Transformers gets Michael Bay Into the Billion Dollar Club

I feel all empty and hollow inside, knowing I helped Michael Bay join such an elite club...

i_amtrunks wrote:I feel all empty and hollow inside, knowing I helped Michael Bay join such an elite club...

Deeper down in that pit of emptyness ... you enjoyed doing it.

I like most of Bay´s films. The Rock and Armageddon and now Transformers are in my top 10 favourite movies. 2,4 and 8 places.

bay was in the billion dollar club before he made transformers. hes was the youngest director to reach the billion dollar club

yay bay

I like most of bays movies(except pearl harbor. that movie sucked.) but i feel that this will just inflate his ego even more now. And thats something no one needs to deal with.

Now maybe his undeserved reputation as a hack will be over.

holy... sh*t... well, my friends, we have only ourselves to blame for such a blasphemous and unholy occurance... this will surely usher in the age of the great apocalypse upon humankind...

Megatron_Wolf wrote:I like most of bays movies(except pearl harbor. that movie sucked.) but i feel that this will just inflate his ego even more now. And thats something no one needs to deal with.

Yeahm, Pearl Harbor was horrible.

Nemesis_Apoc wrote:holy... sh*t... well, my friends, we have only ourselves to blame for such a blasphemous and unholy occurance... this will surely usher in the age of the great apocalypse upon humankind...

No no, that happens when Uwe Boll joins the club.

I get a mulligan for Bad Boys 1 (Bay had yet to give his soul to Satan at that point)...I did pay for the Rock which Bay produced so I'm still safe...I didn't pay for Transformers, told my friend either he paid or I'd never see it so that's not in my pocket...Watched Pearl Harbor on DVD and never saw the Island, So I gave Bay a grand total of approx. 8 bucks as a director...

So yeah I deserve death...

Edit: Damn he did direct "The Rock", thought that was Brukheimer...$hit I kinda liked that one...He produced ConAir which I really liked..So I gave Bay 16 bucks...I don't deserve an afterlife for admitting this...

Whether or not you like his work, you have to give Bay credit for the following:

1.) He's a hell of a hard worker. He does put the work and time in.

2.) His movies are entertaining to the masses. Not every movie fits every audience, but all of his movies have entertained at least some people.

3.) He knows what he's doing. It's not just the director at fault when a movie sucks, it's the writers and the producers as well.

It's the old "too many cooks in the kitchen..." too many people changing, correcting, editing, etc and when it's all said and done, the movies are chopped. (TF is proof of this.)

The most glaring examples of chopped movies are: Highlander 2: The Quickening (the movie was taken from a little over 120 minutes and chopped (mercilessly) to 90 minutes.

And Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (anyone who's ever watched it on DVD saw there's a piece of footage not seen in the theaters, and when watched on TV, pieces from the theatrical and DVD versions are cut and new footage never seen is added in it's place.)

For Highlander, it was the producers and payroll for the movie studio that horrendously cut the film. For Ace, it was the director himself who felt the movie didn't need the pieces. (He was wrong, but he did it.)

So don't always blame Bay for how a movie is, it's not just his neck in the noose.

Armageddon was visually entertaining (the worldwide damage shots, and special effects were fantastic, so were the stunts.) but the story really really lacked. He didn't pen it, someone else did. It's not his fault that the script was hollow.

Same with TransFormers...sure, Rogers, Kurtzman and Orci could've made something deeper (especially after reading the leaked script from '06) but without Bay's input, the movie wouldn't have been nearly as long as it was (which was actually a good thing that it clocked in at 2.5 hours, had it been shorter, it would've been overkill and too much to process.) and it wouldn't have had the new pieces to the story that we never saw in the original script.

Bay added to it, not detracted from it. He did a fine job of directing it, he just could've done without the shaky cam crap.

wingdarkness wrote:I get a mulligan for Bad Boys 1 (Bay had yet to give his soul to Satan at that point)...I did pay for the Rock which Bay produced so I'm still safe...I didn't pay for Transformers, told my friend either he paid or I'd never see it so that's not in my pocket...Watched Pearl Harbor on DVD and never saw the Island, So I gave Bay a grand total of approx. 8 bucks as a director...

