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Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes Takes Control Over New TMNT

by Alex Billington
May 27, 2010
Source: Deadline

Aw hell no! We've got some bad news to report on today. Deadline is saying that Paramount, who picked up all of the rights to TMNT through Nickolodeon, has "brought on" Michael Bay and his production company Platinum Dunes to develop the new live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie that's currently in the works. Platinum Dunes, run by producers Andrew Form and Brad Fuller, is usually known for making horror movies, mostly remakes, so they're trying something new by taking this on. The producers will start meeting with writers over the next few weeks, which may mean they'll be going at this from scratch again.

Back in April of last year it was announced that a new live-action TMNT movie was in the works, due in 2011 or 2012, and it was being developed by co-creator Peter Laird and (at the time) Legendary Pictures. But then Nickelodeon bought all the TMNT rights for $60 million and then Paramount gained control of the project. Thankfully, producers Galen Walker and Scott Mednick, who spoke at Comic-Con just last year about making this a darker movie inspired by the comics, are still on-board. However, that script from John Fusco might be thrown out or reworked, but we don't know for sure, since not much else was revealed by Deadline.

Here's the thing - I don't have as big of a gripe with Platinum Dunes as most people do, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller are good people who are just trying to make good movies, but I just would've preferred someone else to develop this project. Deadline's article reads like Michael Bay is going to have his hands deep into this project, which I also don't want, but I guess there's not much we can do about that. I don't think Bay's influence has hurt any of Platinum Dunes' other horror movies, so I'll be hoping for the best with TMNT in the end. We'll keep you updated on all the latest regarding this project as things continue to move forward.

Filed under Movie News, Opinions

From around the web:

movie mike

LET THE FANBOY BITCHING BEGIN! CHARGE!
movie mike

I guess were gonna see a teenage April O neal (hopefuly not played by Roony Mara or Katie Cassidy (elm street girls)) jive talking turtles and jackie earle haley as shredder. yay.....
nelson

so i guess Michelangelo is gonna be fucking his pizza pie
DuirMan

As long as Kurtzman/Orci aren't writing, or as long as no racist characters show up, maybe it will be alright. On a positive note, this might lead to a really hot April O'Neil.
Big Boss

Aw, great. Bay is gonna put flames on Donatello's bandana..
BAYSPLOSION

This is quite literally the worst thing that could have happened to this reboot. Michael Bay ruins another childhood franchise.
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/2408/blackbabyjesus.gif Crapola

Lets blow shiiiiiit up! Who needs ninja powers when you can blow up buildings and sink ships? Hell yeah, lets throw all the story out the window and plant some charges!!!!!!!!
Colt

god damnit to fucking hell, this better not turn out to be 3d and fucking Michael bay better not fuck this up....FUCK. he's fucking with my childhood if he fucks this up.
The 13th Wang.

Listen to you people. Seriously, I don't get why people come to these sites and bitch and moan about Platinum Dunes. I mean, they don't suck that bad. There's a lot worse place out there making movies. What they do is what they do. It's not about appeasing rabid fanboys who jerk off to comic-con mascots and still live in their parents basements. It's about making broad, mainstream movies that are there to soley entertain people. For all the haters, there's also millions who enjoy their movies and don't feel compelled to troll blogs and websites like this one. Seriously, get a fucking life. Enjoy movies for what they're supposed to be. Not what you think they should be.
Cracky

Lol. I'm no fanboy, but Michael Bay can go fuck himself. Get ready for a SHIT-TON of the worst pop-culture references shoved down your throat and loads of unnecessary effects. I fucking hate Michael Bay, I really do. FAAACK. God DAMN IT.
The 13th Wang.

If you people had any idea of what actually goes into making a movie, you'd probably have a lot more respect for Bay. He makes no qualms about what he does and who his target demographic is. I don't get all the hate. He's not trying to do anything other than entertain people. And besides, Bay is not directing this. It's just his production company that's producing it. If you look on IMDB you'll see that Platinum Dunes has quite a few "original" ideas in development. I for one think it's good they're steering away from horror remakes and branching out into other genres.
last son

#9 Seriously WTF? Platinum Dunes does suck bad. Every single film made by them sucks bad. Turtles rock and now we throw away any chance of seeing another decent live feature. The first Turtles film in 1990 was awesome. I wish Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes company would just f**k off.
Michael Bay's Son

