Page 9 of 10 FirstFirst ... 78910 LastLast
Results 121 to 135 of 139

Thread: Transformers

  1. #121
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Press release

    I may have to cover this just for the China angle. It's a shame that Transformers don't do martial arts like Jaegers.

    MICHAEL BAY AND PARAMOUNT PICTURES ANNOUNCE THE CASTING OF CHINESE ENTERTAINER HAN GENG IN ‘TRANSFORMERS 4’

    HOLLYWOOD, CA – (July 14, 2013) – Michael Bay and Paramount Pictures jointly announced today that Chinese entertainer Han Geng has been cast in “TRANSFORMERS 4.” Among Asia’s top stars, Han Geng has conquered the worlds of music, television and feature film to become one of the most influential entertainers in China.

    He joins Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Jack Reynor, Nicola Peltz, Sophia Myles, TJ Miller and Chinese actress Li Bingbing in the fourth installment in the hit series of movies based on the best-selling Hasbro toyline. Paramount Pictures will release the film on June 27th, 2014.

    “Han Geng has been a sensation in China and we are happy to have him in our movie,” said Michael Bay.

    Making his debut in 2005 as a member of the hugely popular group Super Junior, Han Geng later turned to a solo career, releasing his first album “Geng Xin” in 2010, which went on to sell over a million copies. His most recent album “Hope in the Darkness” was released in 2012 and has earned Han Geng a number of hit singles.

    Han Geng has appeared on both the big and small screen, with roles that have shown his range as an actor. In 2008, Han Geng appeared in CCTV’s “Stage of Youth,” a 12-episode drama that drew incredible ratings. Among his big screen roles, he had a cameo appearance in the 2010 feature film “The Founding Party,” along with other A-list Chinese celebrities and later that year had his first starring role on the silver screen in the action movie “My Kingdom”. The multi-hyphen entertainer has subsequently starred in the films “Beginning Of The Great Revival,” and “The First President.” His most recent starring role was in “So Young”, a major box office hit in China, having earned more the $115 million (over 700 million yuan) since its release in May of 2013.

    Han Geng has extraordinary popularity on the internet in China. When his albums or films are released his name and movies typically top the charts as the “most searched” and accumulate the most hits. “TRANSFORMERS 4” marks Han Geng’s debut in an English language production.

    Paramount, China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises announced this past April a Cooperation Agreement regarding the production of “TRANSFORMERS 4” in China. Under the agreement, China Movie Channel, under the State Administration of Press, Publications, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRT), will cooperate with Paramount in broad-based support of the production of the film in China.

    “TRANSFORMERS 4” is expected to be released in China on or about June 27, 2014. The parties are working in cooperation on a number of other areas related to “TRANSFORMERS 4”, including the selection of filming sites within China, and theatrical promotion. This agreement represents the first time that China Movie Channel will work with a western studio in the production of a major motion picture.

    Shooting in multiple locations in the U.S. and China throughout the summer, the film is directed by Bay and re-unites the filmmaking team from the hit franchise, including producers Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Don Murphy & Tom DeSanto and Ian Bryce; and executive producers Steven Spielberg, Bay, Brian Goldner and Mark Vahradian. “TRANSFORMERS 4” is written by Ehren Kruger, based on Hasbro’s Transformers™ Action Figures.

    The third, and most recent installment of the franchise, “TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON,” is the fifth highest global grossing film of all time with $1.124 billion dollars of worldwide box office success. The “TRANSFORMERS” movies are among the most popular films ever released in China, and Michael Bay is among the most popular directors with Chinese audiences. “TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON,” released theatrically in 2011, grossed $165 million in China and more than $1.1 billion worldwide.

    # # #

    About Paramount Pictures Corporation

    Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  2. #122
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    CA, USA
    Posts
    4,900

  3. #123
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    I should have covered it, but I went on vacation instead

    I just received this press release via email. Well played, Transformers.

    MICHAEL BAY’S “TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION” BECOMES THE BIGGEST GROSSING FILM EVER IN CHINA IN JUST 12-DAYS OF RELEASE

    THE FILM TOPS THE GLOBAL BOX OFFICE WITH OVER $600M MILLION GROSSED SINCE OPENING JUNE 27th

    HOLLYWOOD, CA (July 9, 2014) – Paramount Picture’s “TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION,” the fourth film in director Michael Bay’s global blockbuster franchise is now the highest grossing film in China, earning US$225.1M (1,396M RMB) in just 12 days of release, surpassing the prior record holder “AVATAR”.

