Just after Christmas, Duke received feedback from ICM: Charlize Theron would adjust her future schedule according to his needs to participate in his new film.
The two sides had only reached a preliminary intention; specific matters still needed discussion. Duke wasn't in a hurry, since Transformers hadn't finished filming yet.
As the holiday ended, the crew regrouped. During the first week, Duke and Anna Prinz each led a team to shoot some scattered scenes at the Warner Studios lot. As 2008 arrived, the entire crew gathered and headed to eastern Nevada.
A newly constructed highway had just been completed here. Duke had his eyes on one of its overpasses, intending to shoot a chase scene and a battle involving the Transformers.
The latter, of course, would be completed by the special effects team after collecting the necessary footage.
To obtain shooting permissions, two of Tina Fey's assistants had started negotiations with the relevant parties two months ago. After offering enough money, the construction company and associated departments finally signed the contract.
Hundreds of vehicles were towed onto the highway, including mine-clearing vehicles provided by the Pentagon. Once Duke arrived, he immediately began directing the crew to set up the location.
"Our goal is simple."
Standing on a lift, Duke said to Anna Prinz, "Try to destroy all the vehicles we brought."
On this highway, the Autobots protecting Sam would engage in a fierce battle with the pursuing Decepticons. Optimus Prime would showcase his power, slaying several Decepticons.
In regard to Optimus Prime, the live-action film borrowed heavily from the cartoon's settings such as combat ability.
Compared to the fierce Megatron, who hadn't yet rusted beneath the sea, Optimus Prime was slightly inferior. But he still possessed enough strength to fight back. And when facing other Decepticons, Optimus was like Megatron fighting regular Autobots not even in the same league.
This part of the shoot didn't involve many actor close-ups. What was needed most were stunt drivers—more than thirty were hired by the crew to complete this car chase and battle sequence.
Shooting such scenes had been Duke's specialty ten years ago. Now, with high-definition, more compact cameras and the presence of high-speed capture cameras, the footage would be even more visually impactful.
Transformers was a 3D film. As in earlier shoots, James Cameron's improved 3D camera system would be used at the main camera positions.
This was also one of the reasons behind the film's massive cost.
Warner Bros. had approved an additional investment plan and would inject another $20 million into the film, raising the total production cost to a staggering $220 million.
The additional funding was mostly allocated to special effects. Duke understood well that Transformers' biggest selling points were nostalgia and effects everything else was secondary.
Take the plot, for example. His version of the story was even simpler; maintaining basic logic was sufficient.
The highway scenes wouldn't last more than ten minutes in total, but filming would take a full week. This would also be the last part of production. Once this section was done, Duke could transition into post-production.
As with all films, large-scale scenes except wide shots were composed of individual segments. Duke had split the shoot into countless fragments, each flip or collision filmed as its own shot.
These shots would only last a few seconds but required significant preparation time. Most of the crew's time was spent getting ready.
Collisions, explosions, flames, car flips...
These were the main themes of the week-long shoot. Though safety measures were in place, a few stunt performers still suffered minor injuries. Fortunately, they were only surface wounds not serious.
As mid-January approached, filming neared its end.
For Duke, Transformers represented childhood nostalgia. He had special feelings for the series. Even though he usually disliked cameos, he decided to appear briefly in the film and act opposite Optimus Prime.
Beneath the overpass, a Ford vehicle was parked at a set location dressed to resemble a battlefield. Duke sat in the driver's seat while a camera assistant set up a Steadicam to film his facial expression through a specially designed window.
"Cut!"
Anna Prinz's voice came from the other side. "Duke, your expression wasn't quite right."
Pushing open the car door, Duke stepped out and walked to the director's monitor. Anna Prinz replayed the recently shot footage. After watching, Duke folded his arms and pinched his chin.
"You only looked panicked," Anna Prinz pointed out. "There was no astonishment."
Duke's role was merely a walk-on character. Seeing Optimus Prime in combat and hearing the loud noise, his character would naturally be panicked but also shocked. How could such a creature exist on Earth?
"Let's do it again." Duke returned to the car.
