Fallen angel

It was Megan Fox’s JFK moment. We all remember where we were when we first saw that midriff, gradually revealing itself between a deliciously small orange tank-top and the waistband of a low-riding pair of cut-off jeans. It was as she arched her back to peer into the engine of a steaming Chevrolet Camaro, not 30 minutes into the blockbuster Transformers movie, that the planet’s next iconic sex symbol was revealed. It was Marylin on a steaming grate, Ursula Andress confronting James Bond in that bikini, Sharon Stone crossing her legs… it was the moment when every men’s magazine forgot who the hell Jessica Alba was and offered page after page to the quiet worship of Lady Megan of Fox.

Since then, of course, Megan Fox has become cultural wallpaper, a stock item on Hollywood gossip sites, E! Channel scandal-mongering and in every magazine from Vice to Vanity Fair – and without doing much more than help sell a few more tickets to the first Transformers movie. These days, no one is buzzing more loudly than the Tennessee-born, Florida-raised actress and model, who is now reprising her role as Mikaela Banes for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Filmed in and around the Middle East – including two stints in Jordan and a lengthy stay by the Pyramids in Egypt – it is now set for a global release. And although being Shia LaBeouf’s love interest might not exactly trouble the Oscar panel, it ought to ensure her continued domination of the internet. Where fame really counts.

In fact, she seems to have made it a point between roles to provide a public persona that accentuates her ability to string three sentences together. As it happens, her other legible tattoo is a cannibalisation of a quote from Shakespeare’s King Lear, “We will all laugh at gilded butterflies,” which seems to suggest a healthy perspective on the notion of beauty-centred fame. “I resent having to prove that I’m not a retard,” she told Elle magazine. “But I do. And part of it is my own fault. I’m just really confident sexually, and I think that sort of oozes out of my pores… But I don’t want to have to be like a Scarlett Johansson – who I have nothing against – but I don’t want to have to go on talk shows and pull out every single SAT word I’ve ever learned to prove, like, ‘Take me seriously, I am intelligent, I can speak.’”

She can speak, we can testify to that. Not only did one of the NOX family meet the delectable Miss Fox in the Jordanian city of Salt just before Christmas, but a contributor got access to her during one of those round-table junkets that always accompany a new film release. And amidst all the “oh, our sound man is such a genius” fawning, we managed to pluck out a few choice soundbites before the man from the Oregon Sentinel squeezed his way into the PR suite.

NOX: First question, considering where we are, have you visited the Pyramids yet? They’re right there…
Megan Fox: We’ve walked around them and I will go inside today. They are so amazing, but there is graffiti on them now, which is so sad. It is outrageous people are allowed to do that.

NOX: Yeah, welcome to the Middle East. We do that kind of thing to ancient treasures. But it must be pretty cool to be filming scenes at the centre of the ancient world… especially when you’re trying to save the world!
Megan: I haven’t really made the connection between the two, to be honest, but I am so in awe of this location. It is such a cool place to be a part of. I just heard – and I don’t know if it is true – that we are the only film since the 1930s that has been allowed to shoot here, which is pretty special to me. When we came, we were all having this debate whether they were man-made or made by aliens! So that kind of tells you where my head is, really!

NOX: Sounds like Dan Brown’s new book... Which side of the argument were you on? Aliens or humans?
Megan: Well, I was talking with Scott Farrar, of Industrial Light and Magic, our special effects people, and one of the most genius men on the planet. He was saying that all of his technology and computers still can’t explain how the Pyramids were built. So that is a question to ask yourself… How did they build the Pyramids so many thousands of years ago, with logs and rope and sand?

NOX: Because we’re very clever here. We just don’t tell anyone about it. Well, what with Egypt and Jordan, at least you’re getting to see some of this planet.
Megan: You know, I had never left the country before I made the first Transformers! I did not even have a passport. I actually had to get one to do all the promotional stuff for Transformers in various parts of the world. We went everywhere and that part of this job is amazing. You see things that you would never have had the opportunity to see.

