Simply put, Megan Fox is hot property in Tinsel Town and for moviegoers around the world. Fox’s seeming overnight success, brought on by the worldwide success of the Transformers cinematic franchise — director Michael Bay’s live-action adaptations of the cartoon series about battling skyscraper-sized robots who can mutate into anything mechanical — has transformed the down-to-earth  actress into a sizzling tabloid cover girl and international sensation. This success of this summer’s film phenomenon Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (or TR2) has reinforced the beauty’s star power. Fox chats with Earl Dittman after the jump. (Plus: this week in home video)

Was it easier or harder this time to work with machines that weren’t always there?
“It was definitely easier, because we’ve seen them at this point. We’ve seen Optimus and we’ve heard his voice and we know how he moves. It’s the same with all the robots and once you’re able to visualize something’s presence it’s a lot easier to sort of fake interact with it. I think those scenes are some of the easiest scenes to shoot. I enjoy them because we’ve gotten good at being able to synchronize and pick an eye line. You basically scream your dialogue at it and you avoid the area where you know it is and I enjoy those scenes. We end up usually doing a ton of takes because ILM, it needs to be specific. The light needs to be right and you need to be able to add it in and make it look like the way that they do. But it wasn’t that difficult this time around.”

What did the first Transformers film do for your career?
“It has certainly opened a lot of doors for me career-wise. I’ve been able to be a part of some films that I don’t really feel like I deserve to be a part of and that due greatly in part or solely to the success of Transformers. I did Jennifer’s Body, and this summer I did Jonah Hex with Josh Brolin and Michael Fassbender and John Malkovich. People, in general, just actors don’t get those kinds of opportunities. For me, to have that is a huge blessing and that’s because of the success of this movie.”

Has all the success affected your daily life?
“Sure. Getting photographed at Whole Foods or coming out of Rite Aid with your shampoo bottles and stuff, that’s new for me, but that’s not that crazy. You adjust to that, you acclimate to that pretty quickly.”

Were you prepared for all the attention?
“I don’t know if you are ever prepared for the public scrutiny, there’s no way to prepare yourself for it. But it is a part of your job, and it’s maybe not the most pleasant part but I get to experience so many other things that are blessings that I should not be able to experience. So that’s the trade off.”

In Transformers 2, you had to drive hot rod cars, talk about fuel injection and all this automobile lingo. Did you have to do a lot of research about it or did you already know about cars from the first one?
“Before I did the first one, part of my audition process was that Michael made me come to his studio and like pretend to work on his Ferrari.”

He said it was a screen test.
“Yeah, right. He had all these videos of me working on the Ferrari, trying to figure it out. I still don’t know anything about cars, though.”

In the movie, did you ever look at some of the skimpy outfits and think, “I have to wear this?”
“Oh, yeah. I have those moments on a daily basis, but the process of picking those outfits, like I don’t have much of a say. I remember that Mike [Bay] was auditioning Ramon [Rodriguez] and some of the other characters and there was just this roomful of men upstairs in his office…It was Shia [LeBeouf], Ramon and two other actors and Mike. I had to come up and down and knock on the door and try on all my wardrobe, and I had like 18 different outfits. It was like white jean shorts and pink belly shirt and motorcycle boots. We went through like a whole thing and Mike was selecting them in the process of auditioning.

Michael said he was multitasking.
“Right, but I had no say. Clearly, he has an eye for what should be and should not be in the movie and so I just trust him.”

What’s it like working with director Michael Bay?
“It’s sort of like constant chaos, which the crew, I’m assuming, his crew initially needs it…chaos…and there’s also the term mayhem, which is an everyday thing working with him. It is exciting, but he is rough on his actors, on purpose, I think he likes it. I’ve asked him, ‘Do you like the legend of being a tyrant?’” [Laughs]

Do you like the way that Michael portrays women in his films?
“I do. When I saw this movie for the very first time, I was really, really pleasantly surprised and halfway through was sort of overcome with genuine emotion, and I wanted to hug Michael because I had gratitude for him for making this movie. It so far surpassed my expectations. I think the character is sexy, but women in movies in general are sexy and especially in Michael’s movies. He knows how to make movies that get people in the theater and if that’s part of the formula.”

