A Newfound Respect for Michael Bay
No, this has nothing to do with the recent release of that YouTube clip featuring Optimus Prime fighting another robot on a highway. (Although I will admit it was cooler than anything Transformers related thus far) Actually, my newfound respect for Michael Bay comes from an appearance on last nights episode of On the Lot. I’m not going to assume you watched it seeing as the ratings are apparently in the dumps and the show seems to be taking a less inspired ‘American Idol’ direction. But i’m sure that those of you who did tune in were surprised to see Bay sitting in as a guest judge on the show. An obvious piece of marketing, seeing as both On the Lot and Transformers are produced by Steven Speilberg. Either way, when it came time to judge the contestants films, Bay finally brought the cold hard truth that this show deserves. Consistently pointing out the lack of style, (something he obviously finds important in his films) Bay even referred to one of the short movies as a ‘groaner’, in which the audience is laughing AT the film rather than with it. OUCH. Just watching Bay sit there in his leather jacket and long hair made me realize how much of a rock star this guy is, and although it’s compeltely ridiculous, it worked on the show. He looked like he didn’t give a fuck about anything other than cutting through the bullshit and telling it like it is. In fact, I was just waiting for him to stand up and say ‘Fuck this shit, i’m outta here’, pop his collar, run a comb through his hair and storm off stage. So whether or not Transformers shakes the pillars of heaven is yet to be seen, but if by any small chance (or big chance) that this film totally BLOWS, perhaps Bay has a future as the next Simon Cowell?
Comments (5)
o_O!
_>. . .who are you and what happened to aspiring filmmaker and occasional sense of reason Jay Cheel?
Posted by Dave on June 6th, 2007Somebody has to step up and youtube this. I would love to see it. Seriously a leather jacket? I need this
Posted by Henrik on June 6th, 2007Don’t worry Dave, my newfound respect doesn’t fall too far outside of the realm of reality television judge. (Although I did like The Rock)
Posted by Jay C. on June 6th, 2007That’s good if somebody is telling it like it is on that show. I watched the first few eps but found it kind of uninspired (probably because it’s a reality TV show). Bay might be a one trick hyper stylized Mountan Dew commercial director but I’d imagine he is qualified to comment on what might be technically wrong, bad, or bland about amatuer work. It’s a good thing since that’s how people will improve with a little tough criticism.
Posted by Ian on June 6th, 2007Leave a Reply