So yeah I deserve death...

i have all of bays films including his 2 criterion collection. shall i came with you?

Mr.RobotAutoMan wrote:

wingdarkness wrote:I get a mulligan for Bad Boys 1 (Bay had yet to give his soul to Satan at that point)...I did pay for the Rock which Bay produced so I'm still safe...I didn't pay for Transformers, told my friend either he paid or I'd never see it so that's not in my pocket...Watched Pearl Harbor on DVD and never saw the Island, So I gave Bay a grand total of approx. 8 bucks as a director...

So yeah I deserve death...

i have all of bays films including his 2 criterion collection. shall i came with you?

That's an absolute bullsh*t view. If that were true, people wouldn't even be allowed in the basement of Hell just for watching Uwe Boll's films.

You're fine watching, enjoying, and owning Bay films. People just like to sit on their high horse and look down on others. Problem is, there's always someone who's higher up, so that means all of these bitchers have their faces firmly planted in the horse's ass.

Soundwave: "Bay apologists eject!"
@Autobot032 -
Dude I'm not about to get into another argument, worship Bay all you like I don't have the energy...

I don't own one Bay film...But what's funny is while I never liked Bay, his dealings with Transformers is what made me loathe him...His arrogance and down-right contempt for anyone who questions anything he does made me feel this way...The way he steamrolled over ILM and company for his Bayformers made me lose respect I didn't even have for him...I acknowledge his success, but he still makes the most generic movies I've ever seen in my life...But like I said I liked Bad boys 1 and The Rock...Guess it helped I was teenager and I made out with my GF during both movies...

ALright I lied I made out just during the Rock, I actually was into Bad Boys 1 because Martin was at the height of his career then...

Good for him, he have along way to go.

Is that article referring to domestic box office only? If that's the case, then the article is right.

If it's referring to international box office results, then it is wrong. Previous to Tranformers, Bay's films had made somehwere around 2 billion worldwide.

Having paid for Ratatouille to see Bay's latest effort to hold a camera (you know, an ILM friend says Bay can't even get insurance for his cameras because he breaks so many) I feel no sorrow, only pity. Maybe when he screws over the Dinobots and introduces Arcee (voiced by Halle Barry) people will come round. "Me Grimlock say 'Wus up lil' bitches?'"

nelson_michaelbay_com wrote:Is that article referring to domestic box office only? If that's the case, then the article is right.

If it's referring to international box office results, then it is wrong. Previous to Tranformers, Bay's films had made somehwere around 2 billion worldwide.

thats what i said. his other films reached the billion dollar mark. before he started working with transformers

SoooTrypticon wrote:Having paid for Ratatouille to see Bay's latest effort to hold a camera

Is that supposed to be impressive or something?

SoooTrypticon wrote:Having paid for Ratatouille to see Bay's latest effort to hold a camera (you know, an ILM friend says Bay can't even get insurance for his cameras because he breaks so many) I feel no sorrow, only pity. Maybe when he screws over the Dinobots and introduces Arcee (voiced by Halle Barry) people will come round. "Me Grimlock say 'Wus up lil' bitches?'"

Ahh, get off your high horse. It's not a 'flaw' to enjoy the movie, as 'coming around' would imply.

wingdarkness wrote:The way he steamrolled over ILM and company for his Bayformers made me lose respect I didn't even have for him.

Dude, what are you talking about? In fact, what is anyone who uses the term "Bayformers" talking about? Do you honestly think that Bay designed the Transformers himself? Oh, suddenly inbetween directing, editing, and all of the other stuff he does he suddenly learned how to be a graphic artist? Give me a break! ILM designed the Transformers, all Bay ever did was say in an interview that he wanted the Transformations to be "kinetic" with "hundreds of parts moving all at once". And who knows, that might not have even been his idea, maybe the studio came up with that idea or maybe Speilberg, or maybe some kid at ILM. You don't know. What I do know is that Bay DID NOT design the Transformers himself so don't blame him because you didn't like the designs, ILM showed him some designs, he liked him, you can't really fault him for that. Lots of other people (myself included) like them too.

