DOTM To Spin Moon Conspiracy Theory

Transformers: Dark of the Moon producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura recently spoke to the Associated Press about how the moon landing ties into the movie plot and add a spin to moon conspiracy theories. Not that it was staged. We all know that rumour is a bunch of bunk.

No, this story involves what Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were doing during those 21 minutes of radio and video silence on the Apollo 11 mission. You think they were turning over rocks and drinking Tang? Think again. Turns out the two astronauts were actually bouncing over to the dark side of the moon, investigating a crashed alien space ship that turned out to be — yes — a massive Transformer robot.

"We give you a whole new reason why the moon landing actually did happen," says Lorenzo di Bonaventura, producer of the Transformers movies. "Everyone was right. The conspiracy existed. It was just a different one than people thought."

"With moon conspiracies, there's a contradiction at work," says di Bonaventura. "There's a deep-seated romanticism about the moon with the poetry and romantic settings. Then you have this notion that there's this gigantic lie propagated about what may be 20th Century man's greatest single achievement."

What catches my eye isn't a summary that the teaser trailer hinted at but the idea that The Ark just might be an actual Transformer like Omega Supreme that Transformers fans has been theorizing for months now. However, before you see this as confirmation note that the information didn't come from Lorenzo but the article writer so for now the idea remains rumor only. (via TFW2005, thanks to Chris and Sahara for link)

di Bonaventura: More Comedy Than Before

In an interview with IGN while promoting Red, Transformers 3 producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura spoke about 3D, comedy and action. At one point the he said the movie would have more comedy which seems to contradicts Michael Bay but he said he was "getting rid of ...the dorky comedy" so I guess that part is (hopefully) getting replaced with more natural comedy. Thanks to rumah for the link.

"[3D] captures scenes in a way they haven't been captured before and here's a different sensibility to the movie as a result" he explained. "Michael is so awesome at shooting, the question originally was how the cameras would work because they're cumbersome. Look how long it took Jim Cameron to make one movie. All those things are quite daunting, but Michael figured out how to use the cameras in a day.

"We had a day early in pre-production set aside just so he could test the cameras and see what they were like. If you look at Avatar, the camera isn't sweeping around in the way Michael uses the camera, so we had to make sure it could do what Michael does. I think people are going to be pretty wowed by the result."

"What you can expect is more comedy than we've ever had before" di Bonaventura revealed. "You can expect bigger action sequences than we've ever had before and you can expect a different character through-line for our lead because he's a little bit older and Rosie's a little bit older - there's a maturity there that didn't exist before.

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Transformers 3 Related Parking Restrictions, End Date (Updated)

Two new articles from Chicago Breaking News provide official information on when production will wrap and where they will be filming in the city for the next few days. Transformers franchise producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura spoke with the website and said that September 1st is the current last day for production.

"It's funny, we keep extending it here because we're having such a good time, to tell you the truth," Di Bonaventura said. "We were supposed to leave a few days ago, actually, and we kept extending it. Right now, around Sept. 1, but if we have any say in it, we'll keep staying here."

"Last night, I tried to think to myself 'How many cities have I shot in the last seven or eight years,' and I got up to about 118," Di Bonaventura said. "The reason I thought about it was because all of us have felt this was the best city we've ever shot in."

The other article Breaking News reports that parking restrictions will now in effect for filming around Wabash Avenue and Washington Street. It ends on Saturday morning so I guess production will be in that area for the next three days. Thanks to Colin Hinkle for the links.Read More »

di Bonaventura: Replacing Fox a Risk

E! Online has posted another interview with Transformers 3 producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has he once again comments on replacing Megan Fox with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Thanks to Brian for the link.

Is the Victoria's Secret model simply filling the hot-girl quota needed in a blockbuster franchise? "Well, Rosie is pretty hot," laughed Lorenzo. "But she's been great. She has a fantastic attitude, and she's been having a lot of fun."

"Rosie will definitely be [Shia's] love interest though," dished the famed producer. Well, we saw that coming a million pouty-lipped miles away, but how is LaBeouf taking a liking to the new chick on set?

"You know what? Their chemistry is proving to work out. You never really know. That's the biggest risk," Lorenze ‘fessed about the decision to replace Shia's good pal. "Megan and Shia had very good chemistry. Fortunately for us, these two have good chemistry.

It's a larger cast in general," the producer added about what positive changes to expect. "We've got [John] Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey...So what's happened is the shape of the movie has changed because of all the new people."

