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

More Video from Chicago and Sentinel Prime?

As Transformers 3 production winds down in Chicago, new video and images from the production have popped up online. The first set of images, including this rather odd choice in pajamas for Sam's father aka Kevin Dunn, were taken around Wednesday or so, at about the same times as the photos with John Turturro and Rosie's tight blue dress. The rest can be found here. Speaking of that, the first three videos below are from that same time period. The first is a look at John Turturro along with Alan Tudyk as they follow Shia and Rosie for a scene. The second video is the same moment but looking straight down, while the third video show Sam's parent in green outfits (at least I think its them). Thanks to Mike G. for the links.

After those videos are more from zztopeurope from a few weeks ago as the Transformers parking lot was packing up. Of note is the two black Decepeticon SUVs have been identified as Suburbans (but modified judging by the wheels). Also the security guard at the site (4th video) said the name of the Autobot fire truck is not Rodimus Prime but Sentinel Prime, as the father of Optimus. Sentinel Prime was a creation of the TF comics as the predecessor of Optimus Prime as leader of the Autobots. In War for Cybertron, he was leader when the Cybertronian civil war started and killed by Megatron leading to Prime's ascension. Like most of the TF names, this one will probably not be confirmed until next year. Thanks to zztopeurope and DJ BigTymeBeats for the links.

Detroit Pulls Out the Big Guns, Turturro in House and Street Closures

Three blurbs of Transformers 3 production news from Chicago and Detroit. To start, if had hopes that cast and crew were going to remain in Chicago past September 1st, might as well dash as Jalopnik has posted a small gallery of images that show that crew is in town prepping the Packard Plant for filming. If the big gun/jet engine/beats me is any indication, it looks like the site will be involved in more action pack filming. However, I think the site is considered private property so not expecting quite the view that we occasional got in Chicago. Click here to the other images from the plant.

Back in Chicago, it seems Shia LaBeouf continues to film at "work" as he was spotted yesterday on set in his suit again and flirting with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's Carly for some scenes as she was wearing a tiny and tight blue dress. The more significant piece of news is John Turturro is finally spotted on set. Considering what is currently being filmed is probably closer to the beginning of the film then the end, it’s unclear if this proves he will be part of the big finale action sequences of the film or not. Click here for rest of the Daily Mail's gallery but ignore the text as it focuses on pointless gossip and identifies Turturro as "crew". Thanks to Phil for the link.

Last but not least, another street closure notice for today as filming returns to the Old Post Office Building along Van Buren Street.

The movie is using the Old Main Post Office, 433 W. Van Buren Street, for shooting today, and Van Buren is closed between Wacker Drive and Canal Street until 11 p.m. Lanes will be open during rush hour, however, between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., according to the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

Meanwhile, parking restrictions are in effect until 2 a.m. Saturday to facilitate filming of 'Transformers 3" in the area near Wabash Avenue and Washington Street.

The restrictions are:

• Both sides of Wabash from Randolph to Monroe
• The north side of Randolph from Garland to Wabash
• The south side of Washington from Michigan to Wabash
• The north side of Madison from Michigan to Wabash

TF3 Chicago: Sam Goes Flying

Transformers 3 production is winding down in the Chicago but that doesn't mean the hard work is over. Wednesday at the Lake and Wabash Parking Lot involved a busy day for Shia LaBeouf's stunt double who was flung all over the set by his arm. My best guess is maybe captured by a Decepticon or something to do with the power glove but really I can't figure it out. They also filmed a brief firefight involving Josh Duhamel and NEST as things went boom. It should be interesting to see what the flinging around becomes once the editors and ILM have a go with the footage.

The pic to the left and first four pictures below are thanks to Colin Hinkle. The next five are a small sampling of pictures from Jeff at Pixel Rally's huge 326 photos that he has posted on flickr. Along with the photos, Jeff also posted 10 videos that show off the various stunt work that was filmed. Hit the links below for both.

Update: Jeff created a third gallery, not new images but if you don't have time or inclination to flip through 300+ pictures, then hit the "Selects" link for 52 pics that give you the highlights from the larger gallery.

