Michael Bay: Difference between revisions

Despite his commercial success at the box office, Bay's work is generally held in low esteem by film critics. While ''[[The Rock (film)|The Rock]]'' (1996), ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' (2007), ''[[13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi]]'' (2016), and ''[[Ambulance (2022 film)|Ambulance]]'' (2022) received moderately positive reviews, most of his other films, particularly the four ''Transformers'' sequels, have been received negatively by critics.

 

Bay was born in Los Angeles. He was raised by his adoptive parents Harriet, a bookstore owner and [[child psychiatrist]], and Jim, a [[Certified Public Accountant|CPA]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/28/Michael-Bay.html|title=Michael Bay Biography (1965–)|work=FilmReference.com|publisher=Advameg, Inc.|access-date=July 3, 2010}}</ref> He was raised [[Jewish]].<ref>[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Michael_Bay.html Michael Bay] [[Jewish Virtual Library]] - retrieved July 23, 2013</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://forward.com/culture/film-tv/375181/why-the-transformers-movies-are-really-stories-of-jewish-resilience-and-ada/|title=The Secret Jewish History Of The Transformers|last=Abrams|first=Nathan|date=June 20, 2017|work=[[The Forward]]|access-date=June 4, 2018|quote=As the adopted son of Jim and Harriet Bay, Michael was raised in a Jewish household.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2014/04/23/michael-bay-transforms-his-transformers/|title=Michael Bay Transforms His Transformers|work=Jewish Business News|first=Joab|last=Nevo|date=April 23, 2014|access-date=June 4, 2018}}</ref> His grandfather was from Russia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/linkin_park_rock_russian_transformers_premiere|title=Linkin Park Rocks Russian Transformers Premiere|work=Orange News|date=June 24, 2011|access-date=July 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001064804/http://web.orange.co.uk/article/news/linkin_park_rock_russian_transformers_premiere|archive-date=October 1, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> His cousin, [[Susan Bay]], is the widow of ''[[Star Trek]]'' actor [[Leonard Nimoy]] (whom he eventually cast as the voice actor for Sentinel Prime in ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon]]'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/04/21/michael-bay-afraid-to-offend-leonard-nimoy-with-transformers-family-reunion-offer/|title=Michael Bay Afraid to Offend Leonard Nimoy With Transformers Family Reunion Offer|last=Carroll|first=Larry|work=MoviesBlog.MTV.com|publisher=MTV|date=April 21, 2009|access-date=July 3, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220032538/http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/04/21/michael-bay-afraid-to-offend-leonard-nimoy-with-transformers-family-reunion-offer|archive-date=February 20, 2011}}</ref> He attended the exclusive [[Crossroads School (Santa Monica)|Crossroads School]] in [[Santa Monica, California]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/24/entertainment/ca-transformers24|title=Michael Bay, master of the 'huge canvas'|last=Boucher|first=Geoff|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=May 24, 2009|access-date=July 3, 2010}}</ref>

 

Bay often traces his interest in action films back to an incident during his childhood. As a boy, he attached some firecrackers to a toy train and filmed the ensuing fiery disaster with his mother's [[8 mm film|8 millimeter]] camera. The fire department was called and he was grounded.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-06-18-transformers-main_N.htm|title='Transformers' blasts back: Another Michael Bay direct hit|last=Breznican|first=Anthony|work=USA Today|date=June 18, 2009|access-date=July 3, 2010}}</ref>

 

Bay got his start in the film industry interning with [[George Lucas]] when he was 15, filing the [[storyboards]] for ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', which he thought was going to be terrible. His opinion changed after seeing it in the theater and he was so impressed by the experience that he decided to become a film director.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20035285_20035331_20044598,00.html|last=Vary|first=Adam B.|title=Optimus Prime Time|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=June 30, 2010|access-date=July 4, 2010}}</ref> He graduated from [[Wesleyan University]] in 1986, majoring in both English and film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.michaelbay.com/bio/bio.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531091042/http://www.michaelbay.com/bio/bio.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 31, 2008|title=Biography|last=Lauren|first=Nelson|work=michaelbay.com|access-date=July 4, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0622/celebrity-09-transformers-michael-bay-making-movies-enemies-money.html|title=Michael Bay: Making Movies, Enemies and Money|page=2|last=Pomerantz|first=Dorothy|work=Forbes|date=June 22, 2009|access-date=July 3, 2010}}</ref> He was a member of the [[Psi Upsilon]] fraternity and a favorite student of film historian [[Jeanine Basinger]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/48-armageddon|title=Armageddon|last=Basinger|first=Jeanine|work=The Criterion Collection|date=June 21, 1999|access-date=July 4, 2010}}</ref> For his graduate work, he attended [[Art Center College of Design]] in [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] where he also studied film.<ref name="educate">{{cite web|title=Michael Bay- Biography|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/person/michael-bay/biography.html|publisher=[[Yahoo! Movies]]|access-date=June 17, 2013}}</ref>

 

Bay began working at [[Propaganda Films]], directing commercials and music videos, two weeks after finishing his postgraduate degree.<ref name="educate"/> His 90-second [[World War II]]–inspired [[Coca-Cola]] advertisement was picked up by [[Capitol Records]]. His first national commercial was for the [[Red Cross]], which won a [[Clio Awards|Clio Award]] in 1992.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,283851,00.html|title=Is Michael Bay the Devil?|last=Hochman|first=David|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=July 10, 1998|access-date=July 4, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amctv.com/originals/shootout/smso_guests/biopage_bay|title=Shootout – Michael Bay|publisher=AMC TV|access-date=July 4, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100622075558/http://www.amctv.com/originals/shootout/smso_guests/biopage_bay|archive-date=June 22, 2010}}</ref> He directed [[Goodby, Silverstein & Partners|Goodby, Silverstein & Partners']] "Got Milk?" ad campaign for the California Milk Processors Board in 1993, which also won a Grand Prix Clio Award for Commercial of the Year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/aaron-burr-got-milk/|title=Got Milk? (Aaron Burr)|work=The Inspiration Room|date=May 15, 2009|access-date=July 4, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2013/04/the-best-commercials-music-videos-of-michael-bay-99069/|title=The Best Commercials & Music Videos Of Michael Bay|author=The Playlist Staff|date=April 23, 2013|work=IndieWire|access-date=April 10, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

 

 

His follow-up film, ''[[The Rock (film)|The Rock]]'' (1996), an action movie set on [[Alcatraz Island]] and in the [[San Francisco Bay area]], starred [[Sean Connery]], [[Nicolas Cage]] and [[Ed Harris]]. It was produced by [[Jerry Bruckheimer]] and [[Don Simpson]], the latter of whom died five months before its release. The film is dedicated to him.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,291215,00.html|title=Death of a Hollywood Bad Boy|last=Ascher-Walsh|first=Rebecca|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=February 6, 1996|access-date=July 6, 2010}}</ref> Connery and Cage won 'Best On-Screen Duo' at the [[MTV Movie Awards]] in 1997, and the film was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Achievement in Sound category for the work of Greg P. Russell, [[Kevin O'Connell (sound re-recording mixer)|Kevin O'Connell]] and Keith A. Wester.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/1997/|title=1997 MTV Movie Awards – Winners|publisher=MTV|date=June 10, 1997|access-date=July 6, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/oscarlegacy/1990-1999/69nominees.html |title=Nominees and Winners for the 69th Annual Academy Awards |publisher=The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=March 24, 1997 |access-date=July 6, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723031146/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/oscarlegacy/1990-1999/69nominees.html |archive-date=July 23, 2013 }}</ref> After the success of ''The Rock'', Bay established his production company Bay Films, with a two-picture deal with Disney.

 

In 1998, Bay again collaborated with [[Jerry Bruckheimer]], this time as a co-producer, as well as directing the action-adventure film ''[[Armageddon (1998 film)|Armageddon]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dvdreview.com/html/dvd_review_-_michael_bay_interview.shtml|title=DVD Review – Midas Touch of Destruction|last=Henckel|first=Guido|work=DVD Review|date=February 1999|access-date=July 9, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719085054/http://www.dvdreview.com/html/dvd_review_-_michael_bay_interview.shtml|archive-date=July 19, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_22/b3885110.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040602235105/http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_22/b3885110.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 2, 2004|title=Jerry Bruckheimer: Hollywood's Most Wanted |last=Grover|first=Ronald|work=Businessweek – BW Online|publisher=[[McGraw-Hill]]|date=May 31, 2004|access-date=July 9, 2010}}</ref> The film, about a group of tough oil drillers who are sent by [[NASA]] to deflect an [[asteroid]] from a [[collision course]] with [[Earth]], starred [[Bruce Willis]], [[Billy Bob Thornton]], [[Ben Affleck]] and [[Liv Tyler]]. It was nominated for four [[Academy Awards|Oscars]] at the [[71st Academy Awards]], including [[Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing|Best Sound]], [[Academy Award for Best Visual Effects|Best Visual Effects]], [[Academy Award for Best Sound Editing|Best Sound Editing]] and [[Academy Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/oscarlegacy/1990-1999/71nominees.html |title=Nominees & Winners for the 71st Academy Awards |publisher=The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences|date=March 21, 1999 |access-date=July 9, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102161927/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/oscarlegacy/1990-1999/71nominees.html |archive-date=November 2, 2013 }}</ref> It earned $9.6 million on its opening day and $36.5 million through the first weekend.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=1056&p=s.htm|title=Daily Box Office: Mild, Mild West|last=Gray|first=Brandon|work=Box Office Mojo|date=July 1, 1999|access-date=July 9, 2010}}</ref> Its budget of $140 million was one of the highest of the summer of 1998. It went on to gross over $553 million worldwide, the highest-grossing film of that year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=armageddon.htm|title=Armageddon (1998) – Box Office Mojo|date=October 11, 1998|access-date=July 9, 2010}}</ref>

In 2001, Bay directed ''[[Pearl Harbor (film)|Pearl Harbor]],'' starring [[Ben Affleck]], [[Josh Hartnett]], [[Kate Beckinsale]] and [[Cuba Gooding, Jr.]] It was released on [[Memorial Day]] weekend in 2001, again produced by Bay with Jerry Bruckheimer. It received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Sound, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing and Best Song. Kevin O'Connell received another nomination for Best Sound, but did not win. ''Pearl Harbor'' won in the category for Sound Editing, making it Bay's first (and, to date, only) film to win an Oscar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/oscarlegacy/2000-2009/74nominees.html|title=Nominees and Winners for the 74th Annual Academy Awards|publisher=The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|date=May 24, 2002|access-date=July 29, 2010}}</ref> Bay also directed the music video for the nominated track "There You'll Be" by vocal artist [[Faith Hill]].<ref name="educate"/>

 

 

In 2007, he teamed up with executive producer [[Steven Spielberg]] to direct ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'', a live action film based on the [[Transformers|''Transformers'' franchise]]. Released in July 2007, by November of that year it had made over $709 million worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers06.htm|title=Transformers (2007) - Box Office Mojo|website=boxofficemojo.com}}</ref>

 

 

Bay directed ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon]]'', released on June 29, 2011,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thefilmstage.com/2009/10/01/transformers-3-set-for-2011/|title=Transformers 3 Set for 2011 at The Film Stage|last=Barr|first=Merrill|work=The Film Stage|date=January 9, 2010|access-date=September 2, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826121656/http://thefilmstage.com/2009/10/01/transformers-3-set-for-2011/|archive-date=August 26, 2010}}</ref> which grossed $1.123 billion globally.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers3.htm|title=Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) - Box Office Mojo|website=boxofficemojo.com}}</ref> His next film was a comparatively small one he had been developing for years, called ''[[Pain & Gain]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.michaelbay.com/newsblog/files/0fd64fd57c9b9b6d33e15c76a46dae48-565.html|title=Transformers 3, Pain & Gain, Bad Boys 3|last=Lauren|first=Nelson|work=michaelbay.com|date=September 13, 2009|access-date=June 16, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012210851/http://www.michaelbay.com/newsblog/files/0fd64fd57c9b9b6d33e15c76a46dae48-565.html|archive-date=October 12, 2009}}</ref> The [[true crime]] story, based on events described in a ''[[Miami New Times]]'' article<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/1999-12-23/news/pain-gain|title=Pain & Gain|last=Collins|first=Pete|work=[[Miami New Times]]|publisher=Kevin Thornburg|date=December 23, 1999|access-date=September 2, 2010}}</ref> by Pete Collins, concerns a group of bumbling bodybuilders working together to commit a robbery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/2439620/transformers-dark-of-the-moon-michael-bay-taylor-lautner-bad-boys-3/|title='Transformers' Director Michael Bay On His Next Movie, Taylor Lautner And 'Bad Boys 3'|first=Josh|last=Wigler|website=MTV News}}</ref> It starred [[Mark Wahlberg]], [[Dwayne Johnson]], [[Anthony Mackie]], [[Tony Shalhoub]] and [[Ed Harris]].

Bay produced [[DreamWorks Pictures|DreamWorks]]' ''[[I Am Number Four (film)|I Am Number Four]]'', based on a series of novels by [[Pittacus Lore]] published by [[HarperCollins]] Children's Books. [[D. J. Caruso]] (''[[Eagle Eye]]'', ''[[Disturbia (film)|Disturbia]]'') directed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60J22I20100120|title="Disturbia" director counts on "Four"|last=Kit|first=Borys|work=[[Reuters]]|date=January 20, 2010|access-date=September 2, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Motoko |first=Rich |author-link=Motoko Rich |date=July 1, 2009 |title=HarperCollins Buys Series From James Frey |url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/harpercollins-buys-series-from-james-frey/ |access-date=September 2, 2010 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

 

A fourth Bay-directed Transformers movie, ''[[Transformers: Age of Extinction]]'', was released in June 2014.<ref name="June2014">[http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/14/transformers-4-arriving-in-june-2014/ 'Transformers 4' arriving in June 2014], CNN, February 14, 2012.</ref> Starring [[Mark Wahlberg]], it earned $1.1 billion at the global box office.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers4.htm|title=Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) - Box Office Mojo|website=boxofficemojo.com}}</ref> On January 12, 2016, [[Paramount Pictures]] released ''[[13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi|13 Hours]]'', which Bay produced and directed, based on the [[2012 Benghazi attack]]. While the lowest-grossing film of Bay's career at the box office, it went on to massive DVD sales on its digital release in May 2016, earning over $40 million in home video revenue.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-bays-benghazi-film-gets-916588 |title=Michael Bay's Benghazi Film Gets Trump Bump in Home Video}}</ref>

 

On May 23, 2017, Bay was honored with his own hand-and-footprint ceremony at The [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre|TCL Chinese Theatre]]. His English mastiff, Rebel, put her paw in the cement with him.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/features/michael-bay-hands-and-feet-honor-1202440033/|title=Michael Bay Reflects on His Career as He Receives Hands and Feet Honor|last=Riley|first=Jenelle|date=May 23, 2017|work=Variety|access-date=November 22, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>