More Queensway Explosions on Video

To go along with Gettodeath's video at the Queensway Bridge are the three videos shot by FMD805. The first video is the Autobots on Shoreline Avenue as they film them driving down the road. The second video is a chase sequence involving Optimus Prime and the "Chinese" police. It shows three takes of pyrotechnics going off for unknown reason near the police as a camera car rigs goes through the middle of the explosion in the opposite direction. The third movie shows a larger explosion that has cars and debris flying into the air. Always fun to see things go BOOM!



Thanks to FMD805 for use of his videos.

Queensway Bridge Explosion Video, Pictures

Gettodeath, of the Autobots video, has struck again, this time with video and pictures of filming on the Queensway Bridge in Long Beach, CA yesterday.

The video shows filming in a highway portion as cars suddenly peal out of the way to probably avoid a CGI Transformer. After that it shows a massive looking explosion with debris flying everywhere. Pretty cool looking.

In addition he provided more pictures of vehicles including a blue Chevy Volt. In the third vehicle you can see what might be the same car (or just another prop car) as it crosses an intersection. The last picture is more of the aftermath of the explosion from the video.


Thanks to Gettodeath for the video and images.

Update: Removed reference to Volt being a prop car (as probably isn't) and also added below pictures which have been enhanced by Keith (thanks!) to better show off the vehicles details.

Transformers At Long Beach Today, Tomorrow

The Movie Chronicles blog is reporting that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will be closing the Queensway Bridge in downtown Long Beach, CA. Part of the filming will include "precision driving...with car stunts and explosions...". The picture is from bruxhina's flicker account and reports part of the areas "has been transformed into little China, with street signs in Chinese." I wonder if this is related to Gettodeath's recent pictures. Chronicles also noted that parkings lots have been set up on Pacific and 4th which could be used for production parking or to store the Transformer vehicles.

"Shanghai" Production Pics

Gettodeath has provided additional production pics of Transformers in the LA area as they prep a site for shooting. As the Chinese signage indicates, shooting continues for "Shanghai, China" as the site seems to be related to what was shot in Bethelhem, PA and San Pedro, CA. Whether or not it was first unit or second unit and the what, who, and so forth is unknown.

Thanks to Gettodeath for the pictures.

From Philly, A Saturn Drive By

PhillyFilmGirl has posted a new video from the shoot that occured at Princeton back in June. She intends to post a new video each month as a lead up to the movie's release. In this video, you get a quick shot of the Saturn driving by that has been seen used in several shots including the attack by a Frenzy like Transformer. I can't exactly what is being shot but I think that is Ramon Rodriguez hanging outside the car. Or a camera guy. Just a wild guess.

TF Ice Cream Truck Video

A few weeks ago Gettodeath was able to take pictures of some of the vehicles while they where at a San Pedro site filming for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Below is a brief video that Gettodeath provided today of the mysterious Ice Cream truck that keeps popping up.

Thanks to Gettodeath for the video.

Shia Back On Set Tomorrow

ET is reporting that Shia LaBeouf will be returning to the Transformers 2 set tomorrow.

Sources tell ET that Shia LaBeouf will be returning to work tomorrow on the Los Angeles set of 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.' The actor recently spent time in a Los Angeles hospital and underwent surgery on his hand after a July car accident. Shia's injuries will be written into the script of the 'Transformers' sequel. Keep checking back here for more on this developing story.

I guess he is recovering even better the Isabel Lucas thought. I am curious to know what changes where made to accommodate the hand injury.

Transformers 1st Unit on Hiatus

Due to Shia LaBeouf's hand injury, 1st unit production is taking a 4 week break to allow the actor time to recover according to TFW2005. The actor crushed his left hand after a car accident on July 27th and will required time to recover from the surgery

2nd unit will continue to film scenes and interstitials the film needs. 1st unit is the primary unit that Bay directs from and works directly with the actors. Generally if you see a movie's lead on screen, chances are its 1st unit work.

I guess Bay's statement that the injury will not cause delays was before the schedule and what was left to shoot was given the once over. Considering Shia's injuries pretty much every scene he is probably had to be re-designed to cover extra use of stuntmen and to either hide his hand or work around the injury.

