As part of USA Weekend's Summer Movie Preview cover picture with Seth Rogen, Transformers' Megan Fox discussed her career, kissing Shia LaBeouf and working on Revenge of the Fallen. The full interview is here.Before landing high-profile movies and magazine covers, you were [a] TV sitcom sidekick. Did you ever doubt you'd wind up where you are now?
Megan: ...I started acting as a way to make money and avoid college. I sort of fell into it having no idea what I was doing ... in "Transformers" as well.
Is it true that you didn't know you were the female lead in "Transformers" until the end of filming?
Megan: Yes. Everything was on lockdown. The script wasn't released to anyone. The director, Michael Bay, was the only one who'd seen it.
Megan, you and "Transformers" co-star Shia LaBeouf are good friends. Were your make-out scenes uncomfortable?
Megan: It's always weird. That's not something that's ever romantic or sexy. Doing an on-set kiss is just strange, and knowing Shia so well makes it even more strange.
OK, but the ladies want to know: How is he?
Megan: [Laughs.] Very good.
In "Revenge," you flee evil Decepticons for just about the entire movie. At least your male co-stars hauled butt in comfy sneakers -- you were in heels!
Megan: Stilettos -- and for the last part of the film, motorcycle boots. I had major shinsplints and threw out my back a couple times. Beyond that, Michael likes everyone freakishly tan, so we were painted maroon, like in the old Westerns when they hired Caucasians to play Native Americans. I had on fake eyelashes, running through the desert with sand stuck in them, and I'm sweating off all the makeup. It looked like we were making a tragedy.
For many young actors, Megan, being in "Revenge" would be like the pinnacle of their career. But you've hinted that, in the end, movies about shape-shifting robots are nothing to write home about. How do you define success?
Megan: I'd like to develop my skills to where I can be recognized as a good actress. That's my end goal. It has nothing to do with the box office. It's about peer recognition and critical acclaim, even on a small level. I mean, I'm not trying to take Cate Blanchett down. I just want to improve.
The two main official sites for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has added some content.There are contractual agreements with Yahoo I believe. Plus there has been a small recall on the video for color correction purposes.Nelson didn't indicate if this could cause a delay with the planned 3PM EST official release of the trailer tomorrow.
Just spoke to Mike.Note the emphasis on "might". Don't assume and get upset if this doesn't occur as probably at the idea stage. I am guessing it will only work for theatres that have a digital setup as I don't see the studio paying for printing and shipping alternate cuts of the trailer. Hopefully more details will get released next week if the plan goes forward. Thanks to Michael for the links.
He indicated that there *might* be different cuts for the other movies this trailer is attached to: Star Trek and Terminator Salvation.
It seems Hasbro love of repaints has made its way to the movies as the mystery of the Blackout appearance in the ShoWest Montage is explained. With the battle raging in the desert, Bumblebee knows he needs to be ready. He upgrades with the latest in deep desert weaponry and prepares to charge into battle across the dunes. The Decepticons will never know what hit them when they get a taste of his sand blast.FAB Grindor
Grindor is always ready for a fight. He plans everything out in detail, so that he knows exactly how a battle is going to go before it even begins. He is always at the center of the action so that he can use his heavy firepower to ensure his plans succeed.
Reserve The Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and receive a keychain containing a GameStop Exclusive download of Gold Optimus Prime and Megatron character skins. Internet connection required to redeem code. Available for online and in-store customers, while supplies last.
Online Customers: The keychain containing exclusive download code will ship with your order.
In-Store Pickup / Store Customers: The keychain containing exclusive download code will be available at time of game pick-up.
A new image of Deluxe Ravage has popped up on TF08.net. It hard to see any details but its pretty clear it matches the box image. Still clueless on what his alt mode could be. Thanks to Adam for the link.
Here are a few galleries for your enjoyment.
