Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

Overview

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the third and final chapter in the Transformers Series from director Michael Bay and produced Steven Spielberg. Bay has been very vocal about prior mistakes and hasn't held back in admitting that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was rushed and, as a result, turned out to be “quite a mess.” This time around Bay promises a more in-depth look into this world, having "A very involved robot story" and a greater look into the hierarchy and the history of Cybertron.

Bay has said that his third and last film would be the most intense and visually striking installment in the series yet, and that while his Transformers trilogy is coming to an end, that certainly doesn't mean the studio will simply walk away.

Creation

Dark of the Moon shoot

Dark of the Moon went into pre-production in October 2009 and began filming in May 2010, in a variety of locations including Florida, Washington D.C, but most of the the filming took place in L.A. and Chicago. It was directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, having written the last two films, did not return for this instalment in the series, instead Ehren Kruger was brought in to take on the writing dutties.

Set to reprise their starring roles, are; Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, and Tyrese Gibson. Peter Cullen returning as the voice of Optimus Prime and Hugo Weaving returning as the voice of Megatron. Filming had already started when it was announced that Megan Fox would not be reprising her role from the previous two films. instead we would be introduced to Sam's( LaBeouf) new love interest Carly( Whiteley) who's is Sam Witwicky's wife from the original 1984 animated series.

Plot Summary

Shia LaBeouf returns as Sam Witwicky in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. When a mysterious event from Earth's past erupts into the present day it threatens to bring a war to Earth so big that the Transformers alone will not be able to save us.

Production

Filming In 3D

Shia LaBeouf on the set of TF3

Dark of the Moon was filmed using 3-D technology, Michael Bay was reluctant to film with 3-D cameras because of his filming style, and did not want to implement the technology in post production either. But when James Cameron heard that Bay was considering filming in 3D, he said "Man I gotta talk Michael into this somehow," which played a big part in Bay eventually deciding to move ahead with filming it in 3D.

Although Bay has said that they had no problems with the technology and had a lot of fun with it, he has also pointed out that he had to slow down and smooth out his style somewhat, in order to accommodate the constraints of 3D, and that this was something that was advised by James Cameron who will all know has some experience in the matter. An adjustment to Bay's style was not the only thing needed to bring Transformers in 3D to screens, an extra 30,000,000 Dollars was added to the budget to pull this off, he also brought in the Avatar crew, along side some new cameras, new rigs and some crazy Guys in Wing-suits with 3D cameras attached to their heads "falling through the canyons of Chicago, around the buildings, at about 150mph" cause lets face it, its a Michael Bay movie and if he is gonna do 3D, its gonna be his way.

Casting

Most of the cast from the previous films will be returning for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, with some exceptions(Such as Megan Fox). But Bay has also brought on some new characters as well as some older ones from the Transformers fiction of the past.

Sentinal Prime(Leonard Nimoy) in Transformers: Dark of the Moon

After appearing in The Transformers: The Movie over 25 years ago, Leonard Nimoy makes his return into the franchise as Sentinel Prime, who preceded Optimus as leader of the Autobots. while on a interview with bigfanboy.com, Nimoy said “I Kept wondering if I would ever get a call” specially since the director Michael Bay is Nimoy’s wife's second cousin. And after getting a email from Bay asking if he would do it, Nimoy asked him why he hadn't call him earlier, to which Bay responded “since your my wife's cousin, I was worried if I didn't have enough money to pay you, it would be embarrassing.”

Also making her live action debut is Carly Witwicky (here Carly Miller), Sam Witwicky's wife from the original 1984 animated series. She will be played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and will be replacing Mikaela Banes as Sam's love interest in Dark of the Moon. A British model best known for modelling for Victoria's Secret, had previously worked with the film’s director, Michael Bay, on a Victoria’s Secret commercial, and was approached by the director about auditioning for the part.

Locations

 The crash between a Bumblebee Camero and an idiotic policeman.

Filming began on May 18 in L.A. , although pre-shoots began a month earlier in Northwest Indiana. And After about six weeks in Los Angeles, the crew moved on to Chicago, Florida and Washington D.C among other places. Indiana and D.C. were the unfortunate bearers of the two accidents of the production.

While filming In Hammond, Indiana, an extra was seriously injured when a steel cable snapped from a car being towed, hitting the extra's car and damaging her skull. And about a month later a DC Police SUV struck the yellow Camaro( Bumblebee) right in the middle of shooting. The Police unit entered the closed off area, supposedly while responding to a emergency call.

Soundtrack/Score

 Transformers: Dark of the Moon - The Album

Reprise Records will be releasing two different soundtrack albums for the upcoming Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Some of the Artists included on the song album are Paramore, Goo Goo Dolls and Mastodon. Also featured on the soundtrack is Linkin Park’s who will be performing a free show in Moscow's Red Square at Vasilyevsky Spusk on June 23rd as part of the Transformers: Dark of the Moon world premiere. Linkin Park's song "Iridescent" will be featured as the main theme in the film and the band will also be collaborating with the returning composer of the past to films score Steve Jablonsky.

Here’s the song track list:

1. Linkin Park- Iridescent
2. Paramore - Monster
3. My Chemical Romance- The Only Hope For Me Is You
4. Taking Back Sunday- Faith(When i Let You Down)
5. Staind- The Bottom
6. Art Of Dying- Get Thru this
7. Goo Goo Dolls- All That You Are
8. Theory Of A Deadman- Head Above Water
9. Black Veil Brides- Set The World On Fire
10. Skillet- Alive & Awake(The Quickening)
11. Mastodon- Just Got Paid

The Transformers: Dark of the Moon Video Game

TF3 Video Game

A video game on the movie was developed by High Moon Studios and published by Activision. It was released in North America on June 14, 2011, two weeks before the movie hit theaters. The game has the same title as the movie, but unlike Transformers: The Game and the tie-in to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which were directly based on the stories of those movies, the Dark of the Moon game serves as a prequel to the summer blockbuster.

The game by High Moon was released on the Xbox360 and Playstation 3, while an additional game was developed by Behaviour Interactive that will be released on the Nintendo Wii, DS and 3DS.

EA Games released an iOS game for Apple's iPhone and iPad devices on June 28th of 2011.