THE DETROIT TRANSFORMERS 4 SET

I walked down to Grand Circus Park in the heart of downtown Detroit today to check out the set for Transformers 4. This is as close as I could get.

The set is a replica of a portion of Hong Kong.

 

The set was cordoned off and there was no action or activity.

I was impressed how elaborate the set was- debris everywhere, building size ads and realistic structures. The budget for this film is $170 million and you can tell, just by this set alone, how that amount of cash can be burned through like a stack of old newspapers.  Maybe it’s a bellwether of the future: co-financing with China. Transformers 4 is being co-produced the China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises, along with Paramount. Movies of this magnitude and genre play well and make a lot of money in China. Just look how Pacific Rim is doing there.

Yes, the Transformer franchise is made for kids, but it’s interesting and very impressive to see the production from a technical point of view. A lot of objects and props on the set could have been rendered with CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) alone, such as the massive piles of rubble, destroyed buildings and full building size ads. But they weren’t.

When CGI is added in post-production the real props will make a huge difference.  I’m going to try to get some better shots from beyond the pagoda later this week before the set is torn down and will post them here.

The Transformer series has developed into a huge franchise, and it’s satisfying to see big films shot in Detroit again.

 

Low Budget Successes vs. Big Budget Flops

It’s been a rough summer for Hollywood in terms of big budget losses (the one exception is World War Z, which has made 266 million). Look at The Lone Ranger, After Earth,  R.I.P.D, White House Down and to a lesser degree Pacific Rim. All of these films cost between 100 and 200 million dollars to make. The Lone Ranger alone is estimated to lose 150 to 190 million dollars.

Then comes along The Conjuring, which cost 20 million to make and brought in 41.5  million its first weekend. Compared to R.I.P.D. which brought in only 12.8 million and cost around 130 million to make, The Conjuring is a great success. Why? A compelling story, not built on CGI.

Check out The Conjuring trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/trailers?ref_=nb_mv_6_tr

Heavy CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) isn’t a substitute for a good story. Take a look at John Carter, which from the first trailer had flop written all over it. Same with After Earth. As much as I like Del Toro, I get the same feeling with Pacific Rim.  All of these films are thin on story and thick on CGI. They lack the hooks to draw people to it, in my opinion. That’s where The Conjuring hits the mark. Story is everything.

Check out the trailers here:

The Lone Ranger: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210819/?ref_=sr_1

After Earth: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1815862/?ref_=sr_1

R.I.P.D: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790736/?ref_=sr_1

White House Down: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2334879/?ref_=sr_1