Transformers 3 Filmed in Israel?

A tweet from Tyrese Gibson yesterday to promote his new book "How To Get Out of Your Own Way" reveals that Transformers: Dark of the Moon filmed in Israel at some point (no idea when). In the tweet he posted, "I was in Israel and this was the very moment God revealed to me I should write a book!!" along with a picture of him leaning against a wall in his Epps costume. Just in case don't believe that isn't his outfit, be sure to check out Tyrese in costume (think minus the vest) when he was filming during the summer. Thanks to a source for the heads-up.

Update: Comments are reporting a picture is from Revenge of the Fallen. That is plausible since production did film in Jordan which is very close to Israel with the character wearing essentially an identical costume. Net result is until see the credit scroll that lists some of the shooting locations, file this one under unproven rumor (so will not be added to the cheat sheet). I don't keep up with Tyrese's non-Transformers life so unable to verify how long he has been working on the book. Two years for a self help book seems a bit long but he has been busy.

Tyrese, Rosie Talk Dark of the Moon

In two separate members, Transformers: Dark of the Moon cast members spoke about the film. Tyrese Gibson spoke with MTV describing the film as "the biggest and best" of the series while Rosie Huntington-Whiteley spoke briefly with Total Film about being cast in the movie.

On her character, Carly, Huntington-Whiteley tells us: "She's English and is working for the British embassy... I can't tell you more! That's all I can say for now!"

Huntington-Whiteley was cast as Sam's (Shia LaBeouf) new girlfriend after Megan Fox left her breakthrough franchise. "I went to the casting unaware they were looking for a new female lead", says Rosie. "We were told it was for a 'nemesis' role and I left thinking I was awful. The next day I was offered the lead! I met with Shia that evening and within three weeks I was on set shooting my first scenes..."

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Transformers 3 Principle Photography Wraps

Tyrese Gibson has tweeted that Transformers: Dark of the Moon has officially wrapped principle photography today in Los Angeles.

His first tweet (around 11am EST) on the subject said:

I'm up. On set with what we all hope to be on the last day of filming of Transformers 3. I will keep you updated!!

This was followed five hours later with:

Confirmed::: Today will be last day of shooting Transformers 3.. Yippy!! God is the greatest .. We made!! Fans we won't let you down!!

Finally at about 8:50pm EST, he made it official:

Ladies and Gents we have officially wrapped the filming of Transformers 3! Cheers to my cast and entire crew! We did it baby!! God bless u!

Congrats to the cast and crew of Transformers 3 for their long and eventful shoot. Now the post-production process begins with editing the film, sound, Industrial Light & Magic and Digital Domain doing their CGI magic and much more. The actors may be done but Bay and company still have a lot more work ahead of them. Thanks to Feris and Ann for the heads-up.

Shia and Co. On LA TF3 Set

Just Jared and The Daily Mail have each posted galleries from the Culver City in Los Angeles set of Transformers: Dark of the Moon as Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley continued to film what looks like more blue screen work for the film. The stunts including something along a building wall, sliding down a facade (say a building as it falls) with other NEST troops, and Shia doing his screaming thing inside Bumblebee. Hit links above for the galleries. Thanks to rumah, Katie and Mauricio for the links.

Transformers 3 Still Filming (Updated)

A series of tweets, along with picture, from Tyrese Gibson indicates that Transformers 3 may still be filming in LA.

Back on the set of Transformers 3.!! Good to be back in LA I wrestled and had a pillow fight with my little girl last night!! Fun times !

Follow-up from October 28th seem to indicate that not only are they still filming but they allowed honor students from three local high schools to visit the set.TF hat tip to the lucky students.

Today is a BIGDAY. I arranged for 15 kids frm 3 High Schools in my town South Central Locke, Crenshaw & Compton! 2 visit our #TF3 set!!

A total of 45 kids to visit the set of Transformers 3! I'm gonna blow them away.,, And I'm gonna share everything I know with them.

Locke High School, Crenshaw & Compton High I will see you all in 1 hour on thd set of Tranformers 3! Ur 3.5+ GPA's earned you this today!!

Update: The Mail Online has posted images from the Los Angeles set of Shia LaBeouf filming a scene in front of a blue screen. I am guessing it is for close-up work that will be combined with the footage filmed at the Chicago parking deck with Shia's stunt double. Patrick Dempsey was also there but his casual attire indicates to me that he was just visiting. (via AllSpark)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon ET Report

Entertainment Tonight has posted their article of video of the behind the scenes report from the Chicago set of Transformers 3. The video includes set footage, explosions and the sales pitch of the movie from Michael Bay, Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, and Josh Duhamel. Pretty much no spoilers are revealed but the title does drop a "the" with official title being "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" which oddly enough does make a difference. If want to get a little meta, thanks to Colin Hinkle for the picture of behind the scenes of ET filming behind the scenes of TF:DOTM with Samantha Harris in the yellow dress. Also thanks to Teddy83 for the link.

