We recently brought you some new images from Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction, but now we can pair them with some commentary from the director himself. Bay talked about the level of "goofiness" from his last foray into the Transformers universe and how the fourth film will depart from that in a more cinematic direction. Stars Mark Wahlberg and Nicola Peltz also talk about their experience working with Bay from the set of the fourth film in the franchise. Hit the jump to see what they all had to say.
The film also stars Kelsey Grammer, Stanley Tucci, T.J. Miller, Titus Welliver, Han Geng, Sophia Myles, and Li Bingbing. Transformers: Age of Extinction opens in theaters on June 27, 2014.
Bay recently spoke with Yahoo from the set of Transformers: Age of Extinction about a number of changes made for the new film, which is more of a continuation of the previously established story than it is a true reboot. As Bay himself says:
“It feels like a new chapter, this movie, but it’s not a reboot. This movie lives in the history of the 'Transformers' movies, and this one starts three years after the last. It feels fresh.”
Perhaps part of the "not a reboot but a new chapter" line is semantics, but another part is about putting distance between the previous film and the current one. In Bay's words:
“I wanted the first Transformers to be very suburban and less cool. This is a much more cinematic one. I focused on keeping this one slick. There won’t be any goofiness in this one. We went a bit too goofy [on the last one].”
The human cast has been swapped out wholesale this time around. Wahlberg, who signed on without reading the script, stars as a "wacky inventor and overprotective father to Peltz’s Tessa." Part of that overprotective nature comes into play when he's "distracted by the arrival of his daughter’s race driver boyfriend, played by Jack Reynor."
Here's what Wahlberg had to say about the reasons he joined the picture:
“The human element really attracted me. I had a great time working with him on 'Pain & Gain', and he asked me to come back, so I said, ‘Absolutely.’ The idea of playing a dad to a teenage girl – those are issues I’ll be having to deal with sooner rather than later, whether I like it or not.”
The human element is all well and good, but Bay is known more for his explosions than his emotions. In a digital age, Bay is all about the practical effects.
“Yeah baby, It’s kind of a dying art in Hollywood – nobody does anything for real. John’s one of the grand masters of physical effects. He can’t hear right because he’s done so many explosions. We still hold the Guinness World Record for Pearl Harbor: John rigged 350 bombs in seven seconds. Nowadays I think you would fake a lot of it.”
Not sure if Bay's going to top that record with Transformers: Age of Extinction, but you can find out for yourself next summer. Be sure to head over to Yahoo for more from Peltz, Reynor and Bay about the picture.