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Di Bonaventura Comments on Fox, Tyrese in Costume

In an interview with Superherohype, Transformers 3 producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura commented on the situation with Megan Fox and her leaving the project. He also mentioned he thinks this will be the last film for the current producing team and Michael Bay. In addition, Tyrese Gibson posted from the set the first look at his new NEST costume.Read More »

di Bonaventura Comments on TF3 Casting, 3D

In an interview with Collider, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura briefly commented on his current slate of projects including Transformers 3, Red, Moscow, and The Associate. Below is the TF3 related portion were he comments on casting and using 3D cameras.

Collider: You mentioned Bay and you mentioned Transformers 3. So how are things going on that shoot?
Lorenzo di Bonaventura: It’s going really well. It was very complicated to imagine the movie without the Mikaela character and that was something that took all of us a lot of time and effort. But the truth is we’re very excited what happened as a result is…it’s not just with casting Rosie (Huntington-Whiteley), but with casting John Malkovich and we’re Frances McDormand and we’re casting Patrick Dempsey and Ken Wong and it goes on and on and on. And so the movie feels like which you always fear in making the 3rd movie is it’s not replicating what’s been done before. And the breath of the new cast is I think helping you avoid that pitfall.

...how’s the 3D going?
Lorenzo: He is shooting a lot with 3D cameras and he is, as usual, a master of camera and he learned it very quickly. And it is going to be very exciting for all. I’ve had an opportunity to see it and it just looks fantastic. And so you know Michael is really enjoying shooting it, too. So it’s hats off to him because it’s working fantastically.

Transformers 3 Villain, Plot, 3D and Trilogy End

USA Today has posted an article that reveals the most information yet about Transformers 3 including who the main villain is, what the basic plot is about, the final word on 3D, a returning cast member and more in talking with Director Michael Bay and Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventure. Thanks to Christopher for the link.

With shooting underway on a third movie and plans to debut next summer, Michael Bay and Co. acknowledge missteps with the last one and aim to upgrade the shape-shifting robot franchise with a more coherent story, less goofball humor and a pledge that characters who die will stay dead. It will also be in 3-D.

"I'll take some of the criticism," says Bay, standing at a set built to resemble a dilapidated nuclear reactor. "It was very hard to put (the sequel) together that quickly after the writers' strike (of 2007-08)."

"This one really builds to a final crescendo. It's not three multiple endings," the director says.

Bay calls the second film's villain, The Fallen, "kind of a (expletive) character." The new movie's foe is certain to make fans of the original '80s incarnation smile: Shockwave, the robot cyclops-turned-laser-cannon, who became dictator of their home world of Cybertron after the other Autobots and Decepticons journeyed to Earth.

"One thing we're getting rid of is what I call the dorky comedy," Bay adds. So the twins, the two bumbling, slang-spewing robots? "They're basically gone," he says, though John Turturro returns for comic relief.

The new film features Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) taking his first tenuous steps into adulthood while remaining a reluctant human ally of Optimus Prime. "Shia has this great line: 'You know, I've saved the world twice, but I can't get a job,' " di Bonaventura says.

"I love Megan and I miss the girl," LaBeouf says, flecked with fake blood and dirt during a break between shooting. "But Sam and Mikaela became one character, and here ... you have discovery again from a new perspective."

Plot details are under wraps, but it delves into the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the USA, suggesting there was a hidden Transformers role in it all that remains one of the planet's most dangerous secrets. "The movie is more of a mystery," Bay says. "It ties in what we know as history growing up as kids with what really happened."

While Optimus Prime, Megatron and even Sam all have died and been resurrected, di Bonaventura says this film will have no do-overs: Die, and that's it.

Bay hints that there may be a lot of that. "As a trilogy, it really ends," he says. "It could be rebooted again, but I think it has a really killer ending."

To summarize the information:
- The movie is in 3D, no official word if shot in 3D or converted but likely the latter
- Big bad is Shockwave. Alt mode unknown, in G1 cartoons it was a laser gun and in later incarnations it was a Cybertronian tank.
- John Turturro returns and Agent Simmons
- Twins "basically gone", which I read as they come and probably go violently from the movie early on
- Plot focuses on the "hidden" story behind the space race of the 60s through 80s.

Bonaventura Talks TF3 in 3D, Mythology

Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura spoke with MTV about Transformers 3 in 3-D and Transformer mythology. There was also a little talk of the "feud" between Megan Fox and Michael Bay which basically came down to "much ado about nothing." The full interview is here, highlights below.