When you had time off this Transformers sequel, what did you do to relax?
“I know that in New Mexico, I think what all of us did to relax after a hard day of work was go drink at Chili’s. It’s the only restaurant there. We drank a lot.”

Did Shia’s hand injury affect everyone on the project when it happened?
“Everyone is so very lucky for Shia’s level of commitment to this movie, because he showed up with his injury and acted as though he didn’t have an injury and still went balls to the wall, and completely committed and did things that were not safe for him to do. But he wanted this movie to be as real as possible. So I think that helped everyone out a lot.”

With the romantic element in the new Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen is there ever a danger that the young, male fans would rather watch more explosions instead of the kissing?
“No, because you have to have some sort of romantic element or else it’s just nonstop robot violence. Something else has to happen so that you feel like you are a part of something that is possibly real. I don’t think any of the kissing scenes got too intense. Like the love scenes are really tame. They are very PG, they are not even PG-13.”

What was your most favorite or memorable experience of working with members of the military for the movie?
“I think, just in general, I was really pleasantly, not surprised with them, but they’re all extremely chivalrous and very respectful clearly because they’re disciplined. They’re so much better behaved than the rest of the cast is — including myself though. They listen and take direction really well and we’re all just fucking off.”

How did it help working with the military?
“It adds authenticity to the movie. Michael would consult with the military on everything to make it authentic and make it real, and I also just enjoy being able to walk on the set and there’s a hundred real soldiers as opposed to walking on and it’s a hundred actors from Orange County or L.A. in fatigues. It was just overall a really pleasant experience for me, and I have an immense amount of respect for the soldiers and for our troops.”

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen Two-Disc Special Edition DVD & Blu-ray – Bonus Features: Commentary by Michael Bay, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, “The Human Factor: Exacting Revenge of the Fallen” multi-chapter documentary, four featurettes, extended scenes and the music video for Linkin Park’s “New Divide.” BD ONLY: The ALLSPARK Experiment, NEST: Transformer Data-Hub, Giant Effing Movie and The Matrix of Marketing.

THIS WEEK ON HOME VIDEO

The William Castle Collection
The ingenuity, talent and brilliance of director/producer William Castle not only influenced several generations of contemporary terror and horror filmmakers such as John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, Wes Craven and Roger Corman, it made William Castle the master of movie-going ballyhoo with his outrageous audience participation gimmicks. From wiring select theater seats with tiny motors underneath that would vibrate during key scenes in 1959’s The Tingler, to allowing viewers to see real paranormal beings outside theaters showing 13 Ghosts (’60), and having nurses in the lobby offering a blood-pressure test in case you had a heart attack while watching 1961’s Homicidal to giving viewers power-filled coins like those in Zotz (’62), Castle was the king of interactive movie-going (decades before the term was coined), letting audiences feel, smell and decide the outcomes of many of his movies while screaming in horror. On five discs, The William Castle Film Collection features eight of the legendary producer/director’s most notable films (including the DVD debuts of Zotz, The Old Dark House (‘63), and 13 Frightened Girls (‘63). Bonus Features: Original theatrical openings, alternate sequences, vintage footage and original theatrical trailers, two episodes of the TV series Ghost Story, and the documentary: Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story.

Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead
Filmed in the dark, dense and dangerous forests of Romania, this marks the third installment of the macabre franchise about the well-fed and very much alive Three Finger and his merciless, blood-thirsty  family of inbred cannibals kin. Wrong Turn 3 chronicles the mutant killers coming face-to-face with a group of murderers who may be more demented than they are. Directed by horror movie veteran Declan O’Brien (Cyclops, Rock Monster), WT3 finds Three Finger and company meeting their match when a bus headed to a death row prison crashes and allows the most vicious killers in the country to escape into the woods. (Also on DVD) Bonus Features (Blu-ray and DVD): An unrated cut, 3 behind-the-scenes featurettes and deleted scenes.

