Michael Bay wrote:Well it’s more about how you approach these films, like for example, on “Tranformers,” you already have the built in audience.
See, I was not a fan of Transformers [at first]. Hasbro was talking about giving me a whole Transformers story, and I’m like, “If I can do this really real. If I can make them believable, I think I could have something here.” I’m not a Hollywood guy. My friends are normal guys. I’ve got this guy from Texas. He’s like, “Mike, that “Transformers” [movie] seems like a dumb idea.” And I’m like, “Yeah, I know, but just give it a second.” And then I showed him the shot of the Scorponoks jumping out of the sand with Tyrese [Gibson] running. He saw that image and he went, “I see what you’re doing.” You’ll always have haters, but the last movie? One-hundred-twenty million people saw that movie. There’s still a lot of fans of that franchise. And I’m a huge Transformers fan now, and I protect that brand.
See, this is what I've thought all along. I knew Hollywood thought it was stupid. And honestly, it is. It's two factions of alien robots fighting for resources, all in an effort to sell toys. It *IS* silly. It *IS* ridiculous. Just like Star Wars, just like Star Trek, it's all silliness. And it's fun. Fun silliness is one of the biggest things I enjoy about these franchises. Once they become serious, the thrill is gone. You can have realism (which is what he was going for), and still be silly. (Which is what he did.)
Now, I'll be fair to the Bayhaters for a moment. His line about being a huge fan now...yeah, he's a fan of what HE has helped create. He couldn't discern Omega Supreme from Alpha Trion to a car distributor. I'll give you that. That line doesn't exactly sit well with me, but it does give me hope.
Michael Bay wrote:When you’re doing films like that, there are a lot of cooks in the place to cook food. Whether it’s the fans, the studios, the toy companies. How do you try to strike a balance at that point? Trying to please everyone and then also trying to make a film that you want to make.
[The film] was also to make non-Transformer fans into Transformer fans. I think it was good coming from that perspective that it wasn’t a “fanboy” movie.
I have to agree that a fanboy movie wouldn't have worked as well. Prime (the show) is proof of that. On the one hand, it's excellent. My favorite piece of fiction for TFs, so far. On the other, when they do filler episodes and pad it, it gets boring. The fans wanted more episodes with side characters, we got 'em. Episode after episode of Arcee and Bulkhead. Then people started asking "Where's Prime? When's Ratchet coming back?" So, if you do give them what they want, they find something else to complain about.
My favorite? "Optimus should be the serious badass we all know he's capable of being!" *show writers give them what they want* "FFS. He's all monotone and boring. If he showed a single emotion, I might faint. Damn, dudes, this show sucks!"
Bay said "Screw that!" to all of it and went in a different direction. And you know what? I enjoyed the heck out of it. So did many others, to the tune of BILLIONS of dollars.
Michael Bay wrote:Yeah, because then you’re limited in what you can do and what you can show.
Yeah. You know there are a couple of historians of Transformers. I would do my designs of the robots and they’re like, “What if you just add a little bit more ears to Optimus?” But they’re really hands off. We’ve redesigned them in “Transformers 4,” and there’s some really cool sh*t in it. I’m literally redesigning every character, top to bottom. There’s a reason why they’re redesigned, but it’s also to keep it new and fresh to me. I think the fans will appreciate some of this new stuff we have in the movie and some of the new characters.
The redesigns worry me. I'll admit that. As far as characters go, Prime Prime is the best, I think. I don't get what people are complaining about. Because he's so steely, it makes him interesting. When everyone else is losing their cool, he's solid as a rock.
The movie version of Prime, I do like the character, second best. However, I think his design and his Leader Class toy (both ROTF and the DOTM remold) are hands down the best. That's right, I truly do believe the absolute best Transformer toy that Hasbro and TakaraTomy have produced, ever, is the ROTF/DOTM LC mold. It's darn near perfect in my eyes. If there was one figure I had to keep forever, it's him.
So, changing that design, making him into something new...I dunno. It worries me. I just hope it ends up being better, not worse. Because if they can make me take the new Optimus over my absolute favorite, they've moved mountains.
Michael Bay wrote:I know when you did “Transformers 3,” you were kind of done...
Yeah, and this is literally a true story. I went to the [Transformers] ride in Universal, and there’s a two-and-a-half-hour line, and you just see all these kids -- it’s the most popular ride they’ve had since Jurassic Park -- and I’m like... It’s hard to let go of your franchise. You don’t want someone to f*ck it up. So I at least wanted to set it up on some good footing. Because you’re going to get a different kind of director [who is] not going to want to follow in my footsteps. Directors feel very territorial. So they’re going to go to a more inexperienced director. It’s just the way Hollywood works. And I’m thinking, “God, so I’ll redesign it, set it up... Someone’s gonna f*ck this up. This is way too big of a thing.” And I’m looking at all these kids and I’m like, “F*ck, I gotta do one more.” And then I brought Mark [Wahlberg] into it. So now we’ve got a movie star, we’ve got full redesigns. At least it’ll be on good footing.
And, I can understand this. Sometimes you need to take a step back, get some clarity, and let it really hit you. I can understand his feeling and his motivation. While no one will ever truly agree on the content in the films, everyone should be able to agree that Bay does work his tail off. The man's a machine, I swear. He's probably the hardest working director in Hollywood right now. The man will work around the clock, he'll get physical on the set, he's constantly being a go-between on all the different fronts. If nothing else, at least give the man his props for his work ethic.
NOTE: Realize that I am not a perfect Christian, nor do I profess to be. I apologize if anyone's ever offended by me, I'm not perfect. Don't hold my posts and opinions against other Christians.