I hate Michael Bay (and why you should too)

[Armorlord]

He obviously hates us, that much is certain.
Michael Bay Talks TMNT Movie! Says, "They are from an Alien Race..."
Why God, why?

[Zamion138]

lame....ultra lame
made transformers about a chicks ass and somehow bumble bee cant talk....really just a cheap "now we dont have to pay a voice actor" move.
the turtles are mutants from the ooze. the ooze is like the root of the mythois sigh I hope he goes down soon so we dont have our childhood heroes and legends pissed on more.

[The Baron of chaos]

Well probably the Turtles being mutant would hinder a lot his "artistic" explosions.

But really this is like he want to top Uwe Boll and George Lucas in term of being hated by fans of pop culture franchise.
He is on the good road. (Albeit he still miss the subtle cruelty of George, you've to give him that, at least Michael Bay does not seem to do that with blatant sadism)

[Mr Grinch]

I read the news and wondered "How the **** did Michael Bay get his hands on another one of my beloved childhood properties", and then came here for the first time in ages.

I should post this in Sound Off, but seriously guys, stop going to his movies and he'll go away. We were almost rid of him after the Island.

[Misfit KotLD]

lame....ultra lame
made transformers about a chicks ass and somehow bumble bee cant talk....really just a cheap "now we dont have to pay a voice actor" move.
the turtles are mutants from the ooze. the ooze is like the root of the mythois sigh I hope he goes down soon so we dont have our childhood heroes and legends pissed on more.

Not to mention Bumblebee was a VW Bug. What the crap.

[Beatmeclever]

TEENAGE ALIEN NINJA TURTLES (TANT)???

Next, he'll say they aren't ninjas they're rockstars so they become the Teenage Alien Rockstar Turtles (TART)! Then what? They aren't turtles, they're camels!

I WILL NOT GO SEE A TEENAGE ALIEN ROCKSTAR DROMEDARIES MOVIE!!

*see what I did there? )

[Soldier of Od]

TEENAGE ALIEN NINJA TURTLES (TANT)???

Next, he'll say they aren't ninjas they're rockstars so they become the Teenage Alien Rockstar Turtles (TART)! Then what? They aren't turtles, they're camels!

I WILL NOT GO SEE A TEENAGE ALIEN ROCKSTAR DROMEDARIES MOVIE!!

*see what I did there? )

I think in the film they are focussing on their lives a bit later, so:
Twenty-something Alien Rockstar Dromedaries

And the sequel:
Octegenarian Alien Ex-Rockstar Dromedaries

And the prequel:
Infant Alien Budding-Rockstar Dromedary calves

I could go on.

[Rali]

Apparently, Peter Laird is okay with this idea:
http://peterlairdstmntblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/few-musings-on-turtles-as-aliens.html

Frankly, big fans of any of the "animated" TMNT series can't complain to much since every one of them have "tweaked" the TMNT universe to their own end. Krang, a bastardization of the Utroms; Master Splinter as a human mutated into a rat; Shredder being an Utrom criminal, April as a News Reporter... Heck, I think the only character that hasn't been reinvented yet is Casey Jones - always the smart mouthed vigilante wearing a hockey mask.

So now it's Bay's turn, and he may be turning the Turtles into aliens. It's debatable whether that's the worst thing that's ever been done to the franchise...

The only way you can truly protest this is to stop going to Michael Bay movies and introduce people to the REAL TMNT as depicted in the ORIGINAL Mirage Studios comics.

[Rali]

Peter laird is now saying that he was being sarcastic in his last post about Bay's TMNT movie.

In a response to a commenter on his blog,

“Did you really get out of what I wrote that I in any way, shape or form LIKE the idea of a planet of Turtles? If so, I guess I have to re-think how I express myself,”

“Just so it’s absolutely clear — I think a planet of turtles is not, in and of itself, a bad idea for some kind of science fiction/fantasy story. But as a way to explain any aspect of the backstory of TMNT, I think it is awful and unnecessary.”

