Bumblebee Producer Talks Movie and Next Franchise Installment

In an interview with Den of Geek, longtime Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura discusses deciding on an origin movie and beginning the process of working on the next film of the franchise. Below is the highlights, for the full interview go to Den of Geek.

Why Bumblebee? Why go back and look into the origins of this character?
We consciously said, "Okay, we want to take a new direction." ...We felt like, okay, if we're going to make another of the Transformers movies that it would really have been two characters we could choose from, Optimus and Bumblebee. Optimus forces you to be more stoic, heroic. Bumblebee's the more accessible character of the two, so I think that's really why we settled on Bumblebee as the character. ...we kind of wanted to get back to the feeling of the first movie in the sense of approachability, emotionality, humor.

Could somebody who hasn't seen the Transformers movies or know the mythology very well walk into this and enjoy it on its own terms?
Yes. One of the reasons why we chose it to take place in 1987 was because it is an origin story. None of the events of the Bay movies have happened. ...[Director Travis Knight], by the way, is a giant Transformers fan, and particularly Generation One, which was also one of the reasons why we wanted to go back in time so that we could do a nod to Generation One in terms of design. ...Which, again, you don't want to replicate what (Bay) has done, so it has a very distinctive style all of its own. There's less pieces, it transforms different.

Where would you say things stand now with the overall franchise, and going forward, what do you think might be happening?
There's been some implication that (Paramount) lost faith in Transformers. Well, if they did, I don't see it because they just spent a lot of money on Bumblebee, and they had every opportunity to pull out of it if they'd lost faith in the overall Transformers world. ...It's not exactly dead. I think what we're doing is we're having a (Transformers) script written soon. We put it aside a little bit because we were all focused on Bumblebee, and that takes a lot of time and creative attention.

Now that we've come up for air, we've been meeting with writers and sort of formulating where we're going to go with that franchise. We're meeting with some of the most successful writers in our business, so they're certainly not shying away from spending a lot of money on a script. Doesn't mean we're going to make a movie, but when you deal with studios, you get a sense of the current. My sense of the current is they absolutely want to make another one. They just don't know how much they want to spend on it. That's my sense of it.

Would you say that you might be rebooting it and taking it back scale-wise a bit from where Michael went with his?
It's possible. I avoid the word "reboot" because I don't think it's really accurate, but I will give you a sense of how wide-ranging our thought process is. We have talked about a World War II movie. We have talked about a time travel movie because they can go through wormholes, so you can go to different time frames from that. We have talked about a lot of different kind of genre concepts to put on it. We have talked about going later in the timeline. What would that look like?

To bring a little counter/context to his small sales pitch - yes Paramount did lose some faith in Transformers. Bumblebee is the result with a budget that is nearly 50% smaller then the previous movies with the saving made by reducing the cast (aka only 4 Transformers), simplifying the transformation sequences (hence the "less pieces" since each digital "piece" has a cost), far less globe trotting with mostly sticking to one setting, and other things (including casting choices). This isn't a knock as some of the best films has virtually no budget resulting in every aspect of the film having to be carefully and thoughtfully planned resulting in a better film. As for the information about the next film, basically nothing has changed. We already know Hasbro wants to do another installment, are considering a wide variety of options and right now its all about waiting to see how Bumblebee does. There will be more Transformers films, of that I have no doubt. Its just a matter of when. Bumblebee hits theaters on December 21, 2018.

Bumblebee Producer Comments on Movie

In an interview with Den of Geek, Transformers movie franchise producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura spoke briefly about the Bumblebee movie. Nothing really new was revealed except the movie is set in 1987 (not 1985 like I had seen spoke of before). As for Transformers 6 he thought there would be one and "I think we need to change it up" but its too early for them to plan TF6, that likely will not start until next year.

