Atlus Airmen in Transformers 2

Air Education and Training Command website writes about several airmen based at Altus Air Force Base in Oklahoma, USA that provided consulting services and flew aircraft for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Below is a portion of the article but the entire thing plus more pictures can be found here. Link found by Voiceroy.

Capt. Judd Baker, 58th Airlift Squadron, was one of the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft commanders during filming at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. Captain Baker said, a mission that started as ordinary quickly grew into something much greater.

Aircraft and Airmen from the 97th Air Mobility Wing appear prominently in the combat scenes of the film. Even when the aircraft and the aircrews are not on screen, the experience and expertise of Altus Airmen guided the action. Every time they would have something going on with the C-17s, it was, 'Would this be real? Would this be how you would do it? Is this how you say that or was this what you call that?,'" Captain Baker said. "And whatever we said, it was, 'Yep, change that in the script. That's what we'll say.'"

Staff Sgt. Christopher Worthy, 58th AS loadmaster, said the experience of being on a Hollywood set was far different from his usual duty day. "It's something I never thought I would get to do," he said. "Here, we fly the line, train the guys so they can go out and do the real world missions -- it's a unique experience to get the call and go do something other than train."

Perhaps the most excited viewers were the children who saw their dads on the big screen with some very big counterparts. When asked about his children's reaction, Captain Baker smiled. "They said, 'Hey, daddy was in a movie and got to meet Optimus Prime,'... I think that's fun," he said.

Bay On Crew Screenings

I guess Transformers 2 director Michael Bay has been getting questions about when his crew gets to watch the final cut of the movie so he provided an answer on his website.

Press is asking about crew screeings

They seem to want to know about my crew screenings. Not sure why the press is interested? We had 2500 crew members from many parts of the US and some in the Middle East and London. We have an IMAX crew screening Sunday night. We have an ILM screening Monday night and Paramount invited some of my key crew members to the LA premiere I think Tuesday we are putting together a crew screening which is being planned at Paramount. Thursday we have an IMAX screening in Washington for the Pentagon people involved in the film. And we have one set up in Jordan. BTW the press is not invited.

Wow that is a lot of people that worked on that movie. The credits must go on quite a long time. I wonder what their reactions are when they see the finished product of all their hard work, and what happens if they don't like the result (with all that CGI many just had to imagine how it would go).

USA Today Shows Off Combined Prime

In a new article from USA Today, we get the first look at the combined Jetfire, Optimus Prime mode. The result appears to Prime on steroids. The article itself is about Transformers 2 production at Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands as they filmed the desert sequences that are the climax of the film. The long article is worth reading as I believe one parts describes the explosion put Bay in the Guiness World Record book. Snippets below, full article here. I get the feeling that being an observer on a Bay production for a few days would be a whole lot of fun. Thanks to Adrien and Chris for the link.

The filmmaker, then 43, is watching the action unfold on a bank of TV monitors. He's wearing an Autobot ball cap, pulled low to shade his eyes from the sun, and a Decepticon T-shirt, perhaps symbolic of which side of the robot battle is closest to his heart. Duhamel joins Bay to watch the replay. "This really is your sandbox," he tells the director. "And we are kinda like your toys."

Bay gives a smirk, but seems preoccupied by his screens. When the actor leaves, the filmmaker confides, in an uncharacteristically soft voice, a story from when he was a kid. "I made home movies that way," he says, still looking at the replays on the screen. "I'd do little firecrackers on the train set. … I actually set my bedroom on fire once." He smiles and rolls his eyes. "The fire department came. It was a little Super 8 movie where the aliens invaded."

After watching a scene in which Duhamel tries to rescue Fox from her hiding spot beneath a blown-out wall, Bay stops the action and runs out to coach the actor. "Take her hand this time. When you ran the last time, you ran away like a (expletive) girl and left her!" the director says. Duhamel sarcastically thanks Bay for the constructive criticism — in full view of a visiting reporter. Bay says to the journalist, in an even louder voice: "You'll be doing me a (expletive) favor if you print that!" Then laughs. Duhamel just shakes his head.

Mike Wever, the special-effects technician and bomb triggerman, surveys the explosive-planting. "Whatever Bay wants is what we try to give him," says Wever. "Sex is sex, dialogue is dialogue, but what people want is special effects. Bayhem, that's what it's called. That's what I like to call it. Whenever we do a Michael show, it's a new level of Bayhem."

Transformers On White Sands Set

Below are new pictures from the White Sands, New Mexico set from last year that shows off Sideswipe, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and a big ass tank. Thanks to Tomato and his friend for providing the pictures.