In an article on ComicBookMovie.com, nailbiter111 asked Peter Laird, "if he could give his opinion on the rumor that Krang might be the villain in Michal Bay's film. More specifically, if he thought Krang could work in live-action."

"Almost anything can be made to "work" in a movie... the more important question is whether it can be made to work WELL. I have a pre-exisitng antipathy toward the character of "Krang" -- I felt he was overused in the original cartoon -- so I am probably not the best person to ask this question of... because even if "Krang" could be made to work well in a new movie, I wouldn't really want to see him."

Meanwhile, Kevin Eastman, in a post on his Facebook page, seems to be thrilled with the idea:

Hey Guys, Sorry to have been away for so long--completely swamped with work--but it is some pretty exciting stuff. I had been invited to check out the TMNT film development by my friend Scott Mednick over the years, and a while back had a full look behind the curtian at what writers Appelbaum and Nemec, director Liebesman, and producer Bay are doing--and trust me--it IS AWESOME. I'm officially on board, and will share more as I'm allowed... thanks all!

All this aside, the movie will keep interest in the Turtle alive a while longer, at least until someone more competent comes along with the intent to tell a compelling story involving our favorite mutant shelled reptiles.

[Pepsi Jedi]

I read some where that there was clarification that indicated that the turtles themselves were not aliens, but the 'ooze' that mutates them was alien. Which has been used for years in some versions of the turtles origins.

[Neo]

@PJ I dont know I have been hoping against hope that this was true, but I can find anything other then Bay saying they are going to be aliens.

The sad thing is the fan base is small enough that boycotting it because of this insanity really wont damage the box office. They might take a hit nationally but he will make it up internationally. Since the Transformers I have lost interest anything that has the Bay touch, Teenage Alien Invader Ninja Turtles or T.A.I.N.T. wont be any different.

[glitterboy2098]

I read some where that there was clarification that indicated that the turtles themselves were not aliens, but the 'ooze' that mutates them was alien. Which has been used for years in some versions of the turtles origins.

i've seen people talking about that too, but every time i've tried to track down the source, all i find are people who've read the old comics or seen the latest cartoon going "wait, he probably meant..."

all mr. bay has said is:

Fans need to take a breath, and chill. They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world.

and Peter laird posted to his blog;

I have had several requests from TMNT fans during this past week to comment on the idea of the Turtles being "reimagined" as aliens for the upcoming TMNT movie to be produced by Michael Bay. A few people -- who don't seem to understand that I am no longer in control of the property -- want me to stop this, somehow. Obviously, I can't do that, even if I wanted to.

But I would actually encourage TMNT fans to swallow the "chill pill" Mr. Bay recently suggested they take, and wait and see what might come out of this seemingly ill-conceived plan. It's possible that with enough truly creative brainpower applied to this idea, it might actually work. I'm not saying it's probable, or even somewhat likely… but it IS possible.

However, as I have pondered this further, I have realized that in one way it IS truly a genius notion. Let me explain…

Over the years, I have made no secret of my distaste for what I consider to be the weak, facile, creatively bankrupt idea which can be summed up like this:

"If FOUR Ninja Turtles are good, then FIVE (or more) Ninja Turtles MUST be better!"

It was in large part this brain-dead notion that led to the creation of the execrable "Venus de Milo" character in the blessedly short-lived live action TV series "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation". And I can't tell you how many times we got mail in the early years of the Turtles from people who thought it was simply an amazing idea to do a "fifth Turtle", and how many times those same people suggested that this fifth Turtle be named "Picasso". And many times, the brilliant idea to explain this extra Turtle was that, instead of there being just four pet shop turtles in that glass bowl in the origin story, there were really FIVE.

Sigh.

I'll admit -- I have played with the idea of more Turtles myself, a few times. There was the character of "Kirby", the "fifth Turtle" that Kevin Eastman and I came up with for one of the several movie ideas which never came to fruition. And I created the "Super Turtles" in Volume 4 of the TMNT comics published by Mirage… and they eventually appeared in one episode of the 4Kids animated TMNT TV series.

