by the fans for the fans

Michael Bay Teases ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Origin Change for Reboot



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The live-action ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ franchise reboot will tweak the reptilian characters’ origin story, according to producer Michael Bay.

Before continuing on, we ought to clarify: Michael Bay is only producing the live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series reboot through his Platinum Dunes, not directing. Helming duties (for better or for worse) on the project look to instead be given to Jonathan Liebesman, who previously worked on the Bay-produced Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and last year’s alien invasion thriller Battle: Los Angeles.

Bay talked about the TMNT reboot at the 2012 Nickelodeon Upfront in New York – promising a cinematic return-to-form for the sewer-dwelling masked vigilantes, while also casually dropping a bombshell (turtleshell?) about how the characters’ traditional origin story will be altered for the new movie.

On the topic of how convincing the famous anthropomorphic reptilian stars of TMNT will be, Bay said:

“When you see this movie, kids will believe one day that these turtles do exist, when we’re done with this movie.”

With Bay backing the project and Liebesman – who looks to better establish himself as an effects-savvy director with this month’s Wrath of the Titans – mostly likely directing, the TMNT reboot should easily fulfill on that promise. A hybrid approach that combines animatronics with motion-capture digital effects (similar to that in Real Steel) in order to bring Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael to life, seems like the best way to go.

However, Bay’s next comment on the subject is bound to not go over so well (the first part, that is):

“These turtles [in the reboot] are from an alien race, and they’re going to be tough, edgy, funny, and completely lovable.”

Now, before anyone metaphorically (or semi-literally) explodes over Bay’s statement, don’t forget: going back to their comic book roots, the traditional backstory for the Turtles is that they were regular… well, turtles, who changed after being exposed to a radioactive substance. It’s a pretty ridiculous setup for even a comics series that started out as a satirical imitation of Frank Miller’s brutally grim and violent Ronin/Elektra comics – but eventually gave rise to a beloved property that stands on its own.

So, here’s the million dollar question: does having the Turtles simply be aliens sounds like a good idea, an inconsequential change – or a terrible decision?

It’s easy to point the finger of blame at Bay for bringing up this “Turtles as aliens” angle to begin with, if only because he also signed off on adding extraterrestrials into the mix with the Battleship movie. However, now that the decision has been made, it’s really up to the TMNT reboot screenwriting duo of Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Procotol) to actually make that tweaked origin story work.

As for why the Turtles are now going to be aliens: perhaps it’s to allow for other sci-fi elements and characters to be more organically woven into the rebooted TMNT mythology. Not that non-earthlings like the classic villain Krang (who even hailed from another dimension) have really struggled to fit into the series before now, but still…

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot is tentatively set for a December 25th, 2013 theatrical release date, so you can expect to learn more about the film over the upcoming year.

Paramount Shuts Down 'Ninja Turtles' Reboot; Release Date Pushed.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paramount...ninja-turtles-338301

WOW.

ALL THAT BAD FEEDBACK ON HOW MICHAEL BAY WAS GOING TO DO A REBOOT ABOUT TURTLES FROM SPACE.

OR JUST A DELAY LIKE IT SAYS.

MEMO1DOMINION wrote:

ALL THAT BAD FEEDBACK ON HOW MICHAEL BAY WAS GOING TO DO A REBOOT ABOUT TURTLES FROM SPACE.

you bet!

That wacky Michael Bay, I wonder how many explosions he had planned for the movie.

Well I bet Michael Bay could have done a badass Technodrome scene!

But nothing will ever replace the original for me.

‘Ninja Turtles’ Villains and Synopsis Revealed?

screenrant.com/ninja-turtles-movie-villa...nopsis-sandy-185871/


Paramount moved back its planned reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise (retitled Ninja Turtles) to Summer 2014, in order to undergo additional development and script rewrites. The official reason given for the delay is budget concerns – which is understandable, in the aftermath of rapidly-rising costs for the studio’s World War Z adaptation and G.I. Joe sequel (due to reshoots, 3D post-conversion, etc.).

However, as any member of the movie blogosphere worth their salt can tell you: producer Michael Bay’s public confirmation that the Turtles are now aliens from another world/dimension – and the massive outcry from fans in response – must have contributed to the project being bumped back (to some degree).


Latino Review’s El Mayimbe reportedly got his hands on a Ninja Turtles script draft penned by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), before the news about release date delays and rewrites broke. Mayimbe is renowned as a credible source of information (see: his multiple Marvel movie scoops), so it’s surprising that his Twitter comments about Ninja Turtles haven’t been picked up by most sites (hat tip to CBM).

Skimming through [the 'Ninja Turtles' script], I see KRANG and THE TECHNODROME… I also see BEBOP and ROCKSTEADY and see something called DIMENSION X.