An example of the level of difficulty is the Barricade scene. Technically not much stunt work was needed but during that scene Shia used his hands constantly to push himself off cars, crawl back, slam against the police cruiser and so forth. With his current injury he simple would not have been able to film that. Instead the scene might be covered in a different way, more distance or close-up with a stuntman doing the bumping into the cars, crawling up the hood and charging from the lot. Problem with that though is it means more behind the head shots, less reaction shots and the like.

Now that is just once scene but carry that out through the entire movie (say something as simple as holding the All Spark) and you get the idea of how a hand injury can complicate things. There is a reason why even when films do the fake injuries (shot shoulder, hurt leg, etc) they tend to leave the hands alone. Considering that it is safe to assume the 2nd film will up the ante across the board, that also ups the complexity of trying to shoot around that hand regardless if the injury is added to the story or not.

Will this delay the movie release next June? I doubt it. Bay started work on the sequel pretty much immediately, working hand in hand with ILM and Digital Domain, giving the entire production a substantial head start. I think there is still about a 3-4 month buffer in the schedule before the threat of film release delay becomes a danger. In the meantime, best wishes to Shia and good luck in the recovery.

When Will the Hiatus End?

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has ended its first half of shooting. A planned hiatus was built into the schedule but when it ends is not known. My best guess is early October. Here is my reasoning.

Part of the reason for the hiatus was because of the probably SAG strike that is coming around July 8th. Even if a miracle happens (say firing SAG President Alan Rosenberg) so an agreement can be reached, the month of July is wash. Whether the strike lasts a day or an agreement is reached before the 8th, all the studios pretty much operated on the assumption that no work would occur for the month of July.

This brings us to August. Same reason, the strike might be long so no point in scheduling things then either. There are other reasons too though for skipping August. The main one is most of the filming is expected to occur on the West Coast in Arizona, at Holloman Air Force Base, Edwards Air Force Base and so forth. Since some of those locations are desert and a lot of the action is going to be outdoors just like in the first movie, it’s safe to assume its going to be very hot. Filming actors sweating through their costumes and looking like they are going to pass out in the heat is probably not the heroic image Bay would be looking for. Another reason is they would have to stop production again anyway for Shia LaBeouf.

Now to September. On September 26th, Shia's next movie, Eagle Eye (trailer below) is scheduled to come out. It also stars Michelle Monaghan, who I have a bit of a crush on. Anyway, assuming the strike is over, Shia will be spending pretty much the entire month promoting the movie so he will not be available for Transformers. Also, Josh Duhamel is currently filming "When In Rome" (with Kristen Bell and Alexis Dziena, the lucky ...) so unless his role is really small, he may still have to complete his commitment to the film. It doesn't make sense financially to start production, stop it, start it, and then stop it again. It is better to stop, wait until all current commitments are complete and then start up again.

That leaves October. Also, regards to shooting at Holloman Air Force Base, "Fall" is the repeated time frame and October fits in nicely for that. Hopefully I am wrong but we shall see. I just hope between now and then some character design sheets and the like are leaked for us to enjoy.

Eagle Eye Trailer

Why Princeton Isn't Princeton In TF2

In an article from the NJ Times, it was revealed that as part of the plot for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Sam Witwicky is "enrolled at a fictional East Coast school with an Ivy League feel." The natural next question is why a fictional school when Transformers 2 just finished filming at two distinguished institutions of Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania. It’s a question that UPENN students have also asked and started a public Facebook page on the subject.

Princeton? Really? You HAD to shoot at the University of Pennsylvania and choose to have us 'play' Princeton? Shia couldn't have gone to UPENN? Join this group and ask Michael Bay to CGI the University of Pennsylvania (not Princeton) back into Transformers 2.

The group already has 200 members and amazingly got a response from Bay via "Nelson" who is a webmaster for Bay and been a reliable source of information.

Michael has indicated to me that neither school gave him permission to use their names. There was a very funny “mom” scene were both felt it did not represent the school.

So there you go, now you know why its a fictional school. It seems the school officials have some explaining to do. Considering the movie is probably going to be PG-13 and I am assuming (maybe incorrectly) that Julie White is the Mom is question, then I think its safe to say the scene will probably be hilarious.

