When the Autobots and Decepticons return to theaters in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, they’ll be competing for attention with Megan Fox, Hollywood’s reigning It girl. Fox, who owes her current superstardom to director Michael Bay’s first alien robot blockbuster, spoke recently about coming back for seconds:
You’ve rocketed to stardom since Transformers came out in 2007. What’s changed for you personally since the first movie?
Megan Fox: I think the movie, its success and how it was received has opened a lot of doors for me, career-wise, and I’ve been able to be a part of some films that I don’t really feel like I deserve to have been a part of. And that’s due greatly, and probably solely, to the success of Transformers. Like I just did Jonah Hex with Josh Brolin and Michael Fassbender and John Malkovich. People in general — just actors don’t get those kinds of opportunities, and for me to have that is a huge blessing — and that’s because of the success of this movie.
Has your daily routine changed considerably?
MF: Sure. I mean, getting photographed at Whole Foods or like coming out of Rite-Aid with your shampoo bottles and stuff, that’s new for me. But that’s not that crazy. You adjust to that … You acclimate to that pretty quickly.
You wore a lot of revealing clothes in both the first film and the follow-up. Do you have a lot of input into your character’s appearance and are there ever moments when you think there’s a little too much skin on display?
MF: I have those moments on a daily basis, but as far as the process of picking those outfits, I don’t have much of a say. I remember Mike was auditioning Ramon and some of the other characters, and there was just a room full of men upstairs in his office … It was Shia, Ramon and two other actors and I had to, like, come up and down and try on my wardrobe, and I had like 18 different outfits. It was like white jean shorts and a pink belly shirt and, like, motorcycle boots, and we went through like a whole thing, and Mike was selecting them in the process of auditioning … But I had no say. Clearly he has an eye for what should and should not be in the movie. So I just trust him.
Director Michael Bay uses American military extensively in these films. What was it like working with the soldiers?
MF: I think just in general, I was really … not surprised with them, but they’re all extremely chivalrous and very respectful, clearly because they’re disciplined. And they’re so much better behaved than the rest of the cast is. Including myself, though. They listen and take direction really well, and we’re all just f–king off … But it adds authenticity to the movie … I enjoy being able to walk on the set and there’s a hundred real soldiers as opposed to walking on the set and there’s a hundred actors from Orange County or L.A. in fatigues. It was just, overall, a really pleasant experience for me. I have an immense amount of respect for the soldiers and our troops.
What’s it like when you see your character on the big screen? Have you seen the IMAX version yet?
MF: I haven’t seen the movie in IMAX yet. I just saw it for the first time a few days ago when we were in London. I usually don’t watch myself. Like I don’t go to playback; I don’t look at still photos. I have a phobia of it. But I forced myself to sit down, and I actually shot an entire glass of champagne so that I could get through the sitting of it. And I was really, really pleasantly surprised and like halfway through, I was kind of overcome with genuine emotion, and I wanted to, like, hug Michael, because I had gratitude for him for making this movie. It so far surpassed my expectations. I think the character is sexy, but women in movies in general are sexy — especially in Michael’s movies. He knows how to make movies that get people into the theater, and that’s part of it. That’s part of the formula.
Both Transformers movies make extensive use of CGI. Has the process of working with CGI gotten easier or harder since the first film?
MF: No, it was definitely easier, because we’ve seen them at this point. We’ve seen Optimus and we’ve heard his voice and we know how he moves, and it’s the same with all of the robots. Once you’re able to visualize something’s present, it’s a lot easier to sort of fake-interact with it, and I think those are some of the easiest scenes to shoot. I enjoy them because we’ve gotten good at being able synchronize and pick an eyeline. You scream your dialogue at it, and you avoid the area where you know where it is. And I enjoy those scenes. We end up usually doing a ton of takes because the eyeline needs to be so specific. The light needs to be right, and they need to be able to add it in to make it work the way they need to. But it wasn’t that difficult this time around.
Were you ever worried that Shia LaBeouf’s hand injury might endanger the production?
MF: We were very lucky. We were shocked with Shia’s level of commitment to this movie. He showed up with his injury and acted as though he didn’t have an injury, going balls to the wall and doing things that were not safe for him to do. But he wanted this movie to be as real as possible.
More:
Megan Fox Photos | Transformers 2 UK Premiere
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