Ain't It Cool News Set Visit and Interviews

AICN.com has posted about a set visit by Quint. He previously visited the set several months ago when the shoot had just started. Once again it’s the Los Angeles, end of movie shoot that has been talked about in set visits by other sites. He was able to see a couple takes get filmed and sat down for an interview with various cast members. One thing though, the leaked February draft of the script is darn close to what they are using as the shooting script. They may have reworked some lines and maybe tweaked pacing but the main fight sequences and FX heavy parts, I think out of prep time necessity, most of the script was left mostly intact as written.

In the brief interview with Quint, Josh Duhamel claims to have been a TF fan as a kid, but I have my doubts based on the sum total of various interviews I have read. Not important but does make you wonder why bother to lie or at least exaggerate your interest. This is his chance to break out and join the movie big boys and leave his Las Vegas TV salary behind. Can't blame the man for being ambitious and the potentially certainly is there (if he chooses his projects carefully). Any case, I recommend he get someone to hook him up with some old eps, the cartoon movie, and a few toys. This way when on the promotional press tour next year, he will have some anecdotes to help sell his "childhood" interest in Transformers. He can then claim he still has some of those toys from his childhood and whatnot. Do a house tour and boom, instant props.

Michael Bay commented on his vehicle choice for Optimus Prime (which personally I don't see the problem), "The reason I went with the flames was to be able to define Prime's mid-section when he's a robot." The flames act as sort of the defacto grill/ribs for Prime while the long-nose truck was chosen for additional mass which I assume means he looks taller and a better match to Megatron. Additionally, the Skorpinok film opening sequence has been fully rendered. I am thinking that some of that will be used in the Thanksgiving trailer.

Bay also expressed that he is pleased with choice of Peter Cullen for the voice of Optimus Prime but that they plan on hiring actors to help create video reference for the animators to work with. He stressed it wasn't motion capture, and sounds to me more like how traditional cartoon animators, especially Disney, use to capture human expressions on their cartoons by often filming their voice actors while doing ADR and let the animators copy them as they saw fit or just using a mirror and so forth. Bay should pick of a few of the older Disney flicks and watch their making of bits to see how it was done.

The article picks on Megan Fox a bit (with reason I think, again based on sum of articles seen and read) and so I shall pass on the opportunity because she is hot and in our world that means everything (joking a little). Bay also expressed some concern over not having a bigger presence at the San Diego Comic-con, ala Spider-Man 3. Personally I don't think it mattered since the film is still a bit a ways and the true momentum doesn't really matter until about three months before opening cause of the ADD of the average consumer who don't even know what a comic-con is.

The article had no new information to reveal about the movie. It’s mostly just touches base with the set and gets a feel for things. Like AICN.com, I have high hopes for the movie and unlike most of fandom, I am mostly pleased with has come out about the movie. I hope the shooting script is more polished the February version as far a dialogue, humor and some of the setup. I also hope that this desire to emphasis the alien-ness of the Tranformers is lightened some. I understand where the Bay and co are going with it, but there is a reason Sci-Fi gives the aliens a touch of humanity visually. It’s not just to save money, its helps to create a connection (or disconnection) with the characters for the audience. Starscream and his sneer is a classic example. Show his face to anyone, fan or no fan, and once they see that smug sneer, they instantly know his character. The movie Megatron for instance, screams evil, but I am afraid that he will develop him into such an over the top evil that he becomes a characture. My point is to follow the Darth Vader and Sci-Fi Rule of Alien Characters - allow some humanity to leak out in words, actions AND visuals.

Full article here.