The Energon Pub

[El Duque]

Yahoo! Movies has posted a new interview with Kelsey Grammer in which he describes one his scenes that was ultimately cut from Transformers: Age of Extinction. It was an action scene where his character, Harold Attinger, would have thrown a Chinese national from a moving vehicle.

It was very violent, and it looked very violent.… Apparently the Chinese government had some input on these things, and they just didn’t want to see a Chinese national get thrown out of the car [laughs] — and then subsequently run over.

He also talks about filming with director Michael Bay.

They start running, and Michael did not let them know how big the explosions were going to be. He said to me, ‘Watch this! Look! They’re really terrified. Look how fast they’re running!

The interview goes on to discuss his other projects, which include The Expendables 3, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and more. You can read the full article by clicking here.

[Madeus Prime]

No offence to Grammer, he's a great actor, but his role in X-Men: Days of Future Past was tiny, hardly a project.

Anyway, according to him, we have another evaluation of Bay's insanity.

Watch this! Look! They’re really terrified. Look how fast they’re running!

Wow, just, wow.

[Bumblevivisector]

Watch this! Look! They’re really terrified. Look how fast they’re running!

Wow, just, wow.

Yeah, it reminds me of how Lucio Fulci would get authentic reactions out of his actors by not warning them he was going to turn on the wind-machine and/or mealworm-snowblower.

The difference being, of course, mealworms and wind-machines don't make most people fear for their lives.

[ZeroWolf]

Actually bay's comments remind me a little of what Ridley Scott did with Alien (everyone will know the scene). I don't know why people are making a deal out of this. Now for Kelsey, when I saw the thread title I was expecting him to slate his role ala Orson Wells did.

[TulioDude]

100% genuine fear expressions!

WOnder how this whole chinese thing worked?

[JetOptimus23]

Actually bay's comments remind me a little of what Ridley Scott did with Alien (everyone will know the scene).

Simple; because while Scott was working with props that had little to no chance of actually harming the actors, this madman is working with LIVE EXPLOSIVES and decided to not tell his actors how big they were going to be. The chestburster scene was done in a way to make all those reactions genuine, but would not result in horrible injury or fatality. What Bay did could have resulted in awful things, and its his continuing dumb luck that prevented that.

[OptimalOptimus2]

Well, Michael Bay is more insane than murderous Optimus Prime. Not telling people where the big explosions are can really make them scared for their lives. (That's not a good thing.) It's clearly obvious that Bay is practicing domestic terrorism.

[Burn]

It's clearly obvious that Bay is practicing domestic terrorism.

Oh FFS ... I've seen some ridiculous comments on this site directed at Michael Bay but that's easily in the top 10.

Seriously people ... it was a controlled environment. Bay wasn't the one pushing the button, the explosive experts were and under no circumstances would they have pressed the buttons if the actors were any where near being hurt.

[ZeroWolf]

Or on the other hand it was all cleared by the people who set the bombs up so that no one would be hurt...look at what happened last time someone was killed on set, I don't think he wanted a repeat of that. Otherwise paramount wouldn't want him back as a director (hiring a pyromaniac who's almost killed would be a problem) I think people are making a mountain out of a molehill here.

[Bumblevivisector]

Wow, this thread went downhill, so just to clarify my earlier post, I brought up Lucio Fulci in part because he too gets a lot of irrational hatred directed at him and his work. It's not the same type of hatred that Bay gets around these parts (the content and message of Fulci's best work seems explicitly designed to piss people off, especially New York Ripper, the most therapeutic movie ever when I've had a bad enough day/week/month), but it's comparable in this case.

AFAIK, Bay's safety record was spotless until those 2 accidents in DOTM, so there's hardly a chance anyone was in actual danger. Getting the right performance out of your actors is part of a director's job, and that sometimes does require f@#&ing with them. It's just that his quoted comments made it sound like he was a little too pleasantly surprised at scaring the sh!t out of the talent more thoroughly than he thought he would. It was just a funny/weird thing to say, is all.

[hunter4life]

i dunno, i think paramount are stupid for hiring such a explosive/fire harzad to direct such a beloved franchise. and yes he is comparable to serial killer prime.

on the other hand, he did a great job with age of extinction because there is 98% of not so stupid gimmicks and i think galvatron isnt such a pussy as much as megatron .

but still in the end, this guy is a danger around everyone due to his obsession with explosives and the manpulation of actors such as mark walberg and kelsey grammer.

[Megatron Wolf]

more reason why bay needs to be removed from the picture (pun not intended), hes going to kill an actor one of these days because hes a childish idiot. Im all for getting real emotion out of actors (like the chest burster scene in alien) but not at the expense of their well being & possibly their lives. You play with fire & you will eventually get burned, stop while your ahead bay. You kill an actor & you kill your career, not only will studios not want to work with you but youll be hesitant to get back in the directing chair for fear it could happen again.

[TulioDude]

It's clearly obvious that Bay is practicing domestic terrorism.

Oh FFS ... I've seen some ridiculous comments on this site directed at Michael Bay but that's easily in the top 10.

Seriously people ... it was a controlled environment. Bay wasn't the one pushing the button, the explosive experts were and under no circumstances would they have pressed the buttons if the actors were any where near being hurt.

This

[Deathsanras]

It's clearly obvious that Bay is practicing domestic terrorism.

The guy's an overrated hack and a pyrotechnics fetishist. But aren't there enough real reasons to hate him already - like being creatively vacant, and the train-wrecks the movies are - without resorting to making up this sensationalist nonsense?

