It was a thankless, skin-deep role, designed to take a backseat to the spectacle of giant robotic hot rods. After all, who goes to a Transformers movie for the humans?
But there was improbably piston-hot grease monkey Megan Fox striding on-screen, tinkering with Shia LaBeouf's canary-yellow Camaro in Michael Bay's mega-budget toy-based blockbuster.
Heads turned. Motors revved. And before you could say, "Autobots, roll out!" Fox was promptly in Hollywood's fast lane, propelled by lust-inspiring looks, a lippy, flippant candour in interviews, and comparisons to that other actress who used to personify ink-dappled sinfulness in her younger, pre-maternal days (and yes, Fox bristles at being hailed the "next Angelina Jolie").
In the two years since the original Transformers, Fox has — with only one other minor film to her credit — become a fixture of the cult du celebrity, landing on the covers of magazines and being a constant focus of the blogosphere. Google her and there are shrines to her hotness.
"The picture of physical perfection," gushes one report from the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen premiere overseas. Never mind the online mockumentary that suggests Fox is literally too good to be true: Just another digitally-rendered effect courtesy Bay's vivid imagination. For some, this all might be overwhelming, even unwanted.
But in a Canadian exclusive interview with Sun Media, the savvy, candid 23-year-old Tennessee native sounds anything but an industry neophyte, suspicious of the hype, skeptical of the buzz and realistic about her place in Tinseltown's demolition derby.
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"When the first movie made $700 million, I knew my career would change to a certain degree. But that it made that much was because of who's directing it and the fact it's a franchise that's been around since the 1980s. It's ILM's movie," she says on the phone from Los Angeles, referring to George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic, which is responsible for all the metal-morphing visuals.
Besides, if anyone noticed the actors, it wasn't because of her, she insists. "It was mostly due to Shia (LaBeouf)'s performance in the first movie that people paid attention to the characters and we didn't get lost (among the effects)."
One assumes Fox and LaBeouf face a similar challenge in the sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which opens Wednesday with the pledge of many more droids and thunderous explosions, again enthusiastically orchestrated by Bay (Armageddon, The Rock). Many expect the $200-million sequel to top the summer's box office, with some predictions suggesting that its five-day opening could surpass the $152 million webbed up by Spider-Man 2 in 2004. In the sequel, LaBeouf's Sam Witwicky and Fox's Mikaela Banes — still improbable sweethearts — once again find themselves caught in the middle of the ongoing feud between the peaceful Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, and the power-hungry Decepticons, commanded by the villainous Megatron.
But as the story opens, the two are actually faced with a decidedly more earthbound challenge: Namely that Sam is headed off to college and "there's the strain of a long-distance relationship," Fox explains.
Not that they're separated for long — this isn't Jane Austen, remember.
"When things go bad, and he's really in physical danger, clearly I am the one to go to," she says, laughing.
Fair enough. Who wouldn't rather have Fox — rather than puny, motor-mouth LaBeouf — on their side in a brawl with alien invaders? Fox, like Jolie, appears poised to occupy a certain niche: The confidently-sexual siren who can wade into big-budget, boys-and-their-toys extravaganzas.
For Hollywood executives, it's an undeniable draw: A drop-dead gorgeous female who men don't mind seeing kick ass and women don't resent for having won the genetic Super-Lotto.
Fox isn't fond of the Jolie references — she denies persistent rumours she's going to be the new Lara Croft — but admits she is a fan of rugged, rough-and-tumble action. For example, she's currently shooting the comic-book-inspired horror western Jonah Hex with Josh Brolin and John Malkovich.
"We were just doing a fight scene and I was begging to be really choked. It's a help. It feels more realistic."
Of course, just as rampant as online buzz about what potential franchise Fox might sign on to (there were those Wonder Woman rumblings shortly after the first Transformers, remember) is the speculation about her personal life.
Depending on who you believe and what you read when, Fox, who has split from long-time boyfriend Brian Austin Green (he of Beverly Hills 90210 and more recently the Terminator TV series), is dating no one. Or maybe LaBeouf ("There is a bond, but he also can be a brat and we have fist fights and brawls. He's like a brother. But we also like each other," she says). Or even Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson (a rumour since strenuously denied). As you might expect, she's not terribly impressed.
"People need things to write about so people go to their blogs," she says. "There's a complete lack of respect. People don't respect movie stars. I don't know if they ever did, but at least they were movie stars. Now we're just the clowns, the court jesters. There really aren't movie stars anymore."
Not that you should necessarily discount everything you learn online. Take, for example, Bay's reputation for being — to put it politely — abrasive.
"He's a total nightmare when he's on set," Fox confirms. "Off-set, he's another person and I enjoy his company. But when he's on set he's a nightmare. But I also think he kind of enjoys that image of him."
Similarly, Fox herself confesses while she has gravitated to smaller projects between Transformers (the Diablo Cody-scripted Jennifer's Body arrives later this year) she also finds the widescreen mayhem "addicting … I kind of miss the madness of it, being in this constantly abusive relationship where you never know where the explosions are going off, and there's screaming and running."
You can't blame Paramount for trying.
In March, the studio announced that Transformers 3 would be charging into multiplexes July 2011. The only niggling detail they failed to iron out? No one told the filmmakers.
"The studio wanted to reserve that release date, but they hadn't spoken to any of us," says Megan Fox. "So (director) Mike Bay stepped up and said, 'No, I need to have a life and this isn't possible.' "
Thus this curious blog entry, which quickly followed the news, courtesy of Bay: "Paramount made a mistake in dating Transformers 3. They asked me on the phone — I said yes to July 4 — but for 2012 — whoops! Not 2011! That would mean I would have to start prep in September. No way. My brain needs a break from fighting robots." Just not too long a break, mind you. Another sequel is inevitable with many of those involved in the franchise throwing around the T-word: "Trilogy."
And why not? There are plenty of characters from the cartoon/toyline mythos to draw from, as co-screenwriter Roberto Orci recently told mtv.com.
"I'd like to see some version of Galvatron. I would like to see Unicron, too."
And what of the Dinobots? "I think eventually the Dinobots are going to have to happen," he continued. "As a fan, I would like to see some Dinobots."
As, we're sure, so would Paramount. Even if it means waiting until 2012.
The low-down on Fox
In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, she plays the planet's most improbably hot mechanic, surrounded by alien droids who morph on a whim into trucks, planes and cars. But what's under Megan Fox's hood? Here's a rundown:
» Born: May 19, 1986, in Rockwood, Tenn.
» Most-unwanted comparison: To Angelina Jolie, another ink-etched, raven-haired bombshell with an affinity for on-screen demolition.
» Previous credits: She appeared in 2008's How to Lose Friends and Alienate People with Simon Pegg and Kirsten Dunst. Pre-Transformers, her credits include Holiday in the Sun with Ashley Olson and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen opposite Lindsay Lohan. On TV, she's popped up in Two and a Half Men, What I Like About You and Hope and Faith.
» Named: Sexiest Woman in the World by readers of FHM magazine.
» Tattoos: Eight, including one of Marilyn Monroe.
» Future roles: As a demon-possessed cheerleader in Jennifer's Body, written by Juno's Diablo Cody, and in the graphic novel-inspired duster Jonah Hex with Josh Brolin. She's also developing a big-screen version of the comic book Fathom about an underwater (i.e.: barely-clothed) heroine.
» Sexual preference: She likes guys — we know this because she was in a long-term relationship with Brian Austin Green — but what about girls? Fox hasn't been shy about fueling speculation about her bisexuality, revealing in an interview with GQ magazine that she once fell for a female stripper.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
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