Opti-Mash Prime is a silly Mr. Potato Head tie-in for the Transformers films. During starchy situations this fearless Autobot leader can make a quick change from truck to robot. The toy comes with both Opti-Mash Prime character and potato parts.
Party City Survey Finds Transformers, Michael Jackson Costumes Popular
Several retailers and organizations conduct surveys and put out lists of the most popular costumes each year. Party City recently released findings of a national costume survey today. With nearly 40 percent of the vote, costumes inspired by Transformers 2, the No. 1 box office film of the year, beat the
inauguration of President Obama, Kanye West taking the microphone from Taylor Swift, and the Hudson River plane landing by Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger as the most "costume-worthy" event in 2009.
Party City says that over half of respondents indicated that Michael Jackson's "Thriller" look will be the most popular Halloween tribute. Fans plan to done , black eyeliner and the red leather jacket he wore in "Thriller." Other popular Michael Jackson Halloween looks include the singer's "Billie Jean" ensemble, featuring white socks, loafers and Michael Jackson's signature white sequined glove. Other will dress like his "King of Pop" look with a military-style jacket, white gloves and aviator sunglasses.
"As the Halloween experts," says Lisa Laube president of Party City, "we know that costume choices are driven by popular culture, including blockbuster films, television shows and, of course, the latest news sensation. We have thousands of costumes and accessories to help our customers transform themselves - from head to toe - into any character they choose."
You can read more about this year's costume trends here, here, here and here.
Bloombergreports that sales of Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra toys helped boost profits for Hasbro in its third quarter. The profits came at a time when toy manufacturers and retailers are struggling because of the recession.
Net income rose to $150.4 million, or 99 cents a share, from $138.2 million, or 89 cents, a year earlier, the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based company said today in a Business Wire statement. Revenue declined 1.7 percent to $1.28 billion, driven down by foreign exchange rates.
Products based on the films Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra have added to Hasbro's revenue for the past two quarters. Sales of the action figures were a "lone bright spot" in the retail environment, according to Chris White, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles.
Transformers toys should stay popular during the fourth quarter because of the holidays. Next summer Hasbro has just one big film to sell action figures for. One the plus side, that film is Iron Man 2.
Megan Fox appeared on The Today Show to promote Jennifer's Body, her new film. She talked about how insecure most actors are, especially women. "I think that all actors are pretty insecure, in general I mean, I can't speak for everyone. I think that's what drives us into this business is that insecurity... Especially being a woman. I think that all women have some deep-seeded insecurities, for whatever reason because of how we're raised in society. It's hard having so much focus put on you all the time. It's hard to maintain that confidence, because you are always second guessing yourself and questioning yourself and feeling like you are letting someone down or you're failing in one way or another because you can't please all the people all the time."
She also talks about the best and worst parts of fame. She looks fabulous and sounds quite humble. Alas, there was nary a mention of Michael Bay, Hitler or the Great Pyramids of Gizeh. Take a look:
He Shoots, He Scores: Michael Bay on the Megan Fox Feud
Director Michael Bay has finally blogged about the Megan Fox feud. You know, the one in which Megan compared Michael to Hitler, whereupon his crew responded with a diatribe about how dumb, ungrateful and unprofessional Megan is to work with? The diatribe that then mysteriously disappeared from Michael's website? Yes, that one.
Well apparently, Michael didn't approve of that letter and made them take it down -- not before it hit the interwebs, though. So, here's what Michael says about the incident:
I don't condone the crew letter to Megan. And I don't condone Megan's outlandish quotes. But her crazy quips are part of her crazy charm. The fact of the matter I still love working with her, and I know we still get along. I even expect more crazy quotes from her on Transformers 3.
Michael
He shoots, he scores!! And it's Michael Bay for the win! Dear Megan didn't stand a chance.
Transformers Crew Slams Megan Fox as Being Unprofessional, Dumb as a Rock
In an recent interview with Wonderland magazine, Megan Fox compared Tranformers director Michael Bay to Hitler. Strangely, we still haven't heard a response from Michael. But now Michael has posted on his blog a long letter from three of his loyal crew members who have nothing nice to say about Megan. At all.
In the lengthy missive, the three crew members say that Megan is no Angelina. They have worked with Angie and say she is a professional on the set. They claim Megan is late to shoots, is rude to the crew, never goes to crew parties and generally is a pain to work with. They all say she's "dumb as a rock" and has the press fooled. One crew member didn't allow his daughter to come to the set to meet her because "she is not nice."
One anecdote struck us actually kind of funny because it's so immature of her, if it's true. This is why the crew thinks Megan compared Michael to Hitler -- he arranged a private tour of the Great Pyramids at Gizeh for the cast (a fabulous opportunity), Megan -- no fan of history or antiquities -- was livid at being "forced" to go to the f**ing pyramids.
The press certainly doesn't know her most famous line. On our first day in Egypt, the Egyptian government wouldn't let us shoot because of a permit problem as the actors got ready in make up at the Four Seasons Hotel. Michael tried to make the best of it; he wanted to take the cast and crew on a private tour of the famous Giza pyramids. God hold us witness, Megan said, "I can't believe Michael is f**ing forcing us to go to the f**ing pyramids!" I guess this is the "Hitler guy" she is referring to.
So this is the Megan Fox you don't get to see. Maybe she will learn, but we figure if she can sling insults, then she can take them too. Megan really is a thankless, classless, graceless, and shall we say unfriendly bitch. It's sad how fame can twist people, and even sadder that young girls look up to her. If only they knew who they're really looking up to.