“We are starting to shoot a week from today [7/26]. We had decided to do this well before (The Last Knight) had come out. Our feeling was that we wanted to give the audience a different experience. Bumblebee's designed to be a more intimate movie. There's many fewer Transformers in it. It's set in 1987, so it actually predates all of Michael's movies and therefore is not burdened by the history of those, 'cause it predates it. You have a certain amount of creative freedom.”

“I think Bumblebee is an incredibly loved character. You pick (director) Travis Knight for a very specific reason. His movies are pretty extraordinary, Kubo and the Two Strings in particular. What we're trying to do is deliver, a love story may be too strong of a term, but it is a coming of age for Bumblebee and our lead character, Hailee Steinfeld. The two of them, their job in the movie is to support each other to get to the place where they both fully realize who they are in that moment. It's a very different kind of story. That plot is there, but it's very muted, relative to the larger Transformers movies.”

On if will be a TF6: “Yeah, I think so. I do. Look, it was a great run. I think going forward, we learned some lessons and I think we need to change it up. I think Michael (Bay, director of all five Transformers films) would be the first one to say that. It's one of the reasons why we were trying to bring in the Arthurian myth, in fact, in (The Last Knight), to create that different sense of what that movie's about. I think we were successful in that way, but obviously not in the box office.”

Bumblebee Movie Set in 1985, Compared to The Iron Giant

In an interview with Collider, Transformers: The Last Knight and Bumblebee movie producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura revealed the Bumblebee movie will be set in 1985 and compares the story to The Iron Giant (great animated movie, should see if you have not already). Video after the break. The female lead will be played by Hailee Steinfeld but other details about the story remain unknown.

“I know we’re doing a spinoff first in the Bumblebee movie, and that is a very distinctive departure from what you’ve been seeing so far… The objective of that movie is to develop more time with less robots in a way, and to go back to 1985 and go back to sort of the original heritage if you would of the Transformers. So it has a very distinct idea in it, and then whatever is gonna happen with the chemistry is what’s gonna happen, but it really is a young female lead opposite Bumblebee.

There are dramatically less Transformers. We hired purposefully Travis Knight, who is a very distinct filmmaker. You can’t compete with Michael – you’re gonna lose. Also I think the audience wants something different all the time, let’s keep them interested. They’re gonna get a very emotionally complex story, a very tight story in terms of its location and in terms of its storytelling. In fact it reminds me a little bit of Iron Giant years ago when I did that movie at Warner Bros. It just reminds me a little bit of that where it was very contained and yet it didn’t feel small.”

Producer Hints at The Last Knight Story

In an interview with Collider, Transformers: The Last Knight producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura spoke a little bit about the movie's story. Essentially he says it will dive deeper into Transformers mythology and is its own movie that is not specifically designed to set up future movies. Below are the key parts and most of it was already covered via the set visit articles (when this interview was conducted).

Question: What is the basic thing going on here?
...I think one of the great things that came out of [the writers room], was – one was sort of refreshing ourselves in the depth of the Transformers mythology, which is actually quite impressive, and two was building it out, and taking some things–sort of the way the movie ended, you’re going, all right, it’s headed in that direction. ...So I think–I know–you’re going to get two pieces of the mythology that converge at the end. So that’s sort of the driving part of it, of the movie, I would say.

So how much is it now that you guys are thinking this is the first of many future movies, and laying those Easter eggs? Do you know what I mean?
Yeah. You’ve got to be careful with that stuff, because then you start thinking about the other movies and not about the one you’re making. There’s definitely, I would say, we definitely spent some time going “How does this link up and where are these other things going to go?” So I think in their initial construction in the writer’s room, and the initial sort of thinking, we spent a lot of time on that, thinking about the interrelationship. Now, when we’re making the movie, we don’t think a lot about it, it’s just what is in the script is in the script.

Does this set things up [for the Bumblebee movie]?
...two or three things in this movie that really have a meaningful aspect in terms of it, and then there’s a bunch of little things. But we’re not making this movie to set up the other movies.

