Bush ruins everything

From syfyportal, "Even though "Transformers" got to keep its name from the cartoon, it appears a big-screen adaptation of "G.I. Joe" may not be so lucky, according to Latino Review.
And if there is anyone to blame, it's President George W. Bush, said producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura.

"All the characters will be there and it'll be really, fun," di Bonaventura said. "But unfortunately, our president has put us in a position internationally where it would be very difficult to release a movie called 'G.I. Joe' in a lot of places."

Surely, di Bonaventura means nothing negative against American troops serving in some hot spots such as Afghanistan and Iraq, but is pinning a lot of the controversy and disdain from many in the international community from watching such a film on Bush Administration policies.
In the meantime, di Bonaventura said a "G.I. Joe" movie would have a lot of familiar faces, but a new one as well: Alex Mann.

"Action Man is the equivalent of G.I. Joe internationally pretty much," di Bonaventura said. "It's a different character, but pretty much the same idea. So we're creating a buddy movie between Duke and Alex."

Although principal photography for "Transformers" is complete, di Bonaventura did admit that not all the voice casting for the robots themselves have been cast. Only Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime in the cartoon, is on board the movie so far, but other major roles -- such as Megatron -- have yet to be cast. That movie is expected to premiere July 4."