MTV: So there's been talk about shooting "Transformers 3" in 3-D or converting it after the fact. Where are you at in terms of that discussion with Bay and Paramount?
Lorenzo di Bonaventura: We're literally in the middle of that. There's no definitive answer. I think the answer is that as James Cameron, who had plenty and plenty of time to do it, even he converted some of it [edit: first we're hearing that "Avatar" had 3-D converted elements!]. So I think the answer is that, as with most movies, you're going to do some kind of combination if you end up doing it. I'm sure 3-D cameras are going to get lighter and more manageable and all the things that get in the way right now. Over time, that may change. But I think in the near and medium term, most movies will do a combination when and if they do it.

MTV: We've been hearing a lot about the third film's return to the core mythology.
di Bonaventura: I didn't think we veered away from the mythology in the second one. We stay pretty close to mythology in general, sometimes we add to it, as we did on the first and the second one. In second one, we're dealing with the matrix of leadership, a very clear mythological component. The Fallen is one of the original 13 Transformers. We were sticking fairly close to the mythology. We are going to continue to explore the past in the third one and that will continue to inform the present. I think it's pretty much the same thing we did on the first two: you try to get as close as you can to the lore and sometimes you run into pieces where there's not enough information to make a judgment, so you make your own call. That's a necessary component. By and large, the fans have accepted and embraced what we've been doing.

If the schedule will allow it, I am pretty confident that Paramount will go for a 3D conversion of the film even without Bay's blessing. I don't think the 3-D market has proven itself but the temptation of an additional $5 per ticket for what is a relatively inexpensive process (compared to the overall cost of a movie) is too tempting for the studio to pass on. I am sure they already have visions of "Transformers 3 in IMAX 3-D!".

Malkovich, Bonaventura Talk Joining Transformers 3

Transformers 3 Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and newly hired star John Malkovich speak briefly with a few websites about Malkovich's interest in joining the cast while providing a few hints on his role in Transformers 3.

From Coming Soon:

Q: On a film like "Transformers 3," do you find yourself having to explain a lot about what you're doing to the director and studio or are you given free reign?
Lorenzo di Bonaventura: Not with Bay, you know? With Bay, no not too much there either. Bay is such a general that it moves at his pace. The first movie we had to explain a lot of why we wanted to spend this, what was going on… dah dah dah, but most movies in my experience and in most studios they're all running in a difficult time right now and they're concerned about their careers and concerned about the results. I grew up in the Warner Brothers system and our philosophy was once we made our bet, which meant it's up to the filmmakers to deliver it. So it wasn't a particularly intrusive system after once it made its bet. You had to pass a lot of hurdles to get to the go, but once you got there it was like, alright we're here. We've placed our bet and our philosophy at Warner's was you can't direct the movie if you're an executive and you can't write the movie and you can't act the movie, so you know, unless they're going sideways what can you do? It's up to them to elevate it.

Q: And what is {John Malkovich's] role in that?
Di Bonaventura: You know we don't talk a lot about that script, but he's going to have a lot of interaction with Shia in that movie. And he's got a really fun character. And he's going to bring a really interesting spin to that franchise so it's going to be great.

From Latino Review:

How did you get involved with the new Transformers movie?
Malkovich: I spoke with him last week. Lorenzo and Mark and Summit are producing. They approached me about it. I’d see the first one, which I liked and thought it was funny. I like working with them very much. They’re very good producers, they’re very hands-on, always around, really get their hands dirty which is not so normal.

From IGN:

"I was never a fanatical movie person," [John Malkovich] told us. "There are many popular films I love like anyone else. Having said that, I'm not someone… I don't have time to go to the movies very much. I work [on] a lot of different things; I'm always busy. But I'm always happy to see a popular movie. … I'd seen the first [Transformers], which I liked and thought it was funny."

Information wise, not a whole lot of information. I get the sneaking suspicion that John's role is like Rainn Wilson's in the Revenge of the Fallen, essentially a cameo appearance to provide a few moments of levity.

di Bonaventura Talks Transformers 3

In an interview with Transformers producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura (who is promoting G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra) he discussed some of the possibilities for Transformers 3 with Rotten Tomatoes including Paramount possibly moving forward without Michael Bay, criticism for the movie and Unicron.

So based on the box office returns, are you guys already talking about Transformers 3?
Lorenzo di Bonaventura: We've started talking about it now. We're debating the right time for it.

