3RD UPDATE: Megan As Cautionary Tale: Is Shia Heeding?

2ND UPDATE, 8 PM: I can tell you that this new statement from Megan Fox’s PR flack about why the actress won’t be appearing in Transformers 3 is absolutely untrue: “It was her decision not to return. She wishes the franchise the best.” What a pantload. I stand by my scoop that Paramount and Michael Bay kicked her to the curb by not picking up her option to do the threequel.

UPDATE 7 PM: Here are just some of the replacements you’ve suggested: Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis, Blake Lively, Amanda Seyfried, Miley Cyrus, Hillary Duff, Isla Fisher, Amber Heard, Zoe Saldana, and a bunch of actresses I’ve never heard of. And, of course, Shia’s real-life girlfriend Carey Mulligan. And the omnipresent Taylor Lautner.

EXCLUSIVE 1:45 PM: I’ve just learned that Paramount won’t be picking up Megan Fox’s option on Transformers 3 — and that it was “ultimately” director Michael Bay’s decision. (So he gets his revenge for her remark comparing him to “Hitler”.) Right now Bay and writer Ehren Kruger et al are finishing up the script for the threequel and “giving Shia a new love interest makes more sense for the story,” an insider tells me. Bay will start casting immediately for the new female co-star. Let’s hear your suggestions, readers…

So did Megan deserve to get fired? I say yes. No actor/actress can expect to go around dissing a director and expect to work together as if nothing happened. Much less the egotistical Bay. But in Fox, he had met his match. Why, as recently as this week Megan was quoted as dissing Bay yet again. In recent months she has shown off a more natural skin hue instead of her usual orange color — and blamed the Transformers helmer for her unhealthy tanning binge. “I had been tanning a lot so that Michael would be happy with my skin tone. Every spare moment of sun that was outside, I had to be in it,” the 24-year-old actress lamented in Allure magazine. “It’s not going to happen again because of the damage and the possible skin cancer.”

This is without doubt a huge blow to Megan’s career, already damaged by her inability to open Twentieth’s Fox Atomic film Jennifer’s Body last September. The R-rated feminist horror flick did a pathetic $6.8M weekend for a script by Juno‘s Diablo Cody for a domestic total of only $16.2M and a worldwide take of just $31.5M. And talk about bad timing: right now she’s doing publicity for her role in Jonah Hex to be released June 18th. Guess what everyone will ask her?

Nevertheless, my news today comes a shocker because back in October Bay announced that he had scheduled Transformers 3 for July 1st, 2011, and made a point to archly warn Megan personally about the rigors of this new installment:

“P.S. Megan Fox, welcome back. I promise no alien robots will harm you in any way during the production of this motion picture. Please consult your Physician when working under my direction because some side effects can occur, such as mild dizziness, intense nausea, suicidal tendencies, depression, minor chest hair growth, random internal hemorrhaging and inability to sleep. As some directors may be hazardous to your health, please consult your Doctor to determine if this is right for you.”

In case you’ve forgotten, Megan promoted Jennifer’s Body in Wonderland magazine by accusing Bay of wanting to “create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation. He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is. So he’s a nightmare to work for.” That ignited a firestorm of criticism of her. I broke the story when 3 “loyal” members of Bay’s Transformers franchise crew asked his website to post their response to Fox. They detailed why she‘s the nightmare. (I love when there’s honesty in Hollywood.) Here’s that missive, again:

