Michael Bay: "As a director, my critical eye is that Blu-ray is where my money is" - Blu-ray Forum

Tekman · 10-23-2007, 02:52 AM

usatoday.com/life/movies/dvd/2007-10-22-transformers-bay_N.htm

By Mike Snider, USA TODAY
Most directors diplomatically go to bat for DVDs of their films. Filmmaker Michael Bay (Armageddon, Bad Boys, The Rock) is just as likely to drop verbal bombs while talking about his DVDs as when he is directing.
Bay's take on the new Transformers DVD, which has sold 8.3 million copies since its release last week: "It's a good DVD. But not as good as it could have been," he says. That sales total made Transformers the year's fastest-selling DVD in North America, according to Paramount Home Entertainment.

Despite setting a record, Bay, 42, says a hectic studio schedule prevented him from being as personally involved in the DVD as he was back in the days of Pearl Harbor. His 2002 four-disc director's cut of that film set the standard for buffed-up special editions.

"I was traveling promoting (Transformers) while they were doing the DVD," he says. "You try to guide people as to what to do (in making it), but ultimately if you rush your date, you are not going to get the DVD as good as it could be. … Studios want to pump this stuff out, and my job is to care about it and try to put the right people on it. They just see it as a show they are selling, and I see it as a movie. That's how your movie lives on, in the DVD format."

An aspect of the DVD that Bay says he personally fought for was having the film be on a disc by itself, with just a commentary. He won that battle in the $20 single-disc version that hit shelves last week along with a deluxe, two-disc $40 version.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: DVD | DVDS | Dreamworks | Steven Spielberg | Paramount | Bay | Filmmaker | Blu | Hasbro | Transformers | Michael Bay | Transformer
The two-disc set has many bonus features:

•Producer Steven Spielberg talks about wooing Bay to direct. "Michael Bay was born to direct Transformers," he says on the DVD. "He was the perfect fit for this concept."

Early on, Spielberg knew that he had made a good choice. "Michael staged huge, logistically complicated scenes of massive destruction and explosions, and even when I was watching those dailies without the actual Transformers there, it was just eye candy," he says.

•Also covered in the filmmaking extras are Bay's dealings with the military, toy company Hasbro and General Motors, which supplied many of the vehicles. An Easter egg on the DVD is a "Bay Bot," a Transformer robot with Bay's face. "(Hasbro) made that for me, but I didn't know it was going to be on the DVD," Bay says.

•An anatomy of a scene details how Bay and the crew created the desert attack by the scorpion-like Skorponok. Filming that scene early on convinced Bay that the Transformers movie could work. "As soon as I saw how violent and vicious it was and we added a rough visual effect to it, I said, 'Oh my, I get it,' " he says.

Transformers is the first major film to arrive on HD DVD ($40) since partners Paramount and DreamWorks joined that side of the high-definition video disc format war. Universal also makes its films available exclusively on HD DVD. Sony, Disney and Fox support rival Blu-ray Disc, while Warner releases on both formats.

Bay caused a brouhaha on his blog (michaelbay.com) by voicing his displeasure that Transformers would not be available on Blu-ray and that he was rethinking his plan to direct a sequel. The next day he backpedaled, but he is still upset about the format war.

"It's short-sighted and it has delayed consumers' moving to HD (home video)," he says. "As a director, my critical eye is that Blu-ray is where my money is. Consumers are smart, and they are going to wait it out."

The HD DVD version also set a new mark. Its 190,000 copies sold is the best debut of any high-def disc.

Bay expects the cast to return for Transformers 2, which is targeted for June 25, 2009. The first film's take recently surpassed $700 million worldwide, and it has reached No. 18 on the all-time U.S. box office chart and No. 28 internationally.

"It just caught on in our culture, and I am excited to do the second one," he says. "There are so many different and innovative ways you could have fun with this movie."

spam.curitiba · 10-23-2007, 02:54 AM

lol

Banjo · 10-23-2007, 02:56 AM

*phone ringing*

Michael Bay: Hello, this is Michael Bay and who is this?"

Paramount Exec: I just saw the article. I thought we had this settled in our little talk a couple months ago?

Michael Bay: Oh... that small talk. I better call USA Today and request they print a correction.

ACD · 10-23-2007, 02:57 AM

From USA Today

Quote:

Bay caused a brouhaha on his blog (michaelbay.com) by voicing his displeasure that Transformers would not be available on Blu-ray and that he was rethinking his plan to direct a sequel. The next day he backpedaled, but he is still upset about the format war.