If I was a booster for either college I would be very angry at this news for the school official’s essentially pissed away god knows how much free advertisement for their schools. Sure, some people will know the schools where used for the movie but nothing like seeing the schools name on the big screen to get the curiosity and interest of the public. You can't buy that kind of attention. Nor the money and students it could bring in.

To bad Bay didn't choose my alma mater (UGA), they probably would have been okay with it. Besides, honestly I have to agree with the Facebook group, the Sam character is just not an "Ivy League" guy, he is a University guy. Nothing against Princeton but between the two schools, UPENN just “fits” the character better.

Thanks to RiahRiddle for the link.

Update:
From the comments, it turns out the University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League school. I didn't know that and so far I have not spoken to any one that did (even two people form PA). I don't know but that strikes me as something like that should be common knowledge. So based on that, then Sam doesn't fit at either school because he simply doesn't strike me as Ivy League material based on how he was established in the first film. Sadly a comedy moment was missed as they could have had it so Sam didn't know UPENN was an Ivy League school and had to be corrected by Professor Colon (where Rainn would have had fun with various ways of doing that). Nice thing is the scene would have been funny and told millions and millions of people that UPENN is Ivy League. Oh well, too late now. Now I wonder if UPENN as one of those secret fraternity (or even better a sorority) that the other Ivy Leagues schools are rumored to have.

SAG Strike Threat Grows

LA Times is reporting that the strike threat has Hollywood on edge as the countdown continues to June 30th when all SAG actors are likely to strike as talks between SAG leadership and the studios have failed to reach an agreement.

The talks have become so continuous that the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) broke away from SAG after more then 25 years of co-representation and where able to reach an agreement modeled after those reached with the Director's Guild of America (DGA) and Writers Guild of America (WGA). SAG has refused a similar agreement citing it not going far enough to meet their demands.

This disagreement with handling of this issue extends beyond the AFTRA to include the SAG membership itself with many members expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of progress and the hard line that SAG leader Alan Rosenberg has had. The heart of the disagreement is DVD residuals, cut of advertisement fees used within a project, and fees for their images being used online. Essentially they want more then already agreed on with the DGA and WGA and as a result the studios are balking.

The actually strike is not expected to start until after July 8th. In part because of the July the 4th holiday but also because on July 8th, AFTRA's membership is expected to vote in support of the reached contract. If that occurs it could put a major dent in SAG's position. Despite that, 90% of SAG’s membership fuels the TV and movie industry so a strike would bring Hollywood to a near standstill.

SAG has granted waivers to 350 independent films (those made outside the studio system) but major studio projects have not been granted waivers as a result this directly impacts Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen which has built-in hiatus to plan for the event. The length of this hiatus is not known and if the strikes goes past the planned schedule that could prevent the movie from meeting its release date.

So to sum, SAG doesn't appear close to an agreement. If a strike occurs it will likely start July 8th or shortly after. Transformers 2 production is already shut down and when they return is unknown. The impact on current and future projects will pretty much be immediate.

Brooklyn Bridge Rumor Solved?

Filming In Brooklyn may have figured out why there was no Transformers 2 production at the Brooklyn Bridge over the last week despite rumors. It turns out there was one but no one may have noticed.

Last week, rumors were flying far and wide about a weekend shoot on the Brooklyn Bridge for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which had been filming in Philadelphia before moving on to Princeton, NJ this week. Filming In Brooklyn had stopped by the bridge over the weekend to check things out, but found no signs of filming, and figured that maybe the rumor had been completely false.

However, Filming In Brooklyn has just learned that T2 had a permit to shoot from a helicopter for a couple of hours in the middle of the night. They were supposed to be shooting a car driving over the Brooklyn Bridge. And while we still don’t have confirmation of the shoot taking place, it’s completely possible that it happened without anyone really noticing.

Very interesting if true. Second unit crews exist for this very reason, to get shots that don't require cast participation to execute. I guess we will find out when the movies comes out. Thanks to Amy for the link.