Di Bonaventure: Unicron, GI Joe vs Tranformers?

After stating that Transformers 4 was not the start of an official trilogy of films, Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura put the kibosh on some long held Transformers fan dreams in regards to Unicron making an appearance and maybe a live action Transformers vs G.I. Joe in an interview with MTV during the Hong Kong world premiere of the movie. Video below.

Unicron: “The problem with Unicron is how big it is,” he said. “It’s boring, that big. How do you stop it? We’ll get there, but when is a good question.”

GI Joe: “No, we haven’t spent a moment,” Di Bonaventura said. “It’s hard enough to figure how to do it alone.”

Transformers 5 Is Not Part of A New Trilogy

In an interview with IGN, Transformers movie franchise producer Lorenzo di Bonvantura clarified a touch the new about Transformers 5 coming in 2016. The main bit is the plan is to essentially continue as they did with the previous three films as in they are not a planned in advance trilogy but really treat each as a standalone film.

"We're not planning on doing a trilogy," he told Roth. "We're not not planning on doing a trilogy. It's really a one-movie-at-a-time philosophy. It feels a little arrogant. Both [director Michael Bay] and I feel like it's a little arrogant of us to presume success each time. We know our fans are really out there and they're going to come, so we presume a certain amount of success. But all the energy will be thrown into the next movie, if we're lucky enough to get there."

USA Today Brings New Promotional Images and Info

I am thinking that a new trailer is coming in the next week or so. On Friday was a bit of a mini info dump related to Transformers: Age of Extinction and now had another today that includes an new article from USA Today that has three fantastic promotional images (I don't think they are movie stills) and an interview with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura as he promotes the film. All we need now is an Entertainment Tonight tease of an on set visit or the like to seal the trailer deal. Highlights and other two images below.

They "are bigger and badder-ass than they have ever been," says Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who has produced all four films, with Steven Spielberg and Bay as executive producers.

Di Bonaventura Talks Not Rebooting Transformers

While promoting the new movie Jack Ryan, Transformers: Age of Extinction producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura commented again on how the series isn't rebooting but simply going in a new direction. Really, what Transformers is doing is the same as what comic books do with new #1 issues that re-launch the same series with new costumes, new team and direction. The X-Men books practically do it once a year. Soap operas do it too. Continuity and canon remain but the writers may not really touch on it beyond a vague reference as needed for the current story. It is a decades long writing tool that really has never been done for movies before. If Transformers can pull it off, it might allow for other franchises to gain the confidence to stop thinking a reboot is always a solution.

It’s definitely not a reboot. It’s an interesting question about what you should call it. On a certain level it’s a continuation of the previous stories, in the fact that it acknowledges what has transpired before it. It acknowledges in the last movie, the destruction of Chicago, it’s actually something that carries through the sort of emotional repercussions of that, not unlike 9/11 has emotional repercussions in the real world. In a fantasy world there are repercussions to what occurred.

That plays into the movie, moving forwards with a totally different human cast, who doesn’t know anything about the other humans, it’s not a reboot, but a continuation, yet you’re continuing with a new cast and group of characters. It was a big decision to do that.

We miss our friends that we did the first three with, and they were great, and they probably could’ve done more. But the advantage of doing it this way is that it feels almost like a first movie. It’s a very different dynamic than I’ve seen in a movie, I’m very curious. I guess Star Wars did that a little bit, but not so close together, the way we’re doing it.’

Transformers 4 Filming Starts at End of May

At a the premiere of G.I. Joe: Retaliation that just came out, Transformers and Joe producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura answered a few questions about the movie including the suggestion of a G.I. Joe vs Transformers movie. He said that he starts on Transformers 4 "at the end of May."

