michael bay

Michael Bay Hands 'I am Number Four' to D.J. Caruso

Jan 20th 2010 5:55PM By: Peter Hall

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Last June the all-around Baytastic Michael Bay became attached as both a producer and director to a new DreamWorks project called I Am Number Four based off an unpublished book by James Frey and Joby Hughes. No one's read the book yet, but it's general description as the story of an alien who seeks refuge from his planet's enemy by posing as a human high school student seemed better suited to the likes of Shawn "Night at the Museum" Levy than Michael "I Blow Everything Up" Bay. So it's of little surprise that the Hollywood Reporter tells us that the studio has gone with another recent collaborator in place of the always busy Bay: Eagle Eye's D.J. Caruso.

Bay will remain on the picture as a producer, but it'll be Caruso who is calling the shots from a script written by Smallville creators Al Gough and Miles Millar. And if you're wondering why the name James Frey sounds so familiar, he's the stand up chap who made headlines in 2006 when his memories about crack addiction, A Million Little Pieces, were revealed by The Smoking Gun to be more than a little fictitious.

I guess I won't hold that against Frey seeing as he's made the move to full-blown fiction, but I suspect that DreamWorks and company will play up the "Written by the guys who brought you that fun Superman show" angle over the "Based on a new book by that guy who lied to everyone" approach. Frey and Hughes planned I am Number Four to be the first in a six-part series, though it's unclear at this point if the film version encompasses the first book of aliens-in-high-school or beyond.

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'Transformers 3' to Have Less Action, More Emotion?

Nov 2nd 2009 11:45AM By: Erik Davis

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I haven't had a chance to check out the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen DVD, so I'm not exactly sure where you find this particular hidden video (instructions are on YouTube), but apparently it does exist and in it Michael Bay talks about his plans for Transformers 3 ... though he does claim to be "lying" about it all, so who knows what's real and what's fake. In the video, Bay admits that it'd be tough to top the big-budgeted action from the second movie, so he thinks they have to go sideways instead of bigger by having less action and more emotion.

Bay says, "I think more has to be made of Bumblebee in the third one. That's a definite, because that's a relationship you want to explore more. And I think we're definitely going to get more into the robot characters. This movie got very big, very grand, and we covered a lot of ground. In the third one it doesn't have to be as big. We could go darker; it definitely has to be more emotional ... and it's not just going to be about action, action, action."

Watch the rest of the secret hidden Transformers 3 video after the jump. What do you want to see from Transformers 3? Would you be satisfied with less action and more emotional character nonsense?

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Alien Watch: 32 New Planets Discovered

Oct 20th 2009 2:15PM By: Erik Davis

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If you're like me, you wake up every day with one thought on your mind: Is today the day when aliens will finally attack Earth? Because you know it's coming eventually, especially if Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich continue to make movies -- so what's the real deal, then? How close are we to discovering life on another planet? And I don't mean ice crystals, or whatever the hell they look for these days. Who gets excited over an ice crystal on Jupiter's moon? Nah, we want actual aliens who fly spaceships and shoot lasers ... right?

Well, good news for you space freaks is that 32 new planets have been discovered in outside our solar system. 32 freaking planets! News about the new planets was recently announced at a conference in Portugal, and according to Wired, several of the newly discovered planets are what they call 'super-Earths', which means they have a mass only a few times that of our planet and could potentially contain Earth-like environments. From Nature.com: "... the planets may not be the biggest, fattest, smallest or Earthiest, but they show that the chances of us finding Earth-like planets are pretty high."

So ... what are you naming your alien baby?

[via NPR]

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Megan Fox to be Killed in 'Transformers 3'?

Oct 12th 2009 10:33AM By: Erik Davis

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Though it's still early and a script hasn't even been written yet, early reports online claim Michael Bay may want to kill off Megan Fox's character in Transformers 3 within the first 15 minutes of screen time. Sources for In Touch Weekly (via popcrunch) say that Bay is "considering writing Megan out of the series in a gory death scene in the first few frames of Transformers 3 and replacing with another gorgeous young actress." They go on to add (from their source): "Michael's pretty much discovered Megan and now he's very quietly looking for her replacement. He hasn't decided if he's going to kill her off in the next movie, but he just wants to be prepared."

To me this sounds like complete and utter nonsense, which may in fact be more spin from Bay's camp, or just something someone randomly made up in order to get more traffic to their site. Amidst Bay and Fox's recent verbal boxing match, I can see how the director may have joked about killing her off in the first scene, though the studio knows how important she is to the franchise and I can't see them agreeing to a move like that since they won't have the obligatory 47 still images of Fox to send out in advance of the film's release. Instead, look for Bay to get his revenge by sticking her in even more obscene outfits while making her bend over in every scene.

