Transformers Linkfest

No new news yet for Transformers 3 in Florida so here are links to galleries and reviews of upcoming toys that will be hitting toy shelves over the next few months. Make sure to view the sweet fan created film that is a nod to the Nokia robot from the first film.

Generations Wreck-Gar
The Transformers Collector's Club has provided the first look Wreck-Gar. I believe the last time we saw this character was for Transformers: Animated and now we are getting a Generations line toy that is closer to his G1 origins. While the robot mode is pure G1 goodness, his alt mode is no longer a motorcycle. The figure is coming sometime next spring.

Transformers Camera Battle
Below is a sweet Transfan short film that pits two transforming cell phones against each other, using the transforming Nokia phone design and sounds from Transformers. Over all a pretty sweet looking and highly detailed creation that is worth watching. Thanks to Arthur P. for the link.

Transformers 3 in Florida, DC Start Date

The cast and crew have arrived in Florida and have already started filming. Also it seems that the Washington, DC shoot finally has a solid start date with the week of October 11th.

While much of the filming is expected to occur around the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, it does seem that isn't the only spot. The Walton Sun (and Destinlog with same article) reports that the crew filmed today at Northwest Florida and Regional Airport and Hurlburt Field.

“It’s a closed set,” [Michael Wesley, the film crew’s assistant location manager] said. “We’re trying to keep the media to a minimum and we’re not releasing information.”

Don Arias, a spokesman with the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt, said the base is cooperating with the crew because of the positive view the movie will give of the military. “They’ll be showcasing Air Force personnel as well as the CV-22 Osprey on Wednesday (today),” Arias said. “The filming is not open to the public, the media or base personnel.”

The crew checked in at the La Quinta Inn in Fort Walton Beach on Sunday and is scheduled to stay through today. Rohit Trivedi, general manager at the La Quinta Inn, said 30 to 40 crew members have been filtering through the hotel, some wearing “Film Crew of T3” shirts.

After Florida, the cast and crew are expected to descend on Washington, DC. The exact dates have been in limbo for a while now but the TBD.com site is reporting that Josh Friedman from the DC film office provided them with a start date of October 10th.

It looks like Transformers 3 is now locked in for the week of October 11. Mostly the same locations as previously reported, but there are a few items that are still being finalized. Once all of the details are locked in, in the next few days, public notifications (traffic alerts, etc.) will be going on from various agencies with more information.

The website also provided a description of a scene being filmed that may or may not involve John Malkovich's character. The site admits to any real knowledge about the film and characters so the degree of accuracy is highly suspect. Once DC wraps, that will likely finish the USA side of principle photography as the remainder will be filmed overseas at undisclosed locations and times. Thanks to Ray and Rumah for the links.

...Shia LaBeouf could be speeding across a downtown intersection, John Malkovich on his tail I'm just throwing names together from IMDb, as I've never seen these movies and don't know who is enemies with whom while robots lumber after them near the ... well, near the what? Where are they shooting? The "previously reported" locations, best I can tell, are the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and the Red Cross building, both of which will provide their best imitation of the White House. Let's hope those "few items" not yet finalized are exciting. I'm crossing my fingers for a big makeout scene on the South Lawn.

International Filming Classified, Tyrese Tweets

A few odds and ends related to Transformers 3 production. International filming has not been completed but it is doubtful we will get a full list of locations and dates anytime soon as Nelson posted, "International locations and dates are not being released due to security issues." With filming rumored to be ending by mid to late October, I am guessing that it is the overseas filming that is next on the schedule after Florida (and DC) wraps.

Tyrese has commented a few times over the last few days about the production. One tweet verifies production has finished in Detroit when he tweeted "Detroit.... Were ALL DONE in your town.. God bless you ALL we were ALL treated with the best of respect and love..." Of note is while production is moving to Florida, Tyrese may not be with them as he posted "On yet another plane.. Headed back to the AtL got some HUGE scenes in the AM with Vin, P.Walker, and my dude @Ludacris #FF5 Full THrottle!!" He does seem to be commuting between TF3 and Fast and Furious 5 so it’s possible he isn't scheduled to join them in Florida until later in the week.