Ugo Movie Blog is reporting that legendary voice actor Frank Welker has been officially cast in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as Soundwave. The news is from an interview with Roberto Orci as he was promoting Star Trek. Soundwave is a character Welker originated for all three seasons of the 1980s cartoons or G1 cartoon as sometimes referred to that ran from about 1984-1987.Jordan Hoffman: Who’s voicing Soundwave in Transformers?Fantastic news for die hard Transformer fans who have been trying to get our favorite voices cast in the movie.
Roberto Orci: Welker.
Jordan Hoffman: That’s official?
Roberto Orci: I think so.
Jordan Hoffman: Uh oh.
Roberto Orci: Might be something I just told you for the first time, but I think so.
I am paraphrasing our conversation. Nimoy was in a great mood, laughing and having a good time and said he would be perfectly willing to do a voice in the Transformers sequel, all Michael has to do is ask - but has he?Since it is voice work which can be done in a day or so under experienced hands, Bay still has plenty of time to cast who he wants when he wants. Of course with the world premiere now schedule just six weeks away the clock is ticking.
IESB asked Nimoy straight out if Michael Bay has contacted him yet regarding the voice work, Bay has said he may use his mother as a go between if need be.
Nimoy said he had just seen Bay's mother and she didn't say anything. He doesn't think she wants to be the go between. Nimoy said that he's not hard to get ahold of, if Michael wants to get ahold of him, he can.
Resident chemist and explosives expert for the elite among the Decepticons, Mixmaster has spent his entire life learning all there is to know about chemical interaction. He can make thousands of poisons, explosives, and deadly gasses from the materials around him. The other Decepticons rely on him to fashion powerful warheads for their missiles, and dangerous venoms in which to coat their blades.
Mike Shinoda, member of Linkin Park, has officially confirmed that the band is working on the score and a song for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as mentioned the other day.BREAKING NEWS: Linkin Park will be working on the score for Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen.The only part I am confused about is Steve Jablonsky is the composer for Transformers 2, not Hans Zimmer. My best guess is Zimmer is lending a hand since he is producing the score and Jablonsky works out of his Remote Control Productions studio. Shinoda has been talking about the album on his blog for a few weeks now along with posting pictures.
Although I wasn't at liberty to say it before, the song I've been referencing here on mikeshinoda.com in the past few weeks...is actually being done for Michael Bay's new Transformers film, due out June 24th.
In addition--and probably ever cooler--we have been offered the unique opportunity to help score the film. The song we wrote is being used as one of the themes, and we will be writing various interpolations on that theme, and trying out some other thematic ideas as part of the (very large) team scoring the film.
My bandmates and I are working with award-winning film composer (and resident ass-kicker) Hans Zimmer. We met with Hans last week, and heard some of the incredible things he and his guys have done with our new song. In the next few days, we'll be doing some work with Hans' amazing writing and recording crew.
Michael Bay has shown us select scenes from the film, and it looks incredible. I can't wait for you to see it.
Studio update: still making progress on the new album. Still working on that one song, too, ha. Things are going well. I thought I'd put up a few pictures of the guys for you to see. My favorite one is of me and Phoenix--it looks like I'm saying, "that bassline is kinda...eh...not so good." (I'm actually just talking to someone who's not in the frame)March 28, 2009
We've been working on a new song in the past couple of weeks that has been a lot of fun. The backdrop for the song is built on layered, heavy synths and a sharp performance by Mr. Bourdon. We're keeping the drums a little looser on this track, not doing too much studio trickery...it creates a nice interplay between the organic feel of the rhythm track and the more robotic feel of the keyboards. Bass and guitar are next, meanwhile Chester and I are emailing lyric notes back and forth...Thanks to Hanna for the link.
07 to the hit record published in the SF blockbuster, "Transformers" sequel, and four days earlierthan the United States will be published June 20 in Japan, the world's fastest "Transformers / Revenge" . The world premiere will be at the unveiling of the world's first film, in Tokyo June 8 TOHO was decided at the Roppongi Hills SHINEMAZU. According to this, director Michael Bay, Shire of RABUFU star, Megan Fox, who plans to visit Japan.