Christmas Mural Re-Visited

The new ShoWest Footage reveals confirmation of a leak from last Christmas that showed a damaged mural and no idea what behind it. As seen below, it is clearly the same mural. Based on the footage, it appears this is occurring at Petra, Jordan. We know the Decepticons are looking for the AllSpark fragment and Sun Harvester. What could the Autobots be searching for? Thanks to Katie for putting it together. To view the images of what is behind that mural, click here. Early guesses were the Fallen but the images don't match and besides he is in another dimension.

From Philly, More Car Chase Footage (Update)

PhillyFilmGirl has posted more footage from when Transformers 2 production was at Princeton over the summer. This footage is more of the Saturn Astra car chase that was filmed on the streets in the area. It includes multiple takes of the car performing a stunt in an intersection, few more moments of the Frenzy-thing, and the car hitting a pole. Thanks to KRandTFFan for the heads-up.


Update: Below are some additional pictures from the Princeton set as Shia and company prep for various scenes. Based on the books Shia is holding, I assume those where taken before another PhillyFilmGirl video, similiar shots also here. Thanks to Mauricio for providing the pictures and the photoshopped Megatron on the right as he towers over the Bethlehem set extras.

Transformers 2 Shot in Jordan

Variety.com reports that Transformers 2 shot in Jordan, specifically in the ancient city of Petra, Wadi Rum valley, and Salt.

With a total crew of 160 technicians - 60 sourced locally and the remainder from overseas - the "Transformers" shoot was a huge challenge for Jordan's Royal Film Commission. The complete support of the commission's chairman, Prince Ali, helped the org meet the challenge. The Jordanian Air Force was enlisted to aid the shoot as Bay lensed in the ancient city of Petra.

"We were able to get Michael Bay and his crew up to the top of a mountain in Petra by sunrise and back down again by sunset with the help of five helicopters from the air force," says the Royal Film Commission's George David. "No one has ever shot there before."

Bay also lensed in the valley area of Wadi Rum as well as the famously fertile city of Salt.

"The entire experience of being in Jordan, from our scouts months ago to our recently completed shoot, has been a total creative and production success," says Bay. "The people have been incredibly welcoming, the film commission was a hugely helpful daily presence, and the country, especially Petra, inspired everyone in the cast and crew."

Petra may be familiar to many for its use in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Exactly what the areas in Jordan are being used for, the pictures are examples of the area, not set related, in the movie is unknown but I am sure it ties directly into the Egyptian shoot and a possible tie-in it seems the movie will establish between Transformers and human civilization. Thanks to Richard for the link, pictures and info.

Sam's Parents On the Run Again

Thanks to Mauricio who found new footage by "Nosebleed" from the Transformers set in Philidephia, PA back in June that shows Sam's parents (Julie White and Kevin Dunn) on the run down an alleyway as Michael Bay directs it. It is essentially a new angle on previously footage and amazing enough has been online for 7 months now just no one was aware of it. The set is on Chancellor Street but is dressed as L'Arc de triomphe in Paris, France where the parents are on vacation before a probable Decepticon attack.

TRANSFORMERS 2

Autobot Fleet, Helicopter Painting Pictures

A few pictures from past Transformers sets have come up again. First up is a gallery of pictures that show the work that went into converting helicopters into the Shanghai police copters used for the Bethlehem set back in June. Below is a before, during, and after pictures but a whole lot more are at the full huge gallery here.
Thanks to Mike taking and providing the pictures for us.

Spoiler-TV posted to pictures Queensway Bridge, Long Beach, CA that shows off the entire known Autobot fleet (except for the always absent Ratchet).

Transformers 2 Wrap Party

Turns out that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen officially wrapped with a wrap party held on November 15th at the Opera Lounge in Hollywood, CA. Below are two brief descriptions of the party.

From The Pop Republic:

Tyrese, attending the Wrap Party for Transformers 2 at Hollywood’s Opera Lounge on Saturday, November 15, 2008. He was super friendly, taking pictures with party guests beside a life-sized replica of a Transformer. So cool.

Transformers 2 Director Michael Bay was a huge Teddy Bear, laughing and joking with everyone. He posed for a ton of pix with Crew Members and their families. He also spent the better part of an hour talking to a dozen Marines, complementing them for their service to the US.

From Skulboy Blogversation:

After working for 4 months as a sculptor on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, I got an invite to the Wrap Party, so I Akiko and I headed out to Hollywood last night to party down with the cast and crew.