Princeton Article on Transformers Plot

The Times has posted an article about Transformers 2 productions presence on campus with brief interviews with extras and Michael Bay. The article also revealed a little bit on what the shoot is about. Also it said that today will be the final day of shooting on the campus. The next destination (if there is one) is unknown. Some choice bits from the article:

"I thought the school was going to freak out and did a little" before accepting the crash shots, Bay said yesterday during a brief interview.

In one scene shot inside one of Princeton's large lecture halls, LaBeouf's character attends an Astronomy 101 class, Bay said.

In another shot at Princeton's Dillon Gymnasium, he and co-star Megan Fox are among dozens of students fleeing the building into a courtyard and parking lot ahead of some yet-to-be-revealed menace.

And while filming here is officially a closed set, hundreds of onlookers for the last two days lined the perimeter of some of the scenes -- though they were periodically instructed to keep quiet and take no pictures.

For a time yesterday afternoon, the area outside Dillon Gymnasium was the place to be for a glimpse of the celebrities and a chance to see the cameras rolling.

The university angle to the plot "is all about Sam growing up and going to college ... a teenager growing into a man," Bay said.

As the battle continues in the second film, LaBeouf and Fox reprise their roles. Although both characters have grown from high school- to college-age since the first "Transformers" installment, only LaBeouf's Witwicky is off to college because Fox's Banes can't afford school, 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.

Not much is revealed but now know how Mikeala and Sam hook up before the latest Transformers adventure kicks off. Interesting ivy league Princeton is not actually going to be Princeton in the film. Thanks to Jeany for the link.

More Signed Transformers

Stacey has provided the below pictures with her son Austin and his signed Transformers. One is the Masterpiece Optimus Prime and the other is Ultimate Bumblebee.

Hey everyone! This is really cool. My son Austin has been following Transformers from state to state. He got Megan Fox, Shia Labeouf, Michael Bay, Tyrese on his special addition Bumblebee Transformer car. There are so many fans that have helped him get up front to get this signed, but he just called Shia and Michael Bay over and the signed it right away! This is truly a one in a lifetime experience! Enjoy the pictures.

Thanks for the pictures Stacey and congratulations to Austin.

Set Report From Princeton Day 2

Mark has provided another set report for filming at Princeton University's Holder Hall. Sadly it appears that Sam's Transformer problem has followed him to school and chaos ensures. Thanks for the report.

The TF2 crew was shooting at Holder Hall this morning until about 1:30. The scene they were shooting today ended with Shia, Megan, and Ramon running out of the building into the courtyard, which they shot several times. Once, they ran out into the courtyard, hooked each others’ arms at the elbow, and did a little dance (clearly trying to alleviate some of the boredom of doing the exact same thing over and over). Isabel Lucas was visible at one point, but I couldn’t tell if she was involved in the shot.

Once the principals were done, the crew shot a group of about 20-30 student extras running into and out of the dorm’s western entryway (the same one that Shia, Megan, and Ramon had run out of). It was pretty funny to watch the extras run, because they were being funneled in and out of the doorway in a big circle, so the kids that had just run out of the building would circle around and run back in until the shot was over. In both cases the crew used a smoke machine in the dorm’s southwest hallway, which was visible from one of the windows.

While the extras were being shot, Shia and Ramon threw a football around in the building’s courtyard for a while. The security guards and local policemen who were guarding the main archways of the building (where the rest of the gawkers and I were standing) were very strict about pictures today. They waved off anyone who even took a cell phone out of his or her pocket. Around 1:30 the crew broke for lunch and relocated to Whig Hall, where catering had been set up.

Michael Bay walked into the building with Isabel, then came back out and sat on the building’s front steps drinking a Diet Coke and talking to one of the crew. A few minutes later Isabel came back outside with some food and Michael joined her and one other crewmember for lunch on the steps. Not long after that security started dispersing the small crowd that had gathered on the lawn opposite the front of the building.

-Mark

Update: Russell has found additional pictures (like above) on Just Jared that show Megan Fox and Shia Labeouf on campus. Of note is the picture of Shia that shows a tattoo or some marking on his lower arm. Part of the character or just a personal choice?

