All the intense action scenes were directed by Duke himself. Some of the dramatic scenes, such as fighter jets taking off, were left to Anna Prinz. According to the established plan, the film's shooting schedule was only eighty days—no delays were allowed.
Fortunately, Anna Prinz wasn't a rookie. When Duke led the crew to New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range for filming, her team had already flown to the Pentagon to shoot several dialogue-heavy scenes there.
At the designated filming site within the White Sands Missile Range, a shabby Middle Eastern-style village set had long been completed. Channing Tatum and the other actors playing Special Forces soldiers had undergone a period of training, giving them a somewhat rugged and fierce demeanor. At least from the outside, they now looked like real soldiers.
Dozens of trailers were parked far enough on the outskirts, and the military had set up a security perimeter around the village. The explosion scenes Duke was about to shoot weren't something that could be done with just a few soft charges this shoot would involve large quantities of military-grade explosives.
This was the White Sands Missile Range, and he could go all out with the explosions.
"Joss! Joss!"
Standing on a high platform in the village, Duke called a few times into a megaphone. When Joss William came running up the platform, Duke said again, "Make sure to communicate clearly with the actors. We can't afford any accidents."
"There's a dedicated person handling that." Joss William gave Duke a reassuring look.
Looking at Channing Tatum and the others preparing their gear in the distance, Duke nodded. "Let's hope they don't get scared out of their wits."
This time the explosion would be quite massive. His team members were long used to working in such environments, but even though these actors had undergone some military training, there was no telling if they would panic at the critical moment.
Still, Duke wasn't too concerned about the actors playing Special Forces losing their nerve when facing such a terrifying, unknown creature. Especially with something like the Juggernaut—people freaking out in fear was completely normal. Special Forces were tough, but they were still human. Just like Saving Private Ryan showed, soldiers on the battlefield were always diverse not everyone was the type to charge ahead shouting slogans without fear of death.
There would be some uncertainty in the actors' performances here, but they were positioned separately. Besides wide shots, any close-ups would be individually filmed by assistant cinematographers. The magical art of film editing could also remove any footage Duke didn't want to see.
"Joss, see that tallest adobe building over there in the distance?"
Duke pointed toward the southeastern corner of the village. That spot was the furthest from where the Juggernaut and U.S. forces would clash. "Blow it up. I want the dust and smoke from that explosion to shoot two hundred feet into the sky."
Joss William stared at it for a while, then said, "No problem. Leave it to me."
After Joss William left, Duke called over John Schwartzman and asked him to arrange for a helicopter to capture aerial shots of the explosion.
Since Independence Day, Duke hadn't staged such a massive detonation in a long time.
He climbed down from the platform, walked past two camera crane trucks, and found Channing Tatum and the other actors.
"Channing…"
He waved them over, and Channing Tatum and the others ran up immediately. "Director?"
"The explosion might be a bit intense," Duke reminded them. "Make sure to move exactly along your designated path. Also, control your emotions. If you really can't, I'll allow you to retreat."
Channing Tatum and the others exchanged glances, looking somewhat embarrassed. Even in a movie, no one wanted to play a deserter.
"Director, we…"
Duke patted Channing Tatum on the shoulder and said, "Just do your job. Don't worry about anything else."
After instructing the actors, Duke walked to the front of the village set. The model of the Juggernaut had already been brought in and would soon be blown up by the crew.
This would be the first Decepticon destroyed by the U.S. military.
In the previous film, the power disparity between the Decepticons and humans was an obvious issue. Although the opening ambush on the U.S. military base had the element of surprise, and the U.S. military is famously bad at handling ambushes, the later scenes where Decepticons fought the military felt overly exaggerated compared to the initial setup.
Just like Duke said, Transformers were powerful but not invincible. So he changed the beginning of the film: the attack on the Qatar military base would involve not just an ambush but also Thundercracker and Frenzy.
Moreover, the Juggernaut would no longer be a sidekick in the ambush. Instead, like in the original animated series, he would become a standalone combat unit. His power would be significantly enhanced and he would launch a surprise attack from underground.
The Four Decepticon Warriors would strike from the air, ground, and underground in a full 3D assault, wiping out an American military base.
