Mrs. Smith into the next Remmington Steele, Scarecrow and Mrs. King or Hart to Hart.

Paul Greengrass: He had been tapped for X-Men 3 but left after seeing how it was a trainwreck waithing to happen and went back to do The Bourne Ultimatum. Michael Bay seemed to be able to make the first movie with minimal studio interference (at least with regard to creative control). Do you think that Greengrass could have been talked into this instead, letting Liman do the third Bourne movie instead?

Dominic Sena: Okay, Swordfish wasn't a total turkey, (and the action set pieces have stood up surprisingly well despite aping The Matrix every chance it got.) and its worst problems as a movie had to do with decisions made due being hijacked by the studio to be a star vehicle of John Travolta. (Which won't be the case with Transformers; the biggest name star on the cast of the original at the time of its release was Megan Fox {if you don't count the voices of Peter Cullen and Hugo Weaving}, It would take that movie, plus Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Eagle Eye and The Forbidden Kingdom to make Shia LeBeuof an A-list star.)

Now tear them apart!
 

sharlin

Banned
Transformers 1 was good, even if it did concentrate too much on the human element.

TF2 irritated me by introducing 'comedy characters' as 'funny' as Jar-jar binks in the racist twins and the obvious bad humor GIANT METAL BALLS anyone?

TF3 was adequate, there was no twins, the action was good and there was lots of bots on screen even though there was not enough Sound/shockwave but what can't get everything eh?
 
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