    “Achieving this historic benchmark with the unparalleled support from our partners in China has been a spectacular experience for our studio,” said Brad Grey, Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures. “We’re honored by the deeply passionate response from Chinese audiences – and audiences throughout the world –to ’TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION’ and the unique storytelling of Michael Bay. The many new relationships we have built with members of the creative community in China is a source of great pride and we look forward to collaborating with them in the future.”

    Rob Moore, Vice Chairman of Paramount Pictures announced, “We want to acknowledge the great work of China Film Group in the distribution of TRANSFORMERS. We also want to thank Jiaflix and China Movie Channel for their tremendous contributions, our partners since early 2013, they were integral to delivering these record breaking results. The opportunity to later partner with M1905, China Movie Media and Hua Hua, and to reach this level of success, is beyond even our expectations. We are humbled by the passion and interest of the Chinese audiences for the TRANSFORMERS universe and look forward to future productions, including the already announced co-production ‘MARCO POLO’ with China Film Group, as we jointly aim to bring the very best in entertainment to audiences around the world.”

    In China, where “TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION” was partially shot, the film earned $92M in its opening weekend, more than doubling the TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON result and representing a record for the largest opening weekend for a film. On its opening day Friday, June 27, the film earned $30M, a record for the largest opening day for a film in China.

    The fan favorite movie continued the series’ tradition of box office reign with over $600M earned worldwide since its opening on June 27th. Opening in 37 international territories and North America, and introducing a new chapter in the TRANSFORMERS universe, the film earned $185,397M domestically and $421.2M internationally thru Tuesday, July 8th.

    Bay’s “TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN” in 2009 grossed more than $830 million worldwide. In 2011, “TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON” was an even bigger hit worldwide, grossing more than a billion dollars to become the 7thhighest grossing film of all time and earning $165M in China.

    “TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION,” the fourth film in director Michael Bay’s global blockbuster franchise, stars Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Sophia Myles, Li Bingbing, Titus Welliver and T. J. Miller. Produced by Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Don Murphy & Tom DeSanto, and Ian Bryce.Based on Hasbro’s Transformers™ Action Figures. Written by Ehren Kruger. Directed by Michael Bay.

    # # #
    About Paramount Pictures Corporation

    Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.


    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  4. #124
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Maybe not so well played, Transformers.

    Wulong Karst to sue Transformers producers

    By Kevin Ma

    Tue, 08 July 2014, 22:15 PM (HKT)
    Policy/Legal News

    After settling potential legal action by Pangu Investment over its product placement in the film ahead of its opening, the producers of Transformers: Age of Extinction now faces legal action from another China partner.

    At a press conference in Beijing yesterday, representatives of the Chongqing Wulong Karst National Park announced that they are taking legal action against Paramount and m1905.com (the official website for state broadcaster CCTV's movie channel and the film's production partner in China) for breach of contract.

    According to Chongqing Wulong Karst Tourism (Group) Co Ltd 重慶市武隆喀斯特旅遊(集團)有限公司's general manager HUANG Daosheng 黃道生, the film's producers had agreed on paper that the film would include a sign identifying the park. However, the final cut of the film implies that the park is near Hong Kong and not in Southwest China.

    On its official Weibo microblog, the company released an e-mail from Paramount's President of International Marketing Nic Crawley forwarded by a m1905.com employee. Crawley said that Industrial Light and Magic received instructions to include the sign, but was not able to finish in time. Paramount offered to reinstate the sign in future home video, television and digital broadcast versions of the film, as well as send a sequence from the film featuring the sign to the park for promotional purpose.

    On the same day, m1905.com released a statement in response to Wulong Karst's press conference. It stated that the producers were unable to confirm the product placement deal in time because the Wulong Karst authorities were five and a half months late in payment. With little time in post-production, ILM staff (who don't speak Chinese) mistook another Chinese-language sign as Wulong Park, leading to the gaffe.

    "Nobody wanted things to lead to the current situation, and [m1095.com] has been working to resolve the problems with a positive attitude. However, since Wulong Karst has spoken to the media unilaterally and wishes to resolve matters through legal channels, we will not comment further on this matter," m1905.com wrote in the statement, "We look forward to a fair legal judgment."