The crew had received tens of millions of dollars in military sponsorship from the Pentagon, so Duke certainly had to consider the military's image. In this vast desert, a dozen fighter jets and several gunships would be deployed simultaneously, using the most advanced weaponry in the arsenal—especially armor-piercing shells and the like. Even a Decepticon couldn't withstand that.
The Juggernaut would be blown to pieces by a ferocious aerial bombardment.
This setup wasn't just about balancing combat power; Duke was thinking about the entire film series. While Optimus Prime was the undisputed lead, humans couldn't just be extras. After all, the movie audience was made up of humans not Transformers.
Returning to his director's chair, Duke waited patiently. This huge film set hadn't been easy to construct, and the opportunity to shoot was one-time only. All the buildings would be reduced to rubble under the Juggernaut's fierce artillery fire.
"Camera crew ready…"
"Props team ready…"
"Actors ready…"
"Pyro team ready…"
The assistant director relayed each update to Duke. After confirming that all departments were ready, Duke raised his megaphone.
"Action!"
With Duke's command, the previously quiet set instantly turned into a chaotic battlefield. Gunfire and explosions rang out nonstop.
Duke was already standing behind the director's monitor, focusing primarily on the explosion shots and the scenes featuring Channing Tatum and another Black actor. As for the other actors' scenes, their screen time didn't really matter if the performances were bad, he would just cut them out.
Suddenly, a massive explosion sounded from the left. The tallest earthen building in the village seemed to have been hit by a cruise missile. Countless plumes of smoke shot up into the air, rising several hundred feet into the sky before the structure collapsed with a thunderous crash.
The carefully calculated explosion wouldn't affect the set, but some dust still drifted over.
Duke promptly called for a cut. Once the dust had settled and the set had been cleaned up again, filming resumed.
The military's cooperation was also just right. A few fighter jets flew low over the battlefield about ten minutes later. While they obviously didn't fire any missiles, the effect was already good enough for filming—additional effects could be added during post-production.
Perhaps due to adequate military training, the actors' performances, while not outstanding, were good enough for a movie like Transformers. Even though Channing Tatum's face was visibly panicked when the Sack Giant was blown to pieces, it didn't really matter.
That shot could simply be cut during post-production.
With that, filming ended. Aside from a few houses used to mount cameras, nearly half of the small village had been turned into ruins. Several members of Channing Tatum's squad had also "died"...
"No need for a reshoot, right?"
On the platform where Duke was standing, Tina Fey walked over wearing a large mask. Looking at the footage on the monitor, she asked, "The military called me. If a reshoot is needed, they're ready to dispatch the second wave of jets."
Watching the playback on the monitor, Duke didn't answer immediately. Only after reviewing footage from all the camera angles did he finally say to Tina Fey, "No need. Call the Pentagon personally later, and tell them the production team and I are very grateful for the military's support."
The military's assistance saved the crew tens of millions of dollars in filming costs, which could now be allocated to post-production, resulting in even better special effects.
Tina Fey glanced toward the stairs and reminded Duke, "Channing Tatum's coming."
Turning off the monitor, Duke turned around to see Channing Tatum already walking up. He raised his hand to greet Duke and said, "Director Rosenberg, I've finished all my scenes here. If there's no plan for additional shots, I intend to leave White Sands Missile Range this afternoon."
Duke thought for a moment and said, "Go ahead."
After exchanging a few polite words, Channing Tatum turned and left.
"He's probably going to report to Sony Columbia's production team."
As the production manager, Tina Fey seemed well-informed. "Another toy line from Hasbro is being turned into a movie."
"G.I. Joe?" Duke asked.
"Yeah, that's the one."
In fact, when it came to toy popularity in North America, G.I. Joe might even surpass the Transformers line. Tina Fey added, "If my information's correct, Channing Tatum will be the male lead. The character he's playing is Duke."
"Duke?"
That series was also well-suited for a movie adaptation, especially in today's world where terrorism hasn't disappeared and continues to spread. It was just that Duke had acted too late and hadn't secured the adaptation rights. The sequel to that series once stalled—not because of a lack of popularity for G.I. Joe, but because of the director.
Stephen Sommers' version was quite decent and gave the series a good start, but the director who took over for the sequel delivered such a subpar product that it was hard to praise.
"Duke, one more thing," Tina Fey reminded again. "You need to return to Los Angeles for the premiere of WALL·E."