Duhamel, Bay Talk TF5 With USA Today

In video interviews with USA Today Josh Duhamel talks about how he learned part of what is involved in making the Bayhem explosions while Michael Bay and Mark Wahlberg discussed working with Anthony Hopkins. The site does not allow videos to be embedded click the links: Josh Duhamel | Bay/Wahlberg.

Wahlberg, Bay Say Transformers 5 Is Their Last TF Movie

In two unrelated interviews Transformers: The Last Knight director Michael Bay and star Mark Wahlberg both said that this movie would be their last for the franchise.

On BBC's The Graham Norton Show Friday night he said:

"It's the last one so I get my life back!"

Wahlberg also told Graham Norton in his interview on Friday that he spent "five months" getting in prime physical condition for The Last Knight, only to be saddled with a haircut that he absolutely hated.

"The long hair is the worst thing ever," he joked. "I look like my mum in the '70s – it's just really bad!"

In an interview with Fandango Michael Bay said:

"I've done it enough, and I've had a great time doing it. I'm going out with a bang on this one, and I feel like you gotta go out while you're ahead, you know. I think I've had a good run, and I've got a lot of other movies I want to do."

"I just read a very bloody hit man movie that was a page turner. That seems like a fun one to do," he said. "I love doing 13 Hours, I love doing Pain & Gain -- I think it'll be something more serious and more adult, I guess."

Of course Bay has said this twice before but its pretty clear he isn't doing Transformers 6 so maybe he means it this time. As for Wahlberg, he has never really displayed much enthusiasm for the franchise, apparently doing more for the money and working with Michael Bay so this is probably his last hurrah. That is unless Paramount makes an offer that would be foolish to ignore which could happen if the TF5 passes the $1 billion thresheld yet again for the franchise.

New TV Spot, Mark Walhberg Interview, and Dashcam Vids

We are less then a week away from the release of Transformers: The Last Knight. The first vid below, oddly titled "Final Chapter" since we know more movies are coming, has a second or two of new stuff. The second vid is Mark Wahlberg's interview on The Tonight Show to promote the film. The clip they used is one we have seen before with Cogman jumping him. After that is a very quick viral type video from a cop dashcam of Hot Rod (?) purposely wrecking, it didn't really make sense. Last is a Maaco commercial featuring Bumblebee. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

Hopkins Talks Joining Transformers 5

Below is a brief clip at CinemaCon Sir Anthony Hopkins comments on a "serious English actor" joining Transformers: The Last Knight cast while Mark Wahlberg comments on working with the actor. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

Bay, Wahlberg Comment on Transformers at CinemaCon

This week CinemaCon is being held in Las Vegas as the studios sale pitch theater execs on their summer slate of movies. As part of that the actors are on hand for meet and greets with the execs and talk about the movies to the press. In the video below Michael Bay and Mark Wahlberg briefly talk about Bay's Transformer baby. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

Mark Walhberg, Sqweaks at Toy Fair

In a brief interview with the Associated Press while at New York Toy Fair, Transformers: The Last Knight star Mark Wahlberg briefly commented on filming TF5 compared to TF4 and his next film plans. The main thing is probably a good look at Sqweaks in the TV behind him. Thanks to Feris O. for the link.

Transformers 5 Behind the Scenes Roll Room

Below is a new behind the scenes video from Transformers: The Last Knight in what they are calling the "Room Roll." Set before a green screen, the circular cave rolls to film a sequence with Mark Wahlberg and Laura Haddock as they climb or hang on to something. The surface has a Cybertronian look so could be a Transformer body part, planet surface, or another large object (like a spacecraft).

Hopkins, Wahlberg Hang on TF5 Castle Set

While there is little real news on the Transformers: The Last Knight front since Bay has successfully lowered an Abrams-like cone of silence on his production, we can at least confirm that Sir Anthony Hopkins does have a human role in the film and apparently it comes in the back half of the film is the much worse for wear look of Mark Wahlberg is any indication.

