The Filming of Transformers 3 in Chicago

The Chicago Tribune reports that the city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications held a news conference for the filming of Transformers 3 yesterday. The Michael Bay-directed sequel will shoot in the Windy City from July 10 through August 19. Here a clips from the report:

OEMC Executive Director Jose Santiago said the closures on LaSalle Street (8 p.m. July 9 to 5 a.m. July 12), the Michigan Avenue bridge (8 p.m. July 16 to 5 a.m. July 19) and Upper Wacker Drive (9 p.m. July 18 to 5 a.m. July 22) will have the most impact on traffic. He added that most of the movie's filming in Chicago will take place during daylight.

“It's an ambitious production … but we and the producers are committed to mitigating the disruptions and addressing community concerns,” said Chicago Film Office Director Rich Moskal.

What can Chicagoans expect from filming — besides traffic?

Moskal said recently a few “scenes they're planning could match if not exceed the spectacular stuff ‘The Dark Knight' production pulled off.”

Yes, he's talking about the 2008 Batman film that featured an 18-wheeler getting flipped over on LaSalle Street and a massive explosion that leveled the old Brach's Candy building on the West Side.

“Flying debris, flipping cars, stunts, that's the kind of stuff you'll probably be seeing here,” added Moskal.

To be released in 3D and 2D theaters, Transformers 3 features Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) taking his first tenuous steps into adulthood while remaining a reluctant human ally of Optimus Prime. The film centers around the space race between the U.S.S.R. and the USA, while the  villain will be Shockwave.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Ken Jeong, Patrick Dempsey, Alan Tudyk and John Turturro co-star.