Did the harsh critical reception for Transformers 2 surprise you?
LdB: The first one took a pretty big drubbing too -- that's what people forget. There's something about [director] Michael [Bay] that the critics just want to have at him. I think in a funny way it worked for the movie. I think people are fed up with critics. I think in a way it's making people contrarian. I think it was in this case, because a lot of people came up to us and said, "fuck the critics." I don't normally get that - you don't normally get people coming up to you and talking about the reviews - they normally just want to talk about the movie. But that was a point for a lot of those fans. It was fascinating - there's a major disconnect going on between the fans and the audience.

How do you feel about the criticism levelled against Skids and Mudflap being racist stereotypes?
LdB: Everybody has to put their own lens on these things. The intention was certainly not how some people perceived it... I'll put it that way. We didn't think of it that way, and we certainly didn't set out to offend anybody. I've been involved in a lot of movies that people have seen things in them that we didn't intend. I did a movie called Executive Decision a long time ago, and we were picketed by the Arab Americans and American Muslims saying we portrayed Islam incorrectly. And we were sort of like 'Well we don't see a lot of African-Americans or White people or Chinese people taking over airplanes in the sky', but we got into that conversation, and then you start to see their point. But they have a prism that they are looking at it through.

There's been talk of Michael Bay not returning for Transformers 3, so would you be prepared to make one of these movies without him?
LdB: As the producer I'd certainly love to see him back. I can't imagine Transformers without him. I guess the studio will see it sometime as such a big asset that they are forced to do it, but Michael has never intimated anything like that - the timing is the big question for him, not whether he is going to do it or not.

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Five ROTF Interview Videos

Found via TFormers.com and ENewsi.com, below are five interviews with Producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Tyrese Gibson, Ramon Rodriguez, Shia LaBeouf, and Megan. They talk about Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on a variety of topics all designed to make you excited about seeing the movie (just in case not yet convinced).

Shia LaBeouf


Megan Fox


Tyrese Gibson


Ramon Rodriguez


Lorenzo Di Bonaventura

Bay: No Hill, Palmer

Michael Bay peaked out from his Transformers 2 prep and posted on his blog:

No we have stopped negotiating with Jonah, and Teresa Palmer was not considered for a role - you have wrong info.
M

I suspect that Jonah Hill being in the movie will continue right up to the release date but I think between the EW article, Bonaventura, and now Bay we can all breath a sigh of relief that that bullet has been dodged. As for Teresa Palmer, that is based on the rumor that started based on a post from her talent agency. I am betting there are some red faces around that office. That leaves Isabel Lucas in the casting rumor list. On a side note, isn't it time to have a teaser trailer rumor get started? It would be great to have a teaser come out July 4th weekend.

Bonaventura: No Aircraft Carrier

MTV recently interviewed Transformers 2 Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. He confirmed that Jonah Hill will not be in the movie (yea!) but that "ultimately, we'll have a couple of casting surprises for everybody soon." He also confirmed that shooting starts June 2nd with shooting in Philadelphia and Bethlehem.

Finally, he shot down the long standing rumors of a transforming aircraft carrier.
“A transforming aircraft carrier?” Bonaventura repeated, denying its existence. “We saw a Japanese film that had something like that, so maybe that’s where that comes from.”

“We never really talked about that, practically speaking,” he said of the character who might or might not have been known as Broadside, and who Bay has said was simply too expensive to create. “There was some Japanese animated movie we saw where that occurred, and we were like ‘Wow! Look at that thing!’”

So to sum, no Jonah Hill, no transforming aircraft carrier, shooting starts next month.

Transformers 2 Shooting Date: June 2nd

IESB.net interviewed Transformers Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura about G.I. Joe and Transformers. The interview is Joe-centeric but below is the info he gave out about Transformers, the most important bit being a plan to start principle photography on June 2nd. With the current WGA strike and possible future strikes from actors and directors, this could change.

IESB: Can you give us a quick update on Transformers 2. Is it still planned for shooting in July of 08?
LDB: The second, June 2nd.

IESB: Is the story locked?
LDB: We're nowhere because of the strike, we won't know until we come back. We have a very fine outline and we know exactly where we want go with the movie but until this writers strike comes back, we'll find out exactly where we are. Michael is completely on top of every detail. He's designed a lot of great stuff already. He's got a lot of great sequences imagined but you know, he needs some writers to work with before he's ready to go, so I would say June 2nd is an unofficial start, it's the target date we'd like to go for but, you know, we've got to get some writers to help us.

IESB: Now, comparing to Transformers 1, how much bigger is Transformers 2 going to be?
LDB: (laughs) You know, I'm gonna let Michael answer that question.

IESB: (laughs) Well, come on $700 million dollars...
LDB: I'll say this much, I know that Michael wants to deliver a bigger experience for everybody.