    The company also wrote that it is retaining the right to take its own legal action over the Wulong Karst authorities' negative statements.

    Local media reported that Wulong Karst paid up to RMB1 million (US$161,000) to include the sign. Huang also stated that the park suffered a loss of at least RMB4 million (US$644,000) by closing the park for five days of production. Huang did not disclose what kind of damages the authorities are seeking from the film-makers.
    Can't blame them. I'd be bummed too.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  5. #125
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Oops

    A $27.7 million oversight if found guilty. Srsly how hard would it have been to keep that plug in there?

    Paramount Pictures Sued for $27M in China Over 'Transformers 4' Product Placement
    10:46 PM PDT 4/26/2016 by Patrick Brzeski


    Michael Bay and crew on the set of "Transformers 4"
    Michael Bay

    A local tourism company says it paid Paramount and its Chinese partner $750,000 for the display of a logo that never appeared in the finished film.

    Paramount Pictures has been hit with a $27.7 million (180 million yuan) lawsuit in China over a product placement that was allegedly omitted from Transformers: Age of Extinction.

    Wulong Karst Tourism, a state-backed travel company, argued Tuesday in local court that Paramount Pictures and China Movie Channel, the Chinese co-producer of Transformers 4, failed to fulfill their obligations as part of a product placement deal signed in 2013, according to Chongqing Morning Post.

    The case was accepted by a court in Chongqing city in 2014 and is now finally being heard.

    Wulong Karst Tourism runs a resort in China's southern Wulong county, an area famous for its eroded limestone cliffs, a magnificent landscape known as "karst." Portions of Age of Extinction were shot in Wulong Karst National Park, and the tour company says its deal with Paramount was for a logo, featuring the Chinese characters “China Wulong,” to be displayed in the finished film, so Chinese audiences would know where the film was shot. The company says it paid nearly $750,000 (4.8 million yuan) before production began in exchange for the promotion.

    According to local press, the defendants — Paramount and China Movie Channel — conceded that the logo didn't make it into the finished film, but said they took pains to make up for it. Michael Bay is said to have shot a short advertisement for the resort, and the Transformers production team left sets and props on the resort property, which Wulong Karst Tourism could leverage as a tourist attraction.

    The Chongqing court has yet to deliver a verdict.

    The Transformers 4 shoot in greater China was not without other incident. During a day of shooting in Hong Kong in 2013, Bay was attacked by two local thugs who had tried to extort the shoot for "protection money" and been rebuffed. One of the assailants allegedly came after Bay using a piece of an air conditioner as a weapon. The director managed to escape unscathed, and the attackers were subdued by security and arrested.

    Transformers 4 was a tremendous hit in China, grossing $320 million.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  6. #126
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Fined

    $300K out of $320 mill. Paramount ain't sweatin this.

    Paramount Pictures Fined In China After ‘Transformers 4’ Dispute
    Patrick Frater
    Asia Bureau Chief


    COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT
    OCTOBER 27, 2016 | 11:46PM PT

    A court in Chengdu, China has fined Paramount Pictures and 1905 Internet Technology, its Chinese production partner, over a breach of contract dispute relating to product placement and the filming of “Transformers: Age of Extinction.”

    The companies were ordered to pay $300,000 (RMB2 million) in compensation and legal costs to Wulong Karst Tourism, an inland tourist resort. The company had a contract with the film producers which would have seen the film make use of Wulong Karst’s landscapes. In return the company’s name and logo would be shown on screen within the film. Wulong Karst was also to have paid some $850,000 (RMB6 million) of sponsorship to the production. It paid only 80% of the sponsorship fee.

    When the film omitted the company’s name and logo, Wulong Karst sued for $2.97 million (RMB20 million) of damages and withheld the balance of the sponsorship fee.

    In April, the producers confirmed that they omitted the logo. But the court found that the film producers had attempted to reduce the damage, with Michael Bay shooting an advertisement for the resort and providing props for the resort to use.

    The court also rejected Paramount and 1905’s counter suit which had sought to claim the unpaid sponsorship revenues.

    “Transformers: Age of Extinction” was the top performing film in China in 2014 with a gross of $320 million.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  7. #127
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Transformers: The Last Knight - Teaser Trailer (2017) Official - Paramount Pictures

    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  8. #128
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    TRANSFORMERS 5 The Last Knight Super Bowl Trailer (2017) Action Blockbuster Movie HD

    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  9. #129
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Transformers: The Last Knight – Trailer (2017) Official – Paramount Pictures



    At least they gotz swards?
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  10. #130
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    This is going to kill it in PRC.