What would be wrong with Halle Berry voicing Arcee, hmm? You don't want an academy award winner doing her voice? Or is it because she's...

Bay's movies may not be deep thinkers, but then neither are the most of the rest of those people in the club (and if one person comes to me and say Georgie Lucas, I'm going to bean in the back of the head with a copy of Episode 1). Simple fact is Bay's over-the-top approach has got him where he is. And the simple fact is, a part of being a director is to do the kinds of things that Bay does. As a director, you have to know what you want, and then go for it. And before it's said, I'm not a Bay Apologists, so you can shove that one. In fact, I don't even like half his movies. I dislike Armageddon, never bothered with Pearl Harbor, the Rock...is tolerated, and I hate Bad Boys with a freakin' passion. Even Will Smith couldn't make up for the sheer SUCK that is Martin Lawrence. There, I said it. But the simple fact is I dislike these movies, not because of Bay, but because...well, it's freakin' Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and Bad Boys...how many explanations do you need?

Loki120 wrote:Bay's movies may not be deep thinkers, but then neither are the most of the rest of those people in the club (and if one person comes to me and say Georgie Lucas, I'm going to bean in the back of the head with a copy of Episode 1). Simple fact is Bay's over-the-top approach has got him where he is. And the simple fact is, a part of being a director is to do the kinds of things that Bay does. As a director, you have to know what you want, and then go for it. And before it's said, I'm not a Bay Apologists, so you can shove that one. In fact, I don't even like half his movies. I dislike Armageddon, never bothered with Pearl Harbor, the Rock...is tolerated, and I hate Bad Boys with a freakin' passion. Even Will Smith couldn't make up for the sheer SUCK that is Martin Lawrence. There, I said it. But the simple fact is I dislike these movies, not because of Bay, but because...well, it's freakin' Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and Bad Boys...how many explanations do you need?

I enjooyed Armageddon and saw it a crapload of times. But then again opinions differ.

General Magnus wrote:

Loki120 wrote:Bay's movies may not be deep thinkers, but then neither are the most of the rest of those people in the club (and if one person comes to me and say Georgie Lucas, I'm going to bean in the back of the head with a copy of Episode 1). Simple fact is Bay's over-the-top approach has got him where he is. And the simple fact is, a part of being a director is to do the kinds of things that Bay does. As a director, you have to know what you want, and then go for it. And before it's said, I'm not a Bay Apologists, so you can shove that one. In fact, I don't even like half his movies. I dislike Armageddon, never bothered with Pearl Harbor, the Rock...is tolerated, and I hate Bad Boys with a freakin' passion. Even Will Smith couldn't make up for the sheer SUCK that is Martin Lawrence. There, I said it. But the simple fact is I dislike these movies, not because of Bay, but because...well, it's freakin' Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and Bad Boys...how many explanations do you need?

I enjooyed Armageddon and saw it a crapload of times. But then again opinions differ.

And when I first seen it, I liked it too. I wasn't until after I bought the movie on DVD that I began to realize just...well, lacking and cliched it all was. But that's a fault of mine. I'm just pointing out that just because someone hates a particular movie, doesn't make the director the son of evil.

SoooTrypticon wrote:Having paid for Ratatouille to see Bay's latest effort to hold a camera (you know, an ILM friend says Bay can't even get insurance for his cameras because he breaks so many) I feel no sorrow, only pity. Maybe when he screws over the Dinobots and introduces Arcee (voiced by Halle Barry) people will come round. "Me Grimlock say 'Wus up lil' bitches?'"

I was starting to miss your incessant whining and half truths that you present to us as "fact"(then I thought to myself that I'd rather get tattoed with a rusty nail). And like I said before since you were too cowardice to actually own up and see the movie that you actually paid for at the time your opinion means absolutely squat. And a few people agree with that sentiment as well.

glad to see ole trypti's back to stir the pot of sanity.