We don't get out all that much so it was fun hanging out at a hip club with an open bar, excellent food and a burlesque trio shaking things up for a few tunes. The highlight however was Michael Bay himself presenting a full length trailer that no one has seen yet as a thanks for all the hard work the crew put in to make the film. In true Bay fashion, the trailer had plenty of Armed Forces presence, returning stars and above all else, tons of stuff getting blowed up. We're talking some serious explosions here. Whoa.
Great time LA style.

Now the above mentions a trailer but according to TF2 writer Roberto Orci, "It wasn't a trailer. Just select footage" so sadly to early to assume a trailer is in the can just waiting for a premiere date (dang). There is also a slideshow here but not sure if it’s from the party or what.

Update: From the comments is the suggestion that the trailer will premiere with the The Day the Earth Stood Still which comes out December 12th. Of course this is unconfirmed but as good as any other theory. For the month of December either Earth or Benjamin Button seem like the only "A-list" movies coming out and Button isn't the right audience to me for a TF trailer. Now there is no guarantee a trailer is coming out this year at all but that just strikes me as unlikely. The goal is to start the buzz sooner rather then later and holiday movies are a great time to do that.

Transformers 2 On the USS John C. Stennis

From Seibertron.com comes news that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen production spent November 1st and 2nd filming on the USS John C. Stennis. This contradicts news from Nelson that shooting wrapped around the end of the month. Roberto Orci had suggested that production may wrap on November 5th but at this point I guess we will not know for sure until Bay pops up somewhere and announces it.

The filming involved Michael Bay and the core Transformers 2 cast of Shia Labeouf, Megan Fox, Tyrese Gibson and Josh Duhamel. Filming occurred on "closed sets" and on the flight deck showing normal operations. Duhamel and Tyrese where in dress uniforms while Shia had "beat-up" makeup on so difficult to tell exactly where in the storyline the scenes might be for.

The full set report with pictures can be found here.

Thanks to Rich for the heads-up.

"It's A Wrap!"

From Bay's official blog:

Nelson here..

As of this week, principal photography for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has ended.

Congrats to Michael and his team.

It probably ended around the same time that Shia was spotted at LAX so October 27th or 28th. Now begins the editing of the film together, finalizing of FX work for scenes, working on the music, sound effects and casting of the Transformer voices. Thanks to Rich for the heads-up.

To echo the above, congratulations to Michael and the cast and crew of Transformers 2. Also a big thanks from me to all the site readers for the information they provided and keeping me (and therefore everyone else) up to date on the movie production.

There is still a lot of work for Bay and company to do (including getting that teaser trailer together) so still plenty to post about in the future.

Shia Wrapped on Transformers 2

According to Celebrity-Gossip.net, Shia LaBeouf is back in LA as of October 27th after wrapping on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

As the picture shows, his hand is still in a splint. While Transformers 2 production is possibly still shooting in Paris, that could just be interstitials and the like that doesn't require direct participation of the actors to complete. I expect we will hear that Transformers 2 production has wrapped any day now. Thanks to Rich for the link.

Transformers II Goes To The City of Lights

According to a poster on the Michael Bay forums, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen production has moved from Egypt to Paris, France.

Forget the Middle East, he's in France right now...

... in Paris, more specifically.

And this is what he was shooting: L'Arc de triomphe.

Now that was weird... I was walking home from work, and just happen to see a small group of people around a camera... When I got closer, I saw that Bay was riding it (literally). The last thing I would have expected is to see Bay shooting in my neighbor.

The scene was about a news anchor from CNN doing a report... It feels like main photography is getting closer to the end.

Producer Ian Bryce was here as well.

NOTE: this is a stock photo of L'Arc de Triomphe, but from where Bay was shooting it, you will probably get the same angle, with the actor standing in front of the camera.

While this could be fake, it seems more likely that Bay and company are in France to film exteriors and other scenes they need to match the "Paris, France" footage that was shot on Chancellor Street in Philadelphia, PA back in June involving Sam's parents. Thanks to Michael for the heads-up.

Bay Comments on TF Ride

Earlier this week Dreamworks and Universal announced plans to open a Transformers themed park ride for their Universal Studios parks. Michael Bay apparently is less then enthused by the idea based on his blog post.

The shooting in the Middle East is ground breaking - an awesome time had by all the crew.

The Transformer Ride at Universal making all the press rounds - not sure yet - they had me in a press release saying I supported it - but Universal has a long way to go in my mind. I don't support it - I'm not involved and not sure the story of the ride works, and I know Optimus is not going to just show up to be directed by some new people that have never worked with him. I hate when people bullshit a quote from me that I never said.

I'll keep you informed. Maybe the guy making the rides at Universal will direct Transformers 3????

