Naturally director Michael Bay is taking things up another giant notch when it comes to filming Transformers 3. While I’m not sure how you can top the over-the-top action-packed spectacle that was Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, I’m pretty positive that if it can be done, Bay will find a way to do it. However, according to The Washington Post, he will not be allowed to wreak havoc in one of the most historic locations of Washington D.C.
Apparently Bay wanted to film some action sequences in and around the National Mall, which is that open-area national park in downtown Washington D.C. that sits between the Lincoln Memorial, the United States Capitol and Washington Monument. Among other scenes, one included “a car race along the Mall’s gravel paths.”
Originally, the film was supposed to spend upwards of 14 days filming in D.C., though because of the logistical issues, they could scale that number back to something as little as 3, which could hurt the local economy since big blockbuster films usually help funnel millions into whichever city they’re filming in. Bill Line, the Park Service spokesman, made it real clear, though, that this sort of thing just wasn’t right. “A lot of this could be more appropriately shot in a Hollywood studio," Line said. "The National Mall is not an area in which Americans come to see high-tech action movies being shot."
What do you think? Is that ground too sacred for Hollywood, or should Bay be allowed to go wild in our nation’s capital?