Congrats to the man. Ego or not, none of us have to deal with him on a daily basis. Cant wait for the rest of the quadrilogy.

Phenotype wrote:

wingdarkness wrote:The way he steamrolled over ILM and company for his Bayformers made me lose respect I didn't even have for him.

Dude, what are you talking about? In fact, what is anyone who uses the term "Bayformers" talking about? Do you honestly think that Bay designed the Transformers himself? Oh, suddenly inbetween directing, editing, and all of the other stuff he does he suddenly learned how to be a graphic artist? Give me a break! ILM designed the Transformers, all Bay ever did was say in an interview that he wanted the Transformations to be "kinetic" with "hundreds of parts moving all at once". And who knows, that might not have even been his idea, maybe the studio came up with that idea or maybe Speilberg, or maybe some kid at ILM. You don't know. What I do know is that Bay DID NOT design the Transformers himself so don't blame him because you didn't like the designs, ILM showed him some designs, he liked him, you can't really fault him for that. Lots of other people (myself included) like them too.

Sighs...You know so little...Go to Don Murphy's forum and read the report of the members selected to go to ILM to get a sneak peek at the movie and their interviews with ILM...Many of them were G1 fans and they walked outta the room when Bay suggested the changes he wanted for his Bayformers (They had already made concepts and he rejected them as too boxy or cartoony--In his opinion, not in theirs)...they intially hated them and through Bay's my way or the highway mentality steamrolled the idea that he wouldn't do it if it wasn't to his standard of real...To be fair many of the ILM memebers said they grew to like the designs after a while, but I see that as paycheck talk...

Loki120 wrote:Bay's movies may not be deep thinkers, but then neither are the most of the rest of those people in the club (and if one person comes to me and say Georgie Lucas, I'm going to bean in the back of the head with a copy of Episode 1). Simple fact is Bay's over-the-top approach has got him where he is. And the simple fact is, a part of being a director is to do the kinds of things that Bay does. As a director, you have to know what you want, and then go for it. And before it's said, I'm not a Bay Apologists, so you can shove that one. In fact, I don't even like half his movies. I dislike Armageddon, never bothered with Pearl Harbor, the Rock...is tolerated, and I hate Bad Boys with a freakin' passion. Even Will Smith couldn't make up for the sheer SUCK that is Martin Lawrence. There, I said it. But the simple fact is I dislike these movies, not because of Bay, but because...well, it's freakin' Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and Bad Boys...how many explanations do you need?

you hate will and martin is that what your saying? so you dont like martin or fresh prince of bel-air? whats wrong with you.

Loki120 wrote:Bay's movies may not be deep thinkers, but then neither are the most of the rest of those people in the club

I disagree... James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Robert Zemeckis, and Tim Burton have all tried to make films with deeper meanings... For example, the original Terminator films, Aliens, Abyss, LOTR, Back to the Future, Contact, Ed Wood. Heck, even Spielberg has made 'thinking' films (Duel, Close Encounters, Schindler's List).

Mr.RobotoAutoMan wrote:

Loki120 wrote:Bay's movies may not be deep thinkers, but then neither are the most of the rest of those people in the club (and if one person comes to me and say Georgie Lucas, I'm going to bean in the back of the head with a copy of Episode 1). Simple fact is Bay's over-the-top approach has got him where he is. And the simple fact is, a part of being a director is to do the kinds of things that Bay does. As a director, you have to know what you want, and then go for it. And before it's said, I'm not a Bay Apologists, so you can shove that one. In fact, I don't even like half his movies. I dislike Armageddon, never bothered with Pearl Harbor, the Rock...is tolerated, and I hate Bad Boys with a freakin' passion. Even Will Smith couldn't make up for the sheer SUCK that is Martin Lawrence. There, I said it. But the simple fact is I dislike these movies, not because of Bay, but because...well, it's freakin' Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and Bad Boys...how many explanations do you need?

you hate will and martin is that what your saying? so you dont like martin or fresh prince of bel-air? whats wrong with you.