LOL! @ 12 Well, considering the Elm St remake made huge bank at the box office, I don't think PD is going anywhere just yet. I'm with #9 and #11. Michael Bay ROCKS!!!!! I know everytime I go to see one of his movies, I'm going to have a good time. And that's what it's all about. All you trolls and haters can go fuck yourselves.
LooseGoose

@ 12 Dude, WTF? are you serious??????? That crappy 1990 movie with vanilla ice in it???? I think platinum dunes will make a much more violent, gritty version. I'm excited for this. Could be good.
blowtorch1919

@14 The one with vanilla ice in it was the sequel dude. They were all kinda cheesy and I know people want it to be all dark. But did you want it to be dark when it came out when you were a kid(if your old enough to remember it comen out)? I remember goin to see it and just thinking it was fucking insane that these pizza eating, surfer talken, turtle ninjas were living in New York. Im sure a dark, gritty version of this movie would be cool and would still get maybe every male in their mid 20's to go see it but it should still be made more as a family movie. I never read the comics or anything but I did play all the video games, watched the cartoon, and saw all the movies growen up and I hope whoever makes this can maintain the cheesy awesomeness that the franchise use to have. All the attempts at it over the last few years just used the name to make a few bucks and in my opinion blew.
Cracky

Right. The GOOD thing about these sites is that everyone has an opinion. The other good thing is you get to hear people quibble for Michael Bay (even if he IS just "lending a helping hand) and his hack-films-- and just KNOW that no matter how badly a man can disrespectfully hypnotize his audience and blatently give the finger to anyone who critiques his films (because he's kind of a dipshit), that loads of mind-numbed shlock-loving Americans will watch his latest "film". I think it's ugly and a down-hill slope toward even shittier shit then Bay puts out. If you think his movies are good, then consider yourself apart of the problem. But hey... I'm a snob.
http://twitter.com/itstherocketeer Otacon

@14 wow. fail. He's speaking of the 1990 movie. You know, the one before the 1991 movie you speak of?
Gonnarentit

Wow. Just.... wow.
Dan W

Cue theme song: Teenage mutant ninja BOOOOOM!!! BLAAMM!!! KABOOOM!! Tittties!! IMAX!!! THIRD DIMESNION!!! BIGGER BETTER!!!!
sickdoghats

i hate bay but i dont think tmnt is a bad mix with him. this is strange but it might work and the fact that bay is tired of doing big budget action flicks shows that he wants something more out of his career.
Denzel Washington Rules!

@17 Who cares which one he's talking about. Both movies sucked.
Ben

@21 Denzel Washington Sucks!
graffiti bandit

@22 How dare you bad mouth Denzel!
http://www.themoviescene.co.uk Andy

What can you say, it will probably end up a big series of explosions and special effects used to hide an inadequate storyline, but there will be audiences who will love it. Personaly I doubt I will bother if Bay's influence is too heavy as I'm not a fan of his more recent movies, that doesn't mean I hate Bay I just like movies with substance rather than just special effects.
sho

ppl who like bay and the transformers movies fail huge massive bigtime!
ryderup

This reminds me of the Bad religion song WATCH IT DIE. Just like all their remakes has wrecked the legacy more than re-launched them.
Aaron

Now I enjoy Michael Bay's movies, BUT all you butt hurt fanboys, calm down. I don't consider them ACTUALLY good. I see them as entertaining to watch as I do like badass fight scenes and explosions. That's what I go in expecting from this man, but when I'm ready for an actual film I just pop in a Chris Nolan flick.
Ninja master

NOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Andy

the first turtles film was brilliant! the fight at the end when they get their arses kicked the splinter turns up! AWESOME just dont make splinter so old in this one but obviously still make him the fathe figure. what was the name of the hockey guy that always helped them out? they could make him better to. he could be the real anti hero character.
DuirMan

I'm just glad for the return to live-action. I miss all the great puppetry and animatronics from the movies that came out back then. Ninja, Ninja, RAP!
jomba joose

"NEVA LOWA YA EYES....... TO AN ENEMYYYYYYYYYYYYY..........." *sigh....... I'm with #30 The first Turtles movie rocked. Turtles 2 & 3, and Turtles on Tour licked Fuh-munda. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__nBi7HJFwU&feature=related "We're the Turrrrrrrtles!! ....and you can count on uuuuuuuuss!!!!!" hahaha After watching shows like Naruto, Bleach & the new turtles cartoon, I really think they should stay true to use of their weapons, weapon types and the ways of the shinobi. (Not just Michaelangelo hitting people with salami in T2). You know people said almost the same thing about Peter jackson's background too..... I just hope this movie doesnt end up being hot garbage.
Xerxex