He also posted the pics of him in costume with the Ferrari and the guy to the right with comment "Ladies and Gents this is the guy thats been driving Optimus Prime in Transformers for ALL 3 Movies.. Wow!! http://twitpic.com/2skvsc" Just in case the Optimus driver doesn't excite you, he also tweeted a video interview with the voice of Prime, Peter Cullen from back around Transformers 1. Thanks to Charlotte for the info.

Update: Forgot that Washington DC is after Florida. Also, here is the quote that Tyrese posted with the Ferrari picture, "When I was Detroit I had lunch with the REAL star of Transformers... Jealous!??". Speculate away. Thanks to Charlotte for providing it.

Sector 7 #1 Preview

The new Transformers mini-series Sector 7 hits comic store shelves tomorrow and TFW2005 has a five page preview of the issue. The series will fill in the gaps on the history of the organization that joined TF canon in the first movie. Click here for a look.

John Barber (w) • Joe Suitor (a) • Josh Nizzi (c)
At last—the secret history of the Transformers is finally revealed, through the multigenerational saga of the clandestine spy group code-named SECTOR 7. Events in this series tie directly into all of the massive hit Transformers movies, but trust us when we say—there has never been a movie-tie in comic like this before!
• 2 covers, shipped in 1-to-1 ratio • 32 pages • $3.99 •

TF3 Detroit: Final Day Report

Closing time for Transformers 3 in Detroit as production finished its final scenes in the city today. The clean-up has begun as the caravan is moving to Florida and the Space Center area for a week of filming from September 29th to October 5th. In the mean time J1000 has provided his final set report with gallery that includes meeting Josh Duhamel, news the set jet prop might be a Decepticon (more fuel for the Shockwave theory) and a continued reminder that the Transformers 3 crew continues to treat fans with nothing but respect and kindness that is appreciated. A huge thanks to J1000 for the last few weeks of images and video for bringing the Detroit shoot to the rest of us.

Well, the smoke is settling in Detroit. Filming wrapped here this morning, with some final scenes shot around the various sets. They are breaking down the sets, and going into clean-up mode, and getting ready to head to Florida tomorrow. I met a really cool girl that works with the locations department over the weekend, who invited us down to check out one of the sets. Just before we ran into here, we got to get some pics of/with some NEST soldiers, then with Josh Duhamel himself! A few minutes later, a crew member saw us and gave my son an ILM/TF3 Crew hat, and another gave him a yellow TF3 sticker like the ones they handed out in Chicago. When we met up with the girl I mentioned, she took us back on the set where the jet was filmed against the skyscraper section and bluescreen, and described some of what we would see in the movie regarding it. She said it would take place 18 floors up, when Sam would jump onto the ship, and the bluescreen would be replaced with Chicago skyline. Another crew member said "Did you guys see the Decepticon ship?".. soooo sounds like it may be Decepticon after all (unless he was mistaken). She described what a lot of the props were for, and pointed out a lot of prominent members of the production that were nearby, such as Simon (Assistant Director), the director of 3D recording, the lead sound editor, etc. Just before we left, Shia walked by about 10 feet away in costume; they were getting ready to wrap up, so we left at that point, with a bunch of awesome memories, pics, videos, and souvenirs. Everybody we met involved with the movie was extremely friendly, very cool, and very gracious with their time, and I thank them all for that! Well, that's it from Detroit everybody; can't wait to see what Florida brings!

J1000

Transformers: Prime Website Launched

Hasbro and Discovery has finally launched HubWorld in the run up to the official launch of The Hub network on October 10th. The site provides a few new details on all their cartoons including Transformers: Prime. The site provides images of the characters in robot and alt mode, a few videos and other features. Click here to view the Prime portion of the site or click here to view TFW2005's gallery that puts it all together in a more user friendly way.