Actually, I do like Will Smith. But not enough to endure Martin Lawrence. Smith is actually a really good actor, Lawrence is a personality...and a crappy one at that.

I disagree... James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Robert Zemeckis, and Tim Burton have all tried to make films with deeper meanings... For example, the original Terminator films, Aliens, Abyss, LOTR, Back to the Future, Contact, Ed Wood. Heck, even Spielberg has made 'thinking' films (Duel, Close Encounters, Schindler's List).

I'll agree with you on Schindler's List, Contact and even to a certain extent Close Encounters. But the rest are pretty straight forward, at best popcorn flicks. Albeit some really great popcorn flicks. I just don't find a whole lot of deep inner meaning in Back to the Future, or Terminator.

I also didn't say that there weren't exceptions. You're just not going to find a whole lot of movies with a real deep inner context that's a major blockbuster.

And Duel???? Are you serious?

Loki120 wrote:

I disagree... James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Robert Zemeckis, and Tim Burton have all tried to make films with deeper meanings... For example, the original Terminator films, Aliens, Abyss, LOTR, Back to the Future, Contact, Ed Wood. Heck, even Spielberg has made 'thinking' films (Duel, Close Encounters, Schindler's List).

I'll agree with you on Schindler's List, Contact and even to a certain extent Close Encounters. But the rest are pretty straight forward, at best popcorn flicks. Albeit some really great popcorn flicks. I just don't find a whole lot of deep inner meaning in Back to the Future, or Terminator.

I also didn't say that there weren't exceptions. You're just not going to find a whole lot of movies with a real deep inner context that's a major blockbuster.

And Duel???? Are you serious?

Well, I think Duel (for a thriller) is a lot more intelligent than the rubbish that's made nowadays. At least it makes you think (to uncover the riddle)!

As for the first 2 Terminator films, and Back to the Future? 'No deep inner meaning"????... Well, I think ANY film that deals with temporal anomalies in time travel is deep... like Donnie Darko for example! Also, The Abyss is exactly the same (thematically) as Contact!

The point I was making is that these Directors have the ability to do big blockbusters with a deeper context! Compare 'Aliens', say, with 'Starship Troopers'!

Robzimus Prime wrote:

Loki120 wrote:

I disagree... James Cameron, Peter Jackson, Robert Zemeckis, and Tim Burton have all tried to make films with deeper meanings... For example, the original Terminator films, Aliens, Abyss, LOTR, Back to the Future, Contact, Ed Wood. Heck, even Spielberg has made 'thinking' films (Duel, Close Encounters, Schindler's List).

I'll agree with you on Schindler's List, Contact and even to a certain extent Close Encounters. But the rest are pretty straight forward, at best popcorn flicks. Albeit some really great popcorn flicks. I just don't find a whole lot of deep inner meaning in Back to the Future, or Terminator.

I also didn't say that there weren't exceptions. You're just not going to find a whole lot of movies with a real deep inner context that's a major blockbuster.

And Duel???? Are you serious?

Well, I think Duel (for a thriller) is a lot more intelligent than the rubbish that's made nowadays. At least it makes you think (to uncover the riddle)!

As for the first 2 Terminator films, and Back to the Future? 'No deep inner meaning"????... Well, I think ANY film that deals with temporal anomalies in time travel is deep... like Donnie Darko for example! Also, The Abyss is exactly the same (thematically) as Contact!

The point I was making is that these Directors have the ability to do big blockbusters with a deeper context! Compare 'Aliens', say, with 'Starship Troopers'!

That's fine if you like Duel, I guess. It's just not a theatrical movie. It was made for television movie based a short story found in Playboy. Seriously. And I guess you can find some context in it, fear of the unknown for one. But that's about it.

Abyss is nothing like Contact. Both are great movies, but Contact deals with issues like what would really happen to the general population if reports of contact had been made, religious zealots and all that. Abyss...has none of that. But again, I think both movies were pretty good.