"I think what we were lacking in the second movie was heart," says Shia about the last installment of the blockbuster franchise, 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.' "But, I think with the addition of Rosie and new characters … you still have the magic of the first film, but you have depth in the ending of the third."

"Sam's coming out of heartbreak," explains Shia about the film's emotional center. "He's looking for a rock. He's looking for stability. He's looking for a person who doesn't love him because of his involvement in the wars, or because of his involvement with the robots. … And, so he's looking to define himself and find a person who understands the definition and loves him for him, and he finds it in Rosie."

"The story, I think, is really rich," says Michael. "This is kind of a good old fashioned, kinda espionage 'Transformers' movie." He adds, "I just told Mayor Daley that I'm sorry about messing up his city."

International Filming Classified, Tyrese Tweets

A few odds and ends related to Transformers 3 production. International filming has not been completed but it is doubtful we will get a full list of locations and dates anytime soon as Nelson posted, "International locations and dates are not being released due to security issues." With filming rumored to be ending by mid to late October, I am guessing that it is the overseas filming that is next on the schedule after Florida (and DC) wraps.

Tyrese has commented a few times over the last few days about the production. One tweet verifies production has finished in Detroit when he tweeted "Detroit.... Were ALL DONE in your town.. God bless you ALL we were ALL treated with the best of respect and love..." Of note is while production is moving to Florida, Tyrese may not be with them as he posted "On yet another plane.. Headed back to the AtL got some HUGE scenes in the AM with Vin, P.Walker, and my dude @Ludacris #FF5 Full THrottle!!" He does seem to be commuting between TF3 and Fast and Furious 5 so it’s possible he isn't scheduled to join them in Florida until later in the week.

He also posted the pics of him in costume with the Ferrari and the guy to the right with comment "Ladies and Gents this is the guy thats been driving Optimus Prime in Transformers for ALL 3 Movies.. Wow!! http://twitpic.com/2skvsc" Just in case the Optimus driver doesn't excite you, he also tweeted a video interview with the voice of Prime, Peter Cullen from back around Transformers 1. Thanks to Charlotte for the info.

Update: Forgot that Washington DC is after Florida. Also, here is the quote that Tyrese posted with the Ferrari picture, "When I was Detroit I had lunch with the REAL star of Transformers... Jealous!??". Speculate away. Thanks to Charlotte for providing it.

TF3 Detroit: Detroit Goes Boom

Day 2 of filming of Transformers 3 continues along the "Griswold stretch" near the Farwell Building in Detroit. J1000 and Surge29 once again provides us with images from the set. The first set of photos is thanks to Surge29 which includes a close look at the blue Wrecker that shows how it is rigged so the roof weaponry can be fired. He also wanted to give a "Big Thanks to Tyrese Gibson for giving my kids an autograph poster." The last picture in the set shows off the poster. The second set of pictures and two HD videos is thanks to J1000 including the below set report. The videos show a practice take then the real take with lots of Bayhem boom.

What a night! Earlier in the evening, at the Deli/bar set on Clifford, Prime and Sideswipe were around the Jet prop, as Shia and Rosie were filming around/on/in front of them all; there was a soldier on the fire escape behind the building, aiming his weapon around. Down the street, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Ratchet, and the two new Autobots and Wreckers were on set for some other shots at the Farwell set. Later in the evening, they moved the jet prop away from the front of the deli/bar building, then filmed several takes of a bunch of extras running and screaming from the building and surrounding streets, then blew the set! It was quite a series of explosions; awesome to see in person! As my son and I made our way back to my truck, we were crossing one of the blocked side streets, and had to wait for a black SUV that was coming from the set, flashing it's headlights for the PAs to move the barricades. As it got through and slowly drove past us and around the corner, I realized it was Bay in the passenger seat right in front of us. I yelled "Michael!" and waved; he turned and waved back as they rounded the corner. My son was excited to finally see him up close. Great night on set! I overheard a PA tell another onlooker that they've got one more day of filming here (at this set, I believe).

J1000

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Tyrese Not Wrapped on Transformers 3

It seems my assumption that Tyrese Gibson might be wrapped on Transformers 3 and moved onto Fast and Furious 5 was incorrect. Based on last few days of tweets he is in fact now commuting between the two sets, the TF3 set in Detroit and the FF5 in Atlanta.

Late Monday night he tweeted "Back in Detroit.. More robots to chase in the AM.. #TF3". Minutes later this was followed up with "Wearing heavy gear while I save the world from these evil Decepticons!!" along with link to a picture of Josh Duhamel and him.

