New Movie to be Called "Ninja Turtles" - Michael Bay Clarifies Why

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Still worked up about Michael Bay's "alien" comments from a couple weeks ago, another wave of Internet rage seems to have emerged with the revelation that the working title of the film is simply "Ninja Turtles." People seem to be interpreting this as a way to delete both the mutant and teenage aspects of the characters from the film. However, in another statement made on his official message boards, Bay clarifies that the title change was made by Paramount (not Bay) to simplify the title. In his full statement, he also reiterates that great care is going into the movie to make it something the fans are going to love.

Paramount marketing changed the name. They made the title simple. The characters you all remember are exactly the same, and yes they still act like teenagers. Everything you remember, why you liked the characters, is in the movie. This script is being developed by two very smart writers, with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles. They care VERY MUCH about making this film for the fans. Everyone on this team cares about the fans. Just give them a chance. Jonathan the director, is a major fan of the whole franchise. HE'S NOT GOING TO LET YOU DOWN.
MICHAEL

Of course, saying "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" repeatedly gets tiring quite fast, and pretty much everyone has simplified it to "Ninja Turtles" anyways. Considering that there are also already three movies that start with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," differentiating this new movie from the old ones is a no-brainer.

Guinness World Record for Largest Gathering of Ninja Turtles

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On Saturday, March 17, 2012, a new Guinness World Record was set for the largest gathering of people dressed as Ninja Turtles! The event marked the grand opening of the new ride at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shell Shock.

A crowd begins to gather around the new ride.

Check out video of the event below! Some of the audio is a little hard to hear, but this is essentially the entirety of event, with the 10 minutes of waiting cut out. The final number of people dressed as Ninja Turtles was 836! Cowabunga!


Some of my favorite fan shots from the event! Check out all my pictures on Flickr!

The youngest Turtle?

Best. Hair. EVER!

Director Jonathan Liebesman Comments on New TMNT Movie

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While doing press for the upcoming Wrath of the Titans, Jonathan Liebesman finally had a chance to have his own say about the recent "alien" controversy in an interview with Collider.com. And in doing so, he pretty much confirms that the Turtles themselves aren't going to be aliens. He actually said all the right things that should make any TMNT fan ready to embrace and be excited for this movie.

"Look, it's so funny—if everyone was such a die-hard fan, they would know that the TCRI canisters where the ooze comes from. That is alien ooze. Now I'm not saying what Michael said is exactly what the movie is, because we're sitting in a room now figuring everything out. So we don't know, but we are like Michael said: we're expanding it, and the expansion will be true to the mythology. I promise you: fans will love it."

He also commented that this isn't just going to be an action movie.

"We're definitely into the action, but for me what's more important than that is that it's a story about brotherhood and friendship and responsibility. Right now, I'm with the characters because those are what attracted me to the movie. They're the best characters I'll have had a chance to deal with."

These comments alone should be enough to satisfy fans that this movie is going in the right direction and that, for now at least, there's no need for nerd rage.

Further details speak to Kevin Eastman's involvement in the film:

"A lot of it is stuff he’s wanted to do for a long time, but just hasn’t had the opportunity [before, but] now we have the budget ... on this film to expand it in the right way."

Finally, Liebesman mentions that the film could be filming in Canada sometime around September, and that they're looking at rendering the Turtles with motion capture suits, similar to Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

TMNT Creators Weigh-In On Bay's Turtles

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Kevin Eastman drawing secret stuff.
Photo by: Jonathan Liebesman

When Michael Bay posted a comment to his official message boards responding to the outrage over the revelation of "alien" Turtles, he mentioned that he was working with one of the original creators on the project. It was easy to speculate that that person was Kevin Eastman, but Kevin has now confirmed that with a brief update to his Facebook page.

Hey Guys, Sorry to have been away for so long--completely swamped with work--but it is some pretty exciting stuff. I had been invited to check out the TMNT film development by my friend Scott Mednick over the years, and a while back had a full look behind the curtain at what writers Appelbaum and Nemec, director Liebesman, and producer Bay are doing--and trust me--it IS AWESOME. I'm officially on board, and will share more as I'm allowed… thanks all!

So, it looks like Kevin is behind the project 100%. And that's good enough assurance for me.

Meanwhile, Peter Laird has posted some of his own musings on the topic on his blog, although he has no personal involvement in the project and knows only as much as the rest of us do. He also drew a cute little alien Turtle.

INFESTATION 2: TMNT #2 - Variant Cover Guide

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I know everyone is currently obsessed with the idea of the Turtles being aliens, but how about we all take a break from that and focus on Turtles fighting underground alien monster creature... things.

It'll all be ok. Really. Check out the preview, then head to your comic shop!

Cover A

Cover B

Cover A: Menton J. Matthews III.
Regular cover.

Cover B: Mark Torres.
Retailer incentive cover; 1 copy sent to retailers for every 10 copies ordered.

Michael Bay Responds to "Alien" Outrage

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As you most likely know by now, Michael Bay created a bit of Internet outrage last week with some comments he made about the new TMNT movie, scheduled for release Christmas 2013. Here's the entirety of the current controversy:






There are several possible interpretations, but "These Turtles are from an alien race," seems pretty straight forward. Although the Turtles have always been Earth-based, their origin in the original comic books and 4Kids TV series came from an ooze created by the alien Utroms. However, when taken at face value, Bay's comments really do seem to indicate that the Turtles themselves are now going to be aliens. What's a fan to think?

Well, let's keep some things in mind, especially before declaring that Michael Bay is ruining the TMNT. Even though he made this presentation, he is still only a producer on the project. He did not write the script and he is not directing.

Just a short while ago, on his official message boards, Mr. Bay responded to all the outrage:

Fans need to take a breath, and chill. They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex back story. Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world.   

Michael

It's safe to assume that the creator being spoken about is Kevin Eastman. Not only is Peter Laird absolutely not involved in any of the new projects, but Kevin mentioned having seen the script in an interview late last year during the Lost Angeles: 35 Days of Kevin Eastman event at Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles.

I think for the time being we all owe it to the involved persons to keep an open mind and give this thing a chance. Literally all we know about anything at this point is seven words. And the story and appeal of the Turtles is a lot deeper than their origin.

New Guinness World Record Set For Most People Dressed as Ninja Turtles!

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Yesterday, in celebration of the grand opening of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shell Shock ride at Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN, 836 TMNT fans successful set the Guinness World Record for the most people dressed as Ninja Turtles in one place!

I will have a full report of the event, along with a bunch of pictures and some video, coming up later this week (after I get my shell back to California). But, I will say in short that the event was a blast, and the ride is reallyreally fun! It was tough to get the cars to do a complete 360, but very rewarding when you succeeded - It really was kinda like ninja training!

For now, here's the official group photo of the event. I left it huge so you can play Where's Waldo if you're in the crowd or know someone who was. Cowabunga, Dudes!