NOX: So, you’re back in the role of Mikaela Banes. We feel as though you’re coming home – do you?
Megan: Thank you. Well, I was excited to come back to this set which is so massive and chaotic at all times, having left it for a ‘normal’ set of a film that has a smaller budget. There, it is very calm and slow, and it will take you three days to shoot one scene; whereas here we shoot half a movie in a day. So it is interesting, it’s fun. It is a whole different mind-set.

NOX: Er... we’ve just seen Shia LaBeouf pogoing up and down between takes over there. What is he doing?
Megan: Ha! He is doing that to get his heart rate up, so that he doesn’t have to fake being out of breath when he shoots the scene. If you are only going to be running a few feet then you are not going to be out of breath, and that won’t be real for the big action scenes. Personally, I do jumping jacks because that gets me out of breath.
NOX: We’d love to see that… Do you get on with Shia? Is it good to be back on set with him again, two years later?
Megan: Yes, Shia and I are good friends, I love him to death. He is one of my favourite people, so it was easy.


NOX: Even though it’s nearly been two years, it seems like the second film was put out very quickly, and you must have had millions of offers for other jobs. So, why was the timeframe so small? It’s quicker than Lord of the Rings…!
Megan: Well, once everybody saw just how much money it made, we all figured that we would be back sooner rather than later! But in reality, the characters in the plot are all so young – and, come on, nobody wants to see Sam and Mikaela when they are 30. I guess we figured we had to get it done now.

NOX: The last 18 months or so since Transformers has been insane for you. How do you look back on that, and your experience of making your breakthrough?
Megan: I have to say it’s a huge blessing to have been a part of all this. I was green when I did the first movie; it was my first real movie and I had no idea what I was doing! I was scared in every scene. When they put the camera on me I just wanted to become a part of the scenery. I was so scared I did not want to open my mouth or talk at all. What keeps you from being good and truthful on screen is when you are afraid. So the more you work the less fear you have, and the more honest you can be on camera. So finding that out is interesting.
 
NOX: And the whole thing seems to have changed your life completely. We can’t open a web browser without seeing your face. Or something else…
Megan: You don’t wake up and your life is different; it happens week-by-week, month-by-month. But it changes because now I can’t say something without it being a top story on Yahoo News. Neither me nor Shia can joke around as much or be as silly. People always want you to be a role model and we now have to take into consideration that there are kids paying attention. It’s an immense amount of responsibility pushed on people who maybe were not ready for that responsibility – and certainly weren’t looking for it.

NOX: We heard rumours that you had to put on weight for this movie. Sitting here, it doesn’t look like it...
Megan: It’s actually true! I’d lost weight for a movie I did. It was called Jennifer’s Body and I played a zombie, and she goes through phases where she is extremely thin. I lost like 15 pounds. I was too skinny, though, and it was not at all healthy. But Michael Bay [the director of both Transformer movies – Ed.] doesn’t like very thin girls; he prefers healthy women, so I had to put all the weight back on to shoot the second movie. I actually didn’t mind because I have a healthy appetite.

NOX: What was your favourite food to binge on, then? You look like a burger fan to us. Maybe ribs…
Megan: How did I put the weight on? There is this stuff called red velvet cake – it is red cake with cream cheese icing – it is amazing! I would eat that every night after my dinner at 10.30pm. We only arrived here yesterday so I have not had an Egyptian feast yet, but I look forward to it.

NOX: Nerdy question, and we apologise for it in advance, but do you personally have a favourite Transformer in this film? And why?
Megan: I would have to go for... Devastator. Although I don’t interact with him… I mean, there’s no speaking interaction; he sort of destroys everything in front of us.

NOX: Will you be pleased if the franchise continues with a third or even a fourth film?
Megan: Sure. Why not? Although I think we all need some rest after this one. But after we re-charge our batteries, yeah. They are incredibly fun movies to make.


Megan Fox file
Born: May 16th, 1986
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Origin: French, Irish and Cherokee.
School: Morningside Academy private school in South Florida.
Her middle school pictures recently appeared on TMZ revealing that she was always hot.
Modelling: Began at 16 after taking part in the 1999 American Modeling and Talent Convention.
Film: Debut in Holiday in the Sun (2001) with the Olsen twins.
Awards: Voted FHM’s sexiest woman in the world (2008).

A full version of this interview and, more importantly, an array of stunning Megan Fox pictures appear in NOX 35