Hawaii Five-0: The Seventh Season
Long before detectives and law enforcement officers were solving tough crimes in Miami, Las Vegas and New York, in the mid-‘60s, Detective Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) and his Honolulu-based group of crime-fighters were catching ‘em, cuffing ‘em and booking ‘em on Hawaii Five-0. The gangsters, villains and international thieves don’t stand a chance on the Big Island. Another 24 episodes of classic crime and punishment television. Bonus Features: Episodic Promos.

Greg Giraldo: Midlife Vices
Best known as one of the most featured (and butt-ripping) roasters on Comedy Central (he’s had the pleasure of roasting such celebs as Bob Saget, Flavor Flav, Pamela Anderson and Joan Rivers), sardonic social commentator Greg Giraldo can now be seen at his adults-only best in his stand-up special Midlife Vices. Not for the faint of heart. Bonus Features: “Comedy Central Presents: Greg Giraldo” half-hour stand-up special and the never-before-seen pilot, Adult Content.

The L Word: The Complete Final Season
The last season of The L Word is as controversial as any in this series about a close group of Los Angeles-based women (Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey, Laurel Holloman, Mia Kirshner, Marlee Matlin, Katherine Moennig, Daniela Sea, Rachel Shelley and Pam Grier) that followed the intricate twists and turns surrounding their careers, families and romantic entanglements. The season kicks off as one of the women is found dead, and the survivors’  lives are turned upside down, leaving all the friends despondent but also suspects. (Also featuring guest stars Wallace Shawn, Jane Lynch, Mei MelanÁon, Elizabeth Berkley and Lucy Lawless). Bonus Features: Two all-new featurettes, a photographic journal of the cast and crew shot by Jennifer Beals during the six years of the series. EBridge Technology: new epsidoes of United States Of Tara and The Tudors.

Nick Swarsdon: Seriously, Who Farted?
You may remember Nick Swarsdon from his roles in the Happy Madison movies Grandma’s Boy, and Benchwarmers (which he also wrote), but you’ll see him in a whole new light once you catch his Comedy Central stand-up special. (FYI: Nick started his stand up career at age 18 and taped his first Comedy Central special at age 22.)  Bonus Features: Beardo & Dirt Nasty Performance, 8 Drinks Later trailer and Timeless Comedian & A Very Terry Christmas.

Vega$: The First Season
Oh sure, the CSI crew is busy looking for the criminals of Sin City, but for way too long, Las Vegas has really missed Detective Dan Tanna and his red vintage Thunderbird rolling down the strip looking to take down the bad guys. Originally created by producer/director Michael Mann and legendary late television producer Aaron Spelling (Dynasty, Charlie’s Angels), the ratings winning Vega$ starred Robert Urich as Detective Tanna. Each episode featured Tanna on his eternal quest to make Las Vegas a safer place for residents and tourists alike, cracking a new case with the help of his loyal staff, including Judy Landers, Greg Morris and the iconic Tony Curtis. If that’s not enough star power, Season One also featured guest appearances a young Kim Basinger and such Hollywood legends as Cesar Romero, Isabel Sanford, Abe Vigoda, and Sid Caesar.

Numb3rs: The Fifth Season
What happens when you pair an anal, by-the-book FBI agent (Nothern Exposure vet Rob Morrow) with his CalSal math-genius brother (David Krumholtz) to solve seemingly unsolvable crimes? You catch terrorists, murderers, kidnappers and all sorts of criminals by taking one brother’s instincts and forensic training and combining it with his sibling’s use of statistical equations and laws of probabilities. An innovative crime drama, Numb3rs also stars Judd Hirsch (as their dad) and Peter MacNicol, Dylan Bruno and Navi Rawart (as their colleagues). Bonus Features: Cast and crew commentaries on selected episodes, “Crunching Numb3rs: Season 5” and “Celebrating 100” featurettes, blooper reel and deleted scenes.

