‘TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES’ Co-Creator: Give Michael Bay A Chance.
TMNT co-creator Peter Laird is speaking out about Turtlesarealiensgate, and he’s suggesting that we all like give Michael Bay a chance. The problem is when you listen to his protestations to our protestations, I can’t help feel like the dude is just fucking with everyone.
Slashfilm:
Laird took to his blog to respond to the “turtles as alien” controversy, advising fans to “wait and see what might come out of this seemingly ill-conceived plan.” More after the jump.
Laird isn’t offering a wholehearted endorsement of Bay’s idea; actually, he seems pretty ambivalent about it. But he seems more willing than his fans are to give it a shot.
A few people – who don’t seem to understand that I am no longer in control of the property – want me to stop this, somehow. Obviously, I can’t do that, even if I wanted to.
But I would actually encourage TMNT fans to swallow the “chill pill” Mr. Bay recently suggested they take, and wait and see what might come out of this seemingly ill-conceived plan. It’s possible that with enough truly creative brainpower applied to this idea, it might actually work. I’m not saying it’s probable, or even somewhat likely… but it IS possible.
Laird then goes on to explain that in fact, “I have realized that in one way it IS truly a genius notion.” You see, making the turtles aliens finally offers a good excuse to create the fifth Ninja Turtle he’s been pitched over the years, or at least a better one than “the harebrained ‘there was an extra Turtle in the bowl, etc.’ idea.” “[F]or the first time… someone has come up with a way to have as many freakin’ Turtles as they want,” he notes. “I mean, if the TMNT are actually members of an alien race, there could be a whole PLANET of them! Joy.”
If you’re a Ninja Turtles lover that’s still upset about Bay’s comments, it’s well worth heading over to read his blog post in full. And lest you think Laird’s simply being facetious, CBM followed up with the TMNT creator to ask whether he was being sarcastic or genuine about the idea being “genius.” His reply: “Both, actually.
Worth noting is that (as I’ve pointed out) fans have already given Bay a chance to handle a childhood favorite of theirs, and he turned it into Nonsense CGI and Titties. It’s not unfair to carry over that vomit into our assessing his ridiculous approach to this franchise.