On a not really related note, he also said while he would be open to a G.I. Joe vs Transformers movie if the story was right, he doubts it will happen. So do I, the budget alone would make it non-starter even assuming a great story that could juggle that many characters could be written.

di Bonaventura: TF4 "Completely Different"

Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura spoke with MTV about Transformers 4 while at the premiere of Side Effects. He spoke about his hope that Bay returns to complete the 2nd Transformers trilogy by directing Transformers 5 and 6. He also reiterated Bay's statement that the film isn't a reboot but "it's completely different." It should be interesting to see what the final result is. Considering that the Transformers cartoon side goes through a redesign (and reboot) about once every five years, the movies are schedule for the same. The idea of a redesign without reboot is a intriguing one and hope designs start leaking soon.

"I can't speak for Michael. I hope he would [direct the next two]. It would be great, but it's certainly something in our design of this," he said. "It's going to be an ongoing story, so the possibility, again, as long as the audience shows up for us, there's a lot of story still to be told."

"There's a lot of new elements. I wouldn't say we've completely changed this world, and yet it's completely different," he said. "There are new characters, new situations. I don't think we revisit a single location. Michael really has a great way of approaching this thing."

On Shia LaBeouf cameo: "I don't believe that would be true. You never know. Things are not set in stone, and if something evolved and that came naturally. That wouldn't be the intention," he said. "The intention is this is new world, with new characters, with Mark Wahlberg leading us. It's a different movie, but a lot of the things that you love about the other ones are joining the ride."

Transformers 4 Coming Summer 2014 (Updated)

In an interview with Coming Soon to promote G.I. Joe Retaliation, Transformers producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura confirmed that Transformers 4 is shooting for a summer 2014 release date. Michael Bay has not yet made the decision on whether he will return to direct the film. It seems that the G.I. Joe sequel (which jettisoned all but three actors) inspired the idea of going with a smaller cluster of characters that uses an existing story thread from the previous films to avoid a full reboot. However, this soon in the process means that all ideas are probably still on the table especially if Bay decides to sign up for another installment.

Update: Michael Bay has confirmed he is returning to direct Transformers 4 with a release date of June 29th, 2014.

"We’ll be there in the summer of 2014," he confirmed, as well as addressing (albeit vaguely) whether Michael Bay will be returning as director or not. "Michael had a debate because he sort of felt at first that he'd done three. Michael and I are both the same in that we always like to top ourselves. That doesn't necessarily mean bigger. It can be bigger in places, it just means different, but we're going to push really hard as fresh and new as we can be."

He compares doing a fourth "Transformers" movie to what they're doing with the "G.I. Joe" sequel by having a few characters return as well as telling a story that does follow-up from a plot set-up in its predecessor without necessarily fully "rebooting." "Again, we're going to try to do a hybrid there where there will be some characters that come forward--we think, we're still in the process of figuring it out--and some characters that don't, but it will definitely be a different story."

DOTM To Spin Moon Conspiracy Theory

Transformers: Dark of the Moon producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura recently spoke to the Associated Press about how the moon landing ties into the movie plot and add a spin to moon conspiracy theories. Not that it was staged. We all know that rumour is a bunch of bunk.

No, this story involves what Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were doing during those 21 minutes of radio and video silence on the Apollo 11 mission. You think they were turning over rocks and drinking Tang? Think again. Turns out the two astronauts were actually bouncing over to the dark side of the moon, investigating a crashed alien space ship that turned out to be — yes — a massive Transformer robot.

"We give you a whole new reason why the moon landing actually did happen," says Lorenzo di Bonaventura, producer of the Transformers movies. "Everyone was right. The conspiracy existed. It was just a different one than people thought."

"With moon conspiracies, there's a contradiction at work," says di Bonaventura. "There's a deep-seated romanticism about the moon with the poetry and romantic settings. Then you have this notion that there's this gigantic lie propagated about what may be 20th Century man's greatest single achievement."