Bay

Bay has a tendency towards snark so don't jump to conclusions about who is or is not directing Transformers 3. While I guarantee the studio is gung ho to do a third I doubt they are even considering the details of who will be helming it. Also, realistically a theme ride is very much an engineering exercise as it is creative. The skill sets required to create a ride that runs thousands of times a year safely for millions of tourists is a whole lot different then what is required to direct a movie. At most the movie director would have input on the project as far as design but probably not much else.

Thanks to Steven for the heads-up.

Transformers II Visit the Pyramids

Waxword and site reader Dan have confirmed that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen filmed in Egypt over the weekend.

First segments from Waxword:

A major milestone quietly passed last weekend: the first major Hollywood film in decades filmed in the heart of the Middle East. “Transformers II” turned its cameras at the Pyramids in Egypt, and again in the upper Egyptian town of Luxor, near the famed Valley of the Kings. This is significant for many reasons but mainly because it represents a rare move by two Hollywood studios, Paramount and DreamWorks, to connect to a country and culture that is perceived to be hostile the United States.

I say ‘perceived’ because my guess is you’d probably find no more avid fans elsewhere in the world than those clustered around Shia LeBeouf, the star of the film, in this part of the world. But after years of anti-American images in the Middle East, and years of entrenched mistrust, this is the kind of interaction – and publicity - that makes a difference. I hear from sources within the studio that DreamWorks was “petrified” when producers got clearance to shoot at the pyramids and in Luxor, and that LeBeouf was hesitant but decided to take the leap. (I agreed to hold this news until production had been safely completed.)

In the end, “Transformers II” shot for several days, bringing together a crew of 150 Americans and several dozen local Egyptians for an effort that producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who called from a cellphone while standing beside the pyramids, told me was “remarkably smooth.”

And now the report from Dan:

Hi there, I'm not a fan of Transformers but I can confirm after visiting the Pyramids section in Cairo last Friday (17th oct) that there was indeed a film crew filming on the third pyramid in the Giza area (can't remember the name, but for those of you that know, its the Pyramid with half of one side that looks like it's been dug out. They were filming some scene late in the afternoon before sunset (when the heat was less intense) and it was quite amazing because my girlfriend and I sat on some rocks 20 metres away from it all and managed not to get sussed out by the security crew (who were all wearing T2 badges...one of the crew was tying up his shoelace behind me and confirmed to me it was T2)about 40 people on site, the locals were trying to get their camels and donkeys in the scenes, which involved one of the cast climbing part of the pyramid.....

There is also rumors that TF2 was going to film in Jordan but if the above is any indication it looks like security is extra tight on the schedule to protect the cast and crew so we will probably not hear about it anytime soon.

Thanks to Dan for his information and Rich for the link.

TF2 Filming Today in Coronado, CA

Transformers 2 production (not sure if 1st or 2nd unit) is at Coronado, CA today to film scenes for the movie involving pyrotechnics, according to the city's website. Since gunfire and the like is involved it wouldn't suprise me if Bay and company is at Coronado and 2nd unit is at the Boneyard. Thanks to Ann for the information.

The San Diego Film Commission and Naval Base Coronado are working with DreamWorks Productions for a day of filming on Naval Base Coronado. They will be filming an action sequence near the bunker at the south end of Naval Base Coronado approximately a mile north of the Imperial Beach city limits. The work will take place from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Thursday, October 9 and will include gunfire and small explosive visual effects. It is planned that the gunfire and pyrotechnics will take place between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. There will be production trucks and trailers, generators and lighting equipment used on site. The Film Commission, the Navy and the production company acknowledge that the filming may create a disruption and have indicated they will do their best to keep the disturbance to a minimum. The location manager Marc Meeks and San Diego Film Commission representative Kathy McCurdy will be onsite during the entire project.

Bumblebee at The Boneyard

As previously reported, TF2 production is now at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (The Boneyard). Seibertron and Superherohype (via Flickr) forums have some pictures to prove it. The pictures show Bumblebee vehicle hanging around and production filming around a C17 (I think) C-130 (thanks Mike) which might mean they are filming scenes that match with footage shot with a C17 at White Sands a few weeks ago.

Shia Injured on Transformers 2 Set

TMZ is reporting that Shia received an injury near his eye that required stitches.

Sources tell TMZ Shia was injured by a prop on the set of "Transformers" -- we're told he got a cut below his eyebrow that required stitches.

After getting sewn up, he went right back to work. Injured hand, injured eyebrow -- no problemo.

We contacted Shia's rep, who said "No comment."

