AOE Featurettes and BTS

IMAX Behind the Frame

TF4 News Catch-Up

First off in this major news post is a new TV spot that was aired during the MTV Movie Awards. There is some improved CGI, one extra shot and a slight extension of the scene where Optimus gets shot by Lockdown.

Trailer News, Leaked Toys, Plot and More!

I'm back! After a tiring last couple of weeks I'm back with a ton of big news. First of all, we have some new still which include Nicola Peltz and an unknown Transformer being acted out by Michael Bay, Wahlberg and Reynor by Bumblebee, the Autobots approaching a destroyed car and more. You can see them at the bottom of this post.

Secondly, we have some more information about the plot and story of the film. As a bit of minor news, the characters names have been confirmed as Cade (Wahlberg) and Tessa Teager (Peltz) and Shane Dyson (Reynor). Empire magazine gave a brief plot rundown you can see below. Skip it if you don't want any spoilers about the storyline.

Earth is scarred by the events of the past three movies, but is moving on after all the giant robots disappeared. Cade Yeager, an inventor, discovers a buried Transformer which sets the stage for the return of the rest of the Transformers.

Next we have some leaked toy images. The first is of Optimus Prime that differs slightly from the one that was previously seen. The others include Bumblebee, Hound (now confirmed as the bearded guy we saw in Detroit) and Swoop/Strafe who seems to have two heads in Dinobot mode. (Photos at bottom)

Steve Aoki, who collaborated with Linkin Park on their last album is rumored to be working on the Transformers 4 soundtrack after sending out an interesting tweet:

Discussing war politics between the autobots & decepticons over dinner w/ #michaelbay s4te #transformers4 http://t.co/9lresBYmxL
— Steve Aoki (@steveaoki) December 1, 2013

Michael Bay recently did an interview with IGN in which he said that Age of Extinction will be much more cinematic and have no goofiness, unlike the previous trilogy:

In the 4th installment of the live action Transformers series, Bay states this film will be "much more cinematic" and "won't [have] any goofiness." This is followed up with describing star actor Mark Wahlberg's character as a "wacky inventor." 

Bay also went on to say that Transformers: The Ride and the excitement around it was what made him return for a fourth go at Transformers and in another interview, he voiced that he has not ruled out returning for Transformers 5.

The first Transformers footage release date has been confirmed, although that is a bit of bad news. Our first look will be a 30 second spot during the 2014 Super Bowl. A teaser trailer will come shortly after, according to Michael Bay on his website.

Grimlock Robot Design Leaked?

It seems like the design for Grimlock might have been leaked due to this crew member's hoodie. Only time will tell if this is the real deal. Stay tuned.

TF4 on Entertainment Tonight

TF4 Interviews

First off is an interview with Transformers score composer Steve Jablonsky:

"I mean if you’re on an airplane and you’re listening to something with headphones, sure it’s not going to sound as big or important as if you were in my studio. He has so many things on his plate he might only have a minute to listen to a piece and I’ve actually been asked that by his people. They’ll say “the only chance that Michael has to listen to the cue is on his airplane” because he’s on his way to China or something. And I know now to say “absolutely not, I’m not handing this over so he can listen to it on his iPod. It’s just not going to happen, it’s not fair to him, it’s not fair to me and it needs to be presented properly”.

I think with each Transformers film he’s [Michael Bay] wanted something different and he’s always had this kind of specific theme where he’ll really want something special so he gives me these goals to reach, “this needs to be really emotional”, “this needs to be really kick ass”, and he always gives me new challenges. With Transformers 4 I haven’t had that many conversations with him, but I get the feeling that he wants something wildly different. Having said that we might use some of the old themes, though I’m not sure because it’s Mark Wahlberg now and a whole different cast, so we might just do something very different. The bottom line is Michael is paying me to make his films better. Whatever ideas he’s got, I’m going to listen to them, and fortunately he’s got these great ideas.

I fully expect on Transformers 4 whatever we do he’s going to want something wild and to go down some road where we use some crazy instruments or something. I don’t know yet, we’ll see what happens but he’s very adventurous in his creative process so I’ve learned that from him I think. He loves electronic stuff mixed in and that’s really where I got a lot of experience and now it’s part of my sound, I guess, because I get asked to do it a lot. I record a lot of things and then manipulate them in my computer and I really enjoy doing that that – combining it with the orchestra to make something new – and he loves that sort of thing, hearing sounds he’s never heard before."