July 3 is the original 1907 opening date is in 1900 North America 300 million dollars, all in world record 700,000,000 grossed 800 million dollars. In the same year in Japan was published in the August 4 date, fun revenue and 41 billion yen was a big hit, DVD has sold 64 million copies.
"Transformers", was released TAKARATOMI 85 years, the original toy robot that transforms into various vehicles, such as. The latest "Transformers / revenge" of the Transformers toys come from TAKARATOMI May 30 will be released on Sunday.
Steven Spielberg's and accomplished, following the original recently, and coach bay is said to have seen a rush of people in this film, in doing so, to further scale-up from the original content, "if this SUGO it! "divulging that exclamation. The previous total of 12 transformers of the body appeared in the film is more than five times over 60 new and original from 5000 and cost 100 million dollars, twice the number reported three billion dollars.
The blockbuster that sort of "place of birth" will be unveiled the first in Japan, but is likely to receive attention from around the world.
Thanks for the RSVP for the special screening of TRANSFORMERS. The screening is FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE. PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY, as this RSVP is to establish an accurate head count and does not guarantee seating. No one will be admitted once the screening begins.
Come to the screening dressed as the coolest/most creative/awesome Transformer ever and be entered to win a trip to the Premiere in Los Angeles!!!!
...the sequel remains tonally consistent with their first giant-robot movie. Early teasers suggest a darker or more somber tone, but the writers said that is only one element of the new story.
"Actually, I think you'll find that it has all the same tone of the first movie," Kurtzman said in an exclusive interview on Thursday night in Hollywood, where he sat on a panel at the Paley Festival on his Fox series Fringe. "The story's a little smoother, and it's a little bit darker, so it does dip in there a little bit, but it has all the same humor, if not more than the first movie."
If the first Transformers shifted between action and comedy with some darker undertones, Orci thought the duo did an even better job balancing those elements the second time around. "I think it's a little smoother, actually," Orci said. "We had the first movie for practice. So we were able to hone in on the tone a little bit more sharply in focus on the second movie."
One of the spectacles visible in the teaser is a scene in which a transforming robot brings down an entire factory. The writers hinted at the consequences of that event. "It could be a trap, that scene," Orci teased.
It’s a day of the week so time for more toy pictures. This time TF08.net brings us a gallery of Mudflap and Skids, a look at Ratchet's bio (below), and via Collider a sample of Transformer concession stand cups seen at a ShoWest display that may or may not be found at a theatre near you soon. Thanks to Phil for the links.Racing across the dunes of the northern Sahara Desert, the roar of this engine echoing off the ever-shifting dunes, Autobot Ratchet charges toward the inevitable confrontation with Megatron and his assembled Decepticon army. Though he has battled against odds this bad in the past, no fight before has meant so much. He knows the fate of the universe rests on the outcome of this conflict, and he will do everything in his power to see to it that his allies come through it safe and victorious.
Nelson here...A "Visions of Transformers" would be a neat book as long as the focus is on the designs, planning and creation of them (both CGI, practically and possibly Hasbro's end of it). If it is just a bunch of info about how Bay directs and the usual "kiss the cast"-fest that most behind the scenes videos and books have become then I am not interested.
Back in the day when Michael directed Armageddon and Pearl Harbor, there were books that accompanied the released of both films. "Visions of Armageddon" and "Pearl Harbor: The Movie and the Moment." I got the special hardcover edition of "Visions of Armageddon" which was shipped in a velvet-like slipcase. They are numbered, autographed by Bay & Bruckheimer and only 200 were printed.
So it was this in mind that I asked Michael the other day if he was planning on doing something similar. "Yes" was his response. He indicated that it might be available for this holiday season. So I’m looking forward to that.
In other news, Bay noted that Steve Jablonsky and Linkin Park are working on the score for "Revenge of the Fallen." He also mentioned that they will be re-releasing the first Transformers movie with the new “Revenge of the Fallen” trailer attached to it in about 25 markets in the US.
