Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an upcoming science fiction 3-D film, due for release on June 26, 2009. It is the sequel to the 2007 film Transformers, which was the first live action Transformers film. Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg return respectively as director and executive producer, while Shia LaBeouf reprises the role of Sam Witwicky, the human caught in the war between Autobots and Decepticons. Shooting began in May 2008.
Bay desired to give the sequel a bigger budget for a global scale and better characterization for a larger cast of robots. The main hurdle in getting the film produced was overcoming the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, as well as possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild. Bay met his shooting date with the help of previsualization and a scriptment by his writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and series newcomer Ehren Kruger.
Bay desired to give the sequel a bigger budget for a global scale and better characterization for a larger cast of robots. The main hurdle in getting the film produced was overcoming the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, as well as possible strikes by the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild. Bay met his shooting date with the help of previsualization and a scriptment by his writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and series newcomer Ehren Kruger.
Before Transformers was released, producer Tom DeSanto said he had come up with "a very cool idea" to introduce the Dinobots and Constructicons, while Bay was interested in an aircraft carrier, which he considered for the first film. In September 2007, Paramount announced a June 26, 2009 release date for Transformers 2,and Bay began creating animatics of action sequences featuring characters rejected for the first film. This would allow animators to complete sequences if the Directors Guild of America went on strike in July 2008. The director considered making a small project in between Transformers and its sequel, but knew "you have your baby and you don't want someone else to take it". The film was given a larger budget than the first film, which cost $151 million, and some of the action scenes rejected for the original were written into the sequel.
Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman originally passed on the sequel because of a busy schedule. The studio began courting other writers in May 2007, but as they were unimpressed with their pitches, they convinced Orci and Kurtzman to return. The studio also signed on Ehren Kruger, as he impressed Bay and Hasbro president Brian Goldner with his knowledge of the Transformers mythology. The writing trio were paid $8 million. Kurtzman created the film's title. Orci claimed they could not justify the Dinobots' choice of form, admitting he was also dismissive of them. During filming though, he became fonder of them because of their popularity with fans. Screenwriting was interrupted by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, but to avoid production delays the writers spent two weeks writing a treatment, which they handed in the night before the strike began. Bay expanded the outline into a sixty-page scriptment: Orci explained Bay "came up with some really fun gags and a few descriptions of the kind of hardware he will need for production".
Writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman originally passed on the sequel because of a busy schedule. The studio began courting other writers in May 2007, but as they were unimpressed with their pitches, they convinced Orci and Kurtzman to return. The studio also signed on Ehren Kruger, as he impressed Bay and Hasbro president Brian Goldner with his knowledge of the Transformers mythology. The writing trio were paid $8 million. Kurtzman created the film's title. Orci claimed they could not justify the Dinobots' choice of form, admitting he was also dismissive of them. During filming though, he became fonder of them because of their popularity with fans. Screenwriting was interrupted by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, but to avoid production delays the writers spent two weeks writing a treatment, which they handed in the night before the strike began. Bay expanded the outline into a sixty-page scriptment: Orci explained Bay "came up with some really fun gags and a few descriptions of the kind of hardware he will need for production".
Filming began in Los Angeles, California in May 2008. From June 2, three days were spent on an action sequence at the Bethlehem Steel site in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which represented a fictional Chinese city. Afterwards, they shot at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The crew moved to Philadelphia on June 9, where they shot at the Exelon plants in Delaware; the University of Pennsylvania; the Eastern State Penitentiary; Fairmount Park; Rittenhouse Square (which represents Paris); and Wanamaker's. They moved to Princeton University on June 22. Filming there angered some students at the University of Pennsylvania, believing Bay had chosen to reshoot scenes at Princeton, the school's historical rival, and script Princeton's name in the movie. However, neither the University of Pennsylvania nor Princeton gave Bay permission to be named in the film because of a "funny 'mom' scene" that both felt "did not represent the school".
Around $5 million spent during filming in Philadelphia, Bethlehem, and New Jersey. Bay scheduled a break for filming beginning on June 30, turning his attention to animation and second unit scenes because of the potential 2008 Screen Actors Guild strike. Orci joked "Optimus and company are also the stars, and fortunately for us, they are not part of a union!" They will shoot at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Tucson, Arizona in July. Filming will also take place in Jordan, and New Mexico (which stood in for Qatar in the first film).
The producers expect that with a bigger budget and the special effects worked out, the Transformers will have a larger role. Peter Cullen recalled, "Don Murphy mentioned to me, 'Only because of the tremendous expense to animate Optimus Prime, he'll be in just a certain amount of [the first film].' But he said, 'Next time, if the movie is a success, you're gonna be in it a ton.'" The director hopes to include more close-ups of the robots' faces. Scott Farrar returned as visual effects supervisor, and anticipated moodier use of lighting as well as deeper roles for the Decepticons. He stated that with the bigger deadline, post-production will be a "circus". Hasbro became more involved in the designs of the robots than in the first film. They insisted on keeping the alternate modes of some of the returning characters similar, so people would not have to buy toys of the same characters.
Around $5 million spent during filming in Philadelphia, Bethlehem, and New Jersey. Bay scheduled a break for filming beginning on June 30, turning his attention to animation and second unit scenes because of the potential 2008 Screen Actors Guild strike. Orci joked "Optimus and company are also the stars, and fortunately for us, they are not part of a union!" They will shoot at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group in Tucson, Arizona in July. Filming will also take place in Jordan, and New Mexico (which stood in for Qatar in the first film).
The producers expect that with a bigger budget and the special effects worked out, the Transformers will have a larger role. Peter Cullen recalled, "Don Murphy mentioned to me, 'Only because of the tremendous expense to animate Optimus Prime, he'll be in just a certain amount of [the first film].' But he said, 'Next time, if the movie is a success, you're gonna be in it a ton.'" The director hopes to include more close-ups of the robots' faces. Scott Farrar returned as visual effects supervisor, and anticipated moodier use of lighting as well as deeper roles for the Decepticons. He stated that with the bigger deadline, post-production will be a "circus". Hasbro became more involved in the designs of the robots than in the first film. They insisted on keeping the alternate modes of some of the returning characters similar, so people would not have to buy toys of the same characters.
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