If you’ve seen Transformers, you know that there’s more than meets the eye – especially when it comes to movie and film locations.
tripatlas.com/new is bringing you to the filming locations and travel destinations featured in the latest Transformers movie: Revenge of the Fallen.
Shanghai, China. The film begins in Shanghai where the Autobots are seen battling alongside the US Military against the Decepticons. After killing a Decepticon, Optimus Prime is warned that “The Fallen will rise again.” Although shots of the Shanghai skyline are seen, most of the action scene was filmed at the Bethlehem Steel Company’s site over three days while more was filmed in Long Beach, California.
University of Pennsylvania & Princeton University. The movie features protagonist, Sam Witwicky (played by Shia LeBeouf), and his transition to the East Coast to begin attending college. College scenes were filmed at both the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University. However, due to a humorous scene involving Sam’s mom (Mrs. Witwicky) partaking in drugs, neither of the colleges gave permission to use their name in the movie. During Sam’s first Astronomy class, he begins to see Cybertronian symbols and breaks down in class.
Paris, France. After sending him off to college, Sam’s parents go on vacation to Paris. They’re seen eating escargots at a restaurant near the Place de la Concorde in Paris in Paris’ Champs-Elysees. Most filming was done in Paris while one scene of a side street was done in Philadelphia.
Smithsonian Museum, Washington D.C. It’s at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, the D. Udvar-Hazy Center in Washington D.C., where Sam and his friends find Jetfire, one of the oldest and first Autobots to come to Earth. They reactivate him and he helps them read the Cybertronian symbols that Sam has been seeing in his head, which turns out to be a clue to finding the Matrix of Leadership.
Egypt desert. With Jetfire’s help, they are transported to the Egyptian desert. He tells them about about the Fallen, an evil Decepticon that created a machine that would destroy the Earth’s sun to harvest the energy to re-power Cybertron. Jetfire tells them that both the sun-harvesting machine and the key to turning it on, the Matrix of Leadership, are hidden somewhere in Egypt. These desert scenes were filmed at Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, a location that represented Qatar in the first Transformers film.
Jordan: Petra, Salt, Wadi Rum. The clues lead them to Petra. One of the Seven Wonders of the World, Petra is more breathtaking than ever in Transformers 2. Luckily for the filming crew, one of Jordan’s princes liked the first Transformers film and allowed them to film at Petra, Wadi Rum and Salt, with the help of the Royal Jordanian Air Force. At Petra, Sam finds the Matrix of Leadership.
Pyramids of Egypt: Giza + Luxor. The final battle scene of Revenge of the Fallen brings everything to the pyramids of Egypt. It’s in one of the pyramids that the Fallen hid his sun-harvesting machine. While some scenes of the pyramids were filmed on a scale model in Los Angeles, a lot of the filming actually took place at the Giza pyraminds and Luxor. The film crew and dozens of Egyptian locals helped to ensure the shoot went smoothly and a fifty-foot tall camera crane was used.
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The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is a companion facility to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The facility opened in December, 2003, and is the home of thousands of aviation and space objects, representing the history of flight. Together, the sites showcase the largest collection of aviation and space artifacts in the world. The museum is open seven days a week and there is no admission fee.
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, located in Fairfax County, was chosen as the location for one of the climactic scenes in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen because the facility is home to the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the fastest jet in the world. Stars of the film Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, John Turturro and director Michael Bay were on location in Virginia for the production throughout Summer 2008.
Former Virginia Film Office Director Rita McClenny commented, “We are proud that one of Virginias newest and most unique museums was featured in this popular film series. This one-of-a-kind museum provides visitors with the opportunity to experience some of the worlds most spectacular spacecraft and aircraft in an environmentally controlled building and that is one of the main reasons that Transformers chose to shoot there.”
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, sequel to Transformers, the highly successful 2007 blockbuster film, opened in theaters in the United States on June 24, 2009. The original Transformers film was based on the Hasbro toys of the same name and grossed more than $700 million worldwide.
After discovering a forest in Philadelphia, the film springs another surprising geographical anomaly when they exit the Smithsonian to find that it’s in the middle of a vast, sun-baked desert.
In fact, the spectacular airplane museum is the Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center, the Smithsonian’s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia, where you can see the SR-71 on display, along with such famed craft as Enola Gay, the plane which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Fast forward to present day ‘Shanghai, China’, where Autobots acting in concert with the US military clear up a little problem with a couple of troublesome Decepticons.
Returning to college, he’s attacked by a comely humanoid Decepticon Pretender, leading to a wild chase through the campus – and beyond. The classical pillared exterior of the university library is the Greek-Revival Founder’s Hall which you’ll find on the campus of Girard College, 2101 South College Avenue, a couple of miles northeast of Penn.
Sideways and Demolishor are destroyed but not before issuing the ominous warning that “The Fallen will rise again”. The skirmish was shot at a mix of two widely separate locations: the old Bethlehem Steel site in Bethlehem, about 60 miles north of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles.
On June 9, 2008, the crew entered Philadelphia and utilized an inoperative PECO Richmond power station. They also shot at the Free Library of Philadelphia, Eastern State Penitentiary, Drexel University, Laurel Hill Cemetery, Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia City Hall, Fairmount Park, the Delaware Generating Station, historic Chancellor Street (which stands in for Paris), and Wanamaker’s. One of the scenes was filmed at the University of Pennsylvania in a section endearingly known as “The Castle.” Yet, the university did not allow the producers to use the name because of ethical reasons.
Directed by Michael Bay, ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ is a sci-fi action film that delineates Sam Witwicky’s encounter with the savage Decepticons, two years after the events of the 2007 film. The second chapter in the ‘Transformers’ franchise leaves the protagonist exposed to more danger and chaos despite his resolve to lead a normal life. Like its predecessor, the 2009 edition is packed with thrilling visuals that cover multiple locations all over the world. If you’re curious to know where this movie was filmed, here’s everything we know about it!
In Arizona, the crew primarily conducted filming at Tucson International Airport and the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group. The cast and crew worked hard on-location in October 2008 under the working title ‘Prime Directive’ as a tribute to ‘Star Trek.’ a portion of filming also took place in Camp Pendleton and Davis–Monthan Air Force Base.
‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ was filmed internationally in several locations, out of which Egypt stands out as extremely significant. The shooting continued for three days at the Giza pyramid complex in Greater Cairo and Luxor in Upper Egypt. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura disclosed that a crew of 150 Americans and several Egyptians were involved in the process.
Besides Egypt, the team spent four days in Jordan, where the Royal Jordanian Air Force assisted them at Petra, Wadi Rum, and Salt. Their help is attributed to King Abdullah II’s fondness for science fiction movies. More filming took place in France. They visited the Place de la Concorde in Paris, where the second unit took a few shots of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. Several scenes were filmed in Moscow (Russia) and Cambodia.
FAQ
Was Transformers filmed in Egypt?
Where was Transformers desert scene filmed?
Released in 2009, the film was shot in Egypt at the Giza Pyramid complex and Luxor. The team spent three days shooting the scenes there. Supposedly, it was “highly secretive.” A crew of 150 Americans and “several dozen local Egyptians” allowed for a smooth set.