TF08.net has posted the image to the left of the Deluxe class toy for Ravage. Sadly that is all the information currently available so still unknown if it transforms and if so what is the alt mode. Thanks to Phil for the link.I've noticed several updated shots in the Showest footage compared to the first trailer. Attached is an example of Optimus getting kicked in the head with added dirt and grass, more "blood" and darker in general. Other shots are the one of Ravage walking on the beach which had water added dripping off him and the Fallen's teleporting has been changed slightly.
Three new galleries relating to Transformers 2 toy line for your enjoyment.Have you guys gotten a ton of feedback from Transfans, disappointed that Optimus coming up small in that pivotal battle with Megatron at the end of the 1st movie? ...can we expect a little different in ROTF as far as Prime is concerned?
Yeah we did get a lot of discussion about that very point. It was on our minds for the sequel...
Are there any writers, or team of writers, who you would like to hand the reigns too in an ideal world? For TF3.
No... this isn't a monarchy where duties can or should be passed on. May the best idea win!
...will the ratio of robot-to-human time be pretty much the same?
There's no shortage of robot time in tf2. It will be longer than than the first movie.
Roberto, sum up movie Soundwave in one word please.
Spy
Prime's new toy has dual swords. Any chance of seeing dual swords in the film?
Would be cool!
What is your opinion on John Turturro voicing Jetfire? Will it do justice to the character?
I love him for everything, and he playfully offered to do it because he thought the character was fun. We'll see!
I know you said Soundwave don't turn into a truck but will he have some kind of earth mode? Does he fight on Earth at all?
that would give away TOO MUCH!
Who are some Autobots that you thought hard about including in this movie but chose not to?
Dinobots.
1) On a note of confirmation, is Springer in TF 2? 2) Will there be an action scene of Sideswipe deploying his blades in mid-air, spinning in a circle as he goes? 3) Will there ever be a fast talking Autobot in the three movies? 4) Are any humans gonna get slagged? Major ones?
1 no comment 2 no comment 3 no comment 4 no comment Does that answer your questions?
When you said you thought long and hard about including Dinobots in movie 2 but decided not to, does that mean it will never happen or that it just wasn't right for this particular film?
Just for this film.
Are Scavenger (Excavator and part of Demolisher) and Demolisher (Excavator and Giant Wheel Death Bot from the trailer) two different characters? Or is this another bit of Brawl/Devastator naming weirdness?
We'll find out together!
When Mr. bay said the movie was "Darker", what does he mean by that?
When Alex and Ehren and I were thinking about what to do with the sequel to Transformers, we thought back to the sequels that we loved as kids. These movies all shared some common characteristics: they stood alone as their own movies... the stakes seemed greater, and as result, they seemed darker... we're talking about sequels like Superman 2, Aliens, Wrath of Kahn, and The Empire Strikes Back... I think most would agree that each of these bench mark sequels were darker than the first, yet still were genuine continuations of the first.
Is Soundwave not going to accompany Megatron as the loyal soldier?
soundwave is kinda doing his own thing in the movie.
I'm interested in knowing how exactly the process went about since there were three of you. Did you all work on the script together at the same time? did you each write your own draft and merge them together or did one of you get elected to write the first while the other two worked on it afterward?
As far as the script goes, the three of us sat down and came up with a story, the way you can imagine riffing a story with your friends... almost like band practice, or something. Then, once we had the story, we went 30 pages at a time, each of us writing different scenes and then passing them around for notes, comments, or adjustments until we had a full shooting draft.