This is an open letter to all Michael Bay fans. We are three crew members that have worked with Michael for the past ten years. Last week we read the terrible article with inflammatory, truly trashing quotes by the Ms. Fox about Michael Bay. This letter is to set a few things straight. Yes, Megan has great eyes, a tight stomach we spray with glycerin, and an awful silly Marilyn Monroe tattoo plastered on her arm that we cover up to keep the moms happy. Michael found this shy, inexperienced girl, plucked her out of total obscurity thus giving her the biggest shot of any young actresses’ life. He told everyone around to just trust him on his choice. He granted her the starring role in Transformers, a franchise that forever changed her life; she became one of the most googled and oogled women on earth. She was famous! She was the next Angelina Jolie, hooray! Wait a minute, two of us worked with Angelina – second thought – she’s no Angelina. You see, Angelia is a professional. We know this quite intimately because we’ve had the tedious experience of working with the dumb-as-a-rock Megan Fox on both Transformers movies. We’ve spent a total of 12 months on set making these two movies. We are in different departments; we can’t give our names because sadly doing so in Hollywood could lead to being banished from future Paramount work. One of us touches Megan’s panties, the other has the often shitty job of pulling Ms. Sourpants out of her trailer, while another is near the Panaflex camera that helps to memorialize the valley girl on film. Megan has the press fooled. When we read those magazines we wish we worked with that woman. Megan knows how to work her smile for the press. Those writers should try being on set for two movies, sadly she never smiles. The cast, crew and director make Transformers a really fun and energetic set. We’ve traveled around the world together, so we have never understood why Megan was always such the grump of the set? When facing the press, Megan is the queen of talking trailer trash and posing like a porn star. And yes we’ve had the unbearable time of watching her try to act on set, and yes, it’s very cringe-able. So maybe, being a porn star in the future might be a good career option. But make-up beware, she has a paragraph tattooed to her backside (probably due her rotten childhood) — easily another 45 minutes in the chair! So when the three of us caught wind of Ms Fox, pontificating yet again in some publication (like she actually has something interesting to say) blabbing her trash mouth about a director whom we three have grown to really like. She compared working with Michael, to “working with Hitler”. We actually don’t think she knows who Hitler is by the way. But we wondered how she doesn’t realize what a disgusting, fully uneducated comment this was? Well, here let’s get some facts straight. Say what you want about Michael – yes at times he can be hard, but he’s also fun, and he challenges everyone for a reason – he simply wants people to bring their ‘A’ game. He comes very prepared, knows exactly what he wants, involves the crew and expects everyone to follow through with his or her best, and that includes the actors. He’s one of the hardest working directors out there. He gets the best from his crews, many of whom have worked with him for 15 years. And yes, he’s loyal, one of the few directors we’ve encountered who lowered his fee by millions to keep Transformers in the United States and California, so he could work with his own crew. Megan says that Transformers was an unsafe set? Come on Megan, we know it is a bit more strenuous then the playground at the trailer park, but you don’t insult one of the very best stunt and physical effects teams in the business! Not one person got hurt! And who is the real Megan Fox? She is very different than the academy nominee and winning actors we’ve all worked around. She’s as about ungracious a person as you can ever fathom. She shows little interest in the crew members around her. We work to make her look good in every way, but she’s absolutely never appreciative of anyone’s hard work. Never a thank you. All the crewmembers have stopped saying hi to Ms. Princess because she never says hello back. It gets tiring. Many think she just really hates the process of being an actress. Megan has been late to the sets many times. She goes through the motions that make her exude this sense of misery. We’ve heard the A.D’s piped over the radio that Megan won’t walk from her trailer until John Turturro walks first! John’s done seventy-five movies and she’s made two! Never expect Megan to attend any of the 15 or so crew parties like all the other actors have. And then there’s the classless night she blew off The Royal Prince of Jordan who made a special dinner for all the actors. She doesn’t know that one of the grips’ daughters wanted to visit their daddy’s work to meet Megan, but he wouldn’t let them come because he told them “she is not nice.” The press certainly doesn’t know her most famous line. On our first day in Egypt, the Egyptian government wouldn’t let us shoot because of a permit problem as the actors got ready in make up at the Four Seasons Hotel. Michael tried to make the best of it; he wanted to take the cast and crew on a private tour of the famous Giza pyramids. God hold us witness, Megan said, “I can’t believe Michael is fucking forcing us to go to the fucking pyramids!” I guess this is the “Hitler guy” she is referring to. So this is the Megan Fox you don’t get to see. Maybe she will learn, but we figure if she can sling insults, then she can take them too. Megan really is a thankless, classless, graceless, and shall we say unfriendly bitch. It’s sad how fame can twist people, and even sadder that young girls look up to her. If only they knew who they’re really looking up to. But ‘fame’ is fleeting. We, being behind the scenes, seen em’ come and go. Hopefully Michael will have Megatron squish her character in the first ten minutes of Transformers 3. We can tell you that will make the crew happy! -Loyal Transformers Crew

That prompted Michael Bay to update his website with this message:

The Crew Letter

09/12/2009 11:32 PM

I don’t condone the crew letter to Megan. And I don’t condone Megan’s outlandish quotes. But her crazy quips are part of her crazy charm. The fact of the matter I still love working with her, and I know we still get along. I even expect more crazy quotes from her on Transformers 3.

Michael

And then the Megan Fox publicity machine fought back by giving this non-statement from the actress to EW: “I have spoken with the parties involved privately. I am very fortunate to be involved in this amazing franchise and look forward to Transformers 3.” (Interesting that now everything was private again after she started the brouhaha by going public in the first place.) Megan’s flack then gave the media a letter in defense of the actress from a production assistant:

My name is Anthony Steinhart and I have worked on both Transformers movies and have had the pleasure of working with Ms. Fox. I read the letter by the three unnamed crew people and was blown away by their description of Ms. Fox. Especially, since I am the one usually getting Ms. Fox at her trailer. I have personally never been nor ever witnessed Ms. Fox being rude or inconsiderate of people’s feelings or the work to be done. Everyone is entitled to their good days and bad. Contrary to popular belief, she is like us (human) and has both good and bad days as well. Working on the Transformers movies can be intense at times and sometimes intense situations cause intense moments. Some of the examples the three unnamed writers give as evidence of Ms. Fox and her horrible attitude are so ridiculous. It’s unfortunate the grip didn’t want to bring his daughter to set because Megan Fox wasn’t nice and not the fact that we had a closed to set. No visitors unless approved by the UPM [unit production manager]. That is what the call sheets have always said. By the way, Ms. Fox wished my 12-year-old brother a happy birthday over the phone while we were shooting in New Mexico. Not so heartless… It’s also unfortunate that she didn’t attend any of the “15” parties, but I clearly remember her hanging out in New Mexico with some of the crew and watching her get hounded by passers-by as she walked through the hotel lobby and being nothing but gracious to her fans. Also isn’t it refreshing to hear that she doesn’t need to be a part of the party machine that sometimes swallows people whole, only to spit them out on the front page of every magazine. And incidentally, if these crew members were at the wrap party, I only saw 2 cast members there. Granted I wasn’t there the whole night, but I was there long enough to know that the others probably weren’t going to show. I also remember walking with her through the hordes of people lined up, while we shot at Princeton and she signed autograph after autograph. She signed many publicity photos, magazines, pieces of white paper for crew members and their families. Now I know that isn’t the same as curing a disease, but if we are to take anything an actor/actress says or does to personally, then I fear we have far greater problems on our hands. Unfortunately, I don’t always keep up with or hang on to quotes and/or quips “actresses” say, so I wasn’t familiar with the incident that incited the tasteless letter, but none-the-less leave the war of words to those involved. No need to drag her name through the mud and at the same time, unknowingly, bring others down.

But, it’s Michael Bay, not Megan, who gets the last word. Bitchslap!

Megan Fox Publicity Machine Fights Back

Michael Bay: “I Don’t Condone Crew Letter Or Megan Quotes”

Michael Bay’s Crew Bitchslaps Megan Fox