Pixel Rally Gallery | Pixel Rally Videos | Pixel Rally Selects

Sam Is Now Playing With Power

It took three movies but Sam finally got his upgrade weapon in the form of a Power Glove, at least judging by these pictures that show him using something on his hand. Don't have a clue how it fits into the movie but I am sure the results will lead to some Bayhem. The pictures and more are thanks to Jeff at Pixel Rally and Colin Hinkle who took them at the Wabash and Lake Parking Deck where Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley where taking directions from Michael Bay. If the glove isn't exciting enough there are also pics of Bay's lunch box, using his iPad to show off stuff and defeating Shia in exercise battle. Also below is a video found by Colin that shows some of the action that was being filmed.

Mad Max, Boom, and Bee

More pictures and videos from Transformers 3 production in Chicago. To start with, images taken near the Transformers 3 parking lot of a Mad Max like fuel truck. No clue what it is for but don't think it’s a Transformer or at least it has no faction insignia anywhere. I believe the pics are just from the last day or two so the vehicle may be popping up soon near a set. Thanks to Jeff of Pixel Rally for the images.

After that are two videos, both I think taken in front of Hotel 71 about a week or so ago. The first involves the Nascar vehicles as they drive through a series of explosions and a shootout. The second video is another angle on the Bumblebee intersection firefight with the huge explosions and NEST soldiers defending Bumblebee only now get a look at it from one end of the road to the next. The video shows the practice run followed by the real run. Thanks to Mauricio for the links.

Last is a new gallery from TFW2005 that shows a little behind the scenes prep involving Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Josh Duhamel. Not sure where filmed or what’s involved. Click here for the entire gallery.

LaSalle Street Bridge Set Gallery

LaSalle Street Bridge is the location of the Transformers 3 ending lip lock between Sam and Carly but it also seems to be the location of some action too as the new gallery of images from Pixel Rally show. The images show at least the appearance of Bumblebee and Megatron in robot modes along with the usual street destruction dressing. It also shows a little bit of Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Michael Bay and crew as they prepare. Below are a few images from the 51 picture gallery which can be found here.

Also possible spoiler warning. Thanks to borrissey who spoke with a PA who verified that the lip lock is the last scene of the film and that Megatron dies, "this time it's final." Take from that what you will but it does seem this movie will have a hefty Transformers body count.

Sam and Carly Together Again

Transformers 3 production continues in Chicago, this time spending the weekend at the LaSalle Street Bridge. It seems this is the site of the near ending of the film, at least judging by the pictures and video below as Shia LaBeouf (Sam) and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (Carly) enjoy a moment of peace as tired NEST soldiers walk by.

The photos of below are once again thanks to Colin Hinkle as they show off more divested street debris and destruction along with the magic moment. Below that is a video found by TFW2005 that is the scene being filmed. Seems sweet, maybe a little over the top with the literal jumping in Sam's arms but this is a Bay film.

If there isn't enough explosion love for you, then Mail Online has a few pictures of NEST soldiers attempting to avoid an explosion while Josh Duhamel protects Shia's stunt double. The scenes were shot near the Old Post Office Building on Wednesday. Notice the stunt double his wearing the suit costume from scenes involving Hotchkiss Gould Investment scenes shot in Milwaukee and Chicago. Thanks to AiC Hokie for the link.

TF3 Chicago: Soundwave Spotted, More Images and Video

Transformers 3 production continues somewhere in Chicago but until more information comes in, here is more images and a video from last weekend's filming in the city. As the image to the left shows, Soundwave joins the Chicago battle, bringing the first confirmation that this Decepticon returns. The stick head is used as actor eye line and camera reference point so it seems he will also interact at some level with the human characters.

That image, and the below animated gifs and more are thanks to Pixel Rally. The gifs show off an explosion moment from in front of Hotel 71 while the other three show Bay giving instructions to Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who then do two practice runs of tumbling away from an overturned SUV. The full set of pictures can be found at flickr. Thanks to Kel for pointing out the Soundwaves images in the set. The set also includes two videos from filming over the last two weeks. One from is pyrotechnics going off in front of the Michigan Avenue Bridge and the other from the skydiving stunt from two weeks ago.

If interested in reading more, OK Magazine has posted a gallery of images of Josh Duhamel at work while Shia watched. Thanks to John for the link. Also the below video comes from Film Junk and shows yet another angle from the Hotel 71 intersection shoot. Sadly I have no idea what areas Transformers 3 production will be working this weekend but assume in the same general Michigan Avenue area.

Set Report Reveals Character Name and Shockwave?

