· George Lucas has been disappointing Stars Wars fans and cast members for years now with his trilogy tweaks and his profit hoarding, but these crimes have never been captured in a hilariously simplistic Taiwanese animation video. Until now! Click through to enjoy news organization NMA's take on Lucas -- which includes the Star Wars creator power drilling Harrison Ford from behind, raping the childhood memories of his fans and cutting Carrie Fisher out of Princess Leia laxative profits -- and then, stick around for more Buzz Break!
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One of the more famous staples of Michael Bay's visual vocabulary is, without a doubt, the 360-degree spinning shot, in which the camera circles actors as they stare meaningfully into the distance -- one of the most instantly recognizable directorial flourishes around (also see: J.J. Abrams and those damn lens flares). Within, marvel at the signature circular hero shot in a supercut edit piecing together said shot for a minute and a half of Michael Bay epicness.
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Michael Bay's juggernaut of a sequel Transformers: Dark of the Moon didn't just spank Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts at the box office; it handily seized the title of the biggest domestic July 4 opener of all time from previous champ Spider-Man 2 and should hit $116.4M over the four-day weekend for a $181.1M domestic take. On top of that, Transformers 3 is performing even better overseas than in the U.S. of A. -- and it has yet to open in Transformers-loving Japan. Bow to our robot overlords!
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When your last three movies combined cost nearly $550 million to make, a $20 million budget suddenly sounds... reasonable. Modest, even. So give Transformers auteur Michael Bay some credit for restraint with Pain & Gain, a real-life crime pic about bodybuilders-turned-criminals that he says he'll direct next.
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The alleged greatest 3-D film ever made held its world premiere today in Moscow, where Michael Bay and his Transformers: Dark of the Moon cast swept into town to kick-off the Moscow International Film Festival. Hit the jump to ogle Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, John Malkovich, McDreamy himself, the guys from Linkin Park, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's sheer couture number on the red carpet.
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Gone are the days when Shockwave seemed like one of the lamer Decepticons in the Transformers universe, and fans may have Michael Bay to thank for it. According to producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Shockwave's been given a facelift for Transformers: Dark of the Moon -- and if you've seen the trailers, you've already seen his handy new upgrade.
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Michael Bay's Transformers: Dark of the Moon promises some thrilling wingsuited, skydiving action, and in a new behind the scenes featurette you can learn more about the daring sky jumpers tapped to execute film's aerial stunts. Also: Paramount's released more pictures of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in peril and Shia LaBeouf sliding down a building, so happy Transformers Wednesday!
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Physician-turned-comedian Ken Jeong (AKA Dr. Ken) got his start on the big screen with comic bits in films like Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, and Role Models, but he made his most memorable on-screen appearance in Todd Phillips' 2009 surprise hit The Hangover as a flamboyant gangster named Chow. This week in The Hangover Part II, Jeong returns to cause more mayhem on the streets of Bangkok with an entrance that manages to one-up the shocking sight of springing, fully nude, from the trunk of a Mercedes.
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Director Jon M. Chu is one of the few working filmmakers with an intuitive grasp on filming in 3-D, as evidenced by his dynamic visuals in Step Up 3D and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, so the idea of a G.I. Joe sequel released in 3-D actually sounded promising. But Chu always said he'd rather go 2-D than rush a post-conversion on the action sequel, and a report today suggests that's just what will happen.
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The marketing machine for Transformers: Dark of the Moon is really ramping up now that early-bird journalists got their first look at the kinetic 3-D action stylings of Michael Bay -- a portion of which footage is now online for your perusal/approval -- and Paramount decided to move up their release date to June 29. After the jump, watch the 3-D trailer (in 2-D here, obviously) filled with wanton destruction, a tease of Dark of the Moon's conspiracy theory premise, and more glorious destruction as Decepticons tear through downtown Chicago.
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Michael Bay is on some next level business with the July sequel Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and I'm not even talking about 3-D. I'm talking about the squadron of stunt skydivers he enlisted for a sequence where Josh Duhamel leads a team of wingsuit-wearing soldiers into a Chicago battle zone from the air above.
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When Michael Bay's Transformers: Dark of the Moon barrels into theaters this summer in 3-D -- the first 3-D outing for the film series and for Bay himself -- you'll have one man to thank for it: James Cameron. Fittingly, Bay took the stage at a Transformers 3 footage screening Wednesday night on the Paramount Studios lot to compare notes on the format, its future, and its frustrating limitations with none other than Cameron himself.
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Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige admitted over the weekend to having a little Transformers envy; when you're in the business of making blockbusters, you tend to check out the competition. But a day after being impressed by the epicness on display in the Transformers: Dark of the Moon trailer, his anxiety dissipated the moment he beheld Sam Jackson as Nick Fury in dailies from The Avengers. Said Feige: "I'm not worried anymore." Gauntlet thrown, Michael Bay!
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A week after backpedaling from the rumored threat that they'd pull major summer blockbusters (Harry Potter? The Hangover II? NO!!) from theaters to punish studios for committing to early video on demand distribution agreements, the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) is taking a different tack. Meet NATOs new army of foot soldiers in the debate over VOD: 23 of Hollywood's biggest names, who signed a NATO-backed open letter pleading for the protection of "the movie-going experience."
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A handful of online press got a sneak peek at Paramount's Transformers: Dark of the Moon the other day, complete with face time with Michael Bay himself. Alas, Movieline was not in attendance, so we'll have to take these other folks' word for it and assume Transformers 3 could be the balls-out, insane, eyeball-searing giant robot war movie to end all giant robot war movies! Right, guys?!
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