Spoilers
June 26th, 2008 | Digg This
The Movie Blog got the scoop on one of the key indoor scenes involving Shia La Boeuf and Rainn Wilson as a professor. This passage of text does give away spoilers - involving mystical powers and Einstein. Josh Duhamel has also revealed a key plot detail in an interview with Empire:
“I guess who he’s working with is probably the biggest change,” said Duhamel, before adding once more, presumably for emphasis. “Who he’s working with.”
Implying that the Autobots and Decepticons may be forced to work together to overcome a greater evil, perhaps the all powerful Fallen.
Movie Blog Spoiler
On the first day of class, Sam goes crazy just before getting to class for some reason. It seems there is some object that he was exposed to that affected him, our guess is the splinter from the cube. Anyways, Rainn Wilson asks the class to turn to the first page of the text book (which, apparently, Rainn Wilson’s character is the professor of the class AND the writer of the Astronomy text book that they are using in class). Wilson’s character’s name is Professor Colon (pronounced: koh - lawn). Everyone except Sam turns to the first page. Sam, instead, read the entire book in 5 seconds by just flipping through it, then starts telling Wilson’s character about what parts of his book are wrong. He also starts talking about how Einstein was wrong. Sam gets up from his seat and goes up to the chalk board and starts writing a lot of weird symbols on the chalk board (probably Cryptonian). Then he starts asking why nobody understands and then he leaves class. On the second day of class, he apparently returns, but acts less crazy.
The reason we suspect that it is an object he touches that makes him crazy is because there was a scene shot earlier where he was on the phone Fox’s character Mikaela, and he was asking her if she had “it” and then told her to make sure she doesn’t touch “it”. Our guess is the “splinter” (left over piece of the Allspark Cube), but it could be something else, of course.
Oh, and the last scene that was filmed on Wednesday evening was of Sam arriving to class while riding the red motorcycle that people have seen in pictures. I don’t think that proves whether or not it is a Transformer or just a motorcycle, but it could be worthwhile information in the future.
Talking with the New Jersey Times, Michael Bay has revealed a little about Sam Witwicky’s character development:
The university angle to the plot “is all about Sam growing up and going to college … a teenager growing into a man,” Bay said.
[...]
With Witwicky enrolled at a fictional East Coast school with an Ivy League feel, Banes comes from Los Angeles as a visitor to her friend’s new campus, Bay said.
Campus scenes were shot at both Princeton and, earlier this month, at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
June 9th, 2008 | Digg This
Thanks to Roboquaker, we have a second set of images from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum near Washington DC.
These pictures show a small radio controlled car, rumored to be “Wheels” given the call sheet descriptions which suggest Wheels is fairly small. (Can you imagine it as a toy!?)
UPDATE: High Resolution images added. Reproduced under a creative commons license.
SHH have posted up a second set report to go with this:
I’m back one last time with a report about what I saw filmed at the museum on Saturday. Some potentially spoilerish stuff will follow, so be aware.
I arrived around 10 and stayed until they broke for lunch (around 2, 2:30). Got to see a lot of stuff filmed, it was really quite interesting stuff. Shia, Megan Fox, and John Turturro were all on set.
All filming pretty much took place around the SR-71 Blackbird today. When I first got there, Michael Bay was being pushed on a cart with a camera filming an RC car, an RC monster truck to be exact. It would roll past the side of the Blackbird and stop at the front. After several times doing this, Shia and Megan would then run and follow the RC truck along the plan to the front (Shia was holding what I can only describe as a plastic spoon probably standing in for something digital later). When he got to the front he would hold it up to the nose of the plane.
Potentially big SPOILERS may be here in this next part, but the next bit filmed was John Turturro and that unknown actor in the green hoodie from yesterday filming a scene facing the front of the plane. After some flashes of light, Turturro freaks out and yells “Decepticon! Get behind the MIG!”. So it’s official, the Blackbird is a Decepticon, or at least that’s what the characters think.
