The main draw for Transformers 2: Megan Fox?

Has anyone else noticed that pretty much every piece about Transformers 2 is basically about Megan Fox? The film premiered in various places around the world. People have seen it and only a token amount of reviews have just today popped up on Rotten Tomatoes. We've had a bit from Michael Bay himself discussing the IMAX version of the picture, as well as a feature interview of Shia Lebouf in Parade Magazine. Pretty much everything else is Megan Fox-related.

We get vague stories about the red-carpet events, which are all basically excuses to show a picture of whatever outfit Ms. Fox is wearing. We get stories about her bouts with depression over her looks, and we get articles that are both creepy and stupid concerning the hormonal urges of the actor playing her father in the second film (I'm pretty sure that's a normal reaction of many actors who play fathers to attractive young women). While she certainly is a worthwhile interview, as she's remarkably blunt about her career and the role of the actress in Hollywood, it's fascinating that the public relations push for a $200 million+ summer tentpole film is centered around the token love interest.

Could it be that the main variable of interest for the young-male demographic is not the whole 'giant robots beating each other up'? Could we have one of the, if not the, biggest movies of the summer where the main draw is the lure of oogling a particular actress for 140 minutes? I've always said that women will see a mainstream film just because a guy in it is cute, but that men rarely did the same for actresses. Ms. Fox, in the right project, could be the exception that proves the rule. And if indeed she ends up being one of the main draws for this second film, how much does she dare ask for to appear in the inevitable third picture?

Scott Mendelson