"It's short-sighted and it has delayed consumers' moving to HD (home video)," he says. "As a director, my critical eye is that Blu-ray is where my money is. Consumers are smart, and they are going to wait it out."

I guess he really does like Blu-ray more. Interesting timing of the article with the release of the Transformer sales figures today....

evo_dadi · 10-23-2007, 02:58 AM

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=20865

reiella · 10-23-2007, 02:58 AM

I'm really not happy with the DVD myself. I watch it and get grumbly and angry right now. I'm not accustomed to seeing films look that much better at the theatre anymore

.

joeorc · 10-23-2007, 02:59 AM

once again..."pay me MONEY HD DVD backers" ....

OR I WILL KEEP SAYING + THINGS ABOUT Blu-Ray....

,this is too funny even Bay knows that Paramount screwed itself and the STUDIO of more MONEY by not releaseing on Blu-RAY and thus showing which HD FORMAT would once again sell more copy's of the movie just like (the 300) .

keep at it i say good for MB

ACD · 10-23-2007, 02:59 AM

Yeah, it was posted while I was writing mine.

Beta-guy · 10-23-2007, 03:02 AM

Isn't Micheal Bay the one who said he was upset about paramount going HD-DVD exlcusive then took it back the next day? sorry but for me I don't think this means much.

gamer4eva · 10-23-2007, 03:03 AM

Paramount probably told him to keep quite until after transformers was released on HD-DUD and if ne1 remembers b4 when paramount went hd only he expressed his anger but the next day he changed his statement now he's back saying blu-ray is better i guess every1 wants their product to be displayed in the best way possible and he's one of them

Banjo · 10-23-2007, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beta-guy

Isn't Micheal Bay the one who said he was upset about paramount going HD-DVD exlcusive then took it back the next day? sorry but for me I don't think this means much.

Yes, that's right. He did.

WickyWoo · 10-23-2007, 03:05 AM

wonder how much trouble he'll get in for this one

joeorc · 10-23-2007, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banjo

Yes, that's right. He did.

but we also know getting bank accounts fat with money is not out of the Q: for Companies to keep directors HAPPY..i guess it works on some Directors...

,heck it even works on SOME MOVIE studios to HELP YOUR FORMAT gain support

blitz6speed · 10-23-2007, 03:11 AM

He is just doing it so he can demand more $$$ From paramount again, what a douche.

WickyWoo · 10-23-2007, 03:18 AM

No he's not

Bay is a stickler for the quality of his releases. He fought for Pearl Harbor to only be released widescreen (they compromised on a 16:9 crop for the VHS)

He refuses to use Super35 because of the resolving power of anamorphic, and shoots his plates VistaVision for SFX

He's worked with, and insisted on Criterion for several of his films because he wanted them to be their best.

Action is Bay, and quality home releases are also Bay. It is 100% in his MO to be a Blu-only backer

u_nick · 10-23-2007, 03:23 AM

Good for him for sticking to his guns.

It was obvious to all of us he liked Blu from the beginning. The 'day after' backpedaling was obvious Paramount calling him up and slapping him on the hand holding a contract in his face and telling him to shut up. It was never HIM apologizing for what he said. I always believed that.

Here, he cleverly throws in that Bluray is his ultimate choice, while talking about the hi-def war in general, and not specifically mentioning Transformers on HD or even bashing HD in the process.

Blu As Hell · 10-23-2007, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

No he's not

Bay is a stickler for the quality of his releases. He fought for Pearl Harbor to only be released widescreen (they compromised on a 16:9 crop for the VHS)

He refuses to use Super35 because of the resolving power of anamorphic, and shoots his plates VistaVision for SFX

He's worked with, and insisted on Criterion for several of his films because he wanted them to be their best.

Action is Bay, and quality home releases are also Bay. It is 100% in his MO to be a Blu-only backer

I agree totally. I think his first initial reaction to Paramount/Dreamworks decision was and is his true feeling on the situation. Now of course Paramount more than likely made him retract that statement and he complied because Hollywood is more about politics and hidden agendas than the art of filmmaking, so to keep everything smooth sailing he went along with the studio.

bdrex28 · 10-23-2007, 03:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

wonder how much trouble he'll get in for this one

I doubt much, Paramount got their movie on HD-DVD so he probably feels he can say what he wants as they got their sales.

blitz6speed · 10-23-2007, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

No he's not

Bay is a stickler for the quality of his releases. He fought for Pearl Harbor to only be released widescreen (they compromised on a 16:9 crop for the VHS)

He refuses to use Super35 because of the resolving power of anamorphic, and shoots his plates VistaVision for SFX

He's worked with, and insisted on Criterion for several of his films because he wanted them to be their best.