The pictures were shot at the castle grounds of Alnwick Castle in Northumbria, UK which included some of the usual Bayhem explosions filmed in part with a drone. Based on Hopkins' costume, I am betting he is playing someone who is an expert on Arthurian legend, sucked into helping Walhberg and company track down the film's McGuffin. The full gallery of the two hanging out on set can be found here. Thanks to Wynton Ray for the link.

Mark Wahlberg Confirms Return for Transformers 5

In an interview with Brazilian website CinePop, Mark Wahlberg confirmed he is return as Cade Yeager for Transformers 5. It remains unknown if Michael Bay is returning to the director's chair nor if any other members of the Transformers 4 cast are coming back. (via TFW2005)

Wahlberg: Bay Will Direct Transformers 5

In an interview with Collider to promote Ted 2, Mark Wahlberg indicate he thinks Michael Bay will be back in the director's chair for Transformers 5.

Collider: Do you have any update on the status of Transformers 5? Have you heard anything about what’s going on?
WAHLBERG: I don’t. Just that Akiva [Goldsman] and those guys are starting to write and break stories, and stuff like that. But [Michael] Bay is in Malta shooting Benghazi, and I’m in New Orleans shooting Deepwater. We’ll get together when he gets back.

Do you think he’ll still ultimately direct it?
WAHLBERG: Yes.

Do you know what your schedule will be, after you finish Deepwater Horizon?
WAHLBERG: Pete [Berg] and I are talking about doing another movie, after the first of the year. And (directors) Sean Anders and John Morris are working on something right now, that hopefully we’re going to do in the fall with Paramount. That’s another comedy, more in the vein of Midnight Run meets Planes, Trains and Automobiles. I just did Daddy’s Home, with Will Ferrell and those guys, and we’ve been talking about doing this thing.

I would be very surprised if Michael Bay turns down the chair. The Transformers franchise is essentially his puppy to do with as he will, something no other Hollywood director except maybe Spielberg and Peter Jackson has had. It is a rare level of power and even rarer level of wealth that doing each film brings him (~$100 million per). That is something that few could turn down as it would be like you saying no to a winning life-changing lottery ticket. Paramount and Hasbro have already bumped Transformers 5 back a year to accommodate Bay's desire to do a smaller scale movie and decompress after Transformers 4 so clearly they want him back. At this point the decision will probably hinge on what the Transformers Writers Room produces and does the resulting scripts interest him enough to continue on. Regardless of his choice to direct, he will always be an executive producer for the Transformers franchise with the influence that title brings on future movies.

Wahlberg Up for Transformers 5

In an interview with MTV (video below), Mark Wahlberg verified that he is contractually bound to the usual three picture deal that is the norm for franchises. Not only that but "I can’t speak for Mr. Bay, but something tells me we’ll be on set soon." This isn't exactly big news but up to now the only thing we knew was Paramount and Hasbro had committed to doing Transformers 5. Until now it was assumed that Mark's return to the franchise was dependent on Bay sitting in the director's chair but now it seems that he could return without Bay (unless a new director passes on casting him). As for the future of TF5, hopefully we will learn more early next year as it seems critical decisions have to be made soon if the film hopes to start filming by mid-2015 to make a Summer 2016 release date. Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.

Clip #3 and Meet Shane Featurette for Transformers 4

The first vid is another clip from Transformers: Age of Extinction, in what looks like a scene that takes place a few moments from clip #2 with Nicola Peltz, TJ Miller and Mark Wahlberg. Much like the "Meet Cade" vid, below is the Shane version as Jack Reynor describes his character.

Meet Cade, Stanley Tucci Interview Videos

Below are two new videos for Transformers: Age of Extinction. The first is a brief almost TV spot that introduces Mark Wahlberg's character of Cade Yeager. The second video is a brief interview with Stanley Tucci that appears to have been taken last year on the Detroit China set as he describes his character and working with Michael Bay.

Wahlberg, Peltz Talk Dinobots and Bay

In two separate video interviews (below), Mark Wahlberg and Nicola Peltz discuss Transformers: Age of Extinction. The main highlight from Wahlberg's IGN interview is about the Dinobots essentially saying there is a story reason for why they join the fight but unable to reveal specifics. The lovely Nicola Peltz's interview with a German site also has no specifics and is really only a few minutes long with most of the 7 minute running time used to repeat the theatrical trailers. It will be interesting to see how her press handling skills improve over the next month as she runs the promotional gauntlet. She talked about how she liked the story, working with Bay and the explosions while trying to avoid revealing any spoilers.