Nelson has posted a set report from Chicago were he visited Michael Bay and the cast of Transformers 3 as they filmed in the city last Friday. As part of his post, he confirmed the name of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's character as Carly. Carly is a familiar name for Generation One Transformers fans as the girlfriend and later wife of Spike Witwicky.

The set report is here (or below). With his report he also posted 12 images (including Bumblebee Hope poster) that show Bay, Tyrese and more as they did interviews and took time with the crowds that watched the filming over the weekend. The full photo is here. Pictures also mirrored at TFW2005. Thanks to NHLfan, Christopher, and Udana for the links.

The pictures posted at MB.com did reference the Ferrari as "Ferrari 458 Italia (Rush)" but then changed to "Ferrari 458 Italia (Parked on Rush St)" which does exist as it runs parallel to North Michigan Avenue. Sadly this means the Ferrari remains nameless.

In addition, TFW2005's sannman has posted another robot head figure that may or may not be Shockwave. It is very blurry so hard to tell but the assumption is based on what appears to be the pointy "ears" and maybe cyclops eye of the character. The red "helmet" though makes me wonder if this isn't the Ferrari since the color is close to its color. The rest of the photo set can be found here. Thanks to John D for the link.

Nelson here...

TF3 Chicago: More Explosions and Pictures

I had already posted pictures and videos from Transformers 3 filming on Sunday around the Michigan Avenue Bridge in Chicago but here is even more. The fireball to the left was posted by the Chicago Tribune as part of their coverage. They also posted the second video at the bottom that shows off filming. In the article, some of the action that was filmed was described including more base jumping.

Earlier in the day, onlookers got a glimpse of a different kind of stunt — the kind that involves people jumping off of the 92-story Trump Tower. The five base jumpers taking part in the scene soared over the Michigan Avenue Bridge and onto North Wacker Drive, making what most would find terrifying look easy. Cameras shot the jumpers from the top of nearby buildings, including the Tribune building.

Later on in the afternoon, military-looking men, one of whom appeared to be cast member Tyrese Gibson, were filmed sprinting into the Tribune with guns in hand yelling “Let’s go!” and “C’mon!”

LaBeouf filmed the same scene he shot on Friday — he holds Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s hand and runs for cover behind a flipped over vehicle — only this time a few of the piled up cars in front of the bridge were on fire. The co-stars also filmed on the stairs that lead to the riverwalk from the side of the bridge.

Thanks to Colin Hinkle we once again have more great pictures and a video from the set. The images show Shia, Josh, Rosie, Tyrese, Bay and more doing their movie thing. We got shots of the Nascar vehicles and other Transformers. The 1st video below from Colin is a combination of the footage he caught of the cast and crew at work. It’s worth watching to the end to watch the pyrotechnics going off with cars being jerked down the street. Overall, a nice day of boom if you were in the Chicago area. Amazingly enough despite all the carnage when you check @ktgeek's live stream, the entire mess has already been cleared away.

TF3 Chicago: New Transformers Revealed, Explosion, and More

Sunday comes to a close in Chicago as Transformers 3 production continues. The day brought more excitement as pyrotechnic scenes were filmed and an Einstein like Transformers head was photographed. Tyrese Gibson also joined in with some set photos of his own he posted via his twitter account.

The pictures from The Scorecard Review show the heads of Bumblebee and a mysterious new "gray-haired" Transformer with glasses being held up in the air. The heads are to help the actors with line of sight. I don't know what the alt mode is of this new Transformer but I get a sneaking suspicion this might be Kup (now rejected). The pictures also show Bay doing his directing thing and more from the set. Hit link above for rest. Thanks to CypherXR for the link.

As for Tyrese's pictures, they show the gang getting cover from a quick rain storm, the set, Josh, and him and Shia with a child's picture that shows Bumblebee that says "Unite". Thanks to Schellenbach for the heads up. Last bit, click here for more photos from ENI.

Also below are five videos. The first is a sky high view of a scene being filmed that involves explosions (TF weapons fire?), extras running while Shia and Rosie hide in a car. The next video is crowd reaction to those explosions. The third has Battle Damaged Shia LaBeouf taking a moment to sign autographs and take photos with the crowd. The fourth video shows that it seems the action involves more than just the bridge as a damaged boat is spotted and last, more stuff from the feeds. Thanks to Mauricio for the first four video links and Shockwaved for the last one.

