Chapter 671: Their World

The day after the awards ceremony was a media feeding frenzy. Many outlets slammed the Academy, arguing that while Martin Scorsese certainly deserved a Golden Statuette, he shouldn't have won it for The Departed. A significant portion of the press criticized the Academy for trying to play a balancing act.

These outlets had completely forgotten that right before the ceremony, they were claiming the Oscars would lose all basic credibility if Martin Scorsese didn't win Best Director...

That was the media for you. No matter what happened, they always found enough justification to claim the moral high ground.

Duke paid no mind to The Dark Knight's disastrous snub at the Oscars. It was the standard treatment for superhero films at the Academy Awards. With post-production on Transformers still unfinished, he had neither the time nor the energy to bemoan the Oscars.

Back at Transformers Studio, supervising the editing and visual effects remained Duke's primary job. The first drafts of the film's score and theme song had also been finished and sent over for his review.

The score was once again the work of Hans Zimmer. Much like John Williams to George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, the renowned master of commercial film scoring was gradually becoming Duke's dedicated composer.

The film's score leaned heavily on rock and electronic music. Hans Zimmer's initial submission did not completely satisfy Duke and still required extensive revisions.

Then there was the theme song. The closing theme's style contrasted with the main score, instead matching the final shot of the film—Sam and Mikaela sharing a tender moment under the sunset. It was a country-style pop song with a romantic undertone.

Frankly, Duke knew little about pop music. Since using The Last Goodbye in The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King, he hadn't featured a vocal theme song in any of his films. Adding one this time was primarily a favor to Nancy Josephson.

For his films, having one more or one less song made absolutely no difference.

But bringing a singer onto the production could significantly boost her market visibility.

Inside the studio's recording booth, Duke put down his headphones and looked at the others.

"What do you think?" he asked.

Anna Printz smoothed her long hair, which had been messed up by the headphones. "I think it's good," she said. "Swift's voice is very distinct."

"I think it's good too," Tina Fey agreed.

Inside the booth, Taylor Swift had already taken off her headphones. Her eyes were full of anticipation as her gaze darted between Duke and the others.

"We'll use it," Duke nodded.

Taylor Swift let out a soft breath, screaming with excitement on the inside. Showing a level of self-control rare for a girl her age, she maintained a calm yet thrilled expression as she walked over to the group.

"Thank you. Thank you..."

She thanked Tina Fey, Anna Printz, and Duke one by one before stepping back beside Nancy Josephson.

Duke checked his watch. "Let's stop here for now, Anna. We're heading back to the editing room."

Seeing Duke about to leave, Taylor Swift quickly spoke up.

"Can I take a tour of the studio?"

"Sure." Duke gestured to Nancy Josephson. "You can show her around."

With that, he and Anna Printz left the recording studio and returned to the editing room.

Post-production was never an easy job. For ninety-nine percent of films, post-production consumed far more time and energy than the actual shoot. After nearly three hours of intensive work, Duke walked into the studio's spacious lounge. He had just sat down across from a row of Transformers models when the crisp click of footsteps approached from behind.

"Can I sit here?"

Hearing the voice, Duke turned his head slightly to see a remarkably long pair of legs. Dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, Taylor Swift stood by the lounge table.

"Nancy and I just went to the visual effects studio," she said. "As a fan who's been obsessed with Transformers since childhood, I think the effects in the movie are unimaginably cool."

A girl liked Transformers?

Duke gave a subtle shake of his head and gestured to the opposite seat.

"Have a seat."

"Thank you." Taylor Swift sat across from him. "The robots in the movie look incredibly complex," she asked with immense curiosity. "Why did you choose this visual style instead of something more..."

She scratched her cheek, seemingly unable to find the right words.

"Simpler? Like the animated characters?"

Seeing Taylor Swift nod, Duke laughed.

"In that case, it would basically be like shooting a... hmm..."

He thought for a moment and said, "It'd be like shooting Ghostbusters, with the Transformers just being reskinned mushroom men. That wouldn't work."

Taylor Swift was smart and had easily found a shared topic. She blinked her sapphire-blue eyes, putting on a look of eager curiosity.

"Why is that?" she asked.