After that they took a long time setting up and filming the RC car rolling straight towards the nose of the plane and stopping. They then placed a two foot tall cutout of a robot (what the RC car will transform into) in its place and took some shots to get references for the FX team. And finally, they had the car roll towards the plane and stop, then Shia crawled into view and held up his “spoon” to the nose of the plane.
The last couple of scenes I saw before the broke for lunch was a scene with Megan Fox. It was far away from where we were allowed to stand and I couldn’t hear any dialogue but the tiny robot cut out was standing off camera and she was looking down at it while talking. And lastly, Shia stepped in the scene next to her and was yelling at someone off camera (though again I couldn’t hear any dialogue).
June 8th, 2008 | Digg This
Following the Smithsonian revelation in the call sheet, fans rushed to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum knowing what, where and when to expect the Transformers filming crew to be doing. Topherlyon has sent TLAMB his pictures of the event, and HowDesign have some up too. There’s a set report following the gallery that provides some background information on the day’s events.
It is thought that the plane with the Autobot symbol on its tail, where no filming was taking place, is Michael Bay’s personal aircraft. You can also see several shots of the SR-71 Blackbird, which is now known to be Jetfire. Outside, Bumblebee is clearly visible as well as a green car (partly under covers), thought to be a Chevy Beat concept, almost certainly another Autobot.
Both Shia and Megan Fox have been spotted on set, though no clear photos snapped.
SHH have also posted a set report from Friday:
I’ve got a first-hand Transformers 2 set report from Friday.
The misinformation machine continues to roll for TF2. News was that TF2 would be filming in DC for a few days. Got a call from my buddy at 4pm yesterday that they were filming at the Air and Space Museum, no not the one in DC, the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum by Dulles Airport in Dulles, VA (30 -40 mins outside DC).
My friend and I quickly left work and headed over to the museum because it was only 5 minutes away. We arrived there and there was nothing to really indicate that filming was going on, it was very low-key. Found them filming inside and the only way you could tell it was for TF2 was from the crew’s badges (an Autobot logo followed by the number 2).
Met up with our buddy and watched a few scenes being filmed. Saw Michael Bay filming, but couldn’t make out what was going on too well because they kept us back far enough. Museum security and crew were heavily guarding the area from people taking photos. My buddy said Shia and Megan Fox were there earlier filming some scenes and Shia would be back soon. We finally saw what looked like Shia dressed in an old time pilots outfit (think aviator goggles and a white scarf around the neck). He was standing between a pillar and a mannequin dressed like him, along with several other mannequins dressed in different pilot outfits. They repeatedly filmed a security guard running by as Shia reached out and put a taser to his neck and the guard would fall to the ground.
We chatted with a crew member and he mentioned how not many people knew they were there and that they had been filming there since Thursday. At the time we were there, they were filming around the SR-71 Blackbird. I don’t know how legit this is, but the crew member said that the Blackbird is going to be featured very prominently in the film, but that people aren’t really supposed to know that. So if true, let the speculation begin as to what Transformer this will be [Jetfire].
They continued filming the taser scene as the museum closed and we were ushered outside. The crew member also mentioned they would be going outside to film some scenes in the parking lot later. So when we got outside we found the coned-off parking lot with a few cars sitting huddled together under tarps. One was clearly Bumblebee, the rims and parts of the yellow bumper were visible. There was also a lime green car. From the look of the shape and the front bumper I would guess that it is either a Toyota Matrix or a Scion xA, but I’m probably wrong. The third car had a very strange shape and I could not make it out.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get close enough to the cars to get decent pictures on my camera phone. We waited around for a while but by 6:15 we had to leave. They were still inside at that time so we didn’t get to see the new cars actually being filmed.
So there you have it. They are filming there again today and I plan on going back to check out some more. I’ll be sure to send along anything new I find out.
Oh, one last thing, Michael Bay flew to the Museum (which has its own runway) and there on the runway sat a white plane with the Autobots logo on the tail. Pretty freakin’ cool. Can’t remember if he had that during filming for the first one, but he’s got it now!
