The next “Transformers” movie won’t have Megan Fox – but it will have scenes filmed in Milwaukee. The Film Wisconsin group says director Michael Bay will film scenes at the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Tower Automotive site on the week of July 12th. Producers say “Transformers 3” will be shot around the world, including Chicago for a few weeks.
It’s expected to be released next summer. Also, Milwaukee could also be chosen for next year’s “American Idol” auditions to take place this fall. Dave Fantle, the board president of Film Wisconsin, says he should get the final word on that next week.
The movie received $4.6 million in tax rebates and credits but only generated $5 million in economic activity, prompting state officials to replace a previous incentive plan with a $500,000 annual grant program. “Transformers 3” won’t qualify for the new grant program, but Film Wisconsin board president Dave Fantle said director Michael Bay was drawn by something even more attractive to moviemakers: location, location, location.
“You really need something that is one of a kind where a producer or director says, ‘I can’t get this anywhere else or I can’t replicate this in a sound stage in Hollywood’ and that was the case with the art museum,” Fantle said. The movie is due in theaters next summer, which also is the 10th anniversary of the Milwaukee Art Museum: a white, winged structure designed by Santiago Calatrava along Lake Michigan that serves as the city’s symbol for tourism.
“Transformers 3” stars Shia LaBeouf, Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich and model Rosie Huntington-Whitely. Fantle said some of the film’s stars are expected in Milwaukee, but couldn’t say which ones.
-Thonline