Then again, I wouldn't be against a gory Megan Fox death scene in the opening moments. Knowing that was coming might just get me to watch the third installment. You?

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'Transformers 3' is On!

Oct 1st 2009 12:24PM By: Erik Davis

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From Cinematical:

Over on his official blog, Michael Bay has announced that Transformers 3 will arrive in theaters on July 1st, 2011, not 2012 as others (including Bay) had speculated. Originally Bay had wanted to take some time off from Transformers to shoot a smaller film called Pain and Gain, though someone or something (a giant pile of money, perhaps?) convinced him to instead bang out a third Transformers movie and then move on to his passion project. Bay says that today is Day One on Transformers 3 pre-production, and it started with a five-hour meeting at ILM in San Francisco and will continue as Bay flies to Rhode Island with screenwriter Ehren Kruger to meet with Hasbro and discuss new characters.

As far as Megan Fox and their War of Words is concerned, Bay had the following message for her: "P.S. Megan Fox, welcome back. I promise no alien robots will harm you in any way during the production of this motion picture. Please consult your Physician when working under my direction because some side effects can occur, such as mild dizziness, intense nausea, suicidal tendencies, depression, minor chest hair growth, random internal hemorrhaging and inability to sleep. As some directors may be hazardous to your health, please consult your Doctor to determine if this is right for you."

So it looks like the whole gang will be back for another go-round. What do you think? Can Bay and Co. possibly make the third installment any bigger than the first and second? You think we'll get Transformers 3D? Sound off below ...

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Does 'G.I. Joe' Deserve the Bad Buzz?

Jul 30th 2009 3:02PM By: Sci-Fi Squad Staff

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(For awhile now, folks have been hammering into G.I. Joe without much proof that it was actually a very bad film. Sure, the trailers revealed a dorky action flick, but how is it different from any other mindless summer popcorn flick? Over at Cinematical, Eugene Novikov analyzes the bad buzz and tries to determine whether or not it's justified.)

One of the most mystifying things about the summer of 2009 has been how, months ago and without any actual information to go on, it became gospel that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra was going to be a ridiculous train wreck. This is especially bewildering in light of the moderate-to-positive buzz that preceded the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, also for no apparent reason. Who decided that G.I. Joe would be terrible? When? Why?

I have, as they say, no robotically enhanced dog in this hunt. I certainly do not expect G.I. Joe to be any sort of season's highlight. I don't have any specific expectations for it, to be honest. But here's the information I have: this is a summer action movie directed by Stephen Sommers, whose last three blockbusters have ranged from tolerable mediocrity to delirious fun. Its cast includes character actors like Christopher Eccleston and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as the arch-villain, no less). Its trailer is no more or less ridiculous than you would expect from a movie based on action figures, and actually struck me as lighter on its feet than other recent tentpoles. Why it's fated to be the summer's biggest disaster escapes me entirely.

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Megan Fox's 'Transformers' Audition Tape

Jul 7th 2009 10:58AM By: Erik Davis

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With Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen approaching the $600 million mark at the box office, making it the second film behind The Dark Knight to do so this fast, we thought it might be fun to take a look back at how this all began. Obviously we're already well aware of the ongoing feud-of-sorts between Michael Bay and Megan Fox following a little he said/she said full of fun, moronic quotes (get caught up here and here).

Now, though, Page Six tells us just how Megan Fox nabbed the role in the first place. According to them, when Michael Bay auditioned her for the first Transformers, he actually made her wash his Ferrari while he filmed the whole thing. Yup. She washed his car. His Ferrari. While he filmed her. And that's how she got the role in Transformers. If you need anymore proof of just how perverted Hollywood is sometimes, look no further than Mr. Michael Bay. Oh, but it gets better ...

Apparently this video exists somewhere, though no one knows where it is. (Um, have you checked Bay's sock drawer?) Fox says she doesn't know what happened to the footage, and when Page Six asked Bay, he said he didn't know what happened to it either. Me wonders whether there was something a little more ... hmmm ... erotic on that tape? Maybe it's stuck between the cushions of Bay's casting couch? What do you think?

Megan Fox Photos

    US MAGAZINES-PLEASE REPORT USAGE Megan Fox sighting on March 10, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Celebrity Sightings In Los Angeles - March 10, 2009 Los Angeles, CA United States March 10, 2009 Photo by David Aguilera/FilmMagic.com To license this image (16600320), contact FilmMagic.com

    David Aguilera/BuzzFoto/FilmMagic.com

    Megan Fox arrives at the 17th annual MTV Movie Awards held at the Gibson Amphitheatre on June 1, 2008, in Universal City, California.

    Frank Micelotta, Getty Images

    Megan Fox walking in the lobby at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.

    Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com

    Megan Fox walking in the lobby at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.

    Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com

    Megan Fox walking in the lobby at the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.

    Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage.com

    Actress Megan Fox arrives at the InStyle/Warner Bros. after party for the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.

    Lester Cohen/WireImage.com

    Actresses Vanessa Hudgens and Megan Fox arrive at the InStyle/Warner Bros. after party for the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.

    Lester Cohen/WireImage.com

    Actresses Vanessa Hudgens and Megan Fox arrive at the InStyle/Warner Bros. after party for the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.

    Lester Cohen/WireImage.com

    Actress Megan Fox attends the official HBO after party for the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at Circa 55 Restaurant, Poolside at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.

    Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com

    Actress Megan Fox attends the official HBO after party for the 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards held at Circa 55 Restaurant, Poolside at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 11, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California.

    Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic.com

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Michael Bay's Next Film Could Be ...

Jun 26th 2009 3:56PM By: Erik Davis

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With Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen absolutely demolishing the box office this week (it took in another $28 million on Thursday), Variety reports that DreamWorks is looking to pick up the film rights to the first book in an as-yet-unpublished six-book series for Michael Bay to produce and potentially direct. The book, titled I Am Number Four, tells of a group of earthbound alien teens who escaped their planet just as another hostile species was destroying it. Now, as they attempt to settle in and build new lives for themselves on earth, the main character discovers that he is being hunted by the same enemy that blew up his home planet.

The most surprising aspect of this whole thing is that while the book was being shopped around under a pseudonym, sources are saying that James Frey (the controversial author behind A Million Little Pieces) is one of the writers. (Hey, at least this time they're coming right out and saying it's a work of fiction.) Like Transformers, this deal puts Michael Bay back in business with Steven Spielberg, and the latter will most likely operate as an executive producer (or take on a "godfather role", as Variety calls it). I'd be curious to learn more about the series, as well as whether Bay directing could delay (or even squash) a potential third Transformers movie.

Discuss: Is it just me, or does the whole teenage aliens on earth in high school feel a little too Twilight-ish for the hardcore genre fan?

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'Transformers 2': Bizarre, Offensive and Utterly Hilarious

Jun 26th 2009 12:45PM By: Sci-Fi Squad Staff

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By: Eugene Novikov

I wouldn't recommend actually sitting through Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to anyone. But in the abstract -- after you've been through the horrifying experience -- there are parts of the film that are so bizarre that the whole thing starts to look like the work of some sick, Andy Kaufman-esque jokester genius. And then it becomes kind of interesting. I mean, some of this stuff can't be for real... Can it?

1. Megan Fox's first appearance. See above. That is the first shot of Megan Fox in the film, as she works on a motorcycle in her family's garage while taking a call from boyfriend Shia LaBoeuf. Makes sense, right? Or do you not typically mount your motorcycle in that fashion, wearing knee-high boots and denim hot pants, to do some body work? If not, why not? Hysterical -- though I have to say that Michael Bay's leering at Fox throughout the movie eventually becomes a little uncomfortable. And if you didn't think it was possible for a director to leer at his star with the camera, Revenge of the Fallen proves you wrong.

2. The enormous Bad Boys II poster in Sam's dorm room. If it just appeared on someone's wall at a point in the film, that would be one thing -- a little arrogant, but not really notable. That's not what happens here. The poster for Bay's Bad Boys II -- presumably belonging to Sam's motormouth techie roommate -- is enormous, and fills the screen on at least two occasions. The self-regard is astounding. Has a director ever put in product placement for his other work in a movie before?

Read the rest at Cinematical

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What Did You Think of 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'

Jun 25th 2009 9:59AM By: Sci-Fi Squad Staff

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By: Elisabeth Rappe

Another week, another ginormous summer movie, and another chance for you Cinematical readers to tell us what you think in the safe, anonymous comfort of our 1-10 poll. Michael Bay's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has smashed its way into theaters today, and it's already kicking up a flurry of controversy for its questionable racial stereotypes and Bay's staunch belief in robot testicles. And you thought people would just be talking about Megan Fox on that motorcycle ...

Our own Todd Gilchrist called it "the most movie I have ever experienced" and assured fans that it was full of all the robot carnage their hearts could desire. "Michael Bay, condensing the cumulative total of the spectacle from all of his seven previous films into one unwieldy, gargantuan opus, has exceeded even the possibilities of sequel-driven "moreness," combining his own muscular, high-gloss sensibility with the conventions of blockbusters past, present, and probably future to create a monolithic action masterpiece that feels destined to be the biggest movie of all time ... Anyone wondering when and if filmmakers would stop being so damn sensitive about the necessary end result of an attack on the world's populace will no doubt be relieved to know that Michael Bay has filled Revenge of the Fallen with more wanton, meaningless destruction than any other movie in recent memory."

Head over to Cinematical to vote in our Revenge of the Fallen poll, and let us know what you thought of the film in the comments below.

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