Transformers: Producer Tom DeSanto recently spoke with Sci-Fi Wire about the proposed live action / cgi based 'Transformers' adaptation, based on the popular toys from the 80's:

Tom DeSanto told SCI FI Wire that the film will make use of both computer and practical effects for the signature machines and will be based primarily on the original 1980s lineup. "We're working on the storyline for Transformers, and we're hopefully going to set that up," DeSanto said in an interview at Comic-Con International over the weekend. "We're going to start going out to studios."

DeSanto also said that he and producing partner Don Murphy are close to hiring a director. "We've been talking with several now," he said. "But we have a big guy next week." He declined to comment on a report on IGN FilmForce that quoted Murphy saying that the candidates include Michael Bay, Robert Zemeckis and Joseph Kahn.

The movie will go "back to sort of the roots" of the franchise, DeSanto said. "But if there's something great that ends up from a later storyline, it's the same principle as X-Men: Don't try to follow continuity, but get to the heart and the soul of what made it work."

As for the effects, DeSanto said, "I think relying 100 percent on CGI would be a mistake. But, you know, you need CGI. ... You will believe that an 18-wheeler will transform."