Michael Bay has recently revealed the first official promo photo of Just Another Day On The Set Of Transformers 4 (23/08/2013):

Pictured left to right: Jack Reynor; Mark Wahlberg; 2nd Assistant B-Camera Casey “Walrus” Howard; 1st Assistant B-Camera John Kairis with back to camera; B-camera Operator Lukasz Bielan; Director Michael Bay; and Director of Photography Amir Mokri. High resolution photo: http://bayhem.com/1c0euov


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Video: 'Transformers' returns to Chicago with explosions (Chicago Tribune, 24/08/2013; check out the short video with some 'splosions at the link above):

Michael Bay didn’t wait long to break out the special effects during Transformers 4 filming.

The action director delivered explosions and flipped cars on Friday, which was the first day of filming in Chicago. The scene was shot on the plaza in McCormick Place but was set in Hong Kong. The taxis, buses and Coca Cola truck parked on the streets had Chinese writing, as did the signs and advertisements in the area, including one for a Hong Kong Opera.

“Part of the movie is set in Chicago, and some of what they’re filming here is supposed to be Hong Kong,” said Chicago Film Office director Rich Moskal by email.

The many extras involved in Friday’s shoot were repeatedly asked to scream and run through the plaza at full speed. From what exactly? I’m not sure, but I’m guessing it involved destruction and was big, judging by the way some of the crowed looked up.

The best stunt, however, was saved for last.

Bay had two cars flip over and catch fire in unison as a series of explosions went off around them in the grassy area of the plaza, much to the delight of the small crowd watching from the lobby of the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place hotel.

Filming on Saturday and Sunday will take place in the Near East Side neighborhood. There is no word on whether star Mark Wahlberg, who didn’t appear to be on set Friday, will take part in the weekend shoot.


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Video: Mark Wahlberg visits Transformers set (Chicago Tribune, 24/08/2013):

What was mostly a quiet day of "Transformers 4" filming in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower Saturday, at least by director Michael Bay's standards, momentarily picked up when star Mark Wahlberg visited the set.

Wahlberg, who took over for Shia LaBeouf in the Transformers franchise, drew a crowd when he pulled up in front of the building at Randolph Street and Columbus Drive. Not surprisingly, he was greeted by an even bigger one when he exited the building 20 minutes later.

Because filming took place inside on the 50th floor — according to a building employee, who said shooting would return Sunday and again next weekend — fans and passersby were unable to watch any of that shoot. There were no signs of the live stunts and pyrotechnics mentioned in fliers passed out to local businesses and residences last week.

There was, however, an assortment of impressive sports cars parked outside the building, guarded by security and a velvet rope — and understandably so. One of the cars, a blue Bugatti, is worth well over $1 million. The yellow Camaro (or as its known to Transformers fans, Bumblebee), green Corvette and silver Lamborghini parked next to the Bugatti were nothing to sneeze at either.

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Filming of "Transformers 4" began in Chicago Friday and is scheduled to wrap Oct. 2. The Uptown Theatre in the Uptown neighborhood will be the sight of filming on Wednesday and Thursday.


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And finally, just for the fun of it, here's what Simon Pegg ("Scotty" in the last two Trek films) had to say about Transformers recently:

...Even Transformers in 2012. I think science fiction's kind of lost its way over the years, in that people suddenly think it's about the robots. It was never about the robots. It's always been about the people. And robots have been a metaphor for something. And there doesn't seem to be a metaphor now. It's literal destruction....

If you look at Transformers, Transformers is a movie version of a toy, which came out of a series about robots, which was aimed at children, and then suddenly it's a thing that's skewed towards adults, but it is just toys fighting. It's all it is. And it doesn't really say anything about us or the world. And in my experience of it, it's just mind-numbingly dull.

(If you feel so inclined, you can read the rest of the interview here.)

This was all after attendees ranked "Star Trek Into Darkness" as the worst of the Star Trek movies, during a Star Trek fan convention in Las Vegas earlier this month (link). Talk about lashing out...