Shooting of Transformers 4 is going great with Wahlberg and the new cast. We are having a great time in Texas.
I’m reading how the news makes everything more dramatic than real life. I guess the truth was just too unexciting. Yes there was a small smoldering fire at a house and no, no one was injured during the fire. And no, no one “just narrowly escaped” as the news dramatically states. A crew member though twisted his ankle after falling in a gopher hole on the ranch.
The fire was put out in a brief 15 minutes by a great fire crew on set. It was an attic fire and cause is unknown. No we were not shooting in the attic, we were shooting outside on the ranch.
Michael
If you live in the United Kingdom or visiting in from June 20th to September 1st range, you might to check out the below dates as Hasbro is doing a tour of the country to promote the release of the Transformers Prime Beast Hunts toy line. The tour will have the Optimus Prime truck on site along with the "Transformers Station" which will show off the toys, upcoming DVD releases and online play. Hit the press release below for more details.
At a Detroit construction site, Paramount seems to be building a new set. Since Transformers 4 is the only movie I am aware of that is prepping to film in the city, it isn't a reach to assume its being built for the film. Right now it is still to early to tell what its final look will be but parts of it seemed designed to be incomplete. It also seems to have a Chinese influence so it might be part of whatever is planned for story points set in China and Hong Kong and tie into whatever is being filmed there towards the end of the production schedule. Considering the effort being put into strength and support, I guess people will be filming in and possibly on top of it so it has more purpose than just something to be destroyed (even though that could happen too). Thanks to Jerry B for the pictures.
This goes under unsubstantiated rumor so don't get too excited (or annoyed). An accidental hashtag on Paramount Pictures Instagram account combined with comments from MichaelBay.com admin Nelson suggests that maybe Megan Fox returns in some capacity for Transformers 4. The since pulled picture had a hashtag of #MeganFox with an image of the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Coupe. When asked about this error Nelson at first thought it was fake because the post is more then 140 characters but when told it was on Instagram he said "My bad. Someone's in trouble. It's gonna be a long week."
MichaelBay.com has posted another new car that is part of Transformers 4. From the site, "Unveiling yet another surprise . . . the extraordinary and exhilarating 2013 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Coupe. High resolution photo: http://bayhem.com/16OKk8T". 
Tomorrow a new episode of Transformers Prime Beast Hunters premieres on The Hub at 7:30PM EST. Called "Thirst", the episode revisits Dark Energon and its ability to create zombie Transformers (like Cliffjumper in season 1), as "Knock Out and Starscream experiment with synthetic lead and threaten to take over the Decepticon ship and unleash an old enemy." The promo and a clip for the ep is below, the previous two eps of TF Prime are at Hub World. As can see below, after this Prime takes a two week new ep break and then picks up again with at least three new ones in a row. For now, the final two episodes of the series has not been scheduled. 
Michael Bay loves his filming tech, using each of the TF films to experiment with something new. Transformers 4 is continues the tradition as he has added Radiant Image's Nevo line to his lineup for the film (in addition to new IMAX 3D cameras). The web-cam sized cameras were shown to the public for the first time at Cine Gear Expo this weekend. The cameras shoot in uncompressed 2k Raw. As for what 2k Raw means I don't have a clue but I think it comes down to the video will be detailed enough that only experts might be able to tell the difference between what was shot by the mini-sized cameras vs. their larger counterparts. What it comes down to is their tiny size but professional quality recording means that Bay can get really creative on his camera angles and stick em pretty much anywhere he wants to shoot a scene. I just hope this doesn't result in TF4 resulting in shaky-cam syndrome that plagues many an action flick. Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.
Marc Ganis, the president of Jiaflix Enterprises, suggests interesting things about Transformers 4 saying the story "has a great deal to do with China. Effectively, China is a character in it." Jiaflix Enterprises is essentially hoping to become the Netflix of China and is part of the "Cooperation Agreement" with Paramount to finance a portion of filming in China and Hong Kong that includes a Chinese only reality show to cast actors for the film. The agreement is part of a move to increase Hollywood's status in the country which is currently the 2nd largest movie market in the world and growing. 