TF3 Detroit: More Images and Videos

Unicron.com and SuperheroHype have recently posted their own galleries and video from the Transformers 3 sets in Detroit. Unicron.com's images show off the sets from the last week in Detroit including the Packard Plant's Train Wreck set, the Griswold stretch, and the TF Gunship thingy. The site also said Friday was the last day of filming at the Griswold and Grand River location. SHH's gallery is images of the downtown Detroit set taken from the rooftops. Some videos and links to everything else are below.

Pics: SuperHeroHype | Hog's Breath | Packard Plant | Downtown |
Videos: Gunned Down | On Gunship | Optimus Prime

G1 Transformers on The Hub Schedule

Behind the Voice Actors was able to get hold of the first two days of the schedule for Hasbro's The Hub network that is launching on October 10th. Transformers: Prime isn't listed on those two days but G1 Transformers is represented with a Monday slot of 11:00p CST. Other shows of note on the 1st two days are G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Wonder Years, Batman, Batman Beyond, and G.I. Joe Renegades. (via AllSpark)

TF3 Detroit: Detroit Goes Boom

Day 2 of filming of Transformers 3 continues along the "Griswold stretch" near the Farwell Building in Detroit. J1000 and Surge29 once again provides us with images from the set. The first set of photos is thanks to Surge29 which includes a close look at the blue Wrecker that shows how it is rigged so the roof weaponry can be fired. He also wanted to give a "Big Thanks to Tyrese Gibson for giving my kids an autograph poster." The last picture in the set shows off the poster. The second set of pictures and two HD videos is thanks to J1000 including the below set report. The videos show a practice take then the real take with lots of Bayhem boom.

What a night! Earlier in the evening, at the Deli/bar set on Clifford, Prime and Sideswipe were around the Jet prop, as Shia and Rosie were filming around/on/in front of them all; there was a soldier on the fire escape behind the building, aiming his weapon around. Down the street, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Ratchet, and the two new Autobots and Wreckers were on set for some other shots at the Farwell set. Later in the evening, they moved the jet prop away from the front of the deli/bar building, then filmed several takes of a bunch of extras running and screaming from the building and surrounding streets, then blew the set! It was quite a series of explosions; awesome to see in person! As my son and I made our way back to my truck, we were crossing one of the blocked side streets, and had to wait for a black SUV that was coming from the set, flashing it's headlights for the PAs to move the barricades. As it got through and slowly drove past us and around the corner, I realized it was Bay in the passenger seat right in front of us. I yelled "Michael!" and waved; he turned and waved back as they rounded the corner. My son was excited to finally see him up close. Great night on set! I overheard a PA tell another onlooker that they've got one more day of filming here (at this set, I believe).

J1000

Megatron Rumor, Florida and Detroit End Date

This is kind of a catch-all post for various news and rumors related to Transformers 3 which continues production in Detroit. The rumors in include a Megatron alt mode, Florida casting, and Detroit schedule info.

To start, a new rumor is making the web rounds that Megatron might have a new alt mode. Specifically the Mad Max-ish truck that was spotted in Chicago back in early August. The Imagination Studios posted info without any sources or details to attempt to vet its veracity. Just add it to the theory pile along with the rest (the Ferrari, the Fire Truck, etc) for which vehicle is for which character.

Next, a source tells me that today began the casting process for extras for when TF3 shows up at the Kennedy Space Center. Specifically it was for "badged" employees at the center so not really for the general public. Sounds like work is going to get a lot cooler for a select few. Update: An added note is around 600+ Space Center employees were at the extras casting call with the intent to use them sometime during the September 29th to October 7th date range of the shoot in Florida.

