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It's beginning to look like TMNT 3 is dead in the water. Image Source: Paramount Pictures.
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Andrew Form Confirms TMNT 3 Probably Won’t Be Happening

by Justin W
written by Justin W

Over the past few weeks, many of the actors attached to the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies have been talking about how much they would love to return for another sequel. Unfortunately, they’ve also indicated that they haven’t yet been approached about any future projects. For months, fans have been speculating about whether or not they would actually continue this series of TMNT films. It would appear that we finally have our answer, as producer Andrew Form has officially broken the silence about whether or not Platinum Dunes will be working on a TMNT 3.

While talking with Collider, Form had the following to say about a potential sequel:

“I don’t think there’s Turtles 3, but I wouldn’t say there’s never going to be another Turtles movie.”

Coming from one of the head honchos at Platinum Dunes, this is about as definitive of an answer as you’re likely to get. If they haven’t already planned TMNT 3, chances are that we won’t see one. That being said, it’s worth noting that Form didn’t rule out any other TMNT movies in the future. Considering that we recently discovered a survey hinting at the possibility of an animated Batman/TMNT crossover movie, it’s nice to hear that there is still faith in the franchise.

Chances are that we won't see these four turtles on the silver screen again, but they might appear once more in another form. Image Source: Paramount Pictures.

Chances are that we won’t see these four turtles on the silver screen again, but they might appear once more in another form. Image Source: Paramount Pictures.

Something tells me that the people at Platinum Dunes would love to continue working with the turtles. Unfortunately, Viacom and Paramount have both been under fire recently for their poor performance on the market as of late, so it’s unlikely that an under-performing film such as Out of the Shadows is going to get the greenlight for a sequel. That being said, we’ve seen no indication that Viacom has any intention of selling off any of their properties or companies such as Paramount Pictures, so it’s entirely possible that we will see another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie in the future.

If anything, at this point we’re probably going to see a reboot of the entire film series. They may even go back to the drawing board and consider a completely different approach for the next TMNT movie. Considering that there have been a lot of vocal fans complaining about the work done by Platinum Dunes and Michael Bay, Viacom would be smart to try something new with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Whatever happens next, we’ll be sure to keep you informed as we learn more about the future of these heroes in a half shell on the silver screen.

What do you think? Are you happy to hear that they won’t be continuing this series, or were you hoping to see TMNT 3? Do you think we will see another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie from Paramount in the next few years? Will they go back to the drawing board? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on facebook/twitter.

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BlogMovie / TMNT Movies

Michael Bay Did Not Ruin The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

by Justin W
written by Justin W

This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but I am hopeful that most readers will see that there is a nugget of truth to the above statement. As someone who writes about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles so frequently, I am very well aware that a lot of fans are unhappy with the latest films from Platinum Dunes and Paramount. Believe me, I understand the frustrations and the complaints, but I think it’s time that we all collectively stop blaming Michael Bay. He may have produced both films, but that doesn’t mean that he made every single decision that you hated in the film franchise.

Michael Bay at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows World Premiere. Image Source: Getty Images.

Michael Bay at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows World Premiere. Image Source: Getty Images.

Although a producer is typically behind most of the decisions made in a film, they do not necessarily direct how a film will be made. Direction is performed by the director; at best, the producer simply gives the go-ahead to them when they make a decision. Although there are some producers who will strong arm their talent into doing what they want, there is no evidence to suggest that this is happening at Platinum Dunes. Michael Bay has definitely had an important role in creating the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film franchise, but he has not been the only person involved.

To give you an idea of the level of influence that Michael Bay has had over this film franchise, let’s look at the casting decisions that were made. Given that Bay worked with Megan Fox in the past, there’s chance that he had something to do with her getting the role of April O’Neil. That being said, he doesn’t really have any ties to other actors in either film, so it’s unlikely that he did much of anything when it came to the casting. For all we know, he secured an audition for Fox (or simply let her know that there were auditions for the role), and she won the role all on her own.

When it comes to the visual and special effects, it’s very unlikely that Michael Bay influenced much of anything. Nowadays, studios hire large teams of people to oversee these facets of the film-making process. Unless Bay was watching over every single shoulder or giving them some kind of information about exactly how he wanted the turtles to look, chances are that the creative decisions about the design of the turtles were pretty much out of his hands. At best, he’s guilty of taking a look at their work and saying “this will do the trick.” That’s the role of a producer.

Stylish poster artwork for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014). Image Source: Paramount Pictures, Platinum Dunes.

