As the crew’s filming time in Las Vegas extended, more and more reporters gathered there, circling around the crew every day in hopes of uncovering or filming some exclusive news. Even if they couldn’t get exclusives, any new tidbits would do—after all, "Transformers" was Duke’s new film. "If you randomly interviewed ten people on the street, I bet half of them would know what Duke Rosenberg’s new film is." Sitting in an outdoor café, Jack Scholes, a star reporter from the entertainment section of The Washington Post, said to his cameraman, "If you want attention for the entertainment section, a report on Duke Rosenberg’s new work is actually the best choice." The cameraman, holding a coffee cup, nodded repeatedly. "No director has ever received the level of attention from the North American public like Duke Rosenberg. His influence has already gone far beyond the scope of just being a director." A director who could rank among the top twenty on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest—how could he still be considered just an ordinary director? Saying this, Jack Scholes looked at the location of the crew in the distance and suddenly shook his head. "But it’s a pity that his vulgar personal taste will never change." The man had already achieved brilliant success in the realm of commercial films, yet refused to take even a single step toward artistic cinema. In his eyes, that was completely lacking in ambition. The cameraman stopped nodding but didn’t say anything. Although he had different views, he wasn’t foolish enough to express them in front of his superior. Jack Scholes was still shaking his head. He recalled a scene he had watched that morning it was a scene involving the female lead. As the female lead, Amber Heard had no lines in the entire scene. Other than sweeping across her highly photogenic face, the camera kept circling around her sexy figure. This female lead, apart from serving as eye candy, had been reduced to the point of being almost irrelevant. Every time she appeared on screen, it was always "thin, revealing, and sheer." Even when escaping and lying on the ground, she had to strike a sexy "pose" as per director Duke Rosenberg’s request. Having such an actress in such a film—this was a massive insult to the art of cinema... And then there were the other scenes. If not for having no opportunity to meet him in person, Jack Scholes would definitely have mocked him face-to-face a top-tier director with over fifteen years of experience returning to his early style, with nothing but explosion after explosion in his shoot. It was obvious the crew was using live explosions to shoot those intense scenes. After watching several days of filming, Jack Scholes had noticed that those meticulously built sets were often turned into rubble after just one scene. This crew was practically a garbage maker. But not everyone saw it that way. At another table nearby, several reporters from The Los Angeles Times were also discussing the ongoing filming of Transformers. "Explosion scenes shot in real settings offer a strong visual impact, but shooting them on the streets of Las Vegas is still somewhat risky." After one reporter voiced his concern, another quickly rebutted, "For someone like Duke, who has directed The Rock, Independence Day, and Saving Private Ryan films full of explosive scenes managing explosions is no big deal." The reporter sitting between them added, "The Rock, Duke destroyed half of San Francisco. Independence Day, he blew up North America. Saving Private Ryan, he leveled Omaha Beach. For Transformers, he’s got to destroy at least a few U.S. military bases and half of Las Vegas..." Although more and more reporters were gathering in Las Vegas, Duke’s shooting progress was not affected. Aside from the occasional new idea, the entire shoot proceeded in an orderly manner according to plan. The day’s main shoot focused on Amber Heard’s scenes. As the female lead, she didn’t have many lines. Most of her performance relied on body language—and the sole purpose of that was to highlight her looks and figure. As the sun gradually moved westward, the crew finished shooting a scene of Mikaela driving while dragging Bumblebee. With that, the day’s filming was complete. Duke handed some wrap-up tasks to Tina Fey, then, accompanied by the press officer, walked into the media interview area set up by the crew to accept interviews. This had become a long-standing convention in Hollywood between film crews and the media. Reporters wouldn’t excessively disturb the shoot, and in return, the crew would cooperate appropriately with media interviews. To be precise, this was a win-win situation. Even for Duke’s films, huge box office returns required extensive and well-executed publicity. A few days ago, the male and female leads—Andrew Garfield and Amber Heard had already given interviews. At this crucial stage of film promotion, Duke never minded stepping up himself. "Duke, can you tell us why you decided to make Transformers into a live-action movie?" A reporter from The Los Angeles Times was the first to ask, "There’s a lot of talk saying you really love this series?" "Yes, I really love this series." Duke nodded without hesitation. "I’ve said before I’ve always loved the toys and cartoons of this series." "As for why I wanted