Transformers 4 will be co-financed and partially filmed in China

By Alex Maidy

Posted 13 years ago

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

This year, China will get their special cut of IRON MAN 3 and next year it will be TRANSFORMERS 4. It was announced that Michael Bay‘s next film will be co-financed by Chinese government operated China Movie Channel and Jiaflix Enterprises, which is run by former Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences head Sid Ganis.

TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON grossed $352 million in the United States and $771 million internationally. Of that total, $165 million of it came from China. The country is the largest consumer of US movies outside of North America which is why we are seeing more pro-Chinese elements in movies. Just look back to the remake of RED DAWN trading enemies from the Chinese to North Koreans. Whether they are politically Communist or not, China is economically capitalist and Hollywood is going to bank on it.

sponsored content

This growing trend will not be going anywhere soon. Up until now, pretty much all studio films from Hollywood are released overseas. But, it has been in recent years that global box office performance has taken precedence over domestic gross. Movies like HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS get sequels because of total gross versus weak American box office performance. Movies in 3D have done exceptionally well and this has influenced release dates (G.I. JOE: RETALIATION) and directorial choices (PACIFIC RIM, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS). Comedy 21 & OVER was the first movie to actually shoot additional footage for an alternate cut of a movie, followed by IRON MAN 3, and TRANSFORMERS 4 looks to follow that pattern. (Thanks for the reminder about 21 & OVER, Rukas),

TRANSFORMERS 4 could easily incorporate a global plot into the film so that the footage shot in China can be integrated into the final film, but a fully alternate cut featuring “special bonus footage” could happen as well. Either way, the Mark Wahlberg starring blockbuster begins filming this year for a June 27, 2014 release date.

Source: LA Times

Tags: Action, Adventure, Ehren Kruger, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Bay, Transformers 4, Transformers: Age of Extinction

About the Author

Alex Maidy

TV Critic / Columnist

6,356 Articles Published Started writing in 2012

Favorite Movies: Being There, The Shining, The Royal Tenenbaums, Suspiria, Seven, North By read more Northwest, Citizen Kane, The Monster Squad, Begotten, Fight Club, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Army of Darkness, Children of Men, Blade Runner, The Big Lebowski, Casino, Pi, Dumb and Dumber, The 400 Blows, Small Change, Bonnie & Clyde, Cool Hand Luke, Moulin Rouge, Gangs of New York, Shallow Grave, The Rock, The Incredibles, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Gate, Prince of Darkness, Oldboy, The Dark Knight, The Lord of the Rings, The Tree of Life, The Exorcist III, Midnight Special

Likes: To piss you off, unpopular opinions, the novels of Stephen King, read more obscure bands that even hipsters dont know, things that go boom, Reeses Pieces, Cate Blanchett, reading paper books, watching people falling down, a good jump scare, listening to a full album in one sitting, rooting for the underdog, red band trailers, rare steaks, cool beer labels, smooth whisky, properly proportioned image files, top ten lists, VHS tapes, and actually scary movies

The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.

What’s Not Allowed

Abusive language, insults, or harassment toward other users or staff.
Hate speech of any kind is strictly prohibited.
Bickering, bullying, personal attacks, or baiting others to argue
Extended off-topic debates, especially those centered on politics or religion rather than the article topic
No AI content or SPAM