To swing things back to Detroit, The Detroit Times blog is reporting that filming in the city is schedule to end on October 1st. Filming will continue along a "three-block stretch of Griswold. The Griswold stretch, from State Street, past Capitol Park and up to Clifford Street, looked like a war zone, with charred cars flipped everywhere, building burned out, and broken concrete scattered. It was really cool to walk through." This was the location that J1000 and Surge29 captured their images and video. Filming along that stretch will wrap over the weekend.

TF3 Detroit: Downtown with the Big Gun and Bayhem

The area around the Farwell Building in Detroit and the Clifford and Woodward area was invaded today by Transformers 3 production. Most of the Autobot vehicles showed up along with the gigantic gun/jet prop, and the cast. Part of the filming appears to be a continuation of the scene from last week with Shia and Rosie on the prop sharing a hug then later that night which brought some more Bayhem boom to the set (video below). Thanks to J1000 and Surge29 we have two galleries of pictures and videos to enjoy from the day. The set report, first set of pics and last videos are from J1000. The second set of pics and 1st video is from Surge29.

Lots of great stuff going on today; Shia and Rosie were filming on the TF Jet prop (which now appears to definitely not be an "arm" or anything like that, as it was sitting street-level as they climbed on and off of it in front of the deli/liquor store set on Clifford. They were also shooting at the Farwell building with probably close to 100 (maybe more) extras running to the center of the intersection, as they were preparing to blow out a store front there. Towards the end of the evening, as the guys that haul the Autobots around were packing them up for the night, they were very cool and gave me a chance to get some pics of my son with Bumblebee and Sideswipe; then, one of the guys gave my son a NEST logo sticker that they actually us on the vehicles! What a cool souvenir! As you can see in the pic, he's super excited about that! I also noticed the classic silver Mercedes in the hauler that has been seen on other sets. I had my wife and kids with me, and we even got a mention in the local paper (Detroit Free Press), who was there covering some of the goings-on.

J1000

TF3 Detroit: Transformers at Central Station

J1000 returns with more pictures and video of Transformers 3 production in Detroit. Today brought cast and crew, along with basically all of the Autobot Transformers vehicles including the Wreckers, Twins, Ironhide, Prime (with trailer), etc to Michigan Central Station. At same time the crew was putting the finishing touches on the Clifford and Woodward faked store front set while adding the huge Transformers jet thingy prop from last week. J1000's report, pictures and 9 videos below speak for themselves.

Things are full speed ahead in Detroit now! They were filming at Michigan Central Station most of the day, followed by a quick trip over to the Packard Plant in the late evening for some other shots. The downtown sets should be shooting tomorrow; the Deli/Liquor store they've been setting up at Clifford and Woodward now has the Transformer Jet prop assembled in front of it; they were putting it together around lunch time (the engines were still at Packard at that point), and had it assembled when I came back by around 5PM. At Central Station, they were filming Shia, and I think Duhamel and Tyrese and possibly Hardcore Eddie, as well.

The Wreckers were being filmed racing across the front of the Station, while Ratchet was positioned at the left side door, and tires could be heard squealing inside the station. They were shooting closeups of the NEST squad and Shia on the right side of the station. After they wrapped at Central for the day, I heard a crew member's radio say they had to rush over to Packard; I got some great HD video shots of them leaving, and then arriving at Packard. I caught a glimpse (and pic) of a second Optimus cab inside the gates (I've seen doubles of the other cars, but not Optimus yet). As they were filming at Packard, there were a few small explosions. Tyrese's Chevelle drove by, and a bit later, Ironhide and the Twins finally arrived on a car hauler! Exciting day here in Detroit! Stay Tuned!

J1000

Tyrese Not Wrapped on Transformers 3

It seems my assumption that Tyrese Gibson might be wrapped on Transformers 3 and moved onto Fast and Furious 5 was incorrect. Based on last few days of tweets he is in fact now commuting between the two sets, the TF3 set in Detroit and the FF5 in Atlanta.

Late Monday night he tweeted "Back in Detroit.. More robots to chase in the AM.. #TF3". Minutes later this was followed up with "Wearing heavy gear while I save the world from these evil Decepticons!!" along with link to a picture of Josh Duhamel and him.

