Top 44 Quotes & Sayings by Michael Bay

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American director Michael Bay.
Last updated on November 23, 2024.
Michael Bay

Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget, high-concept action films characterized by fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special effects, including frequent depictions of explosions. The films he has produced and directed, which include Armageddon (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001) and the Transformers film series (2007–present), have grossed over US$7.8 billion worldwide, making him one of the most commercially successful directors in history.

Directing is not a job. It's more like a career. Which is great!
The press don't like to say nice things because nice is boring. It's much better to label me the devil. What we do is not brain surgery. We are entertainers, plain and simple, and we're responsible to bring that money back, to make a profit.
We don't make movies for critics. I've done four movies; there's millions upon millions upon millions of people who've paid to see them. Somebody likes them. My greatest joy is to sit anonymously in a dark theater and watch it with an audience, a paying audience.
What I look for in a script is something that challenges me, something that breaks new ground, something that allows me to flex my director muscle. You have got to think fast in this business, you've got to keep reinventing yourself to stay on top.
I'm at that point in my life where I definitely want to get married soon. I've got my dogs as surrogates, but I'm ready for kids. — © Michael Bay
I'm at that point in my life where I definitely want to get married soon. I've got my dogs as surrogates, but I'm ready for kids.
For me, the great joy is to watch an audience watching what I've made. To hear not a peep from the audience at the right moment, and then to hear the laughs and the cheers.
I'm one of the few directors that actually shoots a lot in camera.
There are things that I invented - the creaky geriatric robot that is always grumpy, for example, or the little wheelie guy, he's not in the Hasbro lore. But kids love that stuff - this little guy as a pet on a chain. They gravitate towards it.
There are many movies that have done it very badly. The studios have gone for quick profits and audiences are feeling angry. People aren't taking the time and spending the money to do it right. I am.
Do you know what directors go through? It's just hell. Like, why do I work so hard - to think I'm only going to see this movie five times and then never see it again 'cause I'm so sick of it? What is it worth, honestly?
I make movies that audiences like, that I'd want to see. That's all.
Everybody knows about Pearl Harbor. The thing that really fascinated me is that through this tragedy there was this amazing American heroism.
It's great that I get accused of not being politically correct. People need to take themselves less seriously. This world is so screwed up as it is, we've all got to relax a bit more.
I allow a lot of room for improvisation and funny stuff. I always feel planned.
A lot of directors don't want the pressure of a movie the size of Pearl Harbor. But I love it. I thrive on it. — © Michael Bay
A lot of directors don't want the pressure of a movie the size of Pearl Harbor. But I love it. I thrive on it.
I look at directing as a sporting event. It's a race, a marathon. It's great when it clicks, which is why I push my crews so hard so we can excel.
You'll hear people say now, 'Oh, I don't want to see something in 3-D. That's wrong, because what they've seen is 3-D done poorly.
It is really cool to have created a movie that has turned out to become the biggest movie of the year.
I go out there to win. People don't care if you die in this business. The only way I get back is with success.
I make movies for teenage boys. Oh dear, what a crime.
I can be very reserved about things. My business side isn't shy. I can be like a general. But I've got a shy side. I'm also a lot deeper than people think, and a lot more sensitive. But I don't let people in too much.'
Fast cars are my only vice.
I love doing big movies. It's awesome! You have all these toys. The thing I like about this movie is, like they always say, directors have the biggest train sets! Don't tell anyone, but I'd do this for free.
Maybe I have just a younger voice than many other directors.
It's... a hard thing for a director, to think you came up with a shot, something from your mind, and someone died while doing it. It's the worst thing you'll ever have to live with. It was very hard for me to get back on the horse again.
Nobody in the world knew about Megan Fox until I found her and put her in 'Transformers.' I like to think that I've had some luck in building actors' careers with my films.
I'm done with effects movies for now. When you do a movie like 'Transformers', it can feel like you're doing three movies at once - which is tiring.
And a lot of the artists and people that we hired were fans of Transformers growing up, so having so many fans working on my crew really kept me on point.
I don't ever want to do a movie where you shoot it on a motion capture stage. I just don't like taking the reality out of it. I like being on the set in real environments. I don't like shooting on green screen. I think it gives the actors so much more to play with when there's real stuff happening on the set.
Its... a hard thing for a director, to think you came up with a shot, something from your mind, and someone died while doing it. Its the worst thing youll ever have to live with. It was very hard for me to get back on the horse again.
A car is a big thing for anyone going into adulthood, it's a big seminal moment.
When you're fast when you're shooting, there are great things that you discover. By being fast you also sometimes get more time to experiment. — © Michael Bay
When you're fast when you're shooting, there are great things that you discover. By being fast you also sometimes get more time to experiment.
Why isn't everything exploding?!
I filmed my first little Super 8 movie by stealing my mum's Super 8 camera where I set some fires to some of the models, which actually caught the drapes of my bedroom on fire! The fire department came. I was grounded for three weeks and it was my very first movie.
Hollywood has to start finding more original stuff They've got to start by not depending on, 'What can we churn back out? How can we regurgitate this?' That's why I want to redo the feel of Transformers. That's why I wanted to start with a new cast. You want it to feel fresh, and you want to make it feel different than the other three.
Im at that point in my life where I definitely want to get married soon. Ive got my dogs as surrogates, but Im ready for kids.
I don't change my style for anybody. Pussies do that.
I make movies for teenage boys. Oh, dear, what a crime.
I'm done with effects movies for now. When you do a movie like 'Transformers,' it can feel like you're doing three movies at once - which is tiring.
What I look for in a script is something that challenges me, something that breaks new ground, something that allows me to flex my director muscle. You have got to think fast in this business, youve got to keep reinventing yourself to stay on top.
You get the most 3D effect when it starts about three to four seconds, that's when it starts feeling 3D. And then what you do, quick shots are always flat.
Some nights I sleep like a baby. Other nights it's, Oh God, I just came up with a bomb shot. — © Michael Bay
Some nights I sleep like a baby. Other nights it's, Oh God, I just came up with a bomb shot.
I was talking to one of the writers about our target audience, and he was insulted that I used that term. But if you're given $60 million to make a film, you'd better know who your target audience is. That's who's going to pay back the bills you run up.
I like to have an active set and a fun set. I keep my days to a decent hour; I don't go overtime. Do I beat people up? I beat people up in that they know I like to shoot fast. And they know I like to be efficient. And that I like to leapfrog.
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