By Todd Matthy
The subject of women in comics is a hot one. One of the sub-subjects is female superheroes and movies, specifically why there isn’t a Wonder Woman movie. The big questions are, “Why did we get a Jonah Hex movie before Wonder Woman?” ” “Why do executives think a super hero movie with a female lead is an automatic bomb?” “Why do executives think Wonder Woman is difficult?” I don’t know the answers to all of the questions. I do know we’ve gotten some answers that are B.S.
Female super heroes can succeed at the box office. It’s not a question of whether or not the lead is a female, it’s a question of whether the movie is good or bad. So, what’s the formula for a good Wonder Woman movie? Read below. (more…)
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He Killed Optimus Prime: An Interview with Ron Friedman, writer of Transformers: The Movie
Posted: December 31, 2013 in Animation, Anime, Cartoons, Comics, Commentary, Interviews, Marvel Comics, Movies, Science Fiction, Transformers, TVTags: cobra commander, destro, Fantastic Four, Game of Thrones, gi joe, iron man, Marvel Action Hour, Megatron, Optimus Prime, Orson Welles, Ron Friedman, Silver Surfer, Spider-Man, Stan Lee, Starscream, The Death of Optimus Prime, Transformers, Transformers: The Movie, Ultra Magnus
By Todd Matthy
In the summer of 1986, children were traumatized when Optimus Prime sacrificed himself to stop his archrival, Megatron. But it wasn’t Megatron who pulled the trigger, it was a writer named Ron Friedman.
Ron Friedman wrote Transformers: The Movie. He wrote the five-part miniseries that launched GI Joe. He is close friends with Stan Lee and helped Stan develop The Marvel Action Hour, featuring Iron Man and Fantastic Four. He has written episodes of All in the Family, Happy Days, and Fantasy Island. In addition to his writing credentials, Ron is an architect and a teacher at Chapman University.
In 2014, Ron plans to chronicle his experiences as a writer in the memoir, I Killed Optimus Prime. The book promises a fascinating look behind the scenes of the shows that defined our childhood.
I had the privilege of speaking with Ron about his career, his friendship with Stan Lee, what he thought when he first saw the Transformers, how Orson Welles became Unicron, and why he didn’t want to kill Optimus Prime.
So, to kick off the 30th Anniversary of the Transformers, Ron Friedman, the man who killed Optimus Prime.
WARNING: Some language.
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