Transformers 3 in Florida, DC Start Date

The cast and crew have arrived in Florida and have already started filming. Also it seems that the Washington, DC shoot finally has a solid start date with the week of October 11th.

While much of the filming is expected to occur around the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, it does seem that isn't the only spot. The Walton Sun (and Destinlog with same article) reports that the crew filmed today at Northwest Florida and Regional Airport and Hurlburt Field.

“It’s a closed set,” [Michael Wesley, the film crew’s assistant location manager] said. “We’re trying to keep the media to a minimum and we’re not releasing information.”

Don Arias, a spokesman with the Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt, said the base is cooperating with the crew because of the positive view the movie will give of the military. “They’ll be showcasing Air Force personnel as well as the CV-22 Osprey on Wednesday (today),” Arias said. “The filming is not open to the public, the media or base personnel.”

The crew checked in at the La Quinta Inn in Fort Walton Beach on Sunday and is scheduled to stay through today. Rohit Trivedi, general manager at the La Quinta Inn, said 30 to 40 crew members have been filtering through the hotel, some wearing “Film Crew of T3” shirts.

After Florida, the cast and crew are expected to descend on Washington, DC. The exact dates have been in limbo for a while now but the TBD.com site is reporting that Josh Friedman from the DC film office provided them with a start date of October 10th.

It looks like Transformers 3 is now locked in for the week of October 11. Mostly the same locations as previously reported, but there are a few items that are still being finalized. Once all of the details are locked in, in the next few days, public notifications (traffic alerts, etc.) will be going on from various agencies with more information.

The website also provided a description of a scene being filmed that may or may not involve John Malkovich's character. The site admits to any real knowledge about the film and characters so the degree of accuracy is highly suspect. Once DC wraps, that will likely finish the USA side of principle photography as the remainder will be filmed overseas at undisclosed locations and times. Thanks to Ray and Rumah for the links.

...Shia LaBeouf could be speeding across a downtown intersection, John Malkovich on his tail I'm just throwing names together from IMDb, as I've never seen these movies and don't know who is enemies with whom while robots lumber after them near the ... well, near the what? Where are they shooting? The "previously reported" locations, best I can tell, are the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and the Red Cross building, both of which will provide their best imitation of the White House. Let's hope those "few items" not yet finalized are exciting. I'm crossing my fingers for a big makeout scene on the South Lawn.