Stylish poster artwork for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014). Image Source: Paramount Pictures, Platinum Dunes.

Do I think that Michael Bay was the best producer that could have been chosen for these films? Probably not, but I also don’t think he ruined the films either. To be honest, I really enjoyed Out of the Shadows; it felt like a huge departure from the first film in the Platinum Dunes TMNT canon. Tonally, the sequel is entirely different from its predecessor, borrowing more from the original animated series than from any other iteration of the characters.

The fact that Bay produced both of these films is evidence enough that he really isn’t in the business of controlling every single creative decision made during production. After all, if he were in complete and total control of the creative processes behind each movie, they would both look and feel exactly the same. The fact that they are so different is proof that he really hasn’t been trying to instigate his own weird vision of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Despite all of the evidence suggesting otherwise, I still see a lot of fans blaming the failure of the latest TMNT films on none other than Michael Bay. Fans have been upset with the film-maker ever since he made a mistake during a speech, suggesting that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were aliens. The level of outrage over these comments was unbelievable, and it had a negative effect on how the fans felt about Bay’s involvement with the films. Ever since then, he has been the convenient scapegoat to blame for every problem that anyone might have with the Platinum Dunes TMNT universe.

I’m not trying to say that Michael Bay is a brilliant film-maker that is deserving of your respect. I don’t personally consider myself a fan of his work, but I also don’t think he’s the worst producer you could ever choose. All I’m trying to suggest is that you shouldn’t necessarily use him as a scapegoat every time you point out a flaw with either of the last two TMNT movies. If you have a problem with how the turtles look, that’s the fault of the team of visual and special effects artists; if you don’t like the casting, blame the casting department; if you have a problem with the editing, blame the team of editors; if you don’t like how the film was shot, blame the director or the cinematographer.

Film is a composition – it is a work of art crafted by many different people. The producer does not control all of these people, they supervise and coordinate everything. Production is one of many roles in the film-making process. Although that role is important, it isn’t a role that defines exactly how everything in the film turns out. It’s convenient to blame one person for something you don’t like, but that doesn’t mean that it is also accurate to blame them.

You don’t have to like Michael Bay, but you probably shouldn’t be blaming him for everything that happened during the film-making process of both Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

What do you think? Do you still blame Michael Bay for everything that didn’t work in these Platinum Dune TMNT movies? Who would you have preferred to see in the role of producer? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments below or on facebook/twitter!

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Mikey tries "squirrel" formation and it doesn't go so well. Source: Paramount Pictures
BlogMovie / TMNT Movies

4 Reasons Out of the Shadows Failed To Impress Some Audiences

by Justin W
written by Justin W

“It’s never a good sign when you can’t pull in a full house for a free screening.”

That is an actual quote that I overheard at the premiere for the film. Nobody wanted this movie to succeed more than I did. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is perhaps one of the most accurate representations we have ever seen of the Ninja Turtles on the big screen, but not every audience agrees with that.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows poster. Source: Paramount Pictures.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows poster. Source: Paramount Pictures.

After dismal numbers during its opening weekend, I recently reported that the movie had bombed – and that’s a fair statement to make. Although the term “box office bomb” typically refers to a film’s entire theatrical run, one only needs to look at the history behind foreign box office numbers to see that even in the greatest situation, it will be difficult for this movie to earn its money back at the box office.

I have no doubt that Out of the Shadows will manage to justify its production budget within the next few weeks, but the production budget does not account for the costs of advertising and distribution. All told, it’s likely that this movie will need to earn at least $500 million to truly be considered successful by the studios, and that looks to be very unlikely.

The first movie made $65 million during its opening weekend in domestic markets alone, and it only managed to pull in a total of $493 million total at the box office. So far, Out of the Shadows has performed far worse than its predecessor, indicating that it might not even earn that much once all is said and done.

If you’re trying to figure out what happened here, you’re not alone. With that in mind, I’ve decided to provide my own list of reasons that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows might have failed to impress certain audiences, resulting in numbers that don’t look very awesome.

1. Too Much Advertising

If the first TMNT movie suffered from a lack of advertising (and it most certainly did), the second movie actually had too much of it. There were dozens of TV Spots, trailers and clips for the movie, resulting in a market that was almost over-saturated with all things TMNT 2.

Some reviewers even stated that they felt like they had already seen the entire movie in the advertisements, and it’s not difficult to see where they are coming from. Even one of the biggest moments in the film was shared on Youtube via clips, which might leave some audiences asking why they should even go to see the movie.