Di Bonaventure Interview; Final Trailer Late April

The Latino Review has posted an interview with Transformers producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura today. In it he discusses Transformers and upcoming plans for G.I. Joe and Beverly Hill Cops 4.

Highlights of the interview:
- Transformers not finished, has "some of the most sophisticated visual FX that have ever been executed by ILM."
- One frame for fights takes around 38 hours to create. Its takes 24 frames for one second of footage.
- The pictures of Optimus released online and with the Toyfair footage is not the final version.
- The physics of Transformation was worked out carefully so no sudden increase or decrease in sizes like from the cartoons.
- Hard to convince die hards fans that this movie is what have been waiting for (snarky comments could be made but naw, I will pass on that)
- Only voice currently signed is Peter Cullen as Optimus Prime, no other role including Megatron has been hired yet.
- Final trailer coming out mid-April, early May. My best guess is with Spider-Man 3.
(source)

Transformers Producer Di Bonaventura Effects Update

Rotton Tomatoes has provided a brief update on the effects for Transformers from producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura. Right now everything is apparently on schedule and budget but plenty of work to do. I am thinking they will be working right up to deadline.

From the site:

"Transformers" Effects Progressing but Not Done
Posted by Scott Weinberg on Monday, Mar. 05, 2007, 12:34 AM

Ftopel writes: "As the release of the live action "Transformers" movie approaches, some web sites have been strategically shown footage. While reports have improved some skeptical notions, the work is not complete, says producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura.

"We were very proud of what we've seen so far of the movie and we thought it was time to show some people so the hardcore fan base could relax a little bit," he said. "They're not relaxing a lot but they've relaxed a little bit since we've put it out. It's a lot of fun. It's very true to these characters."

The filmmakers know it is a double edged sword of having a massive built-in audience, but a large number of equally difficult critics to please. "When anybody's passionate about something, you have a certain responsibility to try to deliver what drove their passion. What is great on "Transformers" is that people have made a lot of assumptions about what they're going to look like and they're all wrong because we haven't even seen 'em, so I don't know what they think they've seen. There isn't a single visual effects shot that's finished in the movie yet. So what's great is that it's going to keep getting better and better."

With the film on the books for this summer, there's still plenty of time to finish up. "This was planned. We're right on schedule. So far everything has moved really sensationally. We finished on time, on budget and our visual effects are coming in on schedule. They're just really complicated so they take a long time. We've seen the process so we've seen the evolution of a lot of the shots."

(source)

Di Bonaventura Commits on Transformers

Transformers Producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura was interviewed for a forthcoming issue of Wizard Magazine, in which he commented on his various projects including Transformers:

Di Bonaventura also addressed fan controversy surrounding next summer’s “Transformers” film.
“The thing I keep trying to find is how to create a forum between filmmakers and the core audience that is a constructive forum for both sides,” he said. “What we did was to take some people who live and breathe [Transformers], and then everything they could possibly want and know about Transformers, we did.”

I am curious to know who they spoke to. Ben Yee is considered one of the foremost experts on Transformers including consulting for the Beast Wars cartoon series but based on what have read, seen etc, I get the feeling that a casual fan or two was where most of the information about TFs was gathered.

Di Bonaventura Interview

iFMagazine.com posted an interview it had with Transformers producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura during the San Diego convention weekend. The article claims secrets are revealed.

The highlights:
- "We're doing CG animation on their faces" Hmm wonder if using motion capture or just regular animation skills?

- "I think it's [dangerous] to show things too early. By the time I saw King Kong, I had been there." I think he is referring to the production diaries, and to be fair if you had seen the orginial King Kong then there where few suprises. However, the analogy holds when applied the orginial teaser trailer look of Kong changed visually quite alot to the final version.

- Transformers will not match the animation look exactly. I may be a minority, but I hope not, just keep the visual features that are a core of the character. For Prime its his colors and his head, for Megatron its a big ass cannon and again the head. So on and so forth. Like most,that'ss why annoyed with the Megs as a plane. That just isn't bad ass enough. At least on paper, final product will tell the tale.

- Key plan is give working parts more movement and real world. I think that means truly show how a robot might change form every step of the way rather then the simplified version the animation show used where it was basically a three shot transformation. I am guessing the closest to it my be that transformation of Unicron, where you could see how his parts moved, combines, etc to get to robot mode, and even that is probably not really close to what the final attempt will be. Either way, if its even close to what I am thinking, it will be sweet.

The fill article is here.

(source)