Turturro, LaBeouf, Fox Talk Transformers

In a new article on Examiner.com, John Turturro, Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox talk about Transformers, "trickiness of fame" and more while at the London premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Snippets below, full interview here. Thanks to Hanna for the link.

John, did you actually climb one of the pyramids in Egypt?
Turturro: Yes, that’s why they hired me after the professional stuntmen. I kept climbing and I went a little too high one day, and I heard all this screaming in Arabic. I thought they were worried about me, but they were worried I was going too high and I was going to injure the pyramid. It was interesting.

Shia, your hand injury was written into the "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" script. How did you deal with that injury while filming the movie?
LaBeouf: When you break your hand, it’s hard to button your pants, but you’ve got to do it. You just buck up and get through it. There’s only so much you can fake. We had three cameras going at once. It takes a long time to rig some of these stunts. You’ve got to do it. I also had fantastic stuntmen. Vladmir [Tevlovski] took the brunt of the abuse.

Shia, Megan and John what was it like working with Michael Bay again?
Turturro: [He says jokingly] Dreadful.

LaBeouf: It’s not dreadful at all. Me and [Michael Bay] have a big brother/little brother type of thing. We get into it sometimes, and John [Turturro] becomes the liaison between us. He [Michael Bay] is like a football coach. He just doesn’t coddle you. That takes getting used to. Actors are used to being coddled. You get that in a sense. There’s a real masculine energy on these movies. I enjoy the hell out of it. It’s like skydiving for five months.

Fox: It’s like constant chaos. The crew named it Bay-os [as in chaos] and there’s also the term Bay-hem, which is an everyday thing working with him. It is exciting. He is rough on his actors on purpose. I think he likes the legend of being a tyrant.
Turturro: I just based my character on Michael. The key to making any movie is that you have to key into the sensibility of the guy [the director] who’s going to be there every day and who’s going to be working on the film after you’re long gone. And it took me a while to understand that when I first started out. But you really do have to look at that person and connect with their sensibility.

I had a lot of fun. He [Michael Bay] lets me try things. He has a lot of energy and he works very hard. You know the shots are going to be interesting, so you just have to be open to moments in working with him. I had a good time the first time, and I had a better time this time.

Shia and Megan, you’ve both become a lot more famous since the first "Transformers" movie. How are you dealing with all the media attention and has your life changed for the better?
LaBeouf: My life’s great! The [on-set] trailer’s going to be bigger this time. I’m very fortunate and blessed. I’m not the most gifted performer in the world. I’m just very lucky with these opportunities and I’m happy to keep working.

Fox: I don’t know if you’re ever prepared for public scrutiny. I don’t know if it’s something you can mentally prepare yourself for, but it is part of the job. Maybe it’s not the most pleasant part, but I get to experience so many other things that are blessings that I shouldn’t be able to experience. So that’s the tradeoff.

Megan, you’re known to be very outspoken in interviews. Is there anything you’ve said that you regret or want to clarify? And do you think you’ll mellow out as you get older?
Fox: That’s possible. It’s something that I struggle with, because I feel like I have the best intentions when I do these sorts of interviews and when I speak the way that I do, and it’s unfortunate when journalists or press choose to knowingly twist the meaning of my words — and that discourages me from being outspoken and being as honest, but I fell like it’s something that I just want to do. I hate reading or watching bullsh*t interviews and watching these created images that people present to you on television that you know are fake and manufactured. I’m trying not to be one of those.

Megan, you’ve said in an interview that you’re afraid of Hollywood because you think you’ll lose your privacy. Do you still feel that way?
Fox: In my head, I don’t know which exact quote you’re referencing. I was probably just talking about the inner workings of Hollywood, like young Hollywood, the Hollywood lifestyle. You sort of fear that, because you so quickly become overexposed.

And once people know too much about your private life, there’s no mystery and there’s no reason to pay to see you in a film. And I think that’s something that’s impossible to avoid in Hollywood currently. And maybe that’s why there are no real film stars anymore like there were in ‘50s. It’s a dying breed of movie star. That’s why there’s the overexposure on the Internet and the media and paparazzi and whatnot.

Shia, Megan and John, if you could transform into anything, what would it be and why?
LaBeouf: This question has been asked for two years now. I’d transform into an answer to that question.

Fox: I agree. There’s no good answer.

Turturro: I’d like to transform into Ann-Margret. That would make me happy.
(Note to future interviewers, don't ask that question to the TF cast, they are sick of it based on videos and the like I have seen.)