2. First Film Soured TMNT Fans

Although a lot of shellheads absolutely loved the 2014 film, the truth is that many audiences did not enjoy it. Several fans outright refused to support Out of the Shadows simply because it was a sequel to that movie. The relative authenticity of TMNT 2 simply wasn’t a factor for this audience, as they took issue with other aspects behind the production of the film.

For instance, a lot of people really dislike Michael Bay, and they simply refuse to see anything with his name on it – even if he’s just an executive producer. The look and feel of these CGI Ninja Turtles was also a big problem for many potential viewers, and neither Paramount or Platinum Dunes were willing to change much about that.

3. Focused Too Heavily On One Audience

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have changed a lot over the years. One might even say that they are in a constant state of flux. Some fans prefer the original Mirage comics, others like the 1987 cartoon; some swear by the 4Kids series while many fans are enamored with the original films of the 1990s. Each of these representations of the Ninja Turtles is wildly different in its own way, which means that it is difficult to produce anything related to the franchise without potentially offending or disappointing at least one of those fan communities. Nickelodeon managed to pull it off quite well, but that kind of success is difficult to recreate on film.

This was not the Shredder that some fans wanted to see in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Source: Paramount Pictures.

This was not the Shredder that some fans wanted to see in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Source: Paramount.

It’s not as easy as you might think to please all TMNT fans at once; believe me, I’m always unintentionally offending someone with almost anything that I write. Out of the Shadows focused heavily on recreating the ’87 cartoon in live action, leaving little room for any other representation of the Ninja Turtles. This appears to have alienated a lot of fans who prefer a more gritty take on the turtles, with many saying that they would have preferred something closer to either the Mirage comics or the 4Kids series. When it comes to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, you simply can’t please everyone.

4. Too Much Competition

While the first movie came out in the late summer, this one is smack dab in the middle of summer blockbuster territory. The 2014 film was released the week after Guardians of the Galaxy – which was pretty stiff competition – but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles still managed to produce pretty good results.

Movie poster for upcoming movie Finding Dory. Source: Disney/Pixar.

Movie poster for upcoming movie Finding Dory. Source: Disney/Pixar.

Out of the Shadows was released the week after X-men: Apocalypse, which was definitely more successful during its opening weekend, but it wasn’t as much of a runaway hit as GOTG. That being said, it’s important to remember that Captain America: Civil War is still in theaters as well, which means that there are currently no fewer than three comic book movies in theaters at the same time.

In addition to the comic book movies, Angry Birds also presents a bit of competition. Next week, Out of the Shadows will be facing off against Warcraft, a movie based on a video game franchise. The week after that, we are likely to see a large drop off in box office numbers for the film as Pixar’s Finding Dory will be hitting the silver screen.

Shortly thereafter, you can expect to see Independence Day: Resurgence in theaters alongside Steven Spielberg’s BFG. These are huge titles that are likely to make it difficult for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows to compete in the box office.

In comparison, the 2014 TMNT movie only had titles like The Expendables 3, The Giver and Let’s Be Cops to face in the weeks following its release. As you can see, the competition for Out of the Shadows is going to be a lot more difficult to overcome, and chances are that even a strong showing in foreign markets won’t help the studios earn back all of the money they have invested. The competition is simply too fierce right now, and that could have a seriously negative impact on the film’s performance in the box office.

Conclusion

The last thing I want to do is call this movie a failure when it still has a chance to prove successful after all is said and done. We still have yet to see the numbers from China, and that is likely to represent at least $40-$60 million in ticket sales. However, even when you factor in the potential foreign sales for the film, that figure isn’t likely to be enough to represent a significant ROI.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows movie poster. Source: Paramount Pictures.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows movie poster. Source: Paramount Pictures.

Even if it manages to perform well during its second weekend at the box office, chances are that by the time Finding Dory comes out, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows will be struggling to compete in any meaningful way when it comes to domestic numbers.

I absolutely loved Out of the Shadows, but we need to be realistic about what is happening here. Not only is this movie likely to perform worse than its predecessor, but there are several reasons for that which need to be addressed.

Several TMNT fan communities feel under-represented, and that is truly a shame. For those of you who believe I am being preemptive, I apologize if anything that I have written has offended you – but for those who are still waiting for a silver screen representation of your favorite turtles, I can’t necessarily blame you for being upset.

Ultimately, there are many reasons that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows underwhelmed at the box office during its opening weekend. Some of these issues will continue to affect ticket sales in the weeks to come, while others could slowly dissipate over time.

Paramount is likely to make a lot of money off of merchandise related to the film, so chances are that they will earn a decent profit in the end. Unfortunately, that profit isn’t likely to reveal itself until several months have passed and the film is no longer in theaters.