Finally Tuesday night he tweeted, "Just finished another day of shooting Transformers 3.. Headed BACK to the AtL tomorrow to get more action on Fast & Furious 5." I assume that means he was at the Packard Plant filming whatever all the smoke was for. Thanks to Charlotte for info.

TF3 Detroit: Smoking on Set

Transformers 3 production continues in Detroit. Thanks again to J1000 we now know they have returned to Packard Plant complete with video (below). He also provided some details on continued set prep and what he was able to spot at the locked down location.

They were filming most of the day at the Packard Plant again; it looks like the ship prop is back near the train wreck again as well. I saw the Wreckers there today, as well as the rest of the Autobots that have been here the last few days. Downtown, the Farwell building set looks like it's pretty close to finished, as well as the building at Clifford and Woodward. There are now fake deli signs in the window advertising specials, etc, as well as a new damaged sign being hung up. The streets are starting to get blocked off, and there is lots of video/power cables run all over. At Central Station, preparations continue as well, with "rubble" now leaned against the front of the station, and on top of the Chicago cabs to appear like it's collapsing somewhat. There is a lot of cabling run around the perimeter of the building externally here as well, so I assume they'll be filming at these spots in the next couple days. At the lot where all the damaged cars and rubble are being stored, I saw them loading up some rubble and trucking it off to a set. Looks like they're going to be really busy shooting the next few days. I've got some video of some of the smoke/fire, etc at the Packard Plant today as well.

J1000

Drift #2 Preview

Transformers: Drift #2 will be hitting comic book stores tomorrow. Seibertron.com has posted the covers and a five page preview of the issue that you can find here.

Transformers: Drift #2 (of 4)
Shane McCarthy (w) • Alex Milne (a & c)
What is the secret behind DRIFT’s startling rescuers? How is it they came to be on the isolated, desert planet and what does this have to do with DRIFT’s future? As DRIFT uncovers answers, he’s suddenly faced with a decision that could alter his life forever!
• 2 covers, shipped in 1-to-1 ratio • 32 pages • $3.99 • Expected in-store date: 9/29

TF3 Detroit: Set Prep and Transformers

J1000 is back on the case with information, pictures and video of the various shooting locations being used as production continues its possible final week in Detroit. It seems the Transformers 3 performed more infrastructure repair as several abandoned locations have been spruced up to look like stores fronts for filming. If missing a look at your favorite Autobot, he also has that covered with a few pictures of Prime, Bumblebee, and few others.

Today, I got to "Roll out" with Optimus and Ratchet, as I followed them from the Packard Plant to a new location [video below] (The Connor Creek Detroit Edison Plant; nothing really to be seen here, as it's fairly well isolated from the surrounding area. It's the large plant with two smoke stacks in the pics). I got a chance to get some great pics of all the Autobots that were present as well. There were two Bumblebees, two Sideswipes, two Ferraris, and two of the Benzs. They were being washed and prepped for shooting. They were also filming at the Fisher Building downtown today.

There's a set being finished up at Clifford and Woodward, where they've built what looks like a fake subway entrance/stairwell type thing in the street, and have been decorating a building for a few days. Today they painted "Park in Rear" and some arrows on it. Right next door to it, they have decorated the vacant former Michigan National Bank building to look like a lingerie store window front (presumably something that matches Chicago). The building is vacant/empty if you look in through the front doors. I'm not sure if the "Cobras Club - Gentleman's club" is part of the set or not, though it may be, as the name is spelled wrong on one side of the sign). Also, Central Station was getting A/V/Power cable wrapped all around it as they prepped it for shooting on the outside (they've been doing interior work for at least a week now). Filming will be taking place in several areas over the rest of the week.

J1000

Tyrese Wrapped on Transformers 3?

