'Transformers' to take in Beijing sights

Beijing's iconic structures, the Bird's Nest and Water Cube, will be featured in Michael Bay's fourth installment of "Transformers," it was announced at the 16th Shanghai International Film Festival yesterday.

Scenes featuring the Bird's Nest, or the National Stadium, and the Water cube, or the National Aquatics Center, will be shot later this year.

"Transformers: Rise of Galvatron" will also star Chinese actors and actresses including Li Bingbing, who was recently seen in "Resident Evil 5."

The film is also in the process of signing four Chinese actors and actresses to join the cast. But in an interesting twist, the selection will be done online with the public voting for their choice.

The results will be announced on June 30.

The "Transformers" series is one of the most popular American films in China. In 2011, the third sequel, "Transformers: Dark of the Moon", collected US$16.5 million from box office receipts in China.

The fourth installment of the series is set to be released globally on June 27, 2014.

Yesterday, Beijing Pangu Investment announced an agreement with Paramount Pictures, the production company of "Transformers 4," becoming the film's first Chinese sponsor.

Its landmark building in Beijing, the Pangu Plaza Hotel, will also be seen in the film.