Oh, they also revealed she has a big tattoo on her derriere which takes a long time to cover with makeup. They didn't say what that tattoo was, though, nor did they provide their names for fear of being fired from future Paramount projects. Of course, the whole thing could be a publicity stunt set up between Megan and Michael. They are both very good at publicity.
If it's not a stunt, but in fact an actual feud, we're not sure how Megan and Michael can manage to work together on Transformers 3.
Update: The plot thickens. The post has now mysteriously disappeared from Michael Bay's website. Perhaps he didn't authorize the post and made his webmaster take it down? Not to worry, the full text of the scathing letter is here.
Public Enemies starring Johnny Depp was the other big new film opening this weekend. It came in third and made a little over $26 million. Public Enemies was followed by the comedies, The Proposal and The Hangover, which continue to sell tickets. Each of these films made over $10 million during the holiday weekend. You can see this weekend's box office chart here.
Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno comedy debuts this coming weekend and it is likely to take the #1 spot.
Transformers 2 Makes $200 Million in Just Five Days
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is already a huge summer blockbuster after just five days in theatres. The film made over $201 million in its first five days which put it just shy of The Dark Knight's record 5-day take of $203.8 million. Sandra Bullock's romantic comedy, The Proposal, fell to #2, but made another $18 million. In third, was the long-lasting Hangover, which brought in $17 million to increase its surprising box office tally to over $183 million.
Up came in fourth and made another $13 million. Up has now passed Star Trek as the top grossing film of 2009 to date. However, Up will likely soon be giving up the lead to Transformers 2. My Sister's Keeper - which stars Cameron Diaz in a moving drama based on a Jodi Picoult novel - debuted in fifth place. You can see the weekend box office chart here.
Public Enemies and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs will try to oust Transformers 2 from the #1 slot over the July 4th holiday weekend.
These adorable cufflinks are engraved with an the image of Decepticon and an image of Autobot from the cartoon and movie Transformers onto a silver plated frame. The cufflinks come with a black PVC covered cufflink box. They can be purchased here from Etsy user Finkstudio for $20.00.
Transformers 2 Storms Into Theatres With Record Opening
Varietyreports that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen had a massive first day opening of $60.6 million. It was the best opening day ever for a Wednesday release. It was the second best opening day - only The Dark Knight's $67.2 million opening is higher.
Previous record-holder was "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which grossed $44.2 million when opening on a Wednesday in July 2007.
"Transformer 2's" opening day haul also is the second best of all time after "The Dark Knight," which grossed $67.2 million on its first day in release (a Friday).
The big opening day for Transformers 2 was helped by strong midnight showings. The film made $16 million from the midnight shows. Transformers 2 is playing in over 4,200 theatres so this gives it a good shot according to Variety of surpassing the $152.4 million earned by Spider-Man 2 in its first five days.
Shia LaBeouf appeared on The Today Show with Meredith Vieira to talk about his monster hit, Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Shia talked about acting a bit, then was incredibly nice to a fan who was dying to meet him. He seemed genuinely caring. And the fan was about ready to pass out from excitement at meeting her crush in person. Take a look:
Megan Fox blows a kiss at the premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on June 22nd, 2009 in Los Angeles. Megan is wearing a lovely, asymmetrical white gown by Kaufman Franco. The premiere was sponsored by LG Mobile Phones.
Megan Fox Explains Why All Actors are Really Prostitutes
Here's a clip from the Transformers 2 press conference and photo call in Seoul, Korea. Michael Bay, Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox all appeared, posed for photos and answered questions. Megan Fox does not disappoint: she digs herself in deeper trying to explain her previous comment that all actors are prostitutes. Ah, Megan. Who is writing your stuff, dear? Take a look:
Transformers USB Flash Drives, Hubs and Laser Mice
Here are some interesting computer accessory tie-ins for the Transformers sequel. The products include a 2GB USB flash drive that transforms into the Decepticon Ravage and a laser mouse that transforms into Trypticon. Another is a USB hub that transformers into Blaster. The transforming accessories come out in September and are all listed for pre-order here on BigBadToyStore.com.
With the second Transformers movie just weeks away it is no surprise that the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen toys are already in stores. One of the most popular toys will probably be this cool looking Bumblebee Voice Mixer Helmet. There's also a Bumblebee plasma cannon (sold seperately) that would work great with the helmet.
The product description from Hasbro's product listing says the voice of the person wearing the helmet can be remixed with six different music styles. It also plays "realistic conversion sounds of the Bumblebee character."
Become the street-smart, frontline autobot warrior! Use your wits and power to battle the Decepticons and protect Earth from their evil. When youve got the power of Bumblebee, nothing can stand in your way! Suit up just like the Bumblebee character and prepare to save the universe with your amazing voice-mixer helmet! With three different modes and awesome electronic features on this detailed helmet, youll look like the Transformers Movie hero, and youll even sound like him, too! Switch on voice mixer mode to have your voice remixed with six different music styles. The helmet also plays realistic conversion sounds of the Bumblebee character changing from a car to a robot and back again, or his movie battle phrases including, Bumblebee to the rescue! Your MissionProtect the world from evil and several more! Easy-to-adjust straps help you get a comfortable fit. Adjusts to fit head sizes ages 5 through adult.
The helmet is currently in stock on , Walmart.com and Toysrus.com. These voice altering helmets tend to be very popular and are usually hard to find during the holiday shopping season. The popularity of the voice helmets usually depends on the quality of the voice changer. They called the helmet a "voice mixer" and not a "voice changer" or a "voice altering" helmet so the helmet may not do as much as kids may wish it does.
Several retailers and organizations conduct surveys and put out lists of the most popular costumes each year. 
Bloomberg 