I have not been able to find details beyond that but it sounds like he got conked on the head by something. Also sounds like it just missed his eye with the "below the eyebrow" bit. You have to give the man credit for his wiliness to work through his injuries.

Update: Thanks to a site reader, have an update about the injury. It occured at Holloman Air Force Base.

The actor was shooting scenes at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico when he was injured - and he was more than happy to let base medics attend to his wounds.

One troop on the set tells WENN, "He was treated at the clinic at the airforce base by Colonel Torres and then a local ophthalmologist came by to check on his eye. He was in the clinic for about four hours and then he returned to the set once the swelling had gone down.

"We were all pretty impressed. Shia's making a lot of friends on the set of this film - he's a real guy who smokes like a fiend. To get up from a movie explosion, which leaves you injured, and get back in there is cool.

"He's got broken fingers from his car crash this summer (08) and now his eyelid has been slashed open. I guess he's lucky he still has his sight.

Meanwhile, soldiers and airforce officials who are helping director Michael Bay make the second Transformers film while on leave are learning it pays to get on camera.

The WENN source says, "There are about 200 real extras and some of them have landed scenes in the film. One supervisor has landed the part of a Jordanian officer who is involved in a crash in the film. It's great - and everyone is being paid $8-an-hour to be here. There's servicemen from Texas and New Mexico and even a few Green Berets here."

TF2 Casting Call Report

The Arizona Daily Star has provided a set report that includes the plans for the recent casting call that was reported about here recently.

The report verified that Transformers 2 production will be Tucson International Airport on October 6th. Between security and the airport size, it’s going to be difficult to determine exactly where they are going to be without a great deal of luck or inside knowledge of the exact location (which I don't have).

The event announcement called for people to dress like airport travelers of all types, so the line was filled with suits, cowboy hats, college sweat shirts, and for the most enterprising, luggage. The room buzzed with excited chatter for a day that was more cattle call than casting call.

A pair of married couples, Eric and Betsy Souza and their friends Eric and Michelle Jakoby, heeded the call of their pal, self-described fifth wheel Dane Snyder, who read about the casting call online.

Eric Jakoby, a 26-year-old fireman, was pumped. He still has his childhood collection of Transformers toys.

"We're here because there's nothing better to do in Tucson," one of them said, making all of the others crack up.

Thirty spots ahead of that group in line stood Ismael Soqui and his wife, Talitha Villalobos. Villalobos, a 22-year-old homemaker, wanted another taste of the movies after popping up as an extra in the 1996 Kris Kristofferson-starring TV film "Blue Rodeo," which was shot Downtown.

"I heard you talking about it on the radio," Soqui said, referring to my weekly guest slot on 92.1 KFMA's "The Frank Show." "So I told her, 'Let's do it.' "

Eric Impraim, a 26-year-old former Star employee with a fledgling acting career, showed up with his 21-year-old brother, Francis. Eric said he was hoping for a little boost for his career. Francis isn't an actor, but he thought it would be fun to check out the set of a blockbuster. He looked around with a confident smile, and after evaluating his chances, he said, "I try to keep a positive attitude."

Virginia Love, a 74-year-old retired teacher, drove 26 miles from Sun City Vistoso in Oro Valley. Her grandchildren, ages 4, 8 and 12, are "Transformers" nuts.
"I've always wanted to do this," she said.

Waiting in line for two hours really helped us all get into character. It's what those of us in showbiz refer to as "the method." I focused and slipped into the zone. I truly became a person standing around at an airport.

When it finally came time for me and my line mates to step into the casting room, we hushed in unison. This wasn't so much "Transformers 2" as it was "Terminator 2" — Judgement Day. We were handed numbered placards along with slips of paper that asked our names, ages, weights and measurements.

I don't mean to sound cocky here, but I absolutely nailed that audition. I brought forth an animalistic rawness reminiscent of Marlon Brando in "A Streetcar Named Desire." I was so amazing that after standing by the wall for three seconds, posing for a head shot with placard No. 267, the casting director had seen enough. (Those who followed had similarly short auditions. Most likely because the powers that be treated them as mere formalities in lieu of my formidable showing.)

As if not to dash the fragile hopes of the others, the casting lady gave us a blanket "don't call us — we'll call you" message. If DreamWorks wants us in the film, they'll ring us up. She said extras will get $8 an hour for the first eight hours, followed by time and a half for any additional hours.

I was mildly offended at the low pay, but after talking it over with my agent — OK, just mumbling silently to myself — I decided to accept. That is, I will decide to accept as soon as they call me. And surely they will. After all, what would the movie be without No. 267?

Good luck and have fun for those that where chosen as extras.