    Wanda Boards Paramount's 'Transformers 5' as Marketing Partner in China
    5:41 AM PDT 6/19/2017 by Patrick Brzeski



    At a glitzy event held during the Shanghai Film Festival, Wanda also unveiled a 27-film slate and a strategic content partnership with Chinese internet giant Tencent.

    China's Dalian Wanda Group has boarded Paramount Pictures' Transformers: The Last Knight.

    Wanda will market and promote the film in China through its vast cinema network, while also serving as a merchandising partner in the country. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

    The firm unveiled the deal Monday during a characteristically extravagant announcement ceremony at the Wanda Reign seven-star hotel in central Shanghai. A cluster of overseas film figures, such as Julie Delpy and Sunny Pawar (the child star of Lion), and visiting executives like AMC Entertainment vp Elizabeth Frank, were in attendance for the packed-house event.

    Wanda is the third Chinese firm to board Transformers 5. Last week, Weying Technology bought a stake in the film, saying it was entitled to an undisclosed share of global revenue for the movie, including theatrical, video, TV, VOD and merchandising. Chinese film company Huahua Media, which served as a marketing partner on Transformers 4, announced an unspecified stake in the new film at a Shanghai signing ceremony in December.

    The Transformers partnership was just one piece of a sweeping slate Wanda unveiled Monday. Central to the conglomerate's vision for the film sector this year is a strategic partnership with Shenzhen-based internet giant Tencent. The companies are calling their partnership approach the "Intelligent People Strategy" — as in IP — with plans to recruit experienced talent and directors to develop original intellectual property to serve as the basis for film, television, VR, gaming projects and kids entertainment.

    Throughout the lengthy presentation, Wanda Pictures unveiled no less than 27 titles on its film production and investment slate, spanning Chinese-language comedies, romantic comedies, actions projects, kids films and more. Among the most high-profile of the many titles was the big-budget fantasy action film Robosaur Wars, about giant battling robot dinosaurs, to be directed by Lu Chuan, who won best director at the 2009 Asian Film Awards for his art-house favorite City of Life and Death, and whose nature documentary Born in China was recently released worldwide by Disney Nature.
    Wanda + Transformers
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  11. #131
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Overseas

    $23.8 M U.S. opening, $15 M advanced ticket sales in PRC. I wonder what the advanced ticket sales were in the U.S.

    JUNE 22, 2017 7:29am PT by Pamela McClintock
    Box Office: 'Transformers 5' Lags Thursday With $8M, May Not Clear $60M in U.S. Debut
    The summer tentpole is banking on a strong run overseas.


    Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
    'Transformers: The Last Knight'

    The summer tentpole is banking on a strong run overseas.

    Paramount and Hasbro's Transformers: The Last Knight is off to a worrisome start in North America, where it earned $8.1 million on Thursday for a muted two-day total of $23.8 million, the lowest start of any title in the franchise.

    Prerelease tracking had suggested Transformers 5 would post a five-day domestic debut in the $70 million-$75 million range, notably behind the $100 million North American launch of the last title, Transformers: Age of Extinction, over the three-day June 27-29 weekend in 2014 and the lowest in the Hasbro toy-based series.

    Based on Wednesday and Thursday's performance, however, the new film could have trouble clearing $60 million in its opening.

    Instead, The Last Knight — similar to recent high-profile summer tentpole Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales — is counting on sizable returns internationally, where Age of Extinction grossed a massive $858.6 million to become the first Transformers movie to top the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office, on its way to resting at $1.1 billion, not accounting for inflation. The domestic portion was $245.4 million, which, again, was the lowest in the film series.

    The Last Knight opens in its first 42 foreign territories this weekend, including a slew of major markets, such as China, the U.K., Russia, Australia, Germany, Italy, North Korea and Hong Kong. In China, it has amassed more than $15 million in advance ticket sales.

    Paramount puts the movie's production budget at $217 million before a major marketing spend. The Transformers series has never been a favorite of critics, with The Last Knight currently sporting a 16 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences gave the film a B+ CinemaScore.