What catches my eye isn't a summary that the teaser trailer hinted at but the idea that The Ark just might be an actual Transformer like Omega Supreme that Transformers fans has been theorizing for months now. However, before you see this as confirmation note that the information didn't come from Lorenzo but the article writer so for now the idea remains rumor only. (via TFW2005, thanks to Chris and Sahara for link)

di Bonaventura: More Comedy Than Before

In an interview with IGN while promoting Red, Transformers 3 producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura spoke about 3D, comedy and action. At one point the he said the movie would have more comedy which seems to contradicts Michael Bay but he said he was "getting rid of ...the dorky comedy" so I guess that part is (hopefully) getting replaced with more natural comedy. Thanks to rumah for the link.

"[3D] captures scenes in a way they haven't been captured before and here's a different sensibility to the movie as a result" he explained. "Michael is so awesome at shooting, the question originally was how the cameras would work because they're cumbersome. Look how long it took Jim Cameron to make one movie. All those things are quite daunting, but Michael figured out how to use the cameras in a day.

"We had a day early in pre-production set aside just so he could test the cameras and see what they were like. If you look at Avatar, the camera isn't sweeping around in the way Michael uses the camera, so we had to make sure it could do what Michael does. I think people are going to be pretty wowed by the result."

"What you can expect is more comedy than we've ever had before" di Bonaventura revealed. "You can expect bigger action sequences than we've ever had before and you can expect a different character through-line for our lead because he's a little bit older and Rosie's a little bit older - there's a maturity there that didn't exist before.

Transformers 3 Related Parking Restrictions, End Date (Updated)

Two new articles from Chicago Breaking News provide official information on when production will wrap and where they will be filming in the city for the next few days. Transformers franchise producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura spoke with the website and said that September 1st is the current last day for production.

"It's funny, we keep extending it here because we're having such a good time, to tell you the truth," Di Bonaventura said. "We were supposed to leave a few days ago, actually, and we kept extending it. Right now, around Sept. 1, but if we have any say in it, we'll keep staying here."

"Last night, I tried to think to myself 'How many cities have I shot in the last seven or eight years,' and I got up to about 118," Di Bonaventura said. "The reason I thought about it was because all of us have felt this was the best city we've ever shot in."

The other article Breaking News reports that parking restrictions will now in effect for filming around Wabash Avenue and Washington Street. It ends on Saturday morning so I guess production will be in that area for the next three days. Thanks to Colin Hinkle for the links.

di Bonaventura: Replacing Fox a Risk

E! Online has posted another interview with Transformers 3 producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has he once again comments on replacing Megan Fox with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Thanks to Brian for the link.

Is the Victoria's Secret model simply filling the hot-girl quota needed in a blockbuster franchise? "Well, Rosie is pretty hot," laughed Lorenzo. "But she's been great. She has a fantastic attitude, and she's been having a lot of fun."

"Rosie will definitely be [Shia's] love interest though," dished the famed producer. Well, we saw that coming a million pouty-lipped miles away, but how is LaBeouf taking a liking to the new chick on set?

"You know what? Their chemistry is proving to work out. You never really know. That's the biggest risk," Lorenze ‘fessed about the decision to replace Shia's good pal. "Megan and Shia had very good chemistry. Fortunately for us, these two have good chemistry.

It's a larger cast in general," the producer added about what positive changes to expect. "We've got [John] Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey...So what's happened is the shape of the movie has changed because of all the new people."

Di Bonaventura Comments on Fox, Tyrese in Costume

In an interview with Superherohype, Transformers 3 producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura commented on the situation with Megan Fox and her leaving the project. He also mentioned he thinks this will be the last film for the current producing team and Michael Bay. In addition, Tyrese Gibson posted from the set the first look at his new NEST costume.

di Bonaventura Comments on TF3 Casting, 3D

In an interview with Collider, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura briefly commented on his current slate of projects including Transformers 3, Red, Moscow, and The Associate. Below is the TF3 related portion were he comments on casting and using 3D cameras.