Wahlberg, Rayner Talk Dinobots While Jablonsky Works Grimlock's Score

In an excerpt from the next issue of Total Film, Mark Wahlberg and Jack Reynor comment on the Dinobots and Transformers: Age of Extinction effects. Meanwhile, it the film's composer, Steve Jablonsky, posted an image (left) of the Grimlock portion of the score and note "They're coming...".

Budget, New Still, and Wahlberg, Cullen Talk Transformers: Age of Extinction

In two brief interviews, Transformers: Age of Extinction stars talk a little bit about the film. Very little, but still get a great Optimus Prime still out of it. In the interview with Hero Complex just comments on returning for picks-up while the article reveals the budget of the film in the $165 million range (1st time seen report on the budget). USA Today has an article on top 10 iconic movie characters that posted this new still (left) along with a comment from Peter Cullen (voice of Optimus Prime).

Mark Wahlberg
“Some people think of this as a sequel,” he said. “We thought of it more as a stand-alone thing. I’ve never done a sequel.”

Images from Transformers: Age of Extinction Reshoots

JustJared has posted a few images that show Mark Wahlberg and the Optimus Prime truck filming in Los Angeles on April 9. Last week there were rumors of reshoots but at the time it turned out to be Megan Fox for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. As the pics show, that isn't the case here. The use of the modern truck combined with Wahlberg's intact clothes and no wounds suggests that whatever is being filmed is for a sequence shot for scenes early in the movie and set in the United States. TFW2005 thinks that it might be before the Optimus Prime vs. Galvatron sequences teased in the trailers. Re-shoots are not exactly cheap and normally only done in cases of necessity. It isn't to say it not common, just that a true justification has to exist for the expense. If it was just a one day shoot, my best guess is either they needed to capture additional footage for a CGI sequence or discovered that a story point wasn't clear enough from existing footage.

Entertainment Weekly Article Talks Grimlock, the Next Trilogy, and Bayhem

This week's issue of Entertainment Weekly, their Summer preview issue, has an article (image left) about Transformers: Age of Extinction. In it director Michael Bay confirms that Transformers 4 is the start of the next trilogy while Mark Wahlberg comments on the storyline and Jack Reynor talks about working on the set. The article also revealed a few factoids about the CGI version of Grimlock saying the character is "150 feet long from the tail to the nostrils, 63.5 feet tall from the ground to the top of his horns, and weigh 850 tons." Below is a transcript of the the comments from Bay and the others.

Bay: "It's kind of like a new Transformers. We had three, the first trilogy, and this is going to be the next. ...It's the first of a new trilogy. I'm not necessarily sure that I'm doing [the others], but that's what it's meant for."

Bay: "{Shia LaBeouf]'s a good guy, but three movies, the same guy, it's time. You know what I'm saying? It's always good to freshen it up and change the story."

Video Interviews with Peltz, Raynor and Wahlberg

Collider has posted two videos (below) of their interviews with the core cast of Transformers: Age of Extinction while they were attending CinemaCon in Las Vegas this week. The first video is with Jack Reynor and Nicola Peltz while the second was with Mark Wahlberg. Lots of background noise so hard to catch everything. Not much is revealed story wise as Raynor and Peltz were clearly coached to twist any answer into up selling the movie while revealing nothing specific about the movie (as likely ordered by Bay and the studio). The more experienced Wahlberg covers his inability to provide details about the movie by sticking with working with Bay and an overview of a stunt (but answer so vague it could be for any scene in the movie, but probably the net jump sequence).

MTV From Set of Transformers 4 In Detroit

MTV has posted n video with the core cast of Transformers: Age of Extinction as they filmed in Detroit last summer. Nothing much is revealed about the plot as its mostly used to introduce the actors and the characters they are playing. In a bit towards the end, the surprisingly informed Josh Horowitz pointed out to Mark Walhberg's role in Boogie Nights connects back to Transformers thanks to a common song.