Next Stop: Princeton

Based on information received here and there, Transformers 2 production is now finished in Philadelphia as of yesterday. The next stop is Princeton, New Jersey for the next 3 or so days. Exact number is unknown.

As for New York, when and where they are shooting remains unknown. So far I have not heard anything that indicates if its still in the schedule or not. A hiatus in the shoot is scheduled to start June 30th (thanks to the probable SAG strike) so if it’s going to occur it has to be late this week. Time (and leaks) will tell.

Back to Princeton, for the last several weeks Sunday has been the day of rest for the stars and the day the production crew packs things up and moves to the next location. Based on several reports I have already received it looks like they are already on the Princeton campus and begun some preprep. Emily has reported that she has spotted crew prepping McCosh 50 (classroom scene), Mathey Common Room and Holder Quad (dorm). She also saw a news copter doing a flyover, possible to capture some footage? David reported seeing the 'E7' signs along Faculty Road which appears to be base camp as he spotted trucks, trailers and cops guarding the area.

Hopefully full details will start to come out but there you go at least some indication that TF2 has made landfall at Princeton University. Thanks to Emily and David for their info.

Update:
From JD, comes the left picture and three more you can see here. He reports that the production and related trucks are along University Drive and will be filming a scene in Madison or Holder Hall. He also spotted dining trucks in the center of campus, one for the cast and one for extras (who will be based at Whig Hall).

Transformers Locations on Wednesday

I have recieved a report from Braden that Transformers 2 production is at the Richmond Power Plant today. Bumblebee has been sighted by multiple site readers around Lewis Street where some trailers are located.

Also, in a seperate report from Sam, they have also been spotted at Philadelphia City Hall.

How long they will be there, what they are shooting, and the usual details are unknown but if in your in the area at least you will know what the activity is about.

Thanks for the information.

Filming Today and Other Days

From various anonymous sources (thanks) comes a possible shoot schedule with many gaps. Exact addresses are unknown nor are times and for how long. I just have potential locations. I am not entirely sure but I think the University of Pennsylvania part of the shoot is now complete.

Today, June 14
The Free Library on Ben Franklin Parkway, PA
Richmond Power Plant, PA
Update: I have been informed that additional filming occured at the PECO Power Plant and 25th and Washington (A chase scene with a silver Saturn with bullet holes in it).

June 18 "Saturn on Hook", no idea exactly what that means, maybe local Philly residents will
June 19 unknown location but involves a French theme. Update: location verified as Rittenhouse Square in Philly
June 22 Brooklyn Bridge, NY
June ? Bannerman Island, NY
June ? Princeton University

Few Costume Descriptions

Speaking of blogging about costumes, thanks to an anonymous source for the left picture of some costumes for Transformers. I removed some names and numbers from the label for privacy reasons (lots of mspaint cut and pastes).

The picture shows many greenish-brown canvas coats, some pants and what appears to be a red marching band outfit but may not be. It was suggested the costumes might be casual Army type uniforms maybe for boot camp or the like. All are about medium size but without seeing them on a person, the source was unable to tell exactly what they could be fore. Additional racks held firemen costumes. Their purpose is also unknown but I imagine that the TF war will start fires that need to be put out. These clothes are on a hold rack which means they where set aside to be used in the film but may not necessarily make it before the cameras depending on needs, etc.

The person didn't have details beyond that but just another nugget of information to add to the Transformers 2 mystery.

TF2 UPENN Shoot Starts Today

Slashfilm.com reports that Transformers 2 will hit the University of Pennsylvania starting today. In a letter to UPENN employees, it says the shoot will occur at the Quad and Psi Upsilon (Castle) Fraternity from June 10th to June 15. Yep, Spike goes to college. Thanks once again to Jeany for the link.

To the Penn Community:

DreamWorks Productions will be filming scenes for the upcoming movie “Transformers 2″ on Penn’s campus this week. The filming will take place in the Quad and both inside and outside the Psi Upsilon (Castle) fraternity on Locust Walk. Both Penn and DreamWorks staff will be on hand to help guide people around the area during filming in an effort to minimize any inconvenience.

Setup, filming, and set deconstruction are scheduled for the Quad from June 10 through June 12 and for the Castle fraternity from June 10 through June 15.