‘Transformers 4’: Michael Bay Says Shooting In Hong Kong Was ‘Difficult’

Although Transformers 4 director Michael Bay described shooting in Hong Kong as “difficult,” he apparently wants to work in the city again at some point in the near future.

You probably think that the Bad Boys director was referencing the recent altercation on the set of the sequel when discussing the problems he experienced while filming in China. However, Bay said it was the amount of people watching him do his thing that made his time in Hong Kong more than a little problematic.

“Hong Kong was very hard. I’ve had difficult locations in my life. But shooting in the market with so many people watching… it made it very challenging,” the filmmaker explained to the South China Morning Post.

Although Michael Bay said that Hong Kong will play a major role in Transformers 4, he stopped short of revealing how the city will figure into the plot.

“We are not destroying Hong Kong. I can’t tell you how [the Transformers] get here. They are not rescuing Hong Kong but definitely rescuing something,” the director said.

If you need more details involving the Transformers 4 story, then the folks at Coming Soon have some information you might be very interested in.

For those of you who want to see how the story unfolds when it arrives next year, then it’s best to skip this quote altogether. Hong Kong’s role in the flick is described as follows:

“A group of Transformers will meet up with another group of Transformers where they battle their way out of a crater (Wulong Karst is known for it’s sink holes) that was apparently created by a crashed starship. After the Wulong Karst battle they return to Hong Kong.”

According to Seibertron, one of the Hong Kong locations is considered a “heroic turning point” in the flick. It’s possible that this “other group of Transformers” are the Dinobots, which producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura confirmed following the leak of a call sheet.

“I can not disclose the specifics, but you can be sure that the joining of the Dinobots will give the audience new excitement. The world’s coolest, most exciting cars will appear in the film, including China’s vehicles,” the producer explained to TFW2005.

Michael Bay also managed to wrangle such noted Chinese actors as Li Bingbing, Ray Lui Leung-wai, and Michael Wong to play small roles in the upcoming sequel. A handful of amateur actors will appear in the flick courtesy of a reality show that aired over the summer.

Are you looking forward to Transformers 4? What sort of role do you think the city of Hong Kong plays in director Michael Bay’s big-budget adventure?

[Image via Paramount Pictures]