Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American filmmaker known for directing and producing big-budget action films characterized by fast cutting, stylistic visuals and extensive use of special effects, including frequent depiction of explosions. His films, which include Armageddon, Pearl Harborand the Transformers film series, have grossed over US$5 billion worldwide. He is co-founder of commercial production house The Institute, a.k.a. The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness. He is co-chair and part-owner of the digital effects house Digital Domain...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth17 February 1965
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
People have a hard time believing I'd ever want to do a small movie, but I would love to do something funny and quirky.
Sometimes, we just laugh about it knowing that this is a scene they will talk about in 'Premiere' magazine because of its flaws in continuity. I think you have to make movies for the general public and not the details. When you get hung up on continuity, you can't keep the pace and price down. Most people simply consume a movie and they are not even aware of these errors.
I don't see anything wrong with spending a lot of money to make big action movies to entertain people. Yet somehow, I come under special scrutiny. I mean, why don't people get upset if Dow spends $300 million to invent some new chemical? Audiences like popcorn movies. What's wrong with that?
I can be very reserved about things. My business side isn't shy. I can be like a general. But I've got a shy side. I'm also a lot deeper than people think, and a lot more sensitive. But I don't let people in too much.'
It's great that I get accused of not being politically correct. People need to take themselves less seriously. This world is so screwed up as it is, we've all got to relax a bit more.
You'll hear people say now, 'Oh, I don't want to see something in 3-D. That's wrong, because what they've seen is 3-D done poorly.
There are many movies that have done it very badly. The studios have gone for quick profits and audiences are feeling angry. People aren't taking the time and spending the money to do it right. I am.
I go out there to win. People don't care if you die in this business. The only way I get back is with success.
We don't make movies for critics. I've done four movies; there's millions upon millions upon millions of people who've paid to see them. Somebody likes them. My greatest joy is to sit anonymously in a dark theater and watch it with an audience, a paying audience.
And a lot of the artists and people that we hired were fans of Transformers growing up, so having so many fans working on my crew really kept me on point.
I was hooked by the love story in Pearl Harbor. Believe it or not, I have a really soft heart and I can be sappy.
It's such a massive story to tell, it would have taken nine hours,
The psychological root behind this competitive streak is that I was an athlete when I was young and took sports really seriously. I look at directing as a sporting event. It's a race, a marathon. It's great when it clicks - which is why I push my crews so hard so we can excel.
When you're walking on the set, sometimes you are alone in the main cell block, and you're seeing Al Capone lived here, ... It's just bizarre.