I think I’ve finally cracked it. Michael Bay isn’t just making a fourth Transformers movie, He’s also making what could be the longest heavy metal video of all time, and I don’t just mean an Autobot that has eaten too much energon. Hell, how do you explain the latest poster above, which looks like it should come with a Dethklok guitar solo? The film is almost upon us, and that means that the press junkets are in full effect. Here’s what everyone has to say regarding the production of the movie.
Collider has done the interview tour, talking first to director Michael Bay about the flick and how it’ll connect to the other films yet stand on it’s own two-ton feet:
We learn from the robots what’s going on, and we set you up in the movie with what’s gone on the past four years. This literally takes … however long ago the Chicago battle happened, that’s when this movie starts. I think we’re saying it’s actually been three years. We might reference the Sam character in some tiny way, but right now he’s not in the script.
As for Stanley Tuccki’s character, it sounds like Bay is obsessed with the shadowy side of law enforcement:
I’ve always been fascinated by the CIA. [laughs] Stanley’s character literally came from like, we had the raid with the helicopter, and we tried to get the tail, and whatever … that’s exactly what would happen in Chicago. What would he do if there was a spaceship over there and a kid took a robot hand? Imagine the war’s over. There’s shit everywhere. They’re gonna take that shit, and people are going to figure out how the hell is this stuff made, how is it engineered, and try to reverse engineer it.
As for Tucci himself, here’s how he describes his role:
I play Joshua Gross, who’s the head of this corporation that sort of makes all the Transformers. I don’t know what I can and can’t say. Here’s the thing, it’s a great role and that’s why I’m here, you know what I mean?
… [I]t’s a great role. I was more than happy to do it. To be typecast in great roles does kind of misuse the word I think but no I was very happy to, if it had been a role I’d done before then I maybe wouldn’t have been interested but it was something kind of new and really fun, you know what I mean? Sometimes making movies isn’t fun and to play a character like this in a movie like this is fun.
Harking back to that comment about Transformers 4 being its own film, Mark Wahlberg also agrees that the movie will set up a new trilogy easily:
Absolutely, absolutely from what I’ve seen. And I’ve been in the editing room with Mike looking at a lot of the stuff. Nobody does what he does better in bringing the rest of it to life. The Autobots come alive and the robots are really nailed on screen. All the stuff that I’ve seen has been great. The idea is to make it better, there’s no doubt about that. It’s not about just milking this thing for all it’s worth, it’s about trying to make it better, and I feel a lot of responsibility with what I’m required to bring to the table, but I’m excited! I love challenging myself. Like having the opportunity to work with Denzel Washington, which is great; I get to go at him mano-a-mano. Who better to go at it with and get a chance to showcase what I can do? I don’t usually get too nervous about films. After being in prison, this is not something to be nervous about, it’s something to be excited about.
And then there’s Nicola Peltz and Jack Reynor talking about the squishy human side of the movie:
Peltz: Like I said before it’s just these regular people and before anything happens in the film you see how they live their lives. I deal with normal teenager things like trying to hide my boyfriend from my dad and things like that and then you see these characters are thrown in this crazy situation and how they deal with it as normal people coming face to face with an Autobot or a Decepticon and that’s just really interesting.
Reynor: There’s a really nice human dynamic in the movie that anchors it I think and well, for any of us to be in Transformers is a huge thing and privilege and honor to be here, but I really love the triangle that goes on in the movie, it gives it an anchor and it’s something that’s very different from the previous films, so that’s what’s going to be the main thing that drives it in a different direction and I think it will be a lot of fun to see.
Peltz: And a lot of people can relate to it, the teenager with a dad, I’m so close with my dad I have a great relationship with him and it’s, they’re dealing with normal life things.
Not long to go now. Transformers 4 is out on June 27.
Last Updated: June 19, 2014