Well, that's fine if you think any movie with time travel is deep. I personally don't.

And really, there is a lot deeper context within Starship Troopers than in Aliens. Just look at the propaganda advertisements throughout the whole movie, and the conditioning the soldiers are made to go through to wholly accept the aliens as ultimate evil. Aliens...is more horror genre, and is closer in kin with Freddy Krueger.

Loki120 wrote:

General Magnus wrote:I enjooyed Armageddon and saw it a crapload of times. But then again opinions differ.

And when I first seen it, I liked it too. I wasn't until after I bought the movie on DVD that I began to realize just...well, lacking and cliched it all was. But that's a fault of mine. I'm just pointing out that just because someone hates a particular movie, doesn't make the director the son of evil.

I have a funny story, where a guy said Armageddon was bad purely because it had Ben Afleck, and I said that Bruce Willis was in it, and we agreed it was an okay movie.

And I wouldn't call Terminator, Back to the Future, Aliens (Which I have a sudden urge to see again) or Lord of the Rings, "Thinking Films".

wingdarkness wrote:Soundwave: "Bay apologists eject!"
@Autobot032 -
Dude I'm not about to get into another argument, worship Bay all you like I don't have the energy...

You don't want to get into another argument, yet you can't resist making little snide comments like Soundwave: "Bay apologists eject!". Either debate reasonably with people and accept that they are entitled to their opinion, or walk away. It's really that simple.

Okay, just to clarify... I don't think that Terminator, Aliens, etc are "THINKING" films. I never said that... But I DID say I think, for big budget blockbusters, these films have a "DEEPER CONTEXT" than most popcorn flicks! There's no way that any of these films are like "Hamlet", but there's "more to them than meets the eye!"

And NO - I don't think that just because a film deals with time travel or horror means it's deep... What I'm saying is the anomalies and existential questions that these particular films raise are amazing, when you consider their simple entertainment value and objectives!!! That's why they are classics!

Oh and btw, to see what I meant by The Abyss... watch the 'Director's Cut' - which is what James Cameron really intended it to be!

SoooTrypticon wrote:Maybe when he screws over the Dinobots and introduces Arcee (voiced by Halle Barry) people will come round. "Me Grimlock say 'Wus up lil' bitches?'"

Reductio ad absurdum. Another fine SoooTrypticon abuse of logic.

Blackout  wrote:

wingdarkness wrote:Soundwave: "Bay apologists eject!"
@Autobot032 -
Dude I'm not about to get into another argument, worship Bay all you like I don't have the energy...

You don't want to get into another argument, yet you can't resist making little snide comments like Soundwave: "Bay apologists eject!". Either debate reasonably with people and accept that they are entitled to their opinion, or walk away. It's really that simple.

What makes us Bay apologists, anyway? We liked the movie, so what. I know I'm not apologizing for him, his billion dollars can do that for him. Or is it their way of getting back at fans who have dubbed them Geewunners?

Ah, the whole arguement is stupid anyway. He's rich off of a bunch of movies most claim they hate. Good for him.

Robzimus Prime wrote:Okay, just to clarify... I don't think that Terminator, Aliens, etc are "THINKING" films. I never said that... But I DID say I think, for big budget blockbusters, these films have a "DEEPER CONTEXT" than most popcorn flicks! There's no way that any of these films are like "Hamlet", but there's "more to them than meets the eye!"

Okay. I'm not seeing it, but okay.

And NO - I don't think that just because a film deals with time travel or horror means it's deep... What I'm saying is the anomalies and existential questions that these particular films raise are amazing, when you consider their simple entertainment value and objectives!!! That's why they are classics!

Well, okay, sorry for the confusion. And I agree to a point, temporal anomalies can be fun.

Oh and btw, to see what I meant by The Abyss... watch the 'Director's Cut' - which is what James Cameron really intended it to be!

I have watched it. I have that cut, it's five shades better than the original, and goes into so much more detail. I've even read the book. But I just don't see the comparison between in it and Contact, other than aliens.