Collider: You mentioned Bay and you mentioned Transformers 3. So how are things going on that shoot?
Lorenzo di Bonaventura: It’s going really well. It was very complicated to imagine the movie without the Mikaela character and that was something that took all of us a lot of time and effort. But the truth is we’re very excited what happened as a result is…it’s not just with casting Rosie (Huntington-Whiteley), but with casting John Malkovich and we’re Frances McDormand and we’re casting Patrick Dempsey and Ken Wong and it goes on and on and on. And so the movie feels like which you always fear in making the 3rd movie is it’s not replicating what’s been done before. And the breath of the new cast is I think helping you avoid that pitfall.

...how’s the 3D going?
Lorenzo: He is shooting a lot with 3D cameras and he is, as usual, a master of camera and he learned it very quickly. And it is going to be very exciting for all. I’ve had an opportunity to see it and it just looks fantastic. And so you know Michael is really enjoying shooting it, too. So it’s hats off to him because it’s working fantastically.

Transformers 3 Villain, Plot, 3D and Trilogy End

USA Today has posted an article that reveals the most information yet about Transformers 3 including who the main villain is, what the basic plot is about, the final word on 3D, a returning cast member and more in talking with Director Michael Bay and Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventure. Thanks to Christopher for the link.

With shooting underway on a third movie and plans to debut next summer, Michael Bay and Co. acknowledge missteps with the last one and aim to upgrade the shape-shifting robot franchise with a more coherent story, less goofball humor and a pledge that characters who die will stay dead. It will also be in 3-D.

"I'll take some of the criticism," says Bay, standing at a set built to resemble a dilapidated nuclear reactor. "It was very hard to put (the sequel) together that quickly after the writers' strike (of 2007-08)."

"This one really builds to a final crescendo. It's not three multiple endings," the director says.

Bay calls the second film's villain, The Fallen, "kind of a (expletive) character." The new movie's foe is certain to make fans of the original '80s incarnation smile: Shockwave, the robot cyclops-turned-laser-cannon, who became dictator of their home world of Cybertron after the other Autobots and Decepticons journeyed to Earth.

"One thing we're getting rid of is what I call the dorky comedy," Bay adds. So the twins, the two bumbling, slang-spewing robots? "They're basically gone," he says, though John Turturro returns for comic relief.

The new film features Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) taking his first tenuous steps into adulthood while remaining a reluctant human ally of Optimus Prime. "Shia has this great line: 'You know, I've saved the world twice, but I can't get a job,' " di Bonaventura says.

"I love Megan and I miss the girl," LaBeouf says, flecked with fake blood and dirt during a break between shooting. "But Sam and Mikaela became one character, and here ... you have discovery again from a new perspective."

Plot details are under wraps, but it delves into the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the USA, suggesting there was a hidden Transformers role in it all that remains one of the planet's most dangerous secrets. "The movie is more of a mystery," Bay says. "It ties in what we know as history growing up as kids with what really happened."

While Optimus Prime, Megatron and even Sam all have died and been resurrected, di Bonaventura says this film will have no do-overs: Die, and that's it.

Bay hints that there may be a lot of that. "As a trilogy, it really ends," he says. "It could be rebooted again, but I think it has a really killer ending."

To summarize the information:
- The movie is in 3D, no official word if shot in 3D or converted but likely the latter
- Big bad is Shockwave. Alt mode unknown, in G1 cartoons it was a laser gun and in later incarnations it was a Cybertronian tank.
- John Turturro returns and Agent Simmons
- Twins "basically gone", which I read as they come and probably go violently from the movie early on
- Plot focuses on the "hidden" story behind the space race of the 60s through 80s.

Bonaventura Talks TF3 in 3D, Mythology

Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura spoke with MTV about Transformers 3 in 3-D and Transformer mythology. There was also a little talk of the "feud" between Megan Fox and Michael Bay which basically came down to "much ado about nothing." The full interview is here, highlights below.

