First up is an update on the recent TF4 set fire, 'Transformers 4' fire no big deal, says Michael Bay (Entertainment Weekly, 14/06/2013):
When news broke that there was a fire on the Texas set of Transformers 4, visions of disastrous pyrotechnic mayhem immediately came to mind. After all, this is a Michael Bay movie about ginormous alien invaders.
But Tuesday’s blaze, which scorched the attic of a 100-year-old house in Pflugerville where the production was filming and sent one injured person to the hospital, was nothing spectacular or dangerous, according to Bay, who blogged about the media’s breathless coverage of the fire.
I’m reading how the news makes everything more dramatic than real life. I guess the truth was just too unexciting. Yes there was a small smoldering fire at a house and no, no one was injured during the fire. And no, no one “just narrowly escaped” as the news dramatically states. A crew member though twisted his ankle after falling in a gopher hole on the ranch.
The fire was put out in a brief 15 minutes by a great fire crew on set. It was an attic fire and cause is unknown. No we were not shooting in the attic, we were shooting outside on the ranch.
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Curiously, the aforementioned blog post on Michael Bay's web site no longer exists...
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The Michael Bay-directed film 'Transformers 4' is expected to be shot this summer in Detroit and appears to already have crews working hard on set building downtown.
View MLive Detroit's photo gallery above of what appears to be set construction work along Washington Boulevard at Clifford.
A guard watching the site, representing Wolverine Security, told me last week the Transformer's crew is building a town, surrounding existing buildings like the old United Artists Theater and David Whitney, that will be a part of the film.
The security guard, who declined to identify himself, said work on the "town" is expected to be complete by crews sometime in July.
Bay and his crews are expected to have a busy summer in Detroit before the films scheduled June 27, 2014 release.
A bulk of the film is expected to be shot at Michigan Motion Picture Studios in Pontiac.
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Continuing from the previous article, TFW2005 gives us Transformers 4 Set Images And Information From Detroit:
2005 Boards Member tonyformer is bringing us some cool info and images from the Transformers 4 Set in Detroit.
According to our member, Detroit is not actually Detroit in the movie; it will be standing-in for China itself. Clearly, it can be seen thanks to the images provided, which clearly identify buildings with Chinese architectural influence.
But the "biggest" revelation (pun intended) comes from the info our member is providing us. Let us take a look at it from his own words:
"I was told that the set will indeed sub as "Somewhere" in China. She did not or would not give me an exact city name. She did however say that the set will be comprised of around 6 to 7 standing structures that will be of an older Chinese design and around 4 or 5 destroyed buildings that will have crushed in walls and so on. There will be piles of debris and this set will be part of a "Major" battle scene.
I asked her if she could elaborate any and was told that there would be "many" Transformers "good and bad" involved as well as humans fighting. She also said that there would be a few particularly "larger" Transformers that will crash through buildings while fighting each other.
I asked her if that meant like large human looking Transformers or more animal looking and she said, "All I can say it maybe both" with a smile.
So with that being asked, I asked her if she could tell me anything else and all she would tell me is this movie will blow all the others out of the water and will be darker than the last. And then said this particular set will be filmed on in July."
This description may very well be a confirmation of a certain rumor we've heard before. Check out more info and images at the thread associated with this news post.
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Here's more filming news: ‘Transformers 4’ to shoot scene in Fairfield Twp. (Daily Telegram, 15/06/2013):
Quiet wheatfields along M-52 are to become the backdrop for a spectacular action scene in the new “Transformers 4” movie later this month.
“It’s quite the deal,” said Fairfield Township Supervisor Curtis Emmons.
Representatives from Paramount Pictures Corp. contacted the township office about three months ago to say they might be interested in shooting a movie scene in the rural area, he said.
Just recently they said a section of M-52 between Weston and Mulberry roads was picked for the shoot, he said.
They asked to avoid publicity, but the movie company visit has become a hot topic of conversation in the township.
“They wanted to keep everything as quiet as they could, for the most part,” Emmons said. Uninvited spectators who could be endangered during the filming are something they hoped to avoid.
“That was their main concern, safety,” Emmons said.
People who live along the two miles of M-52 where the filming is to occur have been visited by Paramount representatives, Emmons said.
“They’ve been in contact with everybody in that stretch,” he said. “For the most part it seems like they had pretty good conversations with everybody.” No one is objecting to the action on the way, he said.
An agreement was made to have the Fairfield Township Fire Department on site during some of the four days of shooting. Emmons said he was asked not to talk about why they might need the fire department. He was also asked not to talk about what stars from the movie might be at the location.
A publicist for “Transformers 4” said in a June 13 email to The Daily Telegram that nothing is definite yet.
“We are still in the process of finalizing our plans in Lenawee County,” Gabriela Gutentag wrote.
The Michigan Department of Transportation has authorized closing M-52 between Weston and Mulberry roads from 8 p.m. on June 25 to 9 a.m. on June 29, said MDOT spokeswoman Kari Arend.
The Lenawee County Road Commission agreed to using county roads to detour traffic around the movie site, using Weston Road and Lyons Highway. The detour route continues into Ohio using State Route 120.
“Not many movies are being shot in Lenawee County,” said Scott Merillat, road commission managing director. Cooperating with a temporary detour was an easy decision, he said.
Merillat said he has also been in contact for several months with Paramount representatives as they were searching for a site.
“Initially they were searching for a four-lane highway,” he said. They settled for the wide two-lane stretch of M-52 after no four-lane roads were available that could be closed for four days. The M-52 site also has the wheatfields they wanted for background, he said.
The shooting was scheduled for the last week of June to stay ahead of the harvest that normally begins in early July.
Paramount representatives also approached the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Department for help with traffic control during the movie work.
“We’re working with them to provide them some help,” said Sheriff Jack Welsh. An agreement for cost reimbursement is being completed, he said.
Paramount started production of “Transformers 4” last month in Monument Valley, on the Arizona-Utah border, according to its website. Scenes were also reported being shot earlier this month at a stone quarry in McCook, Ill. The movie is scheduled for release on June 27, 2014.