Finally Tuesday night he tweeted, "Just finished another day of shooting Transformers 3.. Headed BACK to the AtL tomorrow to get more action on Fast & Furious 5." I assume that means he was at the Packard Plant filming whatever all the smoke was for. Thanks to Charlotte for info.

Tyrese Wrapped on Transformers 3?

If you are keeping an eye on the Detroit sets hoping to glimpse Tyrese forget about it as his tweets indicate he has wrapped on filming Transformers 3. It seems he has moved on to the Fast and Furious 5 set. The most recent photo shows him at a beach side home. On the bright side he did leave us with this sweet picture of Optimus Prime that he tweeted with message "Can you see me in the window?". The picture was later removed but thanks to Charlotte we still can get a look. I guess there is nothing stopping in from returning to TF3 at a later location (say Florida) but that seems unlikely as rare for films to allow their star schedules to overlap like that as can cause unintended schedule conflicts that cost money.

TF3 Detroit: Fire and Transformers (Updated)

Transformers 3 production continues in Detroit and here are pictures and two videos to go with it. The Transformers spotted on set include Ironhide, Ratchet, Prime with Trailer, Decepticon truck, the Wreckers, Sideswipe and more. That doesn't necessarily mean they are all being used as part of the whatever is being filmed at the Packard Plant as this is roving filming caravan that brings everything they need for the duration of the entire schedule, not necessarily what they need at one particular location.

Below are pictures from J1000 (thanks) and a few images and pictures that Unicron.com posted. The rest of their huge gallery can be found here. The two short videos from the site show the crew working at the nearby Packard Hotel including a friendly wave from Tyrese Gibson.

Update: Added five more pictures from J1000 with his son of Decepticon armored car and a Chicago police car, corrected a typo on his name (sorry), and added his video of some of the sizable smoke cloud being generated by the set.

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Transformers 3 Resumes Production in Detroit

While nothing official has been released, Transformers 3 principle photography has resumed in Detroit, Michigan at the Packard Plant. The information comes from a reliable source - Tyrese Gibson and two posts on his twitter account.

In the first post he wrote:

Still on set in Detroit filming Transformers 3.. Doing a bunch of scenes with my guy Shia today.. Fun times in the D!!

This was shortly followed by a link to above picture:

Just finished an action scene.. Check out my view!! http://twitpic.com/2msnrj

Yesterday, Bay was spotted at the location so I think we can unofficially call today the first day of shooting in the city of Detroit for Transformers 3. I think the plan is for about a two week shoot do not really know how long it is supposed to go or all the locations they may use.

TF3 in Gary, Epps Retired?

While not really sure how Transformers 3 spent the weekend, we at least now know they were in Gary, Indiana once again on Monday filming scenes "inside the crumbling City Methodist Church." According to the Post-Tribune, Michael Bay was directing Tyrese Gibson and others (probably NEST), as they "argued about the alien robot war erupting around them."

Really nothing major revealed but a rather odd note from the article identified a change for Tyrese's character as he was called "Retired Master Sgt. Ray Epps." No idea what this means considering we know the character is in the middle of the action and spotted wearing NEST costumes. Does this mean NEST is no longer part of the US military?

TF3 Chicago: Soundwave Spotted, More Images and Video

Transformers 3 production continues somewhere in Chicago but until more information comes in, here is more images and a video from last weekend's filming in the city. As the image to the left shows, Soundwave joins the Chicago battle, bringing the first confirmation that this Decepticon returns. The stick head is used as actor eye line and camera reference point so it seems he will also interact at some level with the human characters.

That image, and the below animated gifs and more are thanks to Pixel Rally. The gifs show off an explosion moment from in front of Hotel 71 while the other three show Bay giving instructions to Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who then do two practice runs of tumbling away from an overturned SUV. The full set of pictures can be found at flickr. Thanks to Kel for pointing out the Soundwaves images in the set. The set also includes two videos from filming over the last two weeks. One from is pyrotechnics going off in front of the Michigan Avenue Bridge and the other from the skydiving stunt from two weeks ago.

If interested in reading more, OK Magazine has posted a gallery of images of Josh Duhamel at work while Shia watched. Thanks to John for the link. Also the below video comes from Film Junk and shows yet another angle from the Hotel 71 intersection shoot. Sadly I have no idea what areas Transformers 3 production will be working this weekend but assume in the same general Michigan Avenue area.Read More »

TF3 Chicago: More Explosions and Pictures

I had already posted pictures and videos from Transformers 3 filming on Sunday around the Michigan Avenue Bridge in Chicago but here is even more. The fireball to the left was posted by the Chicago Tribune as part of their coverage. They also posted the second video at the bottom that shows off filming. In the article, some of the action that was filmed was described including more base jumping.