The scene wasn't difficult, but his acting made performing against empty air a bit challenging.
Duke knew he had very little acting talent. He had rarely made cameos in the past. This one was only a brief moment on screen.
"Action!"
At Anna Prinz's cue, Duke immediately got into character. He pretended to slam the brakes, then turned his head to look out the window, as if witnessing something unbelievable. His face displayed both panic and astonishment.
Watching the monitor, Anna Prinz slightly shook her head. She confirmed that her boss wasn't acting material, but for a background shot of a Transformer battle, Duke's performance was more than enough.
"Cut!" Anna Prinz called out. "That's a wrap!"
With the final shot completed, crew members exhausted after a long week began to smile with relief. At last, they were about to enjoy another long break.
As usual, there was no excitement, no celebration, only the lightness that came after intense work and immense pressure. Even though the entire team had worked together for years, the filming process still allowed no room for sloppiness.
This was a blockbuster with an investment of over 200 million dollars, not some niche indie film.
"We've got the whole afternoon to get to Las Vegas."
Duke was well aware of the importance of balancing work and rest. He picked up the megaphone and shouted loudly, "I've already had Tina book the MGM Hotel. Tonight, we party hard."
Las Vegas was, without a doubt, the perfect place for unwinding and revelry.
Of course, the crew couldn't book the entire MGM Hotel—they just reserved the biggest suite and invited dozens of strippers to perform inside. Naturally, such a wild party wouldn't be complete without marijuana and cocaine. Duke himself didn't touch any of it, but he never interfered with the others.
This was the norm in the industry.
It wasn't just actors and celebrities—even roles like cinematographers and makeup artists often used drugs or got high. It was a widespread phenomenon.
Duke didn't stay in the suite for long. He and a few of the core team members had long outgrown the phase of wild partying. As soon as the madness began, they left the suite and headed to the casino in the hotel. After exchanging ten thousand dollars for chips, they wandered between the gaming tables, trying their luck.
Gambling skills were something Duke completely lacked. In fact, it was his first time in a casino. He was more curious than anything else. But his luck wasn't great—he lost more than he won.
After moving through just a few tables, Duke already lost interest.
"How much did you win?"
As he arrived at a resting area, Tina Fey walked over. "Don't tell me you lost everything?"
"Still got a decent amount," Duke showed her the chips in his hand. "Luck's not great. Lost more than half."
He then asked, "How about you?"
Tina Fey gave a slight shrug. "My luck was even worse. I lost the full ten grand."
Looking at the gamblers staring wide-eyed at the tables, Duke grew even more uninterested. Shaking his head, he said, "Let's go."
Taking the chips from Duke, Tina Fey cashed them in, then followed him out of the casino. They didn't return to the suite but went straight up to their hotel room to rest early, so they could return to Los Angeles early the next morning.
Back in Los Angeles, Duke rested for only two days before diving into post-production. Mike Dawson and his editing team were, of course, the obvious choice for editing. After about ten days of work, Duke and Mike Dawson completed the rough cut. However, the version they cut together not only lacked any special effects but also ran over six hours in length.
Even though the film took less than three months to shoot, Duke still produced nearly 100 hours of raw footage.
The editing of the entire film returned to Duke's original style just like when he first started making films in Hollywood. Transformers was purely a popcorn flick, and sharp, rapid editing was undoubtedly the smartest choice.
The most time-consuming part, naturally, was the special effects. From the start of pre-production to now, the two ILM effects teams had only completed a small portion of the effects. Fortunately, the most time-intensive part—modeling—was already done, so the pace would pick up going forward.
ILM also guaranteed that all effects would be completed no later than early May. Having collaborated for more than a decade, Duke had plenty of trust in ILM.
Duke spent all of January immersed in post-production. He also cut a 30-second commercial spot, which, like before, aired during the Super Bowl halftime break. But due to the incomplete special effects, there weren't many scenes featuring Transformers in the ad shots of Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, and Megatron were all just fleeting flashes.
By early February, the annual Oscar Nominee Luncheon was held as scheduled.