MichaelBay.com has confirmed that the green military vehicle spotted on Transformers 4 Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park set is Hound. The vehicle is "The always rugged and reliable Hound, one of the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles from Oshkosh Defense. High resolution photo: http://bayhem.com/16wz8Oj." In Generation One, Hound's alt mode was a military jeep but over the years he has varied from jeep to truck while maintaining his military green color scheme. One constant of the character is his should missile. Will his robot mode have it too? Thanks to The Chad and Wynton R for the heads-up.
Today on The Hub, a new episode of Transformers Prime Beast Hunters airs at 7:30PM EST. Called "Plus One", "while on a mission to gather a Precadon bone relic, Agent Fowler finds himself in a tight squeeze with Jack's mother." It seems the hunt for Predacon parts continue. The promo and a clip for the ep is below, the previous two eps of TF Prime are at Hub World. After next week's episode, TF Prime will go encore the most recent four episodes then resume with a new one on June 28th.
MichaelBay.com has confirmed that the yellow and black vehicle photographed at Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park where Transformers 4 is currently filming is the alt mode of Bumblebee. The site says 'Bee is a "highly modified, vintage 1967 Camaro SS." Hi-res images of the car can be found here.
As Transformers 4 continues to film around Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, it seems a fourth Transformer was spotted riding around the area with the green C7 Corvette Stingray. The vehicle appears to have a black and yellow color scheme and shape that looks a whole lot like the Transformers Prime Beast Hunters version of Bumblebee. Additional images posted by rezzieboi shows off more of the Optimus Prime vehicle mode, references Bumblebee underneath a tarp, another look at the Vitesse. Also of note is a very rusted truck that looks almost identical to the Generation One alt mode of Prime. Thanks to Mauri D for finding the images.
JoBlo think they have the character names for the two new Autobot vehicles being used in Transformers 4. The site reports "According to the source the C7 Corvette Stingray is named "Slingshot" and the Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse is named "Drift". There are two Autobots with the same names from Transformer's first generation of characters but it isn't completely clear if they will be the same characters or just share the same names." The site previously had provided a list of potential characters in the film including the Dinobots. Drift is a recent creation from the IDW comic book series and not part of the original toy line. Slingshot was a member of the Aerialbots and consistently had a plane alt mode for the various toy lines.
Yesterday who got a look at two new Autobot vehicles and now we have the new look at another one. According to MichaelBay.com, the image to the left is "The completely upgraded, custom-built Optimus Prime from Western Star (a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America)." Hi-Res images of the cars can be found on Flickr stream.
Today principle photography on Transformers 4 has officially begun according to MicahelBay.com in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona. The site also posted pictures (below) of two Autobot vehicles, a green 2014 Corvette Stingray and 2013 black & blue Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse. As for what characters these gorgeous vehicles represent, only time will tell. Thanks to Mauri D. for the heads-up. Update: Hi-Res images of the cars can be found on site's Flickr stream. Thanks to Jeffrey Marshall for the link.Transformers 4 Starts Filming in Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
Comedian T.J. Miller has joined the cast of Transformers 4, playing the best friend of Mark Wahlberg's character. The role, like Wahlberg, is a mechanic (one assumes race cars) but no name has been provided. If the actor seems somewhat familiar, he is currently one of the leads on Fox's The Goodwin Games that is airing on Mondays. He also was in Cloverfield and voices Tuffnut in the How To Train Your Dragon franchise.
This is a "cheat sheet" for Transformers 4 that attempts to summarize the details on the movie as it comes in. As a result consider this a Spoiler Warning. Verified means the information either came from someone associated with the film (an actor, director, producer, etc.) or through mainstream press (CNN, THR, etc.) so unlikely to be false (but no guarantees). Feel free to comment on any inaccuracies or new info that isn't reflect in the sheet. The below is ultimately speculation and rumor until officially confirmed through those with the production of the film.
Tomorrow on The Hub, a new episode of Transformers Prime Beast Hunters airs. Called Chain of Command, "tension builds within the Autobots team as they face the return of the Predacon." The last episode ended with the Decepticons finding the remains of a new predacon for cloning. The promo for the ep is below, the previous two eps of TF Prime at Hub World.
