Kevin Eastman Offers Reasons Why Michael Bay's NINJA TURTLES Was Delayed

In the middle of June it was announced that the new live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie moved from its Christmas 2013 release date to May of 2014. Kevin Eastman, co-creator of the Turtles, now has two reasons to explain the delay.

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By nailbiter111 - 8/7/2012
"What they're doing with the movie is creating its own story, but it has to be true to the source material or we'll get [frick]ing murdered. To be blunt."


Last June when it was announced that the Michael Bay-produced, Jonathan Liebesman-directed Ninja Turtles was pushed back five months to May 2014 it left many wondering, what could be the cause? Sources for The Hollywood Reporter claimed it was due to the script not being up to snuff. Deadline was informed by their sources that the delay was needed so that producers could trim the budget by as much as $10-20M to get it down to $125 million in total.

None of those reasons have been confirmed by Paramount. Well, according to a recent interview that Kevin Eastman participated in with CBR, there are two brand new reasons.

"Essentially they pushed it back for two reasons: One is the director, Jonathan Liebesman, wanted to make sure he could do the effects to the level he wants them at, and the fight scenes to the way they should be. Also, their release date is almost exactly on the 30th anniversary. May 5, 1984 is when the first Turtles comic came out. May 16, 2014, is almost exactly 30 years after. So basically it's an anniversary movie now."


"I talked to [producer] Scott Mednick yesterday, and he's seen the most recent 50 [script] pages and said it's as good as the last version -- they've really knocked it out of the park," Eastman said. "I've seen a chunk of it, and it's going to be a great movie, despite what everybody thinks."


Eastman is busy working closely with Liebesman, Mednick and writers Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec. "Doing sketches, drawings and character designs, bouncing stuff around with the writers, talking with the director and the producers -- I'm actively involved," he said.




Jonathan Liebesman's Ninja Turtles will hit theaters May 16th, 2014

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DrDoom - 8/7/2012, 10:00 PM
It's delayed because it's dumb.
LAXtremest - 8/7/2012, 10:01 PM
Hmmmm....
poop23 - 8/7/2012, 10:03 PM
@AcidicHeart I was about to say the same thing
ninjaturtle11 - 8/7/2012, 10:05 PM
micheal bay leave my childhood alone
Anthrax - 8/7/2012, 10:05 PM
HA!
TheBigBoss917 - 8/7/2012, 10:06 PM
TheBeard - 8/7/2012, 10:06 PM
Alien ninja turtles from space, cause that stay's true to the source material. right...
Anthrax - 8/7/2012, 10:07 PM
so its not tmnt its tant
BattlinMurdock - 8/7/2012, 10:08 PM
It's been delayed because it's not crazy and ghetto enough yet.
TrueRedBlue - 8/7/2012, 10:08 PM
Hahaha. Ya gotta love the internet. Whether we're having monumental movements like stopping Kony or whether we're having monumental movements like stopping Bay, it's a great tool for change. :)
CPBuff22 - 8/7/2012, 10:10 PM
It was delayed because the theaters have reached their alien quota till 2014.
TankD - 8/7/2012, 10:12 PM
I Have Faith. if its motion capture and the raid choreography. thats all i really want to see.
fosterine - 8/7/2012, 10:14 PM
At least one of these companies are trying to listen to the fans and actually halted production. I am glad they are trying to do this the right way.
manymade1 - 8/7/2012, 10:16 PM
All this time I thought Bay was directing it. Isn't Liebsman the same guy who directed Wrath of the Titans and Battle: Los Angeles?
RR51 - 8/7/2012, 10:17 PM
nailbiter111 - 8/7/2012, 10:19 PM
manymade1 - yes to both films
hope420 - 8/7/2012, 10:23 PM
Middle Aged Alien Turtles? I'm sure some people will like it but personally I'm not interested in seeing this.
Himura - 8/7/2012, 10:33 PM
Am I the only one who has high hopes for this movie? I mean, I'm reserving judgement for damn sure but I just love the Turtles so much that I hope this goes well.
I don't see them straying too far from the source material since they know the fans reaction to the alien news already. I doubt they're that incompetent to continue upsetting the fans.
LoudNoises - 8/7/2012, 10:34 PM
I have to be honest. This movie is becoming much more intriguing to me lately. Ever since I heard the rumor that they may be incorporating Crane, as well as Bebop and Rocksteady... I'm on board. At least to the extent that I'm willing to give this movie a fair shot despite Michael Bay's involvement. What else can I say, I'm a Ninja Turtles geek at heart. :)
SunSp0t - 8/7/2012, 11:12 PM
Please be good!
RR51 - 8/7/2012, 11:13 PM
Bay is producing it, a guy who has mostly done mediocre TV series is doing the screenplay, and Liebsman's movies include Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Battle Los Angeles, and Wrath of the Titans. What could possibly go wrong.

GUNSMITH - 8/7/2012, 11:20 PM
"What they're doing with the movie is creating its own story, but it has to be true to the source material or we'll get [frick]ing murdered. To be blunt."

