One of the stars of this big blockbuster goes in on the making of the action film directed by Michael Bay.
In Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro reprise their starring roles, with Peter Cullen returning as the voice of Optimus Prime and Hugo Weaving returning as the voice of Megatron. Ehren Kruger, who collaborated in the writing of the last film, was again involved in the writing. Despite having been initially confirmed for the film, Megan Fox, who had starred in the first two films, Transformers and Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen would not appear in the third installment and instead, the role went to English model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
Singer/actor Tyrese has had an enjoyable ride through the trilogy and doesn’t mind sharing some inside stories with Hip Hop Weekly.
HHW: What was it like working on such an action packed film?
TYRESE: There’s so much that happened. For instance, there was a scene where we were sliding down this building and there was another scene taking place at a corporate building and it was crazy. A lot happened during the filming. People who saw us said, “First of all, who are you guys? “ We were at places like Trump Towers and the Sears Towers. Luckily it went off without a hitch, but we were praying and giving good energy. When this actor jumped off a building his hands were shaking; they’re out there, for real. These guys are out there. Yes, they really jumped off the building, but don’t try to do this at home (laughs).
How scary was making this film?
Most people would have a nervous breakdown but our director Michael Bay does this in his sleep.
How do you feel about the film?
This is a great ride; the Transformer fans will not be disappointed.
What is your role like this time? A lot of people have seen the film, but we don’t want you to give away any secrets!
I play USAF Chief Robert Epps and I’m in charge of communications with aircraft, where we’re dropping bombs and in this one I come in later in the film because I was tired and then I’m on a classified mission. Shia asks me to come back and I was reluctant, but I didn’t like what was done to my friends so I’m back.
Tell us about the other characters.
It was good to work with Josh Duhamel; he has taken on more responsibilities and it was good to see him take charge and communicate with the robots. And Rosie, she is playing a whole other character and we were focused on what she would add. The fans will like her, won’t be able to compare her to the actress (Megan Fox) and we connected and bonded. It was great to have her come on board.
Why do you feel the Transformer films have been so successful?
There’s so much action and drama but it all makes sense. This is our toast to the fans; we kept it relevant and hot. When I got the call, it was a dream come true; I m committed to the Transformer franchise.
You were also in Fast Five; you must really love action films.
I love adrenalin. I love cars; I’m a big fan of cars. I’ve tried my best to get as many cars as I could over my years, and make sure that they’re as fast as legally safe. I don’t know, Fast Five is a different type of movie, different kind of cast, different type of energy. You know, I think for me, I didn’t grow up watching “Fast and the Furious” – I grew up watching Transformers. And so as far as the culture, the world, in itself with Transformers is more in my bloodstream. And when Michael approached me about Transformers all of six years ago, I tried to keep my composure when he asked me. “Hey, man, you know, I’m supposed to be doing this movie, Transformers. Would you be interested?” And I was like, “Yeah, Man. Hell, yeah.” But on the inside …
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