Michael Bay Dangled Shia LaBeouf Off A Building For A Climatic Transformers Scene
When Michael Bay unleashed the first live-action "Transformers" film in 2007, there were plenty that lamented the "death" of the action blockbuster and were fearful that we were entering an era of mass-produced garbage where style meant more than substance and CGI would replace practical stunt-work. To be fair, that's sort of exactly what happened, but comparing the behind-the-scenes footage of the blue-screen dominant sets of a Marvel movie and the shockingly practical approach of Bay's first "Transformers" flick is enough to make a person nostalgic for the aughts. (What a nightmare it was to write that sentence.)
With "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" now playing in theaters, it's worth revisiting where it all began, and remembering that despite the "Bayhem" of most Michael Bay productions, the man knows what it takes to pull off some seriously impressive practical effects ... often to the chagrin of his actors. During a behind-the-scenes featurette for the first "Transformers" film, Michael Bay and Shia LaBeouf discussed the process of how they managed to pull off the scene where LaBeouf's character Sam Witwicky was caught in a battle with the villainous Megatron and our hero, Optimus Prime. Of course, because it's a gigantic action set piece, that means he's scaling a skyscraper and desperately trying not to fall to his death.
"I know producer Ian Bryce, he knows how much I like physical stuff, and he says, 'So we're gonna do that blue screen right?' And I said, 'No. We're doing that real!'" Bay said. "'Really, really?' He says. 'Yeah, we're gonna put him out there!'" That's right, the Transformers may have been CGI, but Shia LaBeouf was really clinging for dear life on top of a building.
'I'm not gonna die, obviously, but I could scrape.'
Shia LaBeouf has talked quite a bit about the dangerous working conditions of the "Transformers" films, which boasted over 200 explosions. "They can build Optimus Prime, they can blow up the Pentagon, but they can't find a way to keep Shia off the ledge," LaBeouf joked. Fortunately, Michael Bay at least knew how intense of an experience shooting the film would be for the actor, and didn't try to diminish the severity of the situation.
"I gotta tell you, it's scary going out there because you literally have no safety net, and you just have these silly wires hanging on your hip," Bay said in the behind-the-scenes clip. "And mind you, I would never do this myself, ever. Okay?" The footage also shows Bay ensuring LaBeouf that he's safely bolted to a steel I-beam and won't be able to fall. As if that was enough reassurance to not be afraid. "What I could [do] is I could fall and scrape off the side and you'd have to pull me up," LaBeouf said. "That could happen. I'm not gonna die, obviously, but I could scrape."
Bay tried to lighten the mood by comparing the shoot to competing on "Fear Factor," but LaBeouf was still apprehensive. "They do more, harrier stuff on 'Fear Factor' than this," Bay promised. Somehow, though, that analogy worked, and LaBeouf pulled off the scene. "90 percent of actors in the business could not do what we did on this film," said LaBeouf. "They just wouldn't do it, you know? There's action stars who don't get up on the roof and do what we do."
"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" is currently in theaters.