"On a forty-foot screen, you have to show the audience as much detail as possible. Things are flying everywhere, completely monopolizing the viewers' attention. The mechanical parts are incredibly complex, dazzling the audience."

The girl's fresh appearance and occasional flashes of childlike innocence easily won people over, or at least it seemed that way on the surface. Duke uncharacteristically elaborated.

"In the beginning, the film's production didn't go very smoothly. The initial robots were absolutely disgusting. Then I was constantly busy tweaking the entire visual effect bit by bit to make it look realistic and appealing."

"I understand," Taylor Swift said, her mind working rapidly as she picked up his thread. "Your own heart is the hardest thing to fool. When you see something imperfect..."

She deliberately put on a disdainful expression.

"A voice in your head immediately says, 'Hmph, a cartoon! A cheap cartoon!'"

Seeing her amusing expression, Duke thought of Scarlett Johansson at the same age. The nervous tension brought on by his grueling schedule gradually eased.

He shrugged.

"You have a point. During the prep phase, I rewatched the 1986 animated Transformers movie, but I just couldn't find that old feeling anymore. I only made it through the first five minutes before wanting to shoot myself."

Duke burst out laughing.

"I couldn't stomach that kind of thing. I had to figure out what kind of visual style I wanted for this movie on my own."

Taylor Swift laughed along with him.

"And because of that, you became public enemy number one to the hardcore fans?"

Duke gave a slight nod. The tall blonde girl spoke up indignantly.

"Who among your critics has ever actually seen what a robot in a 3D world looks like?"

"I need to get back to work," Duke said, standing up. "You can continue your tour."

The film's post-production pushed steadily forward. By April, they were nearing the final stages, and Duke had cut the first official trailer, handing it over to Warner Brothers for promotional use.

"Over twenty years ago, a group of living robots came to our Earth from Planet Cybertron and ignited an unimaginably fierce war. More than twenty years later, they have returned to wage a new life-and-death struggle. A catastrophe is coming. Which side will you stand on? Are you with the Autobots, or the Decepticons?"

As Optimus Prime struck a fierce combat pose, the first trailer froze on the giant screens in New York Times Square. Then, a line of massive text lit up.

"Their War, Our World!"

This was the promotional tagline for Transformers.

Crowds of pedestrians who had stopped to watch pulled their gazes away from the giant screens and continued walking. Before they had gone far, they saw massive movie posters displayed on the billboards.

It was the latest poster, composed of four connected panels.

One panel featured Optimus Prime versus Megatron. Megatron descended from the sky like a dark demon king, casting a shadow over the world, while Optimus Prime on the side was depicted as a glaring, giant head completely engulfed in darkness.

The other three character posters featured the three main leads: Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee. These Transformers posters were bursting with a three-dimensional, metallic texture that was incredibly eye-catching.

"Bumblebee is covered in mud and scars," someone following the film muttered in front of the poster. "I wonder what kind of long road this most amiable Autobot has traveled."

"Go check it out online," his companion reminded him. "Brush up on your Transformers knowledge before the movie comes out."

Just as the man suggested, starting in April, the promotional campaign for Transformers entered its final push. Besides the usual marketing tactics, to help non-fans better enjoy the film upon release, the "Transformers" Studio launched several special features and viral videos on its official website and partnered sites, including "Transforming Robotic Lifeforms—The Chronicles of the Transformers Series" and "What You Must Know Before Watching Transformers."

Meanwhile, numerous sponsors also launched a series of promotional campaigns.

For example, as Bumblebee's exposure increased, sales of the Chevrolet Camaro surged. General Motors rolled out a special campaign titled "Transform the Future with Chevrolet."

There was also Hasbro. As the original toy manufacturer, they released several toys developed specifically for the film. These toys utilized the latest "Automatic Transformation Technology," where triggering the "transformation" of one part would cause the other related parts to automatically "transform" along with it.

Previously, Hasbro rarely developed toys based on film and television settings. They typically designed the toys first and then created on-screen characters around them. However, this was a massive commercial blockbuster directed by Duke. They clearly understood the kind of sales boost it would bring to their toys.

North America was just one of many regions where Transformers would premiere simultaneously worldwide. Over in the film's global premiere location, thanks to the investment from the China Film Group, the promotional efforts for the movie reached a scale unprecedented for an imported film.