Earlier in the day, onlookers got a glimpse of a different kind of stunt — the kind that involves people jumping off of the 92-story Trump Tower. The five base jumpers taking part in the scene soared over the Michigan Avenue Bridge and onto North Wacker Drive, making what most would find terrifying look easy. Cameras shot the jumpers from the top of nearby buildings, including the Tribune building.

Later on in the afternoon, military-looking men, one of whom appeared to be cast member Tyrese Gibson, were filmed sprinting into the Tribune with guns in hand yelling “Let’s go!” and “C’mon!”

LaBeouf filmed the same scene he shot on Friday — he holds Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s hand and runs for cover behind a flipped over vehicle — only this time a few of the piled up cars in front of the bridge were on fire. The co-stars also filmed on the stairs that lead to the riverwalk from the side of the bridge.

Thanks to Colin Hinkle we once again have more great pictures and a video from the set. The images show Shia, Josh, Rosie, Tyrese, Bay and more doing their movie thing. We got shots of the Nascar vehicles and other Transformers. The 1st video below from Colin is a combination of the footage he caught of the cast and crew at work. It’s worth watching to the end to watch the pyrotechnics going off with cars being jerked down the street. Overall, a nice day of boom if you were in the Chicago area. Amazingly enough despite all the carnage when you check @ktgeek's live stream, the entire mess has already been cleared away. Read More »

TF3 Chicago: New Transformers Revealed, Explosion, and More

Sunday comes to a close in Chicago as Transformers 3 production continues. The day brought more excitement as pyrotechnic scenes were filmed and an Einstein like Transformers head was photographed. Tyrese Gibson also joined in with some set photos of his own he posted via his twitter account.

The pictures from The Scorecard Review show the heads of Bumblebee and a mysterious new "gray-haired" Transformer with glasses being held up in the air. The heads are to help the actors with line of sight. I don't know what the alt mode is of this new Transformer but I get a sneaking suspicion this might be Kup (now rejected). The pictures also show Bay doing his directing thing and more from the set. Hit link above for rest. Thanks to CypherXR for the link.

As for Tyrese's pictures, they show the gang getting cover from a quick rain storm, the set, Josh, and him and Shia with a child's picture that shows Bumblebee that says "Unite". Thanks to Schellenbach for the heads up. Last bit, click here for more photos from ENI.

Also below are five videos. The first is a sky high view of a scene being filmed that involves explosions (TF weapons fire?), extras running while Shia and Rosie hide in a car. The next video is crowd reaction to those explosions. The third has Battle Damaged Shia LaBeouf taking a moment to sign autographs and take photos with the crowd. The fourth video shows that it seems the action involves more than just the bridge as a damaged boat is spotted and last, more stuff from the feeds. Thanks to Mauricio for the first four video links and Shockwaved for the last one. Read More »

Cast Filming in Chicago, Skydiving Images and Video

After the days of images of all the sweet Transformer vehicles and set destruction, it turns out we were missing something - the actors. Thanks to Pixel Rally, we have a huge gallery that shows Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, and NEST crew filming a scene involving the actors sprinting across Franklin Street. The third gallery shows all the carnage added to the street to give it that look of total destruction. He also captured some sweet images of the skydiving stunt that gives you a nice close-up of events and the outfits they were wearing including the headset cam to film the trip down.

In addition, Maya Chelsie posted a video that shows all the Transformers vehicles, including Prime as they filmed a scene. It seems to be the same stretch as the sky high view from the other day but now get the side perspective. Note the photo starts sideways, but straightens out about halfway through.

Below is a sampling of pics but make sure to hit the links for the full gallery of 100+ images. The pic to the left, no idea what it has to do with production but figure the Batman license plate is intentional considering Transformers 3 is shooting in many of same locations that The Dark Knight did.Read More »

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 »

First Look at Transformers 3 Set Video

MSN UK has posted a video that shows the cast and crew filming at the tilting office set at Playa Vista in LA. It looks like it was taken around the same time as the set images yesterday were taken. The one minute video shows Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley as they run from a Decepticon. The video can be found here. Update: The MSN video no longer available but a mirror of it can be found here.

Shia, Tyrese, Rosie On Tilting Office Set

JustJared.com has posted a few images from the Transformers 3 set that apparently was taken while Tyrese Gibson, Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley were filming a scene from the tilting office set at Playa Vista in LA. Thanks to Schellenbach and Craig for the link.

SPOILER: This specific scene had Shia, Rosie and military troops being chased by an evil Decepticon, who tips the building over. For this shot, one floor of an entire office building was built on a giant platform, which tilted at an angle while “tipped over."