Transformers

This article is about the 2007 live action film. For the 1986 animated film, see The Transformers: The Movie.

Transformers
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Michael Bay
Produced by	Ian Bryce Tom DeSanto Lorenzo di Bonaventura Don Murphy
Screenplay by	Roberto Orci Alex Kurtzman
Story by	John Rogers Roberto Orci Alex Kurtzman
Based on	Transformers by Hasbro
Starring	Shia LaBeouf Josh Duhamel Tyrese Gibson Megan Fox Rachael Taylor Anthony Anderson John Turturro Jon Voight
Music by	Steve Jablonsky
Cinematography	Mitchell Amundsen
Editing by	Paul Rubell Glen Scantlebury
Studio	DreamWorks Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	June 28, 2007 (Australia) July 4, 2007 (United States/Canada)
Running time	144 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$150 million
Box office	$709,709,780

Transformers is a 2007 American science fiction action film based on the Transformers toy line. The film, which combines computer animation with live-action, is directed by Michael Bay, with Steven Spielberg serving as executive producer. It stars Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky, a teenager involved in a war between the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, two factions of alien robots who can disguise themselves by transforming into everyday machinery. The Decepticons desire control of the AllSpark, the object that created their robotic race, with the intention of using it to build an army by giving life to the machines of Earth. Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight, Anthony Anderson and John Turturro also star, while voice actors Peter Cullen and Hugo Weaving voice Optimus Prime and Megatron respectively.
Produced by Don Murphy and Tom DeSanto, they developed the project in 2003 and DeSanto wrote a treatment. Steven Spielberg came on board the following year, hiring Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to write the screenplay. The United States Armed Forces and General Motors (GM) loaned vehicles and aircraft during filming, which saved money for the production and added realism to the battle scenes. Hasbro organized an enormous promotional campaign for the film, making deals with hundreds of companies. This advertising blitz included a viral marketing campaign, coordinated releases of prequel comic books, toys and books and, as well as product placement deals with GM, Burger King, and eBay.
Despite mixed critical reaction to the radical redesigns of the characters, and reviews criticizing the focus on the humans at the expense of the robots, Transformers was a box office success. It is the forty-fifth most successful film released and the fifth most successful of 2007, grossing approximately US$709 million worldwide. The film won four awards from the Visual Effects Society and was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound Editing. A sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, was released on June 24, 2009, despite the film being panned by critics, it was a commercial success and grossed more than its predecessor. A third film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, was released on June 29, 2011, in 3-D and went on to gross over $1 billion dollars, despite mixed and negative reviews. On February 13, 2012, Paramount Pictures announced that a fourth Transformers movie will begin production with Michael Bay as director. Its scheduled release date is June 2014.