While attending the Texas Frightmare Weekend at the beginning of May, Transformers' Glenn Morshower told fans that he would not be in Transformers 4 citing a scheduling conflict as they had begun filming and he couldn't fit the film in. Last year the actor had said he though he would be in Transformers 4 and 5 so I guess the story changed and didn't need his role of General Morshower. Considering Michael Bay frequently has said Transformers 4 is going in a different direction, losing the military angle would be a good start. Thanks to Shane E. for the info.
JoBlo.com is reporting their sources have revealed some of the potential Transformers characters and brief story points that might be in Transformers 4. JoBlo's track record is iffy at best but that doesn't mean this isn't one of the times they get it right so spoiler warning. None of this is remotely confirmed so take it with a grain of salt. If the previous movies are any indication, it will be a while before we have any real information on what TF characters will be in the movie. Thanks to Wynton R. for the heads-up.
Transformers: Robots in Disguise #17
The China side of Transformers 4 production has found one of their 4 or so actors professional actors by casting Li Bingbing in the movie. The actress is an A-list actress in China while a complete unknown in Hollywood with her first big role being Ada Wong in Resident Evil: Retribution. 
After four weeks of "encore" episodes, Transformers Prime is starting its next run of four new episodes on The Hub at 7:30pm EST, starting with Project Predacon. The first four left off with a repair and more powerful Prime rejoining the Autobots. In this need episode, "The Decepticons launch a new scheme to clone an army of beasts." Below is the promo, clip and a look at Predaking. The last video is the new opening posted by hitfix that has a "heavier rock version" of the opening theme that was composed by Brian Tyler (Iron Man 3).
Transformers: Robots in Disguise #20
The Wrap is reporting that Sophia Myles (Moonlight, MI-5) has joined the cast of Transformers 4 in a "major supporting role" that might be a scientist. This will add her to the already known leads of Mark Wahlberg, Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor and Kelsey Grammer. Considering her lovely looks, I suspect it probably will evolve into a love interest of sorts for Wahlberg's character. I enjoyed watching her on Moonlight (a vampire series cancelled just before vampire stuff became popular again with Twilight) so please with the addition. Transformers 4 starts principal photography in June or July in Detroit or Chicago (reports vary). Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.
Below is a video of a sweet movie Transformers inspired costume called Bolt with moving parts, light up eyes, jet pack smoke thrusters, moving mouth and more. The sound is off because Marc De Repentigny got a notice about the background music that was playing. You can also find a gallery of images for the suit at MarksProjects.com.
Transformers 4 Chinese Actor Talent Search reality show to find 4 actors for the movie has started its casting process. The reality show is culling from 50,000 to 80,000 entries to find 2 professional and 2 amateur actors to play unspecified roles in the movie when filming starts sometime this summer in the country. The show is a result of a "cooperation agreement" between China and Paramount for unspecified financial, promotional and political assistance for the movie.The highly anticipated blockbuster attraction TRANSFORMERS: The Ride – 3D will officially open on Thursday, June 20, 2013, Universal Orlando announced today.
Universal also launched an all-new “Join the Resistance” Facebook experience to prepare fans for the battle they’ll experience on the mega-attraction. “Recruits” can create their very own NEST IDs, train for battle, access exclusive photos and video and win prizes – including a trip to the attraction’s grand opening celebration on June 20. Click here to join the resistance.
Deadline is reporting that Kelsey Grammer (Boss, Frasier) has been cast as the human bad guy for Transformers 4. According to the site he is playing "Harold Attinger, a counter intelligence guy." The site also says production is supposed to start in July (rather then the rumored June I guess). No more details then that. As a long time fan of his work, it should be interesting to see how he chews the scenery. Thanks to Wynton R. for the link.
Universal Studios Orlando has begun their campaign for the grand opening of Transformers: The Ride. The attraction is already open in Hollywood and Singapore. The new campaign is beginning much the same as the Hollywood one with an outline of Megatron on the Fairwinds Credit Union with a "home video" (below) of an encounter with the Decepticon. The last time they started the marketing it was to later announce the attraction would open Memorial Day weekend which this year is May 24th to 27th. Another sign that the attraction is nearly ready to go is these great pictures from Wynton R. that show of the completed attraction building with stocked gift shop.