Next is a second Age of Extinction interview. This one with Mark Wahlberg is much shorter:

“It's a completely different stand-alone movie" Mark told Access Hollywood of fourth Transformers film. "It takes place after the third one, after the battle of Chicago. It's definitely its own story."

"I think it's very different and fresh and people are going to really enjoy it. I had a blast making it," he said. "And you're going to see things in this particular movie that you haven't seen in the other movies."

The last interview is with Rob Moore, a top Paramount Pictures executive. He discussed the Asian influence in Transformers 4, as well as Chinese product placement.

"Having those products certainly reinforces the fact that this is Chinese culture and that there is a lot of story-telling happening there” Mr. Moore said. “Working with our Chinese partners really helps us to ensure we are giving an accurate picture of China. The Chinese locations, actors and environment all look very natural and consistent with Chinese culture. As people start to learn more about China, and now that there is a lot more sharing of information, we will do much better."
Michael Bay said the Hong Kong scenes will comprise one-third of the film’s length, while those in Wulong will last for two-and-a-half minutes. The shooting in China was completed Monday. Another location outside the United States was used for the movie, but Moore is giving nothing away, saying only that it is a “very cold place.” The film also features a host of Chinese actors, with Bay saying that actress Li Bingbing, who starred in “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan,” will appear in the movie for 30 minutes. Some of the Chinese actors in the new “Transformers” film appear in supporting roles, including actor Han Geng and four newcomers to the industry selected from a reality TV show organized by the Movie Channel. Three female farmers played impromptu roles in the scenes shot in Wulong.

TF4: It's a Wrap!

The official Twitter account for Michael Bay sent out a tweet Monday that principal photography for Transformers: Age of Extinction has completed. Now it's time to move on to post production, trailers, toys, posters and other promotional things before Transformers 4's release in about seven and a half months.

It's a wrap on #transformers4 #michaelbay #tf4 #transformers
— Michael Bay Dot Com (@S4TE) November 5, 2013

Side note:
I apologize for the lack of posting lately. I've been really trying to focus on my YouTube channel which has indirectly started to make me neglect posting news here. I'm starting to question the future of this blog due to the fact that I'm seeming to have a lot more success posting on YouTube. It might come to the pint where I will stop posting the little news and only post things like official renders, trailers, photos and TV spots rather than rumors and other smaller scaled information. I'll keep you updated on my decisions.

-MV

Bumblebee Clapperboard

Time for another look at a clapperboard from filming. This time we get a slightly blurry look of Bumblebee.

More Problems in Hong Kong

Another extortion attempt has occurred in Hong Kong. One man was arrested and others are being searched for after they threatened some crew members and demanded money. This comes not long after Michael Bay was attacked in another extortion attempt.

Police are searching for three men in connection with a second blackmail attempt on the production crew of Transformers: Age of Extinction.

One of the suspects was arrested while three others fled when police were called on Tuesday.

A week ago several men roughed up US director Michael Bay and some crew members. There are fears the incidents may tarnish the image of Hong Kong in the movie world.
In the most recent incident, the crew were preparing to film on the roof of I-Feng Mansion on To Kwa Wan Road when four men showed up around 2.30pm and demanded money with threats.

A female manager called the police who arrived minutes later and arrested a 35-year-old, surnamed Tse.

Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild honorary president Cheung Tung-joe described the incidents as shocking.

Cheung said he had rarely heard of directors being threatened in the past 10 years, but maybe those involved in the recent cases believed they could make big money from a foreign production team.

Photos from Hong Kong

Tons of photos have been flooding out of Hong Kong. Notables include Stanley Tucci and Li Bingbing on an imaginary motorcycle and new cars that include a white Lamborghini, black Ferrari, orange and black van and 3 Chevy Trax's leading the Freightliner into battle.
Photos from many numerous sources. If you would like recognition, please let me know and I'd be happy to include your name.

