ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I couldn't help noticing that all the Autobots other than Optimus Prime are GM cars.
MICHAEL BAY: Why did I do it? I did this movie for [a budget of] $150 [million]. That was a hard number. Steven, he's tight with the budget. So it forced me to get creative. I opened it to any car company, from Ford to Porsche, anyone. I just did it to keep an open mind because I wanted to find Bumblebee. I did not want a Volkswagen [like in the original cartoon series] — it's the Herbie Love Bug to me.
I've had a relationship with GM, so they took me to where they do these cool concept cars. I saw this picture of that Camaro [used in the film], and I'm like, That's the car. It saved me $3 million on my budget, getting all those cars. I don't think you are whoring out the movie, because I think each car kind of fits the character. Maybe not Jazz [the Autobot that's a Pontiac Solstice in the film]. Jazz is the one thing which I was like, ehhh, I wish he was a different car, personally. It's too little. But that's why I did it. It saved me money.
Was there any concern that you were also serving Hasbro, making sure that you are true to the toys and original characters?
Well, I said ''Listen, if I do this, I'm going to redesign these things. You might not like everything, but I'm going to do it my way or I'm not going to do it.'' Starscream [the Decepticon fighter jet] they had a big f---ing problem with, you know. When we were deciding characters it became kind of ridiculous. Ian Bryce, my producer, came to me: ''Mike, they need the molds [of the Transformers for the toys].'' [I said] ''We don't have a script yet. We're only on page 30!'' He goes, ''They need the molds in China. What kind of vehicles do you want?'' Literally, we were scrambling.
There was a poem that leaked on the Internet this spring, seemingly written by someone within production, that blamed DreamWorks for giving you too much creative control over the movie. Is it weird being the director people seem to love to take shots at?
No. I'm pretty content with who I am. I feel like I'm happy in my life. They take cheap shots because people don't really know me. They think [what I do] is not art. Like, a nice woman from the Hollywood Foreign Press, she [asks me], ''Wouldn't you want to do more of an art movie, like something that's hard to do?'' And I said, ''Are you kidding me?'' I had this big picture of Bumblebee [behind me]. That took a team of artists. It is so much harder to do, these type of [big action] movies, than a little art movie in the south of France. I mean, if you can take something that doesn't exist and make it look like it's got a soul, that's art. It's just frustrating when people just think it's like, oh, it's easy.
How are you sitting with the idea of directing another Transformers movie?
Let's see how this one does. I've got a lot of ideas for the next one. There's a lot of really cool, big robot stuff that I had in my head that we didn't do. I just want to see how this works. You might not grow as much as a director [to do a sequel]. But it's kind of like you have your baby and you don't want someone else to take it.
So, hypothetically, if you were to take on a Transformers sequel, would it be your next film?
I don't know if it would be ready. It just takes so long to do a script. A couple things are on the horizon, but [maybe] I'll do my little movie that I can knock out, because we all think we're going to have a strike.
What is it?
Pain and Gain. It's a true story, happened in Florida. Just love the characters. It's these guys who work at a gym, and nothing's good enough. They're all looking for the American Dream, and they end up kidnapping. It's like a mixture of Fargo and Pulp Fiction, but it's all true. And they're knuckleheads. The whole point is no one's happy with what they've got. It's a fun character piece. No action. One car crash.
Maybe that woman from the Hollywood Foreign Press will be satisfied.
[Laughs] I don't know! If I shot in the south of France, maybe she would!
You Might Also Like
- Movie News Michael Bay doing ''Ouija'' movie
- Movie News Bay in talks to develop ''Rosemary's Baby'' redo
- NEWS ROUNDUP Writers set for Bay's ''Friday the 13th'' | Mike Bruno
- News Roundup Eva Mendes joins ''Spirit'' cast | Dawnie Walton