to make a live-action version—" After a brief pause, Duke continued, "I think that in all these years of film history, no one has ever shown a truck transforming into a 20-foot-tall robot on screen. I also wanted to create a work that pays tribute to the classic cartoons of the past—to rediscover the imagination that Hollywood has lost for so many years. The film will include many moments that once moved us. Even those over thirty years old will feel like 10-year-olds again when they watch it, eyes wide in amazement." "But many people are criticizing..." A reporter unknown from which outlet—pulled out several concept design images of Optimus Prime released by the crew. "These robots don’t look realistic at all. Their slender and elongated bodies simply couldn’t support their own weight." "Who said they’re robots?" Duke spread his hands and said, "They are mechanical lifeforms! Just like humans, they have thoughts, emotions, hobbies, and dislikes. They are advanced beings and should have the same beautifully streamlined bodies as humans." Duke raised his right index finger and deliberately emphasized, "Remember, they are not those bulky, boxy robots built by humans from steel. If we really designed them to look like clunky robots, it would seem fake and boring because they wouldn’t look like intelligent lifeforms from an alien galaxy. Instead, they’d look like low-quality robot products made in Japan." In this regard, the production team, Warner Bros., and Hasbro have reached complete consensus, and all kinds of preliminary preparations are moving ahead swiftly based on this agreement. Although the film is still far from its release date, the promotion and merchandise campaigns have already begun. Starting in October, Hasbro joined forces with Warner Bros. and spent two months developing a toy product line for the movie. During this process, they received great assistance from the core members of the production team. Toys of the Allspark, Optimus Prime, and Starscream will hit global markets one month before the film’s release. The first wave of action figures will be launched in spring next year. These toys will also include characters such as Ironhide and Arcee, who appear in the second movie. Most of the toys come with movable parts, allowing them to truly transform. On the distribution side, after several months of negotiations, Warner Bros. has reached release agreements with over eighty countries and regions, many of which will have synchronized releases with North America. In terms of promotional campaigns, many sponsors—including General Motors, Panasonic, Lenovo, Burger King, and Coca-Cola have long since acquired the rights to use related characters and images from the "Transformers" studio. Starting next spring, a wide range of products related to the live-action Transformers movie will be released to build anticipation. Props used for filming, including the prototype Camaro for Bumblebee and the Allspark, will be auctioned for charity on Amazon after shooting is completed by the marketing team. Additionally, Hasbro and Warner Bros. have built a website called Sector Seven, which features a viral marketing alternate reality game. In it, characters from this movie and previous Transformers toys participate in a secret mission called "Hunger Dragon." The website also includes several behind-the-scenes videos, offering "evidence" of Transformers existing on Earth, with Bumblebee’s prototype Camaro naturally being one of the highlights. Filming in Las Vegas lasted about a week before the crew moved on to Hoover Dam. Like the Pentagon, since the September 11 attacks, Hoover Dam had closed its doors to all Hollywood film crews. "Transformers" is the first production crew allowed to shoot on location at Hoover Dam since September 2001. This is one of the most famous landmarks in the United States. To avoid disrupting the dam’s daily operations, the crew had to wake up early every day and finish filming before 10 a.m., since the dam opens to tourists after that time, and the flow of visitors would bring a lot of interference to the crew. Starting from the Hoover Dam shoot, Peter Cullen also joined the team. As the voice actor of the animated Optimus Prime, he will use his voice to evoke nostalgia for fans of the franchise. Naturally, his lines will include the one chosen through online voting: "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings." Regardless of the actual situation in the U.S., "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" is undoubtedly the best representation of American values in the film. It also defines Optimus Prime’s ideology and beliefs. That one line explains why the Autobots he leads would fight to the death against the Decepticons, their own kind, for Earth and humanity. In real-world terms, this is an ideological struggle. It’s a war that crosses races, regions, and cultural backgrounds—a war with no room for compromise. Hi For access to additional Chapters of Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters) Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters) Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters) Douluo Dalu: Reincarnated as Yan(40 Chapters) Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters) The Great Ruler (30 Chapters) Join pateron.com/Translaterappu