Michael Bay Attacked in Hong Kong

Via MichaelBay.com:
Hi, it’s Michael.
Yes, the story is being passed around is not all true! Yes, some drugged up guys were being belligerent asses to my crew for hours in the morning of our first shoot day in Hong Kong. One guy rolled metal carts into some of my actors trying to shake us down for thousands of dollars to not play his loud music or hit us with bricks.
Every vendor where we shot got paid a fair price for our inconvenience, but he wanted four times that amount. I personally told this man and his friends to forget it we were not going to let him extort us. He didn’t like that answer. So an hour later he came by my crew as we were shooting, carrying a long air conditioner unit. He walked right up to me and tried to smack my face, but I ducked threw the air unit on the floor and pushed him away. That’s when the security jumped on him. But it took seven big guys to subdue him. It was like a Zombie in Brad Pitt’s movie World War Z—he lifted seven guys up and tried to bite them. He actually bit into one of the guards Nike shoe, insane. Thank god it was an Air Max, the bubble popped, but the toe was saved.
Then it took fifteen Hong Kong cops in riot gear to deal with these punks. In all, four guys were arrested for assaulting the officers.
After that, we had a great day shooting here in Hong Kong. The place couldn’t be better.

Dino Spotted in Hong Kong

The Italian Transformer might be returning for Transformers 4 after all. After being absent from any public filming, a red Ferrari (with a racing stripe I might add), has been spotted with the other Autobots after being transported to Hong Kong. The voice actor for Dino sadly passed away shortly after DOTM's release, so if the character was to return, I'd expect a non-speaking role. On the other hand, they could always find another Italian actor with a similar voice. What do you think? Is this car going to be Dino? Sound off below!

 

Leadfoot Spotted Again

Leadfoot has been spotted for a second time, this time on a trailer taking some Transformers 4 cars back to California because they are no longer going to be used for filming. Also on the trailer was the rusty truck and two of the Rally Fighters with an interesting skull logo. Images thanks to Autobot_Jacer of TFW.

TF4: Dreads, Photos, Videos

It looks like a Dread might be back or at least have a new member. A Dread was spotted on the set in Chicago with the Pagani and Freightliner. Remember that a while back when Ratchet was spotted, a Chevy Suburban was also seen in the area. It could be proof of at least a cameo from Ratchet.

Also there are some new photos of Michael Bay checking out footage that was filmed as well as some explosion videos from Chicago.

First video thanks to Rich B.

 

 

 

 

  

 

TF4 Filming Videos, Photos

Pagani Bot Image and Official On-Set Photo

Another clapperboard photo has been taken thanks once again to cmraseye. This is most likely of the Pagani. Also, Michael Bay Dot Com has released another official photo from the Transformers 4 set. It shows Michael Bay in his natural habitat of Bayhem and destruction.

 

Melee Props and On-Set Photos, Videos

Bulk of post pulled per the request of Paramount Pictures
Below you can see some more photos (thanks to tflive.com) and videos from TF4 filming in Chicago and it seems as if the white 2014 Camaro is still being filmed. Will it be an alt mode in AOE?

TF: AOE On-Set Photos

Time for some more on-set photos that include a mysterious white Camaro, an Aston Martin Vanquish and more. Thanks to Colin H. and @NicolaPeltzInfo for most of the photos.

 

TF4 Dinobot Figures, On-Set Photos and More

First off in this post is some more concrete evidence of the Dinobots appearing in TF4. A planning sheet from Toys 'R Us has been leaked which reads "Transformers 4 - June 2014 Dinobots theme + 2 more movies planned." So yes, we will be getting Dinobot figures. This also shows that it would seem like the Dinobots would have a large role in Transformers 4 and that two more movies are confirmed to come after TF4. To view the sheet, click here.

The next piece of news is the selection of four Chinese actors from the Transformers 4 reality show. The winners are Byron Li, Austin Lin, Candice Zhao and Teresa Daley. The extent of their roles is unknown, but the characters are described as a Kung Fu fighter, a sexy goddess, a computer geek, and a cute Lolita. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura said, "I want everybody to have fun. We are always looking for different ways to learn about other cultures. This is a great way to see people's passion and excitement. It allows for everybody to have fun together."

Next on the rumor mill is a future ILM special on the Dinobots. According to an inside source the special would include the creation of the Dinobots from top to bottom, much like what was done for the Driller and Devastator. During the featurette, the crew will be wearing TF4 hats that look like the current logo but with claw marks through the number four. There is no known date for it's release.

Finally, we have some more photos and videos from the Transformers 4 set in Chicago. Notable photos are of the human villain (Harold Attinger) played by Kelsey Grammer as well Stanley Tucci (Joshua) and his assistants played by Victoria Summer, Melanie Specht and Abigail Klein. A notable video is the first one where it seems like Bumblebee is scanning a different alt mode.
Photos by John Leon-Guerrero and the Chicago Tribune.