Local man on Navy ship used for ‘Transformers’ movie

Hannibal native BMSN Charles Lonergan of the U.S. Navy came home on leave just in time to see the movie that was partially filmed on his ship at San Diego.
Lonergan is spending a 12-day leave in Hannibal with his mother, Lois Lonergan; and other relatives and friends. He will be home until Sunday, June 28.
On Friday he will join his friends to see the new action movie, “Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen,” at Hannibal’s new Main Street Cinema 8. The movie used his Navy ship, the USS Kidd, for part of the filming, so he is looking forward to showing his friends the scenes on his ship. “I have had quite a few people say they want to go with me so I could point things out to them,” Lonergan said.
After graduating from Hannibal High School in 2007, Lonergan began a four-year enlistment in the Navy. Why the Navy? “You get to travel a lot in the Navy,” he said.
Lonergan recently returned to San Diego from a five-month Western Pacific tour. It included stops in Hong Kong, Sasebo, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Hawaii.
After his four years in the Navy, he will seek a college degree in business management.
Lonergan is stationed at San Diego on the USS Kidd DDG 100, a guided missile destroyer. It was named for Rear Admiral Isaac Campbell Kidd, who died on the Arizona on Pearl Harbor Day.
Lonergan noted that the film crew used both the USS Kidd and the a larger ship, an aircraft carrier.

‘Transformers 2’
opens Wednesday

“Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen,” a sequel to the 2007 “Transformers” movie, opens nationwide Wednesday, June 24, including at Main Street Cinema 8 in Hannibal. The local theater also is having a “midnight” screening at 11:55 p.m. tonight, June 23.
The movie was directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It stars Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox and Jon Voight.
Lonergan explained that when the people on his ship heard a “rumor they were going to come and film with us, no one believed it until they came on board. ... They flew by with SH60R helicopters and filmed” from the air, he said.
Then when the film crew was to come on board, “my division was the one tasked with bringing on all the film equipment. They had us set up a few things, (including) green screens, and we had a few people used as extras.”
He was not among the extras, Lonergan said, but “there were a few instances where I was on the weather deck and they passed by in helicopters, taking photos.” He does not know if this is used in the movie.
“They were on board for overnight, and we flew them off the next day,” he continued. “They gave us Tranformers ball caps and T-shirts.
“We were out doing exercises in the Southern California area, off an island,” when the ship was filmed, he said.
Before the film crew arrived, “we did a lot of topside work to make sure the ship was as clean as it could be before they started filming it. They took a few shots of the pilot house and our combat information center.
“I talked to a couple of filmmakers, and they were really pleased with how cooperative we were and how great the ship looked for the filming.”