    Mark Wahlberg returns to star in the latest pic — he made his franchise debut in Age of Extinction — while Laura Haddock and Anthony Hopkins join the series as an Oxford professor and English lord, respectively. Together, the three characters must race to uncover the secret history of the Transformers before the world is destroyed. Josh Duhamel, who appeared in the first three Transformers movies but sat out Age of Extinction, also stars.

    The Last Knight is the only new film opening nationwide this weekend. The specialty box office sees the debut of two high-profile titles in select theaters Friday: Focus Features' The Beguiled, from director Sofia Coppola, and Lionsgate's The Big Sick, helmed by Michael Showalter.

    June 23, 7:30 a.m. Updated with Thursday numbers.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  12. #132
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Optimus Prime's Sword -Transformers: The Last Knight - MAN AT ARMS



    From my cast mates in Man at Arms: Art of War
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  13. #133
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Well, I stand corrected

    Who'd a thunk this installment woulda stunk that much more than the rest?

    JULY 02, 2017 6:30am PT by Abid Rahman
    Has Pandering to Chinese Audiences Hurt 'Transformers 5'?


    Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
    'Transformers: The Last Knight'

    THR attends a Shanghai screening of Michael Bay's latest only to encounter walkouts, general disinterest and plenty of snickering over a conspicuous abundance of product placement.

    Friday, 5.00 p.m., somewhere in central Shanghai...

    It's raining heavily outside. Big fat water droplets are falling vertically from the murky gray sky. They call it 'plum rain' in these parts.

    Right now, there's no better place to be than indoors and as coincidence would have it, it was opening night for Transformers: The Last Knight, perhaps the most hotly anticipated Hollywood release in China this year. Thus, the multiplex beckoned.

    I purchase a ticket for a 5.10 p.m. 3D showing at the Premiere Cinema in Shanghai's Jing'an district, and the cost is a princely RMB160 ($23.50). Yes, you read that right, it can be over $20 for a 3D ticket for Hollywood movies in central Shanghai these days. In China, this is not a cheap night out.

    I had been a little worried that I wouldn't get a seat on opening weekend, or if I did, it would be at the sides or right down in front of the screen. Given the time of day and the hard-to-miss fanfare for Transformers in China, I imagined Shanghai's youthful middle class would be rushing from work to grab the earliest glimpse of giant robots smashing each other to pieces for the fifth time.

    I needn't have worried as the box office clerk gave me my pick of seats. (In China, as in most of Asia, movie theater seating is assigned, and you pick your place from a screen as you buy your ticket — which is actually quite nice.) A quick glance at the box-office seating chart seemed to confirm that well over half the theater was still to be sold with the screening due to start in minutes.

    Still, I figured the theater would fill up as the trailers rolled. But once we were underway, very few extra people walked in.

    (I don't think I need to say much about The Last Knight itself, beyond that it's a Michael Bay movie — if you've seen one, you get the idea. I actually found myself enjoying most of the runtime by observing the crowds' reactions. Click here if you're curious about the film but not so much to actually go and see it.)

    The opening minutes of the movie, set in Arthurian England and featuring a number of sight gags involving a drunken Merlin, leave both me and most of the audience unmoved. Indeed, throughout the film, the intentionally comedic moments don't seem to elicit much reaction from the crowd. Instead, their biggest laughs are almost universally reserved for the moments of blatant product placement by Chinese companies.

    And boy, is there a lot of product placement.

    With the audience quickly learning to play spot-the-brand, giggles start rising in the cinema as the Chinese dairy drink Mengniu makes an appearance at Mark Wahlberg's very-much-in-America scrap yard. Smartphones from LeEco, the financially strapped Chinese tech company, appear to be the brand of choice in the film. And the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is for some reason everywhere. The biggest laugh, however, arrives at the most unsubtle piece of pandering: the moment when the Autobots and their American friends are looking up 'car porn' on a Chinese used-car website.

    An hour in, and glancing around the theater, I can see the low glow of cellphone screens dotted around in the darkness. My neighbor to my left is diligently checking his WeChat, the Chinese social messaging app that's a cross between Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp. He's clearly much more absorbed by what's going down in his social grid than Anthony Hopkins' admirable (though ultimately futile) attempt at explaining the convoluted history of the Witwiccans, an ancient secret society tasked with protecting the Transformers from the wider world.

    Though The Last Knight is shorter in length than the last two entries, the film is still well over two hours, and as it finally starts edging towards its explosive, climactic ending, some people begin to leave. A few at first, just as Unicron and Cybertron begin to crash and collide together, then a fairly steady stream are straight-up walking out of the cinema just as the final battle is taking place.