TF3 Chicago: Bay Thanks Chicago and More

Transformers 3 production continues in Chicago near at Michigan Street Bridge. Worst Previews has posted photos that indicates that the 1972 yellow Datsun 510 from the Milwaukee Art Museum filming was spotted in Chicago filming scenes. Patrick Dempsey, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and Shia LaBeouf are wearing the same costumes from then so this potentially confirms that the Datsun is Bumblebee in disguise and apparently that "Hotchkiss Gould Investments" is located in downtown Chicago. Thanks to DJ BigTyme Beats for the link.

Thanks to Jonnyroobs and his friend Ed for the pictures below that includes a look at the sets and more shots of the Transformers vehicles. Below that is a video of the live streams as they show some of the filming that occurred close by. Thanks to Shockwaved for the video link. Last, Seibertron.com has posted more images and two videos that show off the various vehicles and confirm that NEST have a truck as a mobile command center.

CBS Chicago was able to get close with Michael Bay and some of the cast and they gave a thank you to the city for putting up with the traffic problems the filming has caused for the city. Bay also revealed that Chicago is the setting for the final battle of the film. Does that mean any missing characters died in the course of the movie?

Cast Filming in Chicago, Skydiving Images and Video

After the days of images of all the sweet Transformer vehicles and set destruction, it turns out we were missing something - the actors. Thanks to Pixel Rally, we have a huge gallery that shows Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, and NEST crew filming a scene involving the actors sprinting across Franklin Street. The third gallery shows all the carnage added to the street to give it that look of total destruction. He also captured some sweet images of the skydiving stunt that gives you a nice close-up of events and the outfits they were wearing including the headset cam to film the trip down.

In addition, Maya Chelsie posted a video that shows all the Transformers vehicles, including Prime as they filmed a scene. It seems to be the same stretch as the sky high view from the other day but now get the side perspective. Note the photo starts sideways, but straightens out about halfway through.

Below is a sampling of pics but make sure to hit the links for the full gallery of 100+ images. The pic to the left, no idea what it has to do with production but figure the Batman license plate is intentional considering Transformers 3 is shooting in many of same locations that The Dark Knight did.

Cast Images from Milwaukee TF3 Shoot

Day 1 of 2 has ended for the Transformers 3 shoot at the Milwaukee Art Museum. As previous reported, several cast members were spotted on the scene but it turns out one of them was not Bumblebee or at least I hope not. Thanks to "juise" from the TFW2005 forums, we have photos that show Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey and Michael Bay at work in front of the museum, aka "Hotchkiss Gould Investments", as they film a scene involving broke down 1972 yellow Datsun 510.

I assume the place is where Rosie's character works along with Dempsey's character that was probably reassigned as her boss after Fox's departure from the film. As for the 'Bee-ish car, I have no idea but in the second film he was getting a bit sick of the Transformers drama so might make sense he wanted his own, non-Transforming car while Bumbleebee worked as part of NEST. Juise also put together a slick stop motion video (below) from his photos that show a bit of the scene that they were filming. More pictures can be found here. Thanks to Mike G. for the heads-up.

Update:TFW2005 has more pictures via Flickr. Also click here for another video of a scene being filmed.

Transformers 3 At the Milwaukee Art Museum

After an action packed weekend of filming in Chicago, Transformers 3 production takes a brief break to head to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to film scenes at the Milwaukee Art Museum today and tomorrow. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a brief report from the location including an image of Shia LaBeouf at the set. Rosie Huntington-Whitely, Michael Bay, theBumblebee Chevy and possibly Patrick Dempsey have also been spotted at the location.

Fox6 News has a news report about the Chicago filming and the TF3 crew prepping the location from Sunday. It is a closed set so unlikely will get quite the look at filming that we all enjoyed from Chicago.



Updates: Changes made to make the article present tense since filming started today (I was thinking it started Tuesday) and include the newspaper article info with picture.

More Shia, Rosie On TF3 LA Set Pics

First there was Transformers 3 LA set pictures of Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in casual clothes and now new set pictures show off the model dressed for success. Or maybe a date with Shia's Sam Witwicky who half-dressed in a suit with jeans. No idea what is being filmed nor if that car is a Transformers (but doubt it). I do believe the pic below is the first of Bay doing his directing thing on set to boot.