If you are keeping an eye on the Detroit sets hoping to glimpse Tyrese forget about it as his tweets indicate he has wrapped on filming Transformers 3. It seems he has moved on to the Fast and Furious 5 set. The most recent photo shows him at a beach side home. On the bright side he did leave us with this sweet picture of Optimus Prime that he tweeted with message "Can you see me in the window?". The picture was later removed but thanks to Charlotte we still can get a look. I guess there is nothing stopping in from returning to TF3 at a later location (say Florida) but that seems unlikely as rare for films to allow their star schedules to overlap like that as can cause unintended schedule conflicts that cost money.

More Chicago Galleries

Filming continues in Detroit but pictures from Chicago still keep appearing online that are worth checking out. Chiphoto has posted two galleries from when filming occured at the Wabash Avenue and Lake Street parking deck around August 18th that involved cars being tossed of it, buses going boom and more. The pic to the left is just a little sample, click here and here for the rest of the sizable galleries that show the helicopters in action and a rooftop down look on the action. Thanks to Rick for the link.

IDW December Transformers Comics

IDW Publishing has released their publishing plans for December. The month will bring 3 Transformers comic books and 3 trades. If you are interested in the books, just let your local comic book store know. For the full details of IDW's TF and other books including GI Joe, Star Trek, Angel and more click here.

Transformers #14
Mike Costa (w) • Nick Roche (a) • Don Figueroa, Nick Roche (c)
Two Autobots felled in the past two issues and the punishment is only beginning! A shocking revelation and an unexpected attack begins the “REVENGE OF THE DECEPTICONS,” the storyline that leaves a lot more Autobots on the operating table, and their entire future on Earth in question—and also features the return of superstar artist DON FIGUEROA!
2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio • FC • 32 pages • $3.99

TF3 Detroit: Grand Circus Park, Central Station Pics

Transformers 3 production continues in various locations around the city. A Grand Circus Park building near Washington Street remains a likely location of a four story explosion according to info surge29 received. No details if it means the building will be actually demolished or just rigged to appear to have been. The first set of pics below are from the location along with the various set dressing that seems similar to debris seen in Chicago.

According to The Detroit Times blog filming also occured at the Falwell Building that was in 1915 and abandoned since 1984 but given it a face lift by TF3 production. Of note is the torn green awning matches the one at the Circus Park (6th pic) so either the two spots are related or the parking lot is serving as a convenient storage location for the large props.

It seems the next location on the schedule is a return visit to Michigan Central Station which was last used by Michael Bay for the first Transformers movie. Surge29 visited the site and provided pictures of the crew prepping the location (2nd set below) for filming. He learned the location will be part of a major action sequence were the building is used as shelter by Sam and Rosie with possible assist of Optimus Prime and Lennox. It was thought filming that would begin next week.

However, The Detroit Times reports that filming has wrapped there before moving on to the Lafayette and Howard at 6th Street location that was used for that big gun filming thing from Tuesday. It seems another filming spot is (or was) at Lafayette-Howard Street. Unlike Chicago with filming on busy city streets requiring advance notice, Michael Bay has been sticking to a mostly abandoned portion of Detroit so there isn't any free flow of information to nail down a specific schedule of locations. The blog also said that filming "should be wrapping up in Detroit sometime next week." Thanks to Surge29 for his efforts and pictures.

Building Go Boom at Grand Circus Park?

Two websites are reporting that Transformers 3 production may be prepping to blow up a local four-story building near Detroit's Grand Circus Park. Local station 104.3 WOMC posted "...rumored, a local four-story building will be blown up near Grand Circus Park." Apparently the TF3 crew has been filming in the park area for the last few days. The Detroit Times blog provides more details by identifying the possibly doomed building as the remaining structure on the Statler Hotel lot. However, they are reporting that "the deal to blow the building up has not been finalized."

However, surge29 who provided the links and pics below points out that production is dressing the area with concrete chunks made of foam and damaged cars along one side of the building indicating that they either have high hopes for approval or plan on filming something there anyway.