But…

… in both those instances, I was careful to make these Turtles not just MORE of the same, i.e. just extra TMNT. In both of the above cases, the extra Turtles were from other dimensions… and the Super Turtles, especially, were VERY different from the Ninja Turtles. I don't remember all the details of the work we did on that "Kirby the Fifth Turtle" thing, but I DO remember being adamant that if we were going to agree to the idea of a "fifth Turtle", it would have to be something other than the harebrained "there was an extra Turtle in the bowl, etc." idea.

Is that too fine a line? Yeah, maybe… but to my way of thinking, anyway, it is a CLEAR line.

Anyway, to get back to the "TMNT are aliens" thing -- the reason I say it could be a "genius" idea is that -- for the first time -- someone has come up with a way to have as many freakin' Turtles as they want. I mean, if the TMNT are actually members of an alien race, there could be a whole PLANET of them!

Joy. -- PL

but it turns out he was being sarcastic:

Did you really get out of what I wrote that I in any way, shape or form LIKE the idea of a planet of Turtles? If so, I guess I have to re-think how I express myself.”
“Just so it’s absolutely clear – I think a planet of turtles is not, in and of itself, a bad idea for some kind of science fiction/fantasy story. But as a way to explain any aspect of the backstory of TMNT, I think it is awful and unnecessary.”
“Of course, we have no idea at this point if the plan is to have a planet of Turtles. It’s probably a good idea to wait and see.” — PL

Eastman posted to facebook;

Hey Guys, Sorry to have been away for so long–completely swamped with work–but it is some pretty exciting stuff. I had been invited to check out the TMNT film development by my friend Scott Mednick over the years, and a while back had a full look behind the curtian at what writers Appelbaum and Nemec, director Liebesman, and producer Bay are doing–and trust me–it IS AWESOME. I’m officially on board, and will share more as I’m allowed… thanks all!

which doesn't really provide any information.. but does at least tell us which creator Mr. Bay is working with.

[Armorlord]

Eastman posted to facebook;

Hey Guys, Sorry to have been away for so long–completely swamped with work–but it is some pretty exciting stuff. I had been invited to check out the TMNT film development by my friend Scott Mednick over the years, and a while back had a full look behind the curtian at what writers Appelbaum and Nemec, director Liebesman, and producer Bay are doing–and trust me–it IS AWESOME. I’m officially on board, and will share more as I’m allowed… thanks all!

which doesn't really provide any information.. but does at least tell us which creator Mr. Bay is working with.

It also tells us that Bay's idea of "working closely with the creators" is code for "one of the other producers invited one of them to look at what we were doing once".
I am not reassured.

[Pepsi Jedi]

I guess we'll see. I know Transformers gets alot of flack but I enjoyed the movies, for what they were. Fast cars, giant robots, hot gals. Explosions.

Seeing a gritty TMNT version of that... could be awesome. There's been many different 'versions' of the turtled by now. I saw one where they've gone to the future and live there. *shrugs* This might just be a different take on the same ol concept. I'll reserve judgement.

[13eowulf]

This is the only way I would find Michael Bay's version acceptable.

http://www.the-gutters.com/comic/272-josh-adams

Not to mention that with more recent updates not only are they removing Mutant from TMNT, they are also removing the Teenaged portion as well. Adult Alien Martial-Artist Amphibians is not a movie I want to go see.

[CyCo]

Hmm. If they propose the mutagenic goo is indeed 'alien', I can totally go with that. But that the Turtles themselves are aliens, will be hard to stomach.

[Nightmask]

Hmm. If they propose the mutagenic goo is indeed 'alien', I can totally go with that. But that the Turtles themselves are aliens, will be hard to stomach.

I imagine they'd go 'well you see the goo had nothing to do with it, the turtles in the bowl were really alien turtles that just happen as infants to appear like non-sentient earth turtles and mom laid them on earth where they were found and sold as ordinary turtles'.

