Hey guys! For those of you who don't know me already, my name is Brett Wolff, and I serve in the United States Navy. I have been doing so for 8 years now, and was most recently a member of the decommissioning crew onboard the fast attack submarine, USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709).
I am now stationed in Japan, working for Commander, Submarine Group Seven, in Yokosuka. Normally, my position in the nation's silent service does not afford me very many luxuries, but today I stumbled upon one that I can't wait to share with you all!
Reading our current issue of the Navy Times newspaper last night during my shift, I happened upon a rather delightful story:
'"A Transformed role - Sailors share the screen with giant robots"
The U.S. military has declared war on giant, shape-shifting alien robots. Amid blinding platinum dunes baking in the 105-degree sun, scores of elite servicemen and women cluster in and around real tanks, rocket launchers and personnel carriers as they unleash a machine-gun barrage at an invisible (and entirely fictional) enemy: Transformers.
Real-life sailors from the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis and the submarine Topeka not only got to witness the shooting, many also will be used as extras in the movie, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", which opens June 26.
A Transformers fan site - Seibertron.com - got a first-hand account from one Stennis sailor.
"They arrived in costume (at least Tyrese and Josh did) and began working almost immediately. From what I saw, all of the filming with the cast was done in 'closed' sets. The rest of the filming on the flight deck seemed to be flight operations, of which I was there and will hopefully make the final cut", according to the post.
"We were told to just act natural and continue our jobs as normal, which is easy to do when you've actually got work to do. I did, however, try really hard to get into one shot, in which I just walked back and forth for about 20 minutes".
The Pentagon gave its official stamp of approval to the Michael Bay-directed film, not only allowing production amid the pristine dunes of the Army's New Mexico missile range, but also letting film-makers follow jets and fighter planes through the sky from nearby Holloman Air Force Base.
The Defense Department has long seen benefits in joining forces with Hollywood, though its participation depends on script approval: The Pentagon demands some measure of realism in how the military behaves - despite the giant robots.'
Now, this may not be new news to anyone, as we all know (or at least those of us in the military do) that the Stennis was used in the last movie in dumping the bodies of the Decepticons into the abyss. However, the fact that a submarine has come into play is a new development to us all.
I read this story aloud to my watch team this morning, and it just so happens that the Lieutenant I stand watch with, Mr. Wong, served aboard the Topeka, the submarine used in the movie, during its cameo as a set piece in the Transformers sequel. He said the film crew filmed much of the submarine's hull, and that it in fact became a Transformer itself in the movie!
To hear this from him made me even more excited than I already was, because I drew the image posted below back in June of last year!
http://thepimpsled.com/Gallery/Transformer/ShockwaveMovieSchematic.jpgDid someone involved in the production of the film see my design? If the submarine Transformer my LT has told me about becomes none other than Shockwave, I'm going to /have/ to believe that somebody noticed my artwork. How cool would that be??? :>
As a comical side note, the Topeka now has a reputation of being the movie star of the submarine force. You can see her in action in season 5 of the TV show '24', standing in as a Russian submarine. Look closely and you can see USS Topeka placards in some scenes. :>
- Alty
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