HASBRO TO HONOR MICHAEL BAY AND STEVEN SPIELBERG WITH INDUCTION INTO
THE TRANSFORMERS HALL OF FAME
Bay to attend ceremony at TRANSFORMERS “BOTCON” Fan Convention in Pasadena, California, on June 4
Pawtucket, R.I. (MAY 18, 2011) — Earlier today on its official
TRANSFORMERS Facebook page, Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) announced the
induction of film industry legends Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg—the
director and executive producer of the blockbuster TRANSFORMERS film
franchise—into its TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame. The second annual
TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame ceremony, which celebrates more than 25 years
of “MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE” action, will take place during the 2011
TRANSFORMERS “BOTCON” fan convention in Pasadena, California, and will
feature TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON director Michael Bay in person to
accept his honor and share some special surprises with the audience.
Founded in 2010 to honor those influential in creating and building the
iconic TRANSFORMERS franchise, as well as actual “ROBOTS IN DISGUISE,”
the 2011 TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame will induct the two legendary
filmmakers who were instrumental in launching the live-action film
franchise that brought the TRANSFORMERS brand to more fans than ever
before. Bay and Spielberg will join previous honorees Bob Budiansky,
Peter Cullen, Yoke Hideaki and Kojin Ohno in the TRANSFORMERS Hall of
Fame.
Michael Bay: For the last sixteen years, Michael Bay has been one of the
world’s boldest filmmakers as both director and producer. His films
have grossed over $4 billion worldwide. Since his 1995 breakout Bad
Boys, Bay has directed a succession of international hits that have
redefined the action genre, including The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl
Harbor, Bad Boys 2, The Island, and three Transformers films. The third
movie in the franchise, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, will hit
theaters July 1; it is Bay’s first live-action film shot in 3D. A
graduate of Wesleyan University and Art Center College of Design, Bay
began his career as a distinguished commercial and music video director.
He has won virtually every major award in the commercial industry,
including Cannes’ Golden Lion, the Grand Prix Clio, and the Directors
Guild of America’s Commercial Director of the Year award. His “Got
Milk?” campaign resides in the permanent collection of New York’s Museum
of Modern Art. Bay is also co-owner of production company Platinum
Dunes and owner of Digital Domain, one of the entertainment industry’s
premier special effects companies.
Steven Spielberg: One of the industry’s most successful and influential
filmmakers, Steven Spielberg has directed some of the top-grossing films
of all time, including Jaws, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park,
and four Indiana Jones films, including the most recent, Indiana Jones
and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Among his myriad honors, he is a
three-time Academy Award® winner, earning two Oscars® for Best Director
and Best Picture for Schindler’s List, and a third Oscar® for Best
Director for Saving Private Ryan. He has been awarded the Academy’s
prestigious Thalberg Award. He earned his first Directors Guild Award
for The Color Purple and has been nominated by the DGA a record ten
times. He has received the Kennedy Center Honor for his body of work.
Last year he served as an executive producer on the Academy Award
nominated film True Grit, which was directed by the Coen brothers. A
principal partner of DreamWorks Studios, he is also the producer of
Super 8, directed by J.J. Abrams, an executive producer on TRANSFORMERS:
DARK OF THE MOON, directed by Michael Bay and Cowboys & Aliens,
directed by Jon Favreau, all of which will be released this summer.
Hasbro will also induct four more iconic robot characters into the
TRANSFORMERS Hall of Fame. Heroic AUTOBOTS RATCHET and IRONHIDE, as well
as evil DECEPTICON SOUNDWAVE will join 2010’s class of five robots, as
chosen by Hasbro’s TRANSFORMERSHall of Fame internal panel of judges. In
addition, TRANSFORMERS fans around the world voted on Transformers.com
for a fourth robot to receive the 2011 “Fans’ Choice” honor. The winner,
from among the nominees GRIMLOCK, SHOCKWAVE, ERECTOR, WASPINATOR and
JAZZ, will be revealed for the first time at the Hall of Fame induction
ceremony at “BOTCON” on June 4, 2011.
First introduced in 1984 by Hasbro and Takara as a toy line, the TRANSFORMERS brand
has provided kids with hours of MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE fun with their
action figures that convert from robot to vehicles and back again.
Legions of boys around the world grew up creating fantastic adventures
and battles set on both the planet CYBERTRON and Earth that featured the
“good-guy” AUTOBOTS and the “bad-guy” DECEPTICONS. Since then, more
than 7500 robots have been introduced in countless animated TV series,
comic books and two live-action feature films. A third film,
TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON, will be released on July 1, 2011, as the
first 3D film in the franchise.
For further information visit the official TRANSFORMERS Facebook page at Transformers.com/facebook.
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About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company providing children
and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive
entertainment offerings based on the Company’s world class brand
portfolio. From toys and games, to television programming, motion
pictures, video games and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro
strives to delight its customers through the strategic leveraging of
well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP,
NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and
MONOPOLY. The Hub, Hasbro’s multi-platform joint venture with Discovery
Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) launched on October 10,
2010. The online home of The Hub is www.hubworld.com. The Hub logo and
name are trademarks of Hub Television Networks, LLC. All rights
reserved. Come see how we inspire play through our brands at
http://www.hasbro.com. © 2011 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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