Needless to say: those names definitely mean something to TMNT fans.

The Turtles franchise as a whole has been heavier on sci-fi elements in recent years, and Bay’s comments about the alien origin storyline suggested that Ninja Turtles will not buck that trend. Moreover, that line of thought fits with previous rumors that Krang could be the film’s central villain – and explains the presence of both Dimension X (Krang’s home) and his Technodrome subterranean fortress.

Similarly, it stands to reason: in a movie where extraterrestrials can resemble anthropomorphic reptiles, the origin story for Bebop and Rocksteady could easily be tweaked so that the pair are also aliens from another world (traditionally, the duo are street gang thugs, mutated into a human warthog and rhinoceros by the Shredder). It’s also possible the two will simply be monsters created by Krang.

That would also fit with a Ninja Turtles synopsis currently making the rounds (which CBM claims has been confirmed as legit by “a very reliable source”):

After their planet’s destruction, four turtle-like alien warriors and their master come to Earth, where they join forces with reporter April O’Neil to prevent the extradimensional conqueror Krang from enslaving the human race.

Bear in mind: that logline could be the handiwork of someone unaffiliated with the Ninja Turtles project, who has connected the dots between the Krang rumors and Turtles’ re-imagined origin story (translation: take it with a grain of salt).

The divisive issue with Ninja Turtles relates to the decision to take the Turtles “into outer space” (as TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman has put it). Many fans seem to feel it’s an unnecessary change to the series mythos, motivated foremost by a desire to cash in on Hollywood’s extraterrestrial fad. It could conceivably make the characters more palpable to moviegoers beyond the fanbase – or, conversely, fail in that attempt, and thus leave just about everyone unsatisfied.

Leaked ‘Ninja Turtles’ Script Is ‘TMNT’ Meets ‘Transformers’ – But Is It Legit?

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Paramount slowed development on Ninja Turtles a couple months ago, with initial Hollywood trade reports pointing to studio heads’ disapproval of the script, and the proposed budget ($125 million and growing). Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman thereafter announced the delay was really meant to allow proper time for motion-capture effects work on the film, as well as to take advantage of the TMNT franchise’s 30th anniversary in 2014.

A Turtles fansite claims to have gotten their hands on Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec’s (rumored) offending script draft for Ninja Turtles. If this screenplay is indeed legit – and that’s a BIG if, for the time being – then it seems TMNT fans’ worst fears have been confirmed.

Here are some of the more egregious details revealed therein:


The script includes a character named Colonel Schrader, the head of a secret military operation run by an army nicknamed “The Foot” (get it?).


Casey Jones and April O’Neil are now dating and in high-school. The two have reached a crossroads, as Casey is an unambitious slacker, while April is becoming an intern for CBS. Casey is also described as being the protagonist of the film – not the turtles.


The Turtles crack a variety of “updated” pop-culture jokes, making references to Kermit the Frog, cellphones, and the Kung Fu Panda movies (among other things).


Casey and the Turtles eventually travel to Dimension X, where the four reptilian warriors discover they are members of a Turtle-like extraterrestrial race (and not mutants, as they previously believed).

Essentially, the gist of the review is that the Ninja Turtles script commits virtually all the same missteps as producer Michael Bay’s Transformers movies – such as, featuring loads of inane juvenile humor, reducing the female lead to nagging eye candy, making the title characters secondary players behind an uninteresting human protagonist, and creating a half-baked new franchise mythology.

For the full breakdown, head over to TMNT, NOT TANT.


Now, with that said: the similarities between Ninja Turtles and Bay’s Transformers are so overt as to prompt skepticism about the script’s authenticity. Moreover, the screenplay excerpts read more like what an angry fan imagines a script for one of Bay’s movies is like – as opposed to a draft penned by Appelbaum and Nemec, whose writing credits include the well-respected Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, as well as multiple episodes on shows like Alias and Life on Mars.

So why report this at all? Well, the author of the Ninja Turtles script review claims they took the whole version down after receiving a Cease and Desist order from a legal firm that represents Paramount (check out the letter here). Such an order would indeed suggest the draft was legitimate – but, of course, that’s assuming it wasn’t fabricated by some outside party. Hence, it’s best to not assume anything is a given until more official details have been released.

On the other hand – if the Ninja Turtles trailer suggests this film is Transformers all over again (in the worse sense possible), well… we were warned.

Ninja Turtles opens in U.S. theaters on May 16th, 2014.

TMNT: We Are Bringing Megan Fox Back Into The Family

michaelbay.com/2013/02/21/tmnt-we-are-br...ack-into-the-family/

WOW AND INTERESTING.