Follow us on Google News
Get the latest updates directly in your Google News feed
Michael Bay is a legend when it comes to filmmaking. With his distinct style, the director is right up there with some of the best filmmakers of today and we are pretty sure his films will be remembered in the future as works of art! A huge example of his talent is none other than the iconicTransformersfranchise.
After directing the first five films ofTransformers, Michael Bay bid farewell to the franchise. While the films received underwhelming responses from critics, the fans’ opinions and the box office figures proved to be the opposite. However, there was a time when Michael Bay was not ready to join the franchise as a filmmaker, despite Steven Spielberg offering him the position.
Also Read:“He told me to just shut the f–k up”: Ben Affleck Called Michael Bay Out on Nonsensical Plot Holes in $553M Disaster
Michael Bay Initially Said No toTransformers
Also Read:Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer Demolishes Michael Bay’s $450M Ben Affleck WW2 Movie for Insane Box Office Record
WhenSteven Spielbergcalled upMichael Bayand pitched him the story of a boy who gets his first car and it turns into an alien. Bay was unfazed by Spielberg’s words as he was not a fan of the Transformers toys growing up. He revealed that after the call he thought to himself that he would never do such a“silly”film.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Bay stated,
“The story is true. I hung up and went, ‘I’m not doing that silly movie because it sounds like a toy movie.”
Thankfully, that wasn’t the last Bay thought ofTransformers.After a bit of confusion, he decided to pay a visit to Hasbro’s headquarters where he went to“Transformer school,”as they like to call it.
Also Read:“The studio begged me”: Michael Bay Would Have Lost Billions of Dollars For Paramount Had He Listened to Steven Spielberg’s ‘Transformers’ Advice
Michael Bay’s Visit to Hasbro Changed His Point of View
Learning about the lore of the franchise, Bay couldn’t help but stare at a Japanese anime photograph. This was the moment when Bay realized that he was getting a chance to do something different. In an interview with Collider, Bay stated,
“They start giving you the lore, which I really liked. But I remember zoning in on a Japanese anime picture behind the CEO. And movies, sometimes it’s one image that can spark a movie. I thought to myself, wow, if I make these robots really real. If you could believe. Because effects were not that advanced at that time, and I’ll explain that.
And this image came to my head where, what if a kid is trying to hide these robots that are 20-30 feet, behind his house, and his parents inside? I said, to me, that was the movie. And then that’s a wish fulfillment. And it was about, can we make this lifelike? Because these things will reflect 10,000 pieces of light. It’s never been done in visual effects, and it kind of changed the game.”
And thus, the desire to do something which had never been done before reeled Bay into directing theTransformersfilms. Today, the franchise flaunts total box office earnings of $5.2 billion and has even been nominated for multiple Academy Awards.
Transformers(2007) is available to stream on Cinemax (via Prime Video).
Source:Entertainment Weekly
Mishkaat Khan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2256
A connoisseur of all things horror, fantasy, and the occasional chick flick, Mishkaat has been penning pieces for FandomWire since 2022. She started off as an intern and has worked her way up to a Senior Writer with over 2000 articles to her name.Outside of entertainment, she has also written well-researched medical content as a freelance writer and has experience in social media management.When not writing, you can find her relaxing with a romance novel and a tall glass of iced coffee in her hand or watching re-runs of ‘Supernatural’ and ‘The Office.’
