It was another exciting day of movie magic in Chicago Saturday as shooting on Transformers 3 continued. This weekend, the Magnificent Mile has been center stage for all the action.
Hundreds of fans have enjoyed a front-row seat to all the filming, but some Chicagoans aren’t too happy about all the traffic headaches and street closures associated with the shoot.
The film’s stars and director are well aware of that, and offered a special message via CBS 2 : Bay said Chicago figures prominently at the end of the movie.
“Please allow me to formally apologize to the whole city for all of the traffic and for all of those extra blocks that you have to turn, just to get to where you’re going,” co-star Tyrese Gibson said. “But you know, we’re bringing some energy to city, and we thank y’all for graciously allowing us to be here.”
“This has been awesome,” Duhamel said. “I hadn’t spent any time here, more than maybe a day or two, and obviously this is the best time of year to be here, and it’s just beautiful.”
Continue reading for the entire article. “Please allow me to formally apologize to the whole city for all of the traffic and for all of those extra blocks that you have to turn, just to get to where you’re going,” co-star Tyrese Gibson said. “But you know, we’re bringing some energy to city, and we thank y’all for graciously allowing us to be here.”
Gibson, director Michael Bay and co-star Josh Duhamel stopped for a few minutes Saturday to pose with one of the Transformers characters – Bumblebee, in its pre-robot, automobile form – before an appreciative crowd. They praised the city of Chicago for its cooperation in creating a mock disaster scene on Chicago’s world-famous retail row.
“It’s just a beautiful place. I’ve been all over the world, and this is truly a great place to shoot,” Bay said.
Michigan Avenue is “the most iconic view of the city, in both directions,” Bay added. “It’s not like an alley. It’s beautiful architecture, 360 degrees.”
“This has been awesome,” Duhamel said. “I hadn’t spent any time here, more than maybe a day or two, and obviously this is the best time of year to be here, and it’s just beautiful.”
Bay said Chicago figures prominently at the end of the movie.
“That will get around the world, so it will be good for tourism,” he said.
Daley, who toured the Mag Mile disaster set, was impressed with what he saw.
“It’s unbelievable, especially when everything goes flying,” the mayor said.
The traffic tie-ups will continue through Sunday. Michigan Avenue is closed from Wacker to Ontario. So if you’re in the area, take Clark south across the river and Dearborn north. Michigan will re-open by 5 a.m. Monday.
The film production is expected to pump more than $20 million into the local economy and generate 200 jobs.
CBS 2’s Suzanne LeMignot and Mai Martinez contributed to this report.