June 6th, 2008 | Digg This
An anonymous tipster has sent TFLAB the Bethlehem, PA Call Sheet (wiki) and with it some massive spoilers.
MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW
To the top right of the image, it reveals that there are 84 filming days, not including scheduled breaks, etc.
Transport
The breakdown of the transport used during the shoot reveals 3 Arcee Motorcycles, an Icecream Truck, Ironhide, Stinger, Audi R8, 3 NEST Hummers, 2 Trikes, 10 ND Vehicles and an ND Semi, with Autobot drivers to be dressed in black.
Using the set descriptions, and location, it is obvious that the area we have seen is being used as a steel production yard - set in Shanghai, China. The scene breakdowns also reveal that the Icecream truck is a new robot - splitting in two (”twins”) around children whilst leaving them treats (comedy is back, excellent!). The Audi R8 is also a suspected Transformer, though it is not revealed here - it is involved in a chase through alleys, escaping from The Twins. There is no mention of the aerial pursuits we have seen in videos and images.
June 5th - 6th Schedule
Air and Space Museum
A second location, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (Washington DC), has also been revealed in the Advance Shooting Schedule.
Here a Decepticon symbol is discovered on an SR-71 Blackbird, before transforming into Jetfire! There is also reference to letting “Wheels” out, possibly another Transformer.
Bumblebee and The Twins are also established in an alternative scene at a parking lot at the Sands Bethworks.
April 5th, 2008 | Digg This
The IESB have thrown out their Transformers 2 robot roll call, and with it they state that the Decepticons shall have the help of the Constructicons in the second movie.
In the cartoons, their names were Scrapper, Bonecrusher, Scavenger, Mixmaster, Hook and Long Haul. And what do we get when they all combine and form one huge ass robot? That’s right boys and girls, we are going to see DEVASTATOR on the big screen!
… I’ll re-iterate that. Devastator is big.
Here’s a pretty awesome fan mock-up of what Devastator may look like in the movie, created by Rise Studios. A cinematic adaptation of this character shall probably appear a lot more complex than this, to fit in with the style already set out by the first movie.
As for the human side of the argument, IESB have posted up a prospective character list which is now waiting to be cast:
[CHUCK] 19-25 yrs., Sam’s roommate at Princeton. He runs a conspiracy theory website. Funny in an irreverent, edgy way, he is shocked to see his conspiracy theories come to life. (2nd Lead)
[U.S. MILITARY LEADER] Late 20s/early 30s, African American with a great sense of humor and a tough military presence. (Supporting lead)
[UK SPECIAL FORCES LEADER] British, in his early to mid 30s, smart and capable. Can be Caucasian, Black, East Indian. (Supporting lead)
[GALLOWAY] Early 40s-early 50s, male, National Security Advisor and presidential liaison. A curt man who is tightly wound. (Supporting Lead)
[PROFESSOR COLAN] 40s, Sam’s physics professor at Princeton. He’s a self-satisfied intellectual who compares himself to Einstein, and is arrogant enough to wear leather pants to look cool. (1 Scene)
[THERESA] Early 30s; she’s Sgt. Epps’ wife, has 4 kids, sassy and sexy, good with comedy. Submit African American actresses only
[MOMMA SIMMONS] This NY Momma is in her late 60s / early 70s. She runs a deli/ butcher shop with her son in Brooklyn. Tough and sarcastic. (1 Scene)
[MASSIVE DYNAMICS CEO] 50s, male, this Corporate CEO appears in front of congress to testify. (1 speech/scene)
[TEXAS CONGRESSMAN] 55-65 yrs., on a Congressional Committee investigating the purpose of the “Automated Defensive Initiative” developed by Massive Dynamics.
[FBI DIRECTOR] Mid 50s, male, giving a press release assuring the public they will be safe against attacks. (1 speech/scene)
[CNN REPORTER] Reporting on missile strikes and bombings in various cities. Submit male / female, all ethnicities (1 speech)