What do you think? Will Out of the Shadows manage to turn a profit in the end? Are these valid reasons for the results we have seen thus far? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or on facebook/twitter.

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Image from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
Movie NewsNews

Michael Bay Says Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III Was Inspiration

by Justin W
written by Justin W

In a truly moving interview, Michael Bay shared the inspiration for his work on the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. Surprisingly, it turns out that despite the clear connections to the classic animated series, Bay said that his greatest source of influence for both the first movie and Out of the Shadows was actually Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.

This came as a shock to the person interviewing the executive producer, as the film was arguably the least successful Ninja Turtles film that had ever been made. Bay elaborated with the following statement:

Image of Michael Bay

“I don’t know, man. I always loved the idea of the turtles going back in time and meeting actual samurai warriors and stuff. I always thought there weren’t enough explosions in [Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III], but it had such promise and it was such an awesome idea.”

“The story was beautifully moving, and it made me want to make my own movie in the franchise. I knew that these alien turtles had more to tell us about the universe and time travel, which is why I think fans will be really happy with what we’ve done in [Out of the Shadows]. It’s going to blow your minds.”

Poster for film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

When asked whether or not this meant there would be a connection between the two films, Bay laughed heartily for a solid two minutes and proceeded to wink incessantly at the interviewer. Sadly, there is no confirmation about whether or not such a connection exists, but Bay’s noted influence over the film series would seem to indicate that this may in fact be the case.

Despite its lack of success at the box office, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III has since become a much beloved cult classic that has unarguably inspired many filmmakers and artists. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we can’t wait to see the possible connections between everyone’s favorite TMNT movie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

Oh, and by the way – April Fools!

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BlogMovie / TMNT Movies

Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Regains Ground Among Fans

by Justin W
written by Justin W

It's hard to imagine, but just two years ago in March of 2012, TMNT fans were outraged at statements made by Michael Bay concerning the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. During a now infamous presentation, Bay announced that the turtles in the new film would have an alien origin. Needless to say, this has since been proven to be untrue, as it is clear now that the producer more than likely misspoke about the project. Since this false revelation, we've discovered many things about the new Ninja Turtles movie, including interesting casting decisions and the design of the turtles. Of course, discovering those designs was a little bit like pulling teeth, but now we've at least got a good idea of what to expect.

 

TMNT Cake Toppers 2While some fans might still be upset about the whole “alien” scandal, most Shellheads have since taken a liking to the project and are eagerly awaiting the film. Just a few years ago, you would have been hard pressed to find anyone who had something nice to say about Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, but now there are fans everywhere who are getting excited for its release. There are even bloggers defending the film and calling for fans to give it a second chance. Considering how much has come to light since Michael Bay's flub in 2012, it's easy to see why TMNT fans are beginning to take a liking to the project. To be fair, there are still plenty of fans who are cautious about the new Ninja Turtles movie, but many of them have changed their tune.

 

Unfortunately, it looks like we'll have to wait another 4 weeks to see the first trailer for the film, which is due to be released alongside Captain America: The Winter Solder. Quite frankly, it's sad to see that Platinum Dunes and Paramount don't have more faith in the project. Most studios release pictures and trailers related to films of this caliber roughly 8-12 months in advance. For example, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is set to release one week before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Marvel Studios has already released a trailer and special featurettes related to the movie.


Why Paramount/Platinum Dunes have elected to wait until April 4th to release a trailer for the new TMNT movie is beyond me, but to be fair, that's only a month away! With so many fans giving the film a second chance, perhaps this is the perfect time for such an event. That being said, we've been dying to see something from the studios for months. Such has been our zest for information that Shellheads across the net have been leaking images related to the film for the past few months. The latest such leaked imagery has come in the form of cake toppers. We've got to be in a pretty sad state of affairs if the fans are getting excited by pictures of toys designed for the top of a birthday cake. No offense to the studios and the companies involved, but perhaps you shouldn't have been so tight lipped so close to the release of the film?


Regardless of all the flubs related to Bay's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, many fans are now hoping for the best. If some of the leaked pictures we've seen are any indication, we may actually be in for a pretty good movie. Like many of you, I'll be reserving my judgments until I can actually see the film, but it's crazy to think about just how far we've come in a few short years. While at first the fans reviled the very concept of alien turtles, now a lot of us are willing to give this new TMNT movie a chance.


What do you think? Are you interested in seeing the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie directed by Jonathan Liebesman? Let us know in the comments below or sound off in our forums!


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