[BumbleDouche]

It's clearly obvious that Bay is practicing domestic terrorism.

The guy's an overrated hack and a pyrotechnics fetishist. But aren't there enough real reasons to hate him already - like being creatively vacant, and the train-wrecks the movies are - without resorting to making up this sensationalist nonsense?

HAHAHAAAAA! My sentiments exactly! I've voiced my dislike for Bay several times, but I've never managed to be quite so succinct. Well done, sir.

[ZeroWolf]

So this is another hate bay thread now? Can we stick to voicing our opinions on him based around legitimate reasons like how he edits movies, how bad a job he did at finishing RotF script during the writer's strike. Plus if you don't like the movies then don't forget the other people who deserve the blame aside from Bay like another famous director.

[Burn]

So this is another hate bay thread now?

Of course it is. What did you expect? I'd say it's the same old crap, but this thread is actually different.

No no, now people actually think he's responsible for the pyrotechnics, people actually think he's the one that sets up the safety perimeter, the guy that presses the button.

Let's just completely ignore the fact that there are professionals that do that sort of thing, let's just throw complete and utter reason out the window, just so they can take ANOTHER jab at Michael Bay for ruining their childhood.

[OptimalOptimus2]

So this is another hate bay thread now?

Of course it is. What did you expect? I'd say it's the same old crap, but this thread is actually different.

No no, now people actually think he's responsible for the pyrotechnics, people actually think he's the one that sets up the safety perimeter, the guy that presses the button.

Let's just completely ignore the fact that there are professionals that do that sort of thing, let's just throw complete and utter reason out the window, just so they can take ANOTHER jab at Michael Bay for ruining their childhood.

When Michael Bay is doing the principal photography, he is responsible for the entire set. That includes pyrotechnics. If someone is hurt, all faces turn to the director. So if some idiot charged the explosions two feet from someone, the director and producers are responsible for him/her because they hired that person.

Just because I said that Bay is practicing domestic terrorism (which I still believe he is) doesn't mean that I'm hating on him. I could say the same thing about my son or daughter, doesn't mean I hate them.

[chivesbot20]

Thats exactly what it is Burn.

[ZeroWolf]

So this is another hate bay thread now?

Of course it is. What did you expect? I'd say it's the same old crap, but this thread is actually different.

No no, now people actually think he's responsible for the pyrotechnics, people actually think he's the one that sets up the safety perimeter, the guy that presses the button.

Let's just completely ignore the fact that there are professionals that do that sort of thing, let's just throw complete and utter reason out the window, just so they can take ANOTHER jab at Michael Bay for ruining their childhood.

Its amazing all the things bay can do don't you know. He does everything for the movies, designs, casting, music, rigging, creates all special effects, activates all effects and probably the catering as well. But that's not all! He has the ability of mind control as someone else pointed out he manipulated Walhberg and Kelsey.



I would ask why he gets this hate, but you summed it up already Burn. Bay made a highly successful film franchise out of our beloved brand. How dare he!

[SlyTF1]

So this is another hate bay thread now?

Of course it is. What did you expect? I'd say it's the same old crap, but this thread is actually different.

No no, now people actually think he's responsible for the pyrotechnics, people actually think he's the one that sets up the safety perimeter, the guy that presses the button.

Let's just completely ignore the fact that there are professionals that do that sort of thing, let's just throw complete and utter reason out the window, just so they can take ANOTHER jab at Michael Bay for ruining their childhood.

Its amazing all the things bay can do don't you know. He does everything for the movies, designs, casting, music, rigging, creates all special effects, activates all effects and probably the catering as well. But that's not all! He has the ability of mind control as someone else pointed out he manipulated Walhberg and Kelsey.



I would ask why he gets this hate, but you summed it up already Burn. Bay made a highly successful film franchise out of our beloved brand. How dare he!

People are just jealous he makes more money than they do.

[JetOptimus23]

I would ask why he gets this hate, but you summed it up already Burn. Bay made a highly successful film franchise out of our beloved brand. How dare he!

A highly successful film franchise with action sequences shot like a flaming lawnmower running over the audience, flat characters, a skewed human-transformer screentime ratio, female characters that exist only to be treated like eye candy, and the twins. And I say that as someone who decently enjoys the Bay movies. But yes its obviously because he makes a lot of money of course

[Burn]

Just because I said that Bay is practicing domestic terrorism (which I still believe he is) doesn't mean that I'm hating on him. I could say the same thing about my son or daughter, doesn't mean I hate them.

Explain how the hell he is practising "domestic terrorism"

[JetOptimus23]

Just because I said that Bay is practicing domestic terrorism (which I still believe he is) doesn't mean that I'm hating on him. I could say the same thing about my son or daughter, doesn't mean I hate them.

Explain how the hell he is practising "domestic terrorism"

Yeah I have no love for the guy but that's not terrorism, its just trying to get a more true performance out of the actors, just REALLY misguided.

[ZeroWolf]

I would ask why he gets this hate, but you summed it up already Burn. Bay made a highly successful film franchise out of our beloved brand. How dare he!

A highly successful film franchise with action sequences shot like a flaming lawnmower running over the audience, flat characters, a skewed human-transformer screentime ratio, female characters that exist only to be treated like eye candy, and the twins. And I say that as someone who decently enjoys the Bay movies. But yes its obviously because he makes a lot of money of course

Flat characters and female characters you should speak to the writers everything else is a fine complaint, as long as they realize it's just their opinion. In the first couple I didn't find any problems with the fight sequences or plot. That's my opinion (like it's my opinion that DOTM is the worse).