'Transformers' steels spotlight at Taormina

June 22, 2007 DreamWorks/Paramount's "Transformers," the mega-budget summer film based on the 1980s animated series, launched the summer season Thursday at the 53rd annual Taormina Film Festival with the festival's most enthusiastic response and extra-tight anti-piracy measures. The crowds at Taormina's famous 5,000-seat cliffside Greek Theatre were enthusiastic, gathering more than two hours before the film started and screaming and clapping as a specially made short film and laser light show marked the start of the evening's events. Lucia Puenzo, the Argentinean director of "XXY" -- the provocative story of a teenage hermaphrodite that premiered here Wednesday -- officially welcomed director Michael Bay and the "Transformers" cast to a packed house at the 2,300-year-old venue, presenting Bay with a Harry Winston watch as the recipient of a Taormina Arte Award.

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