Blackadder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition
Before he was Mr. Bean, British funnyman Rowan Atkinson starred as the scrooge of the ages in this historically hilarious look through English history. Also starring Hugh Laurie (House), Stephen Fry (Bones), Miranda Richardson (Dance With A Stranger) and Tim McInnerny (MI-5), Blackadder Remastered: The Ultimate Edition — written by Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Notting Hill) — features all 26 “historical” episodes from the four seasons of the series. Bonus Features: New commentary and interviews with Rowan Atkinson & John Llyod, Stephen Fry, Richard Curtis & Ben Elton and Tony Robinson and Tim McInnerny, “BlackAdder Rides Again” hour-long documentary, extended interviews with Laurie, Atkinson, Fry, Curtis, Elton and Robinson; “Costumes Revisted” featurette, Blackadder’s Christmas Carol, Blackadder The Cavalier Years, Blackadder’s Back & Forth and Baldrick’s Video Diary.

Cheri
Directed by Stephen Frears, Michelle Pfeiffer (Love Field, The Fabulous Baker Boys) and Rupert Friend (Pride and Prejudice, The Boy in the Striped Pajama) star in the story of forbidden passion between a famed professional “beauty” and a man half her age in turn-of-the-20th century France. Also starring Kathy Bates (Misery), and based on the acclaimed and controversial book by French novelist Colette. Bonus Features: “The Making of Cheri” featurette and deleted scenes.

Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection Rematered
After his successful run on the English sketch comedy series Monty Python’s Flying Circus, John Cleese developed, co-wrote and starred in what critics call “the best British sitcom ever created” — Fawlty Towers. An uproarious series that follows the hard-working hotel manager Basil Fawlty (Cleese) — one of the most beloved characters in British comedy — as he puts up with dead guests, hotel inspectors, and riff-raff, Fawlty Towers also starred Prunelta Scales, Andrew Sachs and Connie Booth. To commemorate its 30th Anniversary, Fawlty Towers has been fully-restored in this BBC 3-DVD box set. Bonus Features: Exclusive commentary from Cleese, extended interview with Booth, accompanying booklet, interviews with Cleese, Scales, Sachs, John Howard Davies and Bob Spiers, artist profiles, outtakes, Torquay Tourist Guide documentary and Cheap Tatty Review.

Iron Man: Armored Adventures: Volume 1
The 3D CGI-animated, highly-rated hit television series Iron Man: Armored Adventures re-imagines alcoholic adult industrialist Tony Stark as your not-so-typical 16-year-old teenager —but he’s still a billionaire and a brilliant inventor. Volume 1 follows young Tony as he battles the enemies of world peace with his revolutionary power armor technology. Bonus Features: Suit Profiles, Rooney Music Video and all-new Super Hero Show music video.

NOW ON BLU-RAY

Easy Rider: 40th Anniversary Edition
The Oscar-nominated counterculture classic, released during the Woodstock era and featuring an iconic rock soundtrack, a cast of decked-out choppers, a generous sprinkling of hippies, communes, free love and various hallucinatory agents, Easy Rider redefined 1960s movie-making. Starring Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Jack Nicholson, Easy Rider is the ultimate road movie about an alcoholic attorney (Nicholson) who hooks up with two part-time, drug-dealing motorcyclists (Fonda and Hopper) in search of their “American Dream.” Bonus Features: “Shaking the Cage” featurette with Hopper and Fonda, commentary with Hopper, MovieIQ - BD-Live enabled interactive feature and a deluxe 32-page graphic booklet.

The Wrong Turn Trilogy
Three times the fear… three times the horror… three times Three Finger! The gruesome, grisly story of an inbred family of cannibals who attack lost tourists, people with engine trouble and folks just looking for directions. The Wrong Turn Trilogy features Wrong Turn, Wrong Turn 2: Dead Ahead and Wrong Turn 3: Left For Dead. Bonus Features: All Wrong Turn 3 extras and more.

Waterworld
Regardless of whether you think this Kevin Costner star vehicle should have sank at the box office, or that it deserves to be called one of the best post-apocalyptic action/adventures ever made, there’s no denying it’s one of the more visually arresting sea epics ever filmed — and it even looks more stunning on Blu-ray. The tale of mankind holding out hope for “Dryland” and a drifter (Costner) and Deacon (Dennis Hopper) fighting over who will find it first, Waterworld is still an exciting, futuristic thriller. Bonus Features: BD-LIVE!