Chapter 657: Trash Generator

As the crew's filming schedule in Las Vegas stretched on, more and more reporters flocked to the city. They hovered around the set every day, hoping to sniff out or capture some exclusive scoop. Even without an exclusive, any fresh tidbit would do. Who could blame them, when Transformers was Duke's newest project?

"If you grabbed ten random people off the street, half of them could probably name Duke Rosenberg's new movie."

Sitting in an open-air cafe, Jack Scholes, the ace reporter for the Washington Post's entertainment section, turned to his cameraman.

"If you want people paying attention to the entertainment page, covering Duke Rosenberg's new project is really the best choice," he said.

The cameraman nodded continuously, coffee cup in hand.

"No director has ever captured the entire North American public's attention quite like Duke Rosenberg," he replied. "His influence surpassed the scope of a mere director a long time ago."

A filmmaker ranking in the top twenty of the Forbes billionaires list was hardly just an ordinary director anymore.

"You make a good point."

Looking toward the set in the distance, Jack Scholes suddenly shook his head.

"It's just a shame his vulgar personal taste will never change," he said.

Duke had already achieved dazzling success in commercial cinema, yet he refused to take even half a step toward arthouse films. To Jack, it showed an absolute lack of ambition.

The cameraman stopped nodding but said nothing, merely sipping his coffee. Even if he held a different opinion, he wasn't stupid enough to voice it in front of his boss.

Jack Scholes was still shaking his head, thinking back to a scene he'd watched them film that morning—a sequence featuring the female lead.

Amber Heard hadn't had a single line of dialogue in the entire sequence. Aside from sweeping past her highly photogenic face, the camera had done nothing but circle her sexy figure.

The female lead had been reduced to an utterly dispensable role, functioning as little more than eye candy.

Every time she appeared, her outfits were basically "thin, revealing, and see-through." Even when fleeing and dropping to the ground, she had to strike a sexy "pose" exactly as Duke Rosenberg demanded. Putting this kind of actress in this kind of movie was practically a massive mockery of cinematic art...

Then there were the other scenes. If Jack Scholes actually had the chance to meet him, he definitely would have thrown a few sarcastic remarks his way. For a top director with over fifteen years in the industry to regress to the style of his debut—where the shoot was nothing but explosion after explosion—was absurd.

Duke had clearly opted for practical explosions to capture those fiery sequences. Jack Scholes had watched the shoot for days; those meticulously constructed sets were often blown to pieces after just a single take.

This crew was simply a trash generator.

But not everyone saw it that way.

At another table right next to them, several reporters from the Los Angeles Times were also discussing the ongoing Transformers shoot.

"Practical explosion shots carry immense visual impact, but filming them right on the streets of Las Vegas is still a bit risky," one reporter said worriedly.

As soon as he finished, another quickly retorted.

"For a director like Duke, who has shot explosion-filled films like The Rock, Independence Day, and Saving Private Ryan, controlling an explosive scene is hardly difficult."

The reporter sitting between them chimed in.

"Duke destroyed half of San Francisco in The Rock, blew up North America in Independence Day, and laid waste to Omaha Beach in Saving Private Ryan," he said. "For Transformers, he's bound to destroy at least a few US Military bases and half of Las Vegas..."

Although more and more reporters were flocking to Las Vegas, Duke's shooting schedule remained unaffected. Aside from the occasional new idea, the entire production proceeded methodically, exactly according to plan.

The day's shoot focused primarily on Amber Heard's scenes. As the female lead, she didn't have many lines; instead, she spent most of her time acting through body language. And these physical movements served only one purpose: highlighting her looks and figure.

The sun gradually drifted westward. After filming a sequence where Mikaela drove a tow truck hauling Bumblebee, the crew's shooting tasks for the day were complete. Duke handed the wrap-up duties over to Tina Fey, while he, accompanied by his press officer, walked into the designated interview area to speak with the media.

This was a convention that had evolved over many years between Hollywood crews and the news media: reporters wouldn't overly disrupt the shoot, and the production would appropriately accommodate their interviews.

More accurately, it was an inherently win-win arrangement.

Even Duke's films needed extensive and comprehensive marketing to achieve massive box-office success.

A few days prior, the male and female leads, Andrew Garfield and Amber Heard, had given their respective interviews. When it came to these necessary moments for promoting a film, Duke never minded taking the field himself.