Action is Bay, and quality home releases are also Bay. It is 100% in his MO to be a Blu-only backer

Thats all nice info, but still doesnt change the fact that he back-tracked against BD earlier this year, AND hasnt forced the studio to release the movie on BD. All talk.

kknight · 10-23-2007, 03:37 AM

I don't mind waiting it out on Blu-ray, I can foresee it having better PQ then what I've seen now for HD-DVD. Then you got the lossless audio

10-23-2007, 02:52 AM	#1
Tekman Active Member Member since:Apr 2007	Michael Bay: "As a director, my critical eye is that Blu-ray is where my money is" usatoday.com/life/movies/dvd/2007-10-22-transformers-bay_N.htm By Mike Snider, USA TODAY Most directors diplomatically go to bat for DVDs of their films. Filmmaker Michael Bay (Armageddon, Bad Boys, The Rock) is just as likely to drop verbal bombs while talking about his DVDs as when he is directing. Bay's take on the new Transformers DVD, which has sold 8.3 million copies since its release last week: "It's a good DVD. But not as good as it could have been," he says. That sales total made Transformers the year's fastest-selling DVD in North America, according to Paramount Home Entertainment. Despite setting a record, Bay, 42, says a hectic studio schedule prevented him from being as personally involved in the DVD as he was back in the days of Pearl Harbor. His 2002 four-disc director's cut of that film set the standard for buffed-up special editions. "I was traveling promoting (Transformers) while they were doing the DVD," he says. "You try to guide people as to what to do (in making it), but ultimately if you rush your date, you are not going to get the DVD as good as it could be. … Studios want to pump this stuff out, and my job is to care about it and try to put the right people on it. They just see it as a show they are selling, and I see it as a movie. That's how your movie lives on, in the DVD format." An aspect of the DVD that Bay says he personally fought for was having the film be on a disc by itself, with just a commentary. He won that battle in the $20 single-disc version that hit shelves last week along with a deluxe, two-disc $40 version. FIND MORE STORIES IN: DVD \| DVDS \| Dreamworks \| Steven Spielberg \| Paramount \| Bay \| Filmmaker \| Blu \| Hasbro \| Transformers \| Michael Bay \| Transformer The two-disc set has many bonus features: •Producer Steven Spielberg talks about wooing Bay to direct. "Michael Bay was born to direct Transformers," he says on the DVD. "He was the perfect fit for this concept." Early on, Spielberg knew that he had made a good choice. "Michael staged huge, logistically complicated scenes of massive destruction and explosions, and even when I was watching those dailies without the actual Transformers there, it was just eye candy," he says. •Also covered in the filmmaking extras are Bay's dealings with the military, toy company Hasbro and General Motors, which supplied many of the vehicles. An Easter egg on the DVD is a "Bay Bot," a Transformer robot with Bay's face. "(Hasbro) made that for me, but I didn't know it was going to be on the DVD," Bay says. •An anatomy of a scene details how Bay and the crew created the desert attack by the scorpion-like Skorponok. Filming that scene early on convinced Bay that the Transformers movie could work. "As soon as I saw how violent and vicious it was and we added a rough visual effect to it, I said, 'Oh my, I get it,' " he says. Transformers is the first major film to arrive on HD DVD ($40) since partners Paramount and DreamWorks joined that side of the high-definition video disc format war. Universal also makes its films available exclusively on HD DVD. Sony, Disney and Fox support rival Blu-ray Disc, while Warner releases on both formats. Bay caused a brouhaha on his blog (michaelbay.com) by voicing his displeasure that Transformers would not be available on Blu-ray and that he was rethinking his plan to direct a sequel. The next day he backpedaled, but he is still upset about the format war. "It's short-sighted and it has delayed consumers' moving to HD (home video)," he says. "As a director, my critical eye is that Blu-ray is where my money is. Consumers are smart, and they are going to wait it out." The HD DVD version also set a new mark. Its 190,000 copies sold is the best debut of any high-def disc. Bay expects the cast to return for Transformers 2, which is targeted for June 25, 2009. The first film's take recently surpassed $700 million worldwide, and it has reached No. 18 on the all-time U.S. box office chart and No. 28 internationally. "It just caught on in our culture, and I am excited to do the second one," he says. "There are so many different and innovative ways you could have fun with this movie."