at least we know it won't go 3-D.
tazz

why oh why i guess Linkin Park going to do the song for the new TMNT reboot then
pulp fiction212

you no bay always ruins child hood memories:/
D

Splinter will be all CGI and jump around like CGI Yoda no dought
Funny

I'm not a fan boy about anything. I love movies and I love making movies. And I don't really hate Bay, I just know he's really bad at what he does. Most if not almost all his movies are bad. That's just it. But what's funny about SOME Bay lovers is, they don't seem to or want to understand story. They are amused by fireworks and only fireworks...you guys must LOVE the 4th of July during the fireworks...a lot. Now, Bay can't ruin your childhood, but he can fuck with it. My problem with people like Bay and some of his writers is, they just slap crap together and call it a movie. And some people out there say, oh, it's the writers who screw up Bay's movies. NOT VERY TRUE!!! Bay has the last say and can change anything he wants. So, he can and change the story up, take stuff out put stuff in etc... And most people are like, aww cool a big boom!! And another big boom!!...didn't see that one coming. I feel really bad for that peple who try really hard to get into Hollywood and I mean very talented people who have TRUE genius. whatever...sigh
Beef Korma

@36 It's clear you have no idea what you speak of. Here's why -- Love him or hate him, Bay is one of the most technically proficient directors working in the industry today. He's won just about every award you can imagine from the advertising world - and his "got milk?" ad is now is the museum of modern art in NYC. So no, he's not bad at what he does - in fact, he's actually pretty fucking good. His last film grossed over $700 million at the box office. You think if he was bad, he'd be Hollywood's biggest action director? Man, I wish ppl would know their facts before they make claims about stuff they have no idea about. And I hate to say it, but it's clear you're no film maker.
Lincoln

At all the people saying he ruins my childhood and shit: shut up. Way to be drama queens, nobody is taking away your precious pre-CGI movies they're all there on your VHS if you like them so much. If you're so pissed this movie probably dosn't even target you as an audience so get over yourself. Michael Bay's movies are for people who can have a good time and don't bitch about every little thing they don't like.
Funny

@37, You say it's clear I'm no filmmaker. Please tell me how clear. Really, I want to hear. You think I don't know how it works? I do, but I don't always like the way it works. I do understand that Bay makes a lot of money doing what he does. So maybe I should be more clear about when I said, "Bay's just bad at what he does." I should have said, Bay is a very sloppy filmmaker and a cheap filmmaker. I know Hollywood is a business to make a shit ton of money. But film can be or maybe I should say, used to be a form of art as well as making money. Do you know why his last movie grossed over $700 million? Because it was a TransFormers movie, that's way. Anyone and I mean anyone could have made that movie, better or worse then it was. And still come out on top. People want to see TransFormers movies so they're going to go see em. But there's only one guy making them, who? Bay, that's why he made so much. If you made a TF or TMNT movie and it was great or really bad. You'd still make a ton of money. I don't hate Bay, I just hate how he puts stuff together sometimes. Do you get it?
kLO

@ 39 I agree with Beef Korma. I make short films myself, and as far as Bay in concerned, he is NOT a bad film maker. Technically his stuff is amazing. The camera angles, the lenses, even the CGI stuff. I can tell by your post - that you are definitely not a film maker. Just some random hater.
Funny

@ 40 Yeah, okay. Sure, whatever you want to think. Don't bother writing back, I'm done with this topic.
1-7

Well, there goes any hope of this movie being decent.
Chase

To be honest I'm not as mad as I should be, I'm a huge TMNT fan and having a special effects guy like Bay on board doesnt bother me, plus hes a big name in hollywood, I dont recall any of the Turtles movies getting this kind of treatment. Plus whats wrong with the foot and shredder blowing stuff up while the turtles fight?
Neva Evah

I agree with 36. It's not like bay took something dead like Batman and turned it into TDK or came outta nowhere with Pirates or Shrek. EVERYBODY who was a fan wanted to see a live action movie. I give him his due because he makes good popcorn flicks, but neither the plots or their characters are very memorable.
...............

So everyone's aware that the movie will follow a teenage Casey Jones played by Shia LeBouf and Splinter will be comic relief for shredder whose comic relief for the foot who are comic relief for April O'Neil whose comic relief for...for...for...for...Voltron?lol
amibeth love

i hope the new tmnt movie won't be to dark because that wouldn't appeal to kids and neather would the real turtle heads for the full turtle suits too,to be honist,but if they are looking for a turtle head desine i 'd be happy to send them one.peace out!