[glitterboy2098]

details leak about what the Micheal bay ninja turtles movie would have been;
grabbed this list from here (dropped the commentary by the guy who wrote that blog.. not really pertinent to this forum and shows a major lack of knowledge of the TMNT's) the blog has a link to where the leaked info came from.

• Casey Jones and April O’Neil are 18-year-old (like every protagonist is, right?) sweethearts from a small town in Michigan. April is heading off to be a journalist in New York, and Casey is a hockey enforcer for his local team, which is where he’ll naturally get his puck-fu from, though his stick breaks early on and I don’t think he wears a hockey mask outside of the rink.
• Casey is a guard (he patrols with his hockey stick, like most professional security) at a furniture warehouse that’s secretly a quasi-military base used for genetic experimentation. I guess they wanted to be close to Canada’s Weapon X program or something.
• The Foot Clan is just called “The Foot,” and it bears a resemblance to COBRA crossed with the Men In Black (not so much the Will Smith kind, more the X-Files kind). Why they call them “The Foot” is never explained, and they seem to favor military hardware over martial arts.
• This military force with convenient high-tech toys is led by a commander-guy named Schraeder. Take a wild guess what he’ll be called before the end of the movie? When he does become the Shredder, it’s more like the one from the end of The Secret of the Ooze crossed with the recent movie version of Doctor Doom. Apparently, bad guys can’t just get their outfits off the rack anymore, oh, no. You’re not a proper movie villain until your costume grows out of your own flesh.
• The Turtles aren’t mutants, they’re from Dimension X. Their mutagen origin was called “A story we needed you to believe.”
• The turtle-people of Dimension X are also ninjas. The TMNT’s dad even made special weapons for when his offspring become Jedi show up to take on Krang.
• The four titular turtles are basically a four-person messiah combo, prophesied to defeat Krang. Splinter was made their caretaker, so there are apparently rat-people on Dimension X, too.
• I only gave this script a quick read, but I assume that Bebop and Rocksteady are also native Dimension X’ers, and maybe Shraeder/Shredder is, too. Thinking about too many of the concepts in this script made my head hurt, to be honest.
• To power up his Technodrome, Krang needs the four Dragonballs orbs from Dimension X to somehow cause weather anomalies from ” the four corners of the Earth,” allowing a dimensional cross-over where he can suck New York’s electrical grid dry to restore the Technodrome’s energy supply and conquer the turtle-people. Yes, I know that’s not how electricity works, but “four corners?” Couldn’t they have just said “equidistant coordinates” or something less… first century?
• The script describes something as a “SMOKING HOT TURTLE CHICK.” I really don’t want to know what that would have looked like, frankly.

What’s similar to previous incarnations?

• Raphael is, as usual, the angry young teen of the group, wanting to leave and be on his own.
• The Turtles have loads of angst over their origin, being freaks, and having to hide all the time.
• Leonardo wants Master Splinter to treat him and the other Turtles like adults.
• April O’Neil is a reporter. Kind of. She’s a CBS intern.
• Bebop and Rocksteady’s outfits sound pretty much spot-on for the 80′s cartoon version.

[13eowulf]

details leak about what the Micheal bay ninja turtles movie would have been;
grabbed this list from here (dropped the commentary by the guy who wrote that blog.. not really pertinent to this forum and shows a major lack of knowledge of the TMNT's) the blog has a link to where the leaked info came from.

• Casey Jones and April O’Neil are 18-year-old (like every protagonist is, right?) sweethearts from a small town in Michigan. April is heading off to be a journalist in New York, and Casey is a hockey enforcer for his local team, which is where he’ll naturally get his puck-fu from, though his stick breaks early on and I don’t think he wears a hockey mask outside of the rink.
• Casey is a guard (he patrols with his hockey stick, like most professional security) at a furniture warehouse that’s secretly a quasi-military base used for genetic experimentation. I guess they wanted to be close to Canada’s Weapon X program or something.
• The Foot Clan is just called “The Foot,” and it bears a resemblance to COBRA crossed with the Men In Black (not so much the Will Smith kind, more the X-Files kind). Why they call them “The Foot” is never explained, and they seem to favor military hardware over martial arts.
• This military force with convenient high-tech toys is led by a commander-guy named Schraeder. Take a wild guess what he’ll be called before the end of the movie? When he does become the Shredder, it’s more like the one from the end of The Secret of the Ooze crossed with the recent movie version of Doctor Doom. Apparently, bad guys can’t just get their outfits off the rack anymore, oh, no. You’re not a proper movie villain until your costume grows out of your own flesh.
• The Turtles aren’t mutants, they’re from Dimension X. Their mutagen origin was called “A story we needed you to believe.”
• The turtle-people of Dimension X are also ninjas. The TMNT’s dad even made special weapons for when his offspring become Jedi show up to take on Krang.
• The four titular turtles are basically a four-person messiah combo, prophesied to defeat Krang. Splinter was made their caretaker, so there are apparently rat-people on Dimension X, too.
• I only gave this script a quick read, but I assume that Bebop and Rocksteady are also native Dimension X’ers, and maybe Shraeder/Shredder is, too. Thinking about too many of the concepts in this script made my head hurt, to be honest.
• To power up his Technodrome, Krang needs the four Dragonballs orbs from Dimension X to somehow cause weather anomalies from ” the four corners of the Earth,” allowing a dimensional cross-over where he can suck New York’s electrical grid dry to restore the Technodrome’s energy supply and conquer the turtle-people. Yes, I know that’s not how electricity works, but “four corners?” Couldn’t they have just said “equidistant coordinates” or something less… first century?
• The script describes something as a “SMOKING HOT TURTLE CHICK.” I really don’t want to know what that would have looked like, frankly.

What’s similar to previous incarnations?

• Raphael is, as usual, the angry young teen of the group, wanting to leave and be on his own.
• The Turtles have loads of angst over their origin, being freaks, and having to hide all the time.
• Leonardo wants Master Splinter to treat him and the other Turtles like adults.
• April O’Neil is a reporter. Kind of. She’s a CBS intern.
• Bebop and Rocksteady’s outfits sound pretty much spot-on for the 80′s cartoon version.

This almost makes me want to enact violence against the writers and Mr. Bay...

[Snake Eyes]

details leak about what the Micheal bay ninja turtles movie would have been;
grabbed this list from here (dropped the commentary by the guy who wrote that blog.. not really pertinent to this forum and shows a major lack of knowledge of the TMNT's) the blog has a link to where the leaked info came from.

• Casey Jones and April O’Neil are 18-year-old (like every protagonist is, right?) sweethearts from a small town in Michigan. April is heading off to be a journalist in New York, and Casey is a hockey enforcer for his local team, which is where he’ll naturally get his puck-fu from, though his stick breaks early on and I don’t think he wears a hockey mask outside of the rink.
• Casey is a guard (he patrols with his hockey stick, like most professional security) at a furniture warehouse that’s secretly a quasi-military base used for genetic experimentation. I guess they wanted to be close to Canada’s Weapon X program or something.
• The Foot Clan is just called “The Foot,” and it bears a resemblance to COBRA crossed with the Men In Black (not so much the Will Smith kind, more the X-Files kind). Why they call them “The Foot” is never explained, and they seem to favor military hardware over martial arts.
• This military force with convenient high-tech toys is led by a commander-guy named Schraeder. Take a wild guess what he’ll be called before the end of the movie? When he does become the Shredder, it’s more like the one from the end of The Secret of the Ooze crossed with the recent movie version of Doctor Doom. Apparently, bad guys can’t just get their outfits off the rack anymore, oh, no. You’re not a proper movie villain until your costume grows out of your own flesh.
• The Turtles aren’t mutants, they’re from Dimension X. Their mutagen origin was called “A story we needed you to believe.”
• The turtle-people of Dimension X are also ninjas. The TMNT’s dad even made special weapons for when his offspring become Jedi show up to take on Krang.
• The four titular turtles are basically a four-person messiah combo, prophesied to defeat Krang. Splinter was made their caretaker, so there are apparently rat-people on Dimension X, too.
• I only gave this script a quick read, but I assume that Bebop and Rocksteady are also native Dimension X’ers, and maybe Shraeder/Shredder is, too. Thinking about too many of the concepts in this script made my head hurt, to be honest.
• To power up his Technodrome, Krang needs the four Dragonballs orbs from Dimension X to somehow cause weather anomalies from ” the four corners of the Earth,” allowing a dimensional cross-over where he can suck New York’s electrical grid dry to restore the Technodrome’s energy supply and conquer the turtle-people. Yes, I know that’s not how electricity works, but “four corners?” Couldn’t they have just said “equidistant coordinates” or something less… first century?
• The script describes something as a “SMOKING HOT TURTLE CHICK.” I really don’t want to know what that would have looked like, frankly.

What’s similar to previous incarnations?

• Raphael is, as usual, the angry young teen of the group, wanting to leave and be on his own.
• The Turtles have loads of angst over their origin, being freaks, and having to hide all the time.
• Leonardo wants Master Splinter to treat him and the other Turtles like adults.
• April O’Neil is a reporter. Kind of. She’s a CBS intern.
• Bebop and Rocksteady’s outfits sound pretty much spot-on for the 80′s cartoon version.

This almost makes me want to enact violence against the writers and Mr. Bay...

What the hell......... Michael Bay's sad attempt at a re-write of the ninja turtle's story and origin

[Tor]

"They are from an Alien Race..."

Didn't the ooze that transformed them come from the Utrom's TCRI industries? If so, there's some truth to it, in a way.

I wouldn't be surprised if Michael Bay made Venus de Milo the primary... ugh... "object of affection".

I don't have any problem with this. Always liked her

http://www.beyondhollywood.com/uploads/ ... e-Milo.jpg

She has chi magic

Except that due to that new 3D series I'm a strong Don+April shipper now.

I guess the question is: which of the other 3 turtles gets Venus? Raph has anger issues, Leos has stoic leader issues, Mike has goofy immaturity issues.

Heck: let's say Splinter wins.

[EmeraldToucanet]

I cringed when I first heard that he was doing the movie, and that he changed their origin story. However I realize now, that I actually don't really mind details of characters and their origins being changed (though I think this particular change from the original is a bit much). As has been mentioned by someone in this thread all ready, it's not as if the cartoons stayed 100% true to the original comics anyways, and there's been some big changes from one cartoon to the next. What makes me cringe is simply that Michael Bay is doing the movie.

[Tor]

I've enjoyed the CGI series so far though. In terms of canonicity it seems to be a mix between the 80s and 2003 series.

For example:
1. Splinter was originally human, like in the 80s cartoon, rather than originally a rat, like in the 80s comics and 2003 cartoon
2. April is a computer specialist, like in the 80s comics/RPG and 2003 series, rather than being a news reporter like in the 80s cartoon and 90s live movies
3. The utrom are a collective group, like in the 80s comics and 2003 series, with 'krang' as their syndicate name being a nod to the 80s character
4. Baxter Stockman is black, like in the 80s comics/RPG, as opposed to caucasian in the 80s cartoon.
5. Besides the sai, Raph also uses climbing claws as weapons, which makes sense considering his brutal strength and vicious attitidue - WIN
6. Mike has concealed Kusari-gama mini-scythes in his nunchaku, making him extra versatile - WIN
7. Donatello actually invents technological weapons to supplement his bo staff - WIN
8. The turtles are actually small as they're supposed to be in the 80s comics, rather than being human size. Even April who is a teenage girl dwarfs them, and the formerly human Splinter is about double their height.

The turtles were already CGI'd in recent video game adaptations. This is where a lot of series are going nowadays so there's nothing shocking or wrong here. Any of the minor changes in the relaunch are nowhere near as bad as saying the turtles are aliens.