"Duke, could you talk about your goal in turning Transformers into a live-action movie?" a reporter from the Los Angeles Times asked, beating the others to the punch. "There are a lot of rumors saying you really love this franchise?"

"Yes, I love this franchise," Duke nodded without hesitation. "I've said before that I've always loved the toys and cartoons from this series."

"As for why I wanted to make a live-action version..."

Duke pondered for a moment before continuing.

"I feel that in all these years of filmmaking history, we've never seen a truck transform into a 20-foot-tall robot on the big screen. I also wanted to create a work that pays tribute to the classic cartoons of the past and rediscovers the imagination Hollywood has lost for so many years. There will be many moments in the film that once moved us; even someone over thirty will watch this movie and have their eyes opened wide, just like a ten-year-old child."

"But there are many people criticizing..."

A reporter from an unknown publication in the back pulled out a few concept-art designs of Optimus Prime that the crew had released.

"Robots like these lack any sense of realism," the reporter challenged. "Their slender, elongated bodies couldn't possibly support their own weight."

"Who said they're robots?" Duke spread his hands. "They are mechanical lifeforms! They are advanced beings with thoughts, emotions, hobbies, and dislikes, just like humans. So naturally, just like humans, they should possess beautiful, streamlined bodies."

Duke extended his right index finger, emphasizing his point.

"Remember, they aren't those boxy, clunky robots built by humans out of steel. If we actually designed them to look like clumsy robots, it would seem both fake and boring. They wouldn't look like intelligent life from an alien galaxy; instead, they would look like some shoddy robot product manufactured in Japan."

In this regard, the production crew, Warner Brothers, and Hasbro were in complete agreement. All sorts of pre-production work had rapidly unfolded on this very foundation.

Even though the film was still a long way from its release date, the marketing and promotion of derivative products had already begun.

Starting in October, Hasbro and Warner Brothers spent two months creating a toy product line for the movie, receiving massive assistance from the film's core creators during the process. Toys for the AllSpark, Optimus Prime, and Starscream would hit global shelves a month before the film's premiere, with the first wave of action figures rolling out in the coming spring.

These toys would also include Sideswipe, Arcee, and several other characters set to appear in the second movie. Most of these figures contained moving parts, allowing them to achieve genuine transformation.

In terms of promotion and distribution, after months of negotiation, Warner Brothers had reached distribution and import agreements with exhibitors in over eighty countries and regions. Many of these areas would premiere the film synchronously with North America.

On the promotional front, numerous sponsors like General Motors, Panasonic, Lenovo Computers, Burger King, and Coca-Cola had long since acquired the relevant image and character licensing from the Transformers studio. Starting next spring, they would begin releasing a multitude of products tied to the live-action Transformers film to build hype.

Props used for filming, including the prototype car for Bumblebee and the AllSpark, would be put up for charity auction on Amazon by the marketing team once the shoot concluded.

Additionally, Hasbro and Warner Brothers had set up a website called Sector Seven, launching a viral-marketing alternate reality game. In it, all the Transformers toys from this film and previous iterations participated in a secret operation known as "Hungry Dragon."

The website also featured several behind-the-scenes videos offering "evidence" of Transformers existing on Earth, which naturally prominently included Bumblebee's prototype car.

The Las Vegas shoot lasted for about a week before the crew moved on to the Hoover Dam. Just like the Pentagon, this location had turned away all Hollywood film crews since the 9/11 attacks. Transformers was the first production allowed to shoot on location at the Hoover Dam since September 2001.

As one of the most famous tourist attractions in the country, the dam needed to maintain normal operations. To avoid causing disruptions, the crew had to wake up early every day and finish shooting before ten in the morning. The Hoover Dam opened to tourists after ten, and the coming and going of pedestrians would certainly cause the production a considerable amount of trouble.

Starting with the Hoover Dam shoot, Peter Cullen also joined the crew. The voice actor for the animated version of Optimus Prime would use his voice to awaken the memories of those nostalgic for the franchise.

His lines naturally included the fan-voted quote, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings."

Regardless of the actual situation across the United States, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" was absolutely the finest embodiment of American values in the film. It also explained Optimus Prime's philosophy and ideology. That single line of dialogue was enough to justify why the Autobots he led would fight to the death for Earth and humanity against their Decepticon brethren.

Applied to the real world, this was an ideological struggle. It was a war that entirely transcended race, geography, and cultural backgrounds, leaving absolutely no room for compromise.