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10-23-2007, 02:54 AM	#2
spam.curitiba Expert Member Member since:Jul 2007 Blu-ray collection:172 Blu-ray reviews:2	lol

10-23-2007, 02:56 AM	#3
Banjo Blu-ray Guru Member since:Dec 2006 Location:Ontario, Canada Blu-ray collection:143	phone ringing Michael Bay: Hello, this is Michael Bay and who is this?" Paramount Exec: I just saw the article. I thought we had this settled in our little talk a couple months ago? Michael Bay: Oh... that small talk. I better call USA Today and request they print a correction.

10-23-2007, 02:58 AM	#5
evo_dadi Expert Member Member since:Aug 2007 Location:watsonville,cali Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray collection:142 Trading Score:50	https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=20865

10-23-2007, 02:58 AM	#6
reiella Blu-ray Guru Member since:Dec 2006 Home Theater Gallery:1 Blu-ray collection:237 DVD collection:1	I'm really not happy with the DVD myself. I watch it and get grumbly and angry right now. I'm not accustomed to seeing films look that much better at the theatre anymore .

10-23-2007, 02:59 AM	#7
joeorc Power Member Member since:Jan 2007 Location:GROVEPORT ,OHIO	once again..."pay me MONEY HD DVD backers" .... OR I WILL KEEP SAYING + THINGS ABOUT Blu-Ray.... ,this is too funny even Bay knows that Paramount screwed itself and the STUDIO of more MONEY by not releaseing on Blu-RAY and thus showing which HD FORMAT would once again sell more copy's of the movie just like (the 300) . keep at it i say good for MB

10-23-2007, 02:59 AM	#8
ACD Active Member Member since:Jun 2007 4K collection:39 Blu-ray collection:324	Yeah, it was posted while I was writing mine.

10-23-2007, 03:02 AM	#9
Beta-guy Expert Member Member since:Jul 2007 Blu-ray collection:23 Blu-ray reviews:1	Isn't Micheal Bay the one who said he was upset about paramount going HD-DVD exlcusive then took it back the next day? sorry but for me I don't think this means much.

10-23-2007, 03:03 AM	#10
gamer4eva Special Member Member since:Apr 2007 Location:Sydney, Australia Blu-ray collection:64 Blu-ray reviews:18	Paramount probably told him to keep quite until after transformers was released on HD-DUD and if ne1 remembers b4 when paramount went hd only he expressed his anger but the next day he changed his statement now he's back saying blu-ray is better i guess every1 wants their product to be displayed in the best way possible and he's one of them

10-23-2007, 03:05 AM	#12
WickyWoo Blu-ray Champion Member since:May 2007 Trading Score:2	wonder how much trouble he'll get in for this one

10-23-2007, 03:11 AM	#14
blitz6speed Blu-ray Guru Member since:Oct 2006 Location:Anaheim Hills, CA Trading Score:8	He is just doing it so he can demand more $$$ From paramount again, what a douche.

10-23-2007, 03:18 AM	#15
WickyWoo Blu-ray Champion Member since:May 2007 Trading Score:2	No he's not Bay is a stickler for the quality of his releases. He fought for Pearl Harbor to only be released widescreen (they compromised on a 16:9 crop for the VHS) He refuses to use Super35 because of the resolving power of anamorphic, and shoots his plates VistaVision for SFX He's worked with, and insisted on Criterion for several of his films because he wanted them to be their best. Action is Bay, and quality home releases are also Bay. It is 100% in his MO to be a Blu-only backer

10-23-2007, 03:23 AM	#16
u_nick Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jan 2007 Location:CT, US Trading Score:27	Good for him for sticking to his guns. It was obvious to all of us he liked Blu from the beginning. The 'day after' backpedaling was obvious Paramount calling him up and slapping him on the hand holding a contract in his face and telling him to shut up. It was never HIM apologizing for what he said. I always believed that. Here, he cleverly throws in that Bluray is his ultimate choice, while talking about the hi-def war in general, and not specifically mentioning Transformers on HD or even bashing HD in the process.

10-23-2007, 03:37 AM	#20
kknight Senior Member Member since:Jan 2007 Location:Minnesota Blu-ray reviews:55	I don't mind waiting it out on Blu-ray, I can foresee it having better PQ then what I've seen now for HD-DVD. Then you got the lossless audio

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