MTV: So there's been talk about shooting "Transformers 3" in 3-D or converting it after the fact. Where are you at in terms of that discussion with Bay and Paramount?
Lorenzo di Bonaventura: We're literally in the middle of that. There's no definitive answer. I think the answer is that as James Cameron, who had plenty and plenty of time to do it, even he converted some of it [edit: first we're hearing that "Avatar" had 3-D converted elements!]. So I think the answer is that, as with most movies, you're going to do some kind of combination if you end up doing it. I'm sure 3-D cameras are going to get lighter and more manageable and all the things that get in the way right now. Over time, that may change. But I think in the near and medium term, most movies will do a combination when and if they do it.

MTV: We've been hearing a lot about the third film's return to the core mythology.
di Bonaventura: I didn't think we veered away from the mythology in the second one. We stay pretty close to mythology in general, sometimes we add to it, as we did on the first and the second one. In second one, we're dealing with the matrix of leadership, a very clear mythological component. The Fallen is one of the original 13 Transformers. We were sticking fairly close to the mythology. We are going to continue to explore the past in the third one and that will continue to inform the present. I think it's pretty much the same thing we did on the first two: you try to get as close as you can to the lore and sometimes you run into pieces where there's not enough information to make a judgment, so you make your own call. That's a necessary component. By and large, the fans have accepted and embraced what we've been doing.

If the schedule will allow it, I am pretty confident that Paramount will go for a 3D conversion of the film even without Bay's blessing. I don't think the 3-D market has proven itself but the temptation of an additional $5 per ticket for what is a relatively inexpensive process (compared to the overall cost of a movie) is too tempting for the studio to pass on. I am sure they already have visions of "Transformers 3 in IMAX 3-D!".

Malkovich, Bonaventura Talk Joining Transformers 3

Transformers 3 Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and newly hired star John Malkovich speak briefly with a few websites about Malkovich's interest in joining the cast while providing a few hints on his role in Transformers 3.

From Coming Soon:

Q: On a film like "Transformers 3," do you find yourself having to explain a lot about what you're doing to the director and studio or are you given free reign?
Lorenzo di Bonaventura: Not with Bay, you know? With Bay, no not too much there either. Bay is such a general that it moves at his pace. The first movie we had to explain a lot of why we wanted to spend this, what was going on… dah dah dah, but most movies in my experience and in most studios they're all running in a difficult time right now and they're concerned about their careers and concerned about the results. I grew up in the Warner Brothers system and our philosophy was once we made our bet, which meant it's up to the filmmakers to deliver it. So it wasn't a particularly intrusive system after once it made its bet. You had to pass a lot of hurdles to get to the go, but once you got there it was like, alright we're here. We've placed our bet and our philosophy at Warner's was you can't direct the movie if you're an executive and you can't write the movie and you can't act the movie, so you know, unless they're going sideways what can you do? It's up to them to elevate it.

Q: And what is {John Malkovich's] role in that?
Di Bonaventura: You know we don't talk a lot about that script, but he's going to have a lot of interaction with Shia in that movie. And he's got a really fun character. And he's going to bring a really interesting spin to that franchise so it's going to be great.

From Latino Review:

How did you get involved with the new Transformers movie?
Malkovich: I spoke with him last week. Lorenzo and Mark and Summit are producing. They approached me about it. I’d see the first one, which I liked and thought it was funny. I like working with them very much. They’re very good producers, they’re very hands-on, always around, really get their hands dirty which is not so normal.

From IGN:

"I was never a fanatical movie person," [John Malkovich] told us. "There are many popular films I love like anyone else. Having said that, I'm not someone… I don't have time to go to the movies very much. I work [on] a lot of different things; I'm always busy. But I'm always happy to see a popular movie. … I'd seen the first [Transformers], which I liked and thought it was funny."

Information wise, not a whole lot of information. I get the sneaking suspicion that John's role is like Rainn Wilson's in the Revenge of the Fallen, essentially a cameo appearance to provide a few moments of levity.