Repaired and retrofitted after the Battle of Mission City, Barricade elected to remain on Earth while Starscream returned to Cybertron. He has devoted his time on Earth gathering intelligence for the inevitable rise of the Decepticons. He stalks and captures important humans, then scans, interrogates and disposes of his captives using the highly sensitive proves built into his vehicle mode.Deluxe Cannon Bumblebee Bio
After the Battle of Mission City, and the discovery of new Decepticons on Earth, Bumblebee decided to upgrade as many of his systems as he could. With the help of Autobot Ratchet, he added some human missile launchers to his arsenal, and modified his vehicle mode to make his weapons accessible. He was caught off-gaurd too many times the Decepticons. Now when they come around he'll be ready.Deluxe Smokescreen
According to Smokescreen, the only good Decepticon is a totally confused one. He does his best to make sure that the Decepticons never know what his teammates are up to. He's perfected the art of creating diversions, using traps, holograms, and strategically placed explosives. When all else fails, he uses himself as bait, often racing right through a group of enemy robots to distract them.Deluxe Mudflap
Young but eager, Mudflap has wanted to be a full-fledged warrior under the command of Optimus Prime for as long as he can remember. He and his twin brother Autobot Skids traveled for years to Earth, just in the hopes of joining up with their idol. Being on Earth with Optimus Prime and the other heroes of the Great War is a dream come true.
“I’m still not done with all the voices,” Bay explained to us recently when we brought up “Revenge of the Fallen” robot casting for the film.
As loyal fans of the robots-in-disguise remember, Mr. Spock himself - Leonard Nimoy - was the voice of characters like Galvatron in the 1986 cartoon “Transformers: The Movie.” And “Revenge” writer Roberto Orci has said that he’d like to see Nimoy return for the summer blockbuster.
“You know, he’s related to me,” laughed Bay. “And now that you are filming this, maybe you can send it to him.”
“[Nimoy] is married to Susan Bay, who’s a cousin to me,” Michael explained, saying that he’s afraid of insulting his relative with the mere pittance allotted to pay his voice actors. “I just feel kind of bad about asking him. Like ‘I can’t pay you that much? But would you do this voice?’”
So Michael hasn’t worked up the nerve yet to ask his famous cousin – who appears in next month’s “Star Trek” – to lend him his vocal talents. Instead, the pair have been using a third relative as a go-between.
“Would he do it?” Bay asked. “He suggested to my mom that he might do it.”
Finally coming out of hiding, Transformers 2 cast members Ramon Rodriguez (Leo Spitz) and Isabel Lucas (Alice) talk about Revenge of the Fallen with MTV.It's bigger, it's badder, it's better," said Rodriguez, who plays Leo Spitz, Witwicky's roommate at Princeton University and the proprietor of a Web site about conspiracy theories, from aliens to robots.Thanks to Linariel and DeceptiFreak for the interview link. The picture is a PhotoShop job from Mauricio that combined a previously released picture of Ramon hanging onto a pole with a still from the ShoWest montage.
Quickly, though, Leo finds out that all this conspiracy mumbo-jumbo isn't just the stuff of paranoid fantasy. "I end up getting sucked into [Sam's] crazy world with real robots and finding out he's involved in the real thing," Rodriguez said. "My complete world is flipped."
Lucas plays Alice, another Princeton student who takes an immediate liking to Sam, even though he's still in a relationship with his hometown girlfriend Mikaela (Megan Fox). "The character of Alice is more the seductress," Lucas said. "She's got mysterious intentions that we don't really know about."
Rodriguez talked enthusiastically about a Decepticon named Demolishor — "Makes [Optimus Prime] look like a roach" — but went on to rave about another massive bot. "There's one even bigger than him," he said, referring to Devastator, a massive construction formed when several Decepticons come together. "It's crazy!"
Bay brought a couple of industrial-size fans to the Egyptian desert that blew 100-mile-per-hour, sand-filled winds at Rodriguez's face. He ended up dislocating his shoulder and needed to have his eyes flushed out for 45 minutes. Another time he had to sit perfectly still as a huge metal spike pierced the roof of his car, perilously close to his head. In those moments, he was not so much acting as reacting to a very real sense of fear.
"It's really borderline getting hurt, but you're still safe," he said with a laugh. "But you could get hurt."
Here is a close-up of a moment in the field where Optimus Prime goes flying from a kick by Megatron. In the background is three Transformers many are assuming to be Blackout and Starscream. As the picture from Andrew (thanks!) shows, the arms, shoulders don't quit match. Maybe Starscream taking on a rather odd pose (I think supposed appear to be stalking) or a different character all together?