    Well before the credits roll, the theater is almost empty, although my phone-absorbed neighbor (I suspect he's avoiding the rain outside at this point) and a few other hardy souls have stuck around to see the mid-credits scene. [Spoilers ahoy!] He looks on impassively as we see the villainess of The Last Knight, Quintessa, reappearing in the body of British actress Gemma Chan. Despite her Chinese ethnicity, Chan isn't much of a name in mainland China, so one wonders if her appearance, like much of the rest of the film, was lost on those that stayed until the end — it certainly seems so.

    ----

    One week later, the figures for The Last Knight's China opening are in and the numbers will have Paramount sweating. The headline figures, of course, make for impressive reading, with the pic opening at No. 1 with a $123 million weekend, a record for the franchise and topping the $92 million that Transformers: Age of Extinction made its first full week in 2014. The China tally also is almost double the film's disappointing $69.1 million North American opening.

    The film's seven-day total has now ticked past $166.7 million, according to Chinese box-office data company Entgroup. Yet, there's a feeling that The Last Knight is shaping up to be a disappointment, and instead of bettering the $320 million China haul of Age of Extinction, the film is likely to fall well short.


    Getty
    The cast and crew made every effort to promote the film in China. Here, Isabela Moner, Michael Bay, Josh Duhamel and Laura Haddock attend the June 13 Guangzhou premiere of The Last Knight which also doubled as a 10th-anniversary celebration of the Transformers series.

    When it came to marketing The Last Knight, Paramount covered all the bases. Transformers may be about "robots in disguise," but a few hours spent in any major Chinese city and the robots are in plain sight, with posters, billboards and TV ads linked to the movie at saturation levels. A particularly popular promotional tool in China has been the life-size replicas of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee that menacingly stand outside movie theaters and shopping malls across the country.

    Moreover, Paramount mitigated a lot of its promotional costs in China by partnering with Wanda, the leading theater chain, as well a number of other Chinese companies including Le Vision and Weying. And, of course, there are the plethora of Chinese companies pushing their products prominently in the film.

    Ultimately, The Last Knight hasn't ignited the same critical love or word of mouth Age of Extinction enjoyed in spades. The previous movie became a genuine phenomenon in China, with several wacky stories of farmers building their own robots. By tapping into the zeitgeist in China, Age of Extinction was able to smash box-office records.


    Getty
    Robots in... plain sight. A giant replica of Optimus Prime stands outside a mall in Beijing, a sight repeated across China's major cities in the lead up to release of The Last Knight.

    The Last Knight, on the other hand, has been pilloried on Chinese social media, particularly for the product placement and the confusing plot, and this audience kiss of death is what is likely to dash any hopes the film had of beating Age of Extinction's box-office score.

    On Sina Weibo, one of the larger social media platforms, user Lu Lihao RS summed up a general feeling about the confusing nature of the film, writing, "I didn’t understand anything except advertisements for all the brands."

    Another Sina Weibo user named Wang echoed the issue with product placement: "Even though it is normal to add Chinese elements into the Hollywood blockbusters, it still makes the audience uncomfortable when there are too many Chinese brands."

    On review site Douban, The Last Knight had an average rating of 4.8 on Wednesday and was dropping fast. The influential site's consensus is overwhelmingly negative on the film, although if there is a small consolation for the producers, there was some praise for the special effects, if not for the humor or plot.

    Still, for some, and not necessarily Paramount and its Chinese partners, The Last Knight's box-office travails shouldn't prove a hindrance to making money. Despite the tepid critical response to the fifth film, Transformers merchandise, both official and blatantly unofficial, abounds in China. Everywhere, from the airport to the shiny new malls, the theaters and street vendors at major tourist attractions, all manner of Transformers merchandise (yes, fidget spinners, too) seem to be selling briskly, suggesting that, in the end, the greatest product placement in The Last Knight was the robots themselves.


    Abid Rahman
    The ultimate product placement was the Transformers themselves. Official and unofficial The Last Knight merchandise, like this nifty self-standing iPhone case, can be found everywhere in China at the moment.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  14. #134
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    CA, USA
    Posts
    4,900
    Hollywood really needs to stop sucking up to China. It's so embarrassingly obvious.

  15. #135
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Bumblebee (2018) - Official Teaser Trailer - Paramount Pictures

    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •