I was basking in extreme disbelief of the stubbornness and ignorance of the response of some people to my latest rant. I basically attempted to prove that Michael Bay, by literal definition, is not a “hack”, yet people refuse to believe Merriam-Webster over the nonexistent facts which most people call opinion. Responses like “Michael Bay is a hack, you don’t know what you’re talking about” remind me of the ignorant mindset which got us in such a mess overseas…. And just then two news stories popped into my RSS reader. I really can’t understand the strong hatred toward a director like Michael Bay when projects like these are being greenlit every day.
The first project is a second sequel to Disney’s Step Up series titled Step Up 3-D. Step Up 2 the Streets director Jon Chu in talks to return… yay </sarcasm> I refused to see the first film and its sequel, so there is not much I can say in offense other than “Why?”
The second is a story about how Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has signed on to a movie about an ordinary man who’s brought in to try to save the tooth fairy kingdom. Directed by the guy who did The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, with a script which has four names on the cover by my count (never a good sign), The Tooth Fairy is scheduled to begin shooting in August. I was one of the few that believed that Dwayne Johnson had the potential to be the next big action star, instead his career has taken an off-ramp into bad family comedies which are worth some quick cash and nothing else. It’s a shame, because this guy has so much more potential.
It’s times like these when I wish Michael Bay were making more movies. At least I can sit back and enjoy those on a pure popcorn level.
Discuss: Would you rather watch Step Up 3-D, The Rock in The Tooth Fairy or a new Michael Bay action film?
February 26th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
M.I.C.H.A.E.L. B.A.Y.
Hands down. What about a chance Dwayne and the Rock team up?
February 26th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Michael Bay IS NOT A HACK!!! I have to agree with you Peter, he is not and should not be refered to as a HACK. Michael Bay has come through many times when either myself or my wife wanted great explosions and action movies. I love “good” movies but sometime I just want to see thing explode and thats what Michael Bay specializes in. That man sure knows his pyrotechnics. Now, don’t get me wrong, many of his movies have good stries too, but man can he blow up shit!
February 26th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
I’m totally down with Michael Bay and all of his movies. If you look at his track record, it’s actually pretty impressive. Brett Ratner - Hack. Michael Bay - not. And God knows I’d rather see one of Bay’s films over the schlock that is the Step Up franchise or another Dwayne Johnson family comedy. I’m with you, Peter - I’m a big fan of The Rock, but if he keeps pumping out crap like this, then he’s going to turn into Vin Diesel pretty quickly.
February 26th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
What the hell happened to The Rock? There hasn’t been a bonafied action-film star since the Arnold Schwarzenegger of 10 years ago. The void needs to be filled. Vin Diesel had his shot, but he sold out. I too thought The Rock would be our last best hope for the next generation of traditional Hollywood action stars, he was just waiting for his “Terminator”, but then all of a sudden he started up with the kiddie movies. At least Arnold waited until he was a mainstream hit before he did Kindergarten Cop.
February 26th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Get this Michael Bay crap onto your own damn blog. Keep this shit off the /slash
February 26th, 2008 at 11:27 pm
JFK, /Film is “my own damn blog.” Deal with it :)
February 26th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
I’d like to see the rock IN a michael bay film.
I’m completely with you on the whole ‘what the hell happened to the rock’ front. I saw ‘the game plan’ (don’t judge me!) and i wanted to tear my soul out and vanquish it to hell.
February 26th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Are you kidding? I think it’s pretty obvious I’d be seeing The Rock in three dimensional form.
February 27th, 2008 at 1:02 am
I 100% agree. Michael Bay makes more interesting movies than ones I’ve seen atop the box office in recent years (Epic/Date/Spartan Movie, You Got Served, Hannah Montana?) I think it’s bullshit that these flicks have more of the general public’s interest than something like No Country or TWBB. Whoever called Bay a hack deserves a punch in the wiener (just saw Juno).
Also, The Rock fell off man. Is it he isn’t offered any more roles because he dropped “The Rock” all together? Or did he actually sell out?
February 27th, 2008 at 1:21 am
How about if Michael Bay DIRECTED the Tooth Fairy? I wouldn’t mind that. :D
February 27th, 2008 at 1:29 am
the rundown was great, & i really like southland tales…other than that wtf is the rock thinking?! also, bay is just one of those guys that became an easy target. if these idiots who bash him actually knew how difficult it is to do what he does, they might keep their mouths shut. then again, as you pointed out with ‘overseas mess’, that mindset is really out of control lately, so who knows. keep fightin the good fight, pete.
February 27th, 2008 at 2:04 am
I’d like to see The Rock versus Riddick in 3D.
Who’s gonna make that happen for me?
February 27th, 2008 at 2:23 am
Michael Bay is the man.
Those stock storylines make crappy movies in the hands of a crappy director. Michael Bay can take crap and make it popcorn-eating, action-filled fun cinema.
February 27th, 2008 at 2:29 am
Michael Bay shot Transformers because it was the next thing Speilberg put on his plate. Hack. He’s doing Transformers II for the same reason. Hack. He does what he’s paid to do. He is the perfect producers director.
He’s a studio staffer. So blow him already. Just because you like his movies more than Ratners does not mean he’s any less of a hack than Brett. The definition of a hack does not change with the quality of the product. One might make better releases but ultimately they are both making them for the same reasons. Ratner stepped into direct X-men 3 because he was asked and Bay directed Transformers etc. for the same reason. You can’t choose who falls into the bag and who does not.
I have no problem accepting Bay for what he actually is. Sure I can enjoy his movies until the loosely orchestrated mess RESEMBLING a thrill passes, (is this what you need me to admit? That I’m not throwing up in my seat?) but when video-drones like you Pete try and fake him into some kind of misunderstood underdog auteur it is absurd and you know it. What are we really ever left with when the lights go up after one of “his” movies? What, if any, director(s) are you really passionate about that could possibly warrant two posts in a single day? THERE WASN’T EVEN ANY F*CKING NEWS ABOUT BAY TODAY…!
February 27th, 2008 at 4:25 am
Can I choose death?
I don’t think I could live through another Pearl Harbour or Armageddon.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:46 am
Michael Bay is a hack, you don’t know what you’re talking about
February 27th, 2008 at 5:06 am
While I don’t have such a strong hatred for Bay as many people on here obviously do, I’d still like to make the point: just because there are crappier movies being greenlit, it doesn’t make michael bay movies any less crappy.
Transformers was waaaay overhyped. The Rock was solid. Bad Boys entertaining. But the rest are pretty poor.
So yeah, I’d rather see a Michael Bay movie than Step UP 3-D but I’d also rather be gang-raped by 3 men instead of 4.
February 27th, 2008 at 5:17 am
Aaaaaaand Brian is the winner!
Future commenters can give up on being the wittiest, he’s already whupped yez.
February 27th, 2008 at 6:27 am
Who in the hell wants to see a movie about frickin’ dancing??? How low is your I.Q. to drive you to see a movie with break dancing??? Why don’t you just turn on MTV, and watch that crap!!!
Hollywood must be desperate if the best they can put out is a lame movie with kids who dance the whole damn movie. Don’t we have enough people who are “so called celebrities” like Britney Spears teaching our kids that all there is to life is partying? These dance movies are just another nail in the coffin of why America is falling behind in the world, and shows just how low we have sunk.
February 27th, 2008 at 7:58 am
“Popcorn level” thinking is what got us into that mess over seas. Maybe Bay’s not a “hack,” but he is a shitty director who makes stupid movies.
February 27th, 2008 at 8:43 am
@Robert
Couldn’t have said it better.
February 27th, 2008 at 8:43 am
“I refused to see the first film and its sequel, so there is not much I can say in offense other than “Why?â€
Not for nothing but at least the bay detractors have seen his films. Now where I did I put that definition of ignorant?
Having seen the first Step Up (Sometimes you gotta see the chick flicks if you want to see the smash em ups) I would say the sequels to Step Ups are needed about as much as the sequels to Transformers which in turn is needed as much as the next pta or coen movie. Different movies different audiences. Its all about putting bums in seats.
I’m sure bay has a lot of overlords with the budgets he runs and is forced to test the hell out of his films. Does anyone know if he has final cut?
February 27th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I’d say the Step Up films have alot in common with Bay’s. Badly scripted spectacles of massive technical prowess. That being said, I personally would prefer to watch a bunch of teenagers who have honed their bodies through years of intense practice and discipline, than some explosion (computer generated or otherwise). It is an aesthetic choice for me. Anybody with enough cash can blow something up. But not everyone can use only their body to blow my mind.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:40 am
And the end of the day, you’ve got to ask yourself, why does it matter. if you dont like a movie, dont see it, quit bitching. why does it have to be so complicated.. when the credit rolls, 90% of people (my guess) dont give a rats ass who was behind it, they just know whether or not they liked it. I saw michael bay in the special features for transformers, which i loved. To me, he seemed like he could be a jerk, and that he probably wasnt passionate about the movie. i still loved the movie, i still paid for a ticket and paid for a DVD, so why does it matter if he was producing or not?
February 27th, 2008 at 10:40 am
also, if you are going to ask yourself anything, be sure to use a question mark.. which i failed to do
February 27th, 2008 at 10:58 am
I’m really tired of the cliche Hip-Hop dance movies with white people as the stars. It might sound racist; but you don’t want to see a movie about bull fighting with nothing but black people in it. It don’t make sense. Let the dance movies died and get started on Transformers 2.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:18 am
“Maybe Bay’s not a ‘hack’, but he is a shitty director who makes stupid movies.”
If anything, Michael Bay is far from being a shitty director. He’s very good at his craft of directing movie. He chooses to make “stupid movie” because they’re fun to make. If you want a true hack director, Uwe Boll is a shitty, hack, director who make stupid movies that fails on all level.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Maybe my definiton of “good” is not the same as others. It certainly doesn’t contain the word “stupid” except perhaps to exclude it specifically.
February 27th, 2008 at 11:41 am
They should just give michael bay the money to make the other two movies and let him make a movie of his choice. im pretty damn positive it’ll make more money and well just plain be better
February 27th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
It’s disappointing that now even /film has decided to be a political blog. What a disgrace. And here I thought it was a movie blog. I guess I’ll have to stop telling people how great your blog is now that you’re a political scientist.
As for Michael Bay being or not being a hack, one of your own definitions said “a person who aims solely for commercial success.” I didn’t think Michael Bay was a hack, but by that definition (yours) he certainly fits the bill.
February 27th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Thomas: /Film is mostly about movies, yet sometimes it leans into the realm of gossip/entertainment, other times we even cover television. A blog in opinion, and this blog in mainly my opinion. Yes, we have other writers, but /Film is conceptually a personal movie news blog. It’s not a corporate website, it’s my blog. I appreciate your readership, but encourage you to stop reading /Film and find another source of movie news if you are not fine with the topics, content, or viewpoints discussed on /Film.
As for the commercial success argument, Bay shoots for commercial success just as much as Sam Rami shot for commercial success on Spider-Man 2. Bay makes big action films, with big budgets, that therefor must hit all four quadrants in order to make their money back. This is something that is genre specific, not Bay specific. Michael Bay brings a unique style which could not be classified as the safe and most commercial way to shoot a movie, therefor he is not solely shooting for commercial success.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I’m not saying you can’t voice your opinion, just that politics are so boring and so prevalent and so small-minded that it was nice to think there was a site that didn’t get sucked into one-sided political bs. I can see where tv would fit into “blogging the reel world,” but I can’t see the same for politics. hey, maybe all the other readers want politics in every post, i could be wrong. if so, I apologize. either way, i looked around online and u don’t really have competition so i don’t really have a choice but to continue reading…:)
per Raimi: all 3 Spider Man movies have sucked terribly. Raimi is a terrible example. He has thrown away the talent he had in service of box office glory. I’m sure it’s good for his bank account, but that doesn’t make it admirable. Spider Man 3 was one of the worst movies ever. worse than K Pax!
as for Bay, I’m not saying he sucks. He’s the same as Tony Scott and Brett Ratner, they give people explosions and don’t make them think, and if you enjoy drugs, it’s fun to watch with some popcorn. It’s just that he fit at least one of the definitions you used for “hack” in your rant about him not being a “hack”. but yes, he’s way better that Uwe Boll, at least we have common ground there. although, the long trailer for In the Name of the King is the best comedy of the year so far.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
Thomas, I could understand your point if I was posting about politics daily like Jeff Wells. But I’ve only been political in one sentence of one post out of the last couple thousand. Calm down…
February 28th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Tooth Fairy is an old old old film and Arnie was attched to it years ago -before T2! Michael Bay is a hack director, but I luv transformers
February 28th, 2008 at 12:55 am
Hey did anyone see the Obama/Clinton debate?
March 3rd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I’d like to see all 3 movies… and honestly Peter, how can you say anything about the “Step Up” films if you’ve “refused” to watch them? And as for your slagging of multiple screenwriters? Let’s look at Michael Bay’s films: Bad Boys had 4 writers, The Rock had 3, Armageddon 5, Bay Boys 2 had 4, The Island 3 and Transformers 3…. As for your friend McG, each of his Charlie’s Angels required 3 screenwriters.
March 3rd, 2008 at 1:51 pm
“how can you say anything about step up if you havent even seen it yet?”… bitch, please. you should be slapped with the reel. be honest with yourself, you dont need to see the whole damn thing to know its a piece of shit. watch the trailer. thats what they are for… people like you are why uwe boll lasted so long.
March 3rd, 2008 at 3:00 pm
FYI big daddy, people who judge movies based on their trailer(s) are shitheads…Whoops! Did I just call you a shithead? Guess so… If everyone had your mentality, no one would have gone to see Star Wars back in 77… There is an audience for movies like Step Up, and it’s a good film for that audience. It’s not trying to appeal to There Will Be Blood’s or Michael Clayton’s audience, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Step Up is to dance films what Michael Bay is to action movies. By the way, when you’re talking to a guy, you’re supposed to say “bastard”, bitch.
March 3rd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
i would have said bastard if i had any respect, but i dont…back to the point. A movie like step up has an audience. the same audience that “barbies wonderland” has or “how she move”. If I want to watch a bunch of kids dance for 2 hours to hip hop or whatever that is, id go to “the club.” Now, i understand you felt you had to defend your comment, but you have forgotten what trailers are. Trailers are meant to get people to watch a movie, they are “promotions.” That means that I, the consumer, watch the trailer and decide if i want to see it. you arent supposed to say “Wow that trailer looks really shitty, but I better give them a fair chance and throw 9 dollars of my hard earned cash at them to go see it and hope that the trailer was ‘off’!” Who the phluck needs “dance films?” cant get enough of it on MTV? need to make a whole phlucking category of films? bitch, please.
May 11th, 2008 at 6:33 am
ok guyies im so glad about step up 3!!!!gooooooooooo