Cinema Hype

Cinema Hype: Good afternoon, Mr. … 714593. May we call you “Mr. 714593″?

Mr. 714593: Please, call me Ironhide. I’m something of a method actor–I’m trying to stay in character as much as possible.

CH: Right. Thank you so much for sitting down with us today. We at Cinema Hype see that the newest trailer for your film Transformers has just been released. Tell me, what is it like working with all of these other stunt cars?

Ironhide: Please. “Automotive performers.”

CH: Right. Automotive performers.

Ironhide: Well, we’re just having a fantastic time around here. It’s such a great opportunity for all of us to get together and hone our skills–usually we’re spread all over the world, and it’s hard to keep in touch, you know? Working on this film, it’s like old times: all of us just sitting around between takes, talking about the craft. We’re like a brotherhood. A brotherhood of metal. Mixed with origami. It’s inspiring, in a way. We are strong, yet beautiful.

CH: How did you come to be cast as Ironhide in such a major film?

Ironhide: Years of hard driving and elbow grease. They say it’s all in a lucky break, but a guy’s got to do a lot of dusty, dangerous commercials before he can catch a break like this. And those “professional drivers on a closed course?” Well, let’s just say that some of them wouldn’t know a smooth gear change if it hit them over the head. Not that I’d ever say anything bad about them. I’m not that kind of guy. It’s all about showing up, having someone different wax you down every day, and getting through it.

CH: What is it about this role that you find challenging?

Ironhide: I’m learning to channel my aggression more freely. Ironhide is an up-front guy, a real man’s machine, where I tend to be a little bit more introspective towards my own life and my own career. I’m not one of those 0 - 60 guys, you know? So I’m practicing what it’s like to feel the danger and to feel what it’s like to be fighting the good fight. I’m trying to approach my battle scenes using a wilder, less inhibited part of my microchip. To show that I’ve got some pistons, if you will.

CH: Can you give our readers an example?

Ironhide: Of course. It’s like, the Decepticons are coming after me, and I know that I have to stop them, and it’s not a game. It’s a war, you know? It’s a war, and it’s painful, but I’ve got to win….It’s like…RAAAAAAAAAAAAWR! [expands from truck shape into robot]

CH: Well. … Thank you for that. It certainly was impressive.

Ironhide: [drops to all fours and folds into a truck] Why, thank you. Some of the other guys and I have been working hard on our unfolding technique.

CH: How is that?

Ironhide: The way we unfold speaks to the audience about our characters, you know? Are we tentative? Are we suffering? Are we full of righteous indignation? This is important, and we’ve been collaborating a lot as a cast to capture those emotions and motivations in what we do.

CH: One last question. Can you tell me anything else about the film?

Ironhide: Just that it’s going to be a showcase for the new generation of automotive performers. It used to be that a guy had to have his doors soldered shut and let some cowboy jump through his windows just to get a break, you know? But these new brothers have talent. They’ve got skill. You should see the nuances. It’s a beautiful thing to watch. I think you’re all going to be satisfied with what you see.

CH: Thank you for sitting down with us today, Ironhide.

Ironhide: Hey, anytime. This isn’t just some remake of a twenty-year-old cartoon. These guys aren’t just cars turning into robots to defeat other cars. This is art, and I’m proud to be an automotive performer for the twenty-first century.

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