ALIENS? YEAH YOUR GONNA GET LYNCHED.
DangerKiD - 8/7/2012, 11:46 PM
BreakTheBatman - 8/7/2012, 11:56 PM
Guys, it's Liebsman! This guy has proven he has no talent! Why in the piss did they pick this asswipe?
BlueArcher98 - 8/8/2012, 12:36 AM
@Spidey23 yeah but it want that drastic they're basically changing the origin story completely. Secons you take out mutant its not the same.
timmyjingoro - 8/8/2012, 12:37 AM
I lost hope for this film right around about the time this piece of comedic gold was released as 'concept art':

timmyjingoro - 8/8/2012, 12:37 AM
^I mean just... what the [frick]....
eatburn - 8/8/2012, 12:51 AM
Apart from the ooze/alien thing, this will be the best thing Turtles Related we could ever ask for. Go and watch the older shit, big part of my childhood, no doubt. Loved it, but now it's pretty [frick]n lame man. It'll be rad :)
DTor91 - 8/8/2012, 1:02 AM
@SotoJuiceMan
I'm not seeing it and wouldn't watch it if it were to be released tomorrow. I haven't watched anything Turtles related since that short-lived live action series. I must've been like 7 at the time. I did not watch Transformers 3, Battle: LA, or either of the Titans movies, Battleship, or any of the latest Bay produced films. Needless to say, by the sound of things, this warrants a skip. So you're wrong about everyone's on board and everyone will see it. I'm not a big Turtles fan to begin with. However, I really liked what I read from the original books, and from what I've read of the new series isn't bad either. I would like for this movie to do well. But it already has a team that doesn't build much confidence out of most comic book fans.
timmyjingoro - 8/8/2012, 1:03 AM
@eatburn If TMNT is so lame for movies in today's age, they shouldn't be making a movie about TMNT in today's age...

Oh did I say TMNT? Sorry I mean Aliens...
RandomHeroDK - 8/8/2012, 1:06 AM
@ninjaturtle11 Your childhood already happened. So stop using that (frick)ing argument!
IIIAdamantiumIII - 8/8/2012, 1:35 AM
maybe they delayed it because they need more time to shit all over our childhoods
MrSuperheromoviefan - 8/8/2012, 1:38 AM
looks like they understand that if the turltes are a race and not mutant than every fan will be pissed
notmuchtotellreally - 8/8/2012, 2:09 AM
They better come to their senses and make them TMNT, by the way I've been reading the comments with HA! GAAAY! In the background XD
pepe - 8/8/2012, 2:46 AM
Its going too be alot of screaming and hysterical people on this one. Just like the Transformer movies. M Bay, needs too calm down and take a pill or something.
darkmetal - 8/8/2012, 3:04 AM
Theres a pretty interesting Best All time Superhero Showdown poll going on here at Entertainment Weekly:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2012/08/07/superhero-showdown-batman-wonder-woman/

GO VOTE!
AlexDeLarge87 - 8/8/2012, 3:10 AM
If its anniversary movie then they better make it as close the original comics as possible.
Which means... Turtles dont come from Planet of the Turtles but are change into humanoid Turtles with Alien mutagen. And there is no Krang but Utroms and Shredder and Baxter Stockman.
Jollem - 8/8/2012, 3:19 AM
ralfinader - 8/8/2012, 3:44 AM
It got delayed? If I didn't think TMNT was a retarded idea since May 5th 1984 I would be pissed!
timmyjingoro - 8/8/2012, 4:00 AM
@ralfinader

Oh really? Tell us more about how you don't care about TMNT. Please do. It's fascinating stuff. Especially the ironic part.
ralfinader - 8/8/2012, 4:27 AM
@timmyjingoro - 'us'? You got a turtle in your pocket? I have said enough, you can get your cheap thrills by just re-reading my comment over and over and over again.
timmyjingoro - 8/8/2012, 4:33 AM
@ralfinader

Ohohohohohohohohoho, how witty. Feel proud?
AutobotCommander84 - 8/8/2012, 5:41 AM
"What they're doing with the movie is creating its own story, but it has to be true to the source material or we'll get [frick]ing murdered. To be blunt."

Eastman says this, and the fanboys still assume that they're going to be aliens despite the director and the CO-CREATOR of the Turtles saying otherwise.?
AutobotCommander84 - 8/8/2012, 5:43 AM
@pepe You seem to forget that Bay isn't directing this.
GiantNerd0720 - 8/8/2012, 5:49 AM
Great the ads are back!
soda9 - 8/8/2012, 6:01 AM
Man...I don't know about this film.....how about we do a modern twist on it without doing the alien route! Here's my plot outline:

The film takes place 10 years from now. (2022 so it's futuristic sort of! Not like everything is hi tech, but the world has become very advanced.

Humato "Splinter" Yoshi has been on the run from the Foot Clan and their master, Shredder for four years now, for the death of Shredder's brother, Natti. Splinter looks for his old apprentices, posing as scientist at a bio-tech facility. But Shredder and the Foot Clan find Shredder and his old apprentices. They kill the apprentices and throw Splinter into a vat of rat mutagen.

They leave thinking he's dead, but inside the vat, Splinter starts to mutate into a giant rat! As flees the facility, Splinter goes into the lab of Baxter Stockman and steals four baby turtles that have been experimented on with a mutagen as well. (Inside the lab, we see Rocksteady and Beebop in containment units, being created.

They escape into the sewer system in Manhattan.

As days go on, Splinter realizes that the turtles are growing in size, as well as intelligence! So he decides to teach them in the arts of Ninjitsu to protect the streets of New York and to fight off against the Foot Clan.

The 2nd movie would have the Rise of Kang and Dimension X.

3rd Movie would have the Foot Clan and the aliens working together. And the final battle has Kang melded onto Shredder. So he's a super human, sort of.
Cthulhu - 8/8/2012, 6:02 AM
I will hold judgment until I can actually see the film.
CrimsonAvenger - 8/8/2012, 6:21 AM
This movie will be awful. I'd love for a great Ninja Turtles film but since Bay and Liebesman are involved it can't be good at all. Eastman's just saying all this stuff because he's getting a big fat pay check.
sKeemAn - 8/8/2012, 6:42 AM
I think this movie will be good wit mo cap an cgi all they need to do is get a good story. The turtles will always be entertaining
Turtletech1 - 8/8/2012, 6:50 AM
this move should be well worth it,, with the tech they have now,I really cannot see it being a failure, GO NINJA GO NINJA GOOOOO
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