See the thing is guys, Michael Bay is an overall good guy, but don't get in his way when he's in the zone. He's directing a multimillion dollar movie with hundreds of people on set so when it's time to get down to business you better not be goofing around on set. That creates the misunderstanding about Bay being a nasty person. And from what I've heard, a lot of actors respect that approach that he has.

 

Never said it would help the whole Brexit thing. But it's not hurting it either.

 

between ROTF and TLK, I've been on set or around the sets probably 30 or so times now. Got to meet all the actors, Bay and all the film crew. Sat in 80% of all the vehicles and even got some insider info here and there  . Was an extra in AOE and got to see many times just how Bay operates. And it really is fast and to the point! He's a take not shit kind of guy and expects everyone to be on their "A Game". That even goes for the extras on set. When he's ready to go, you best be ready or he will leave you behind lol.

 

^well in all fairness, Tj didnt really wow me with his humor in AOE...

Directing and producing is stressful work. The director wants their vision to come to life; every single detail and it has to be perfect or close to perfect. BEST believe there are a good bit of directors, producers, DPs, etc that seem to act like assholes but thats because:

1. The director NEEDS his vision as he sees it
2. The pressure is on the DP and producer to make #1 happen.
3. Complications are basically manditory for films, especially big ones. Everyone has to be controlled to fit the vision. EveryTHING has to be controlled...unforseen hiccups like crashing one of the overly expensive cars, actors having an attitude problem, and practical animatronics starting to shake due to weather conditions..happen.

Now, how rough you are to your cast and crew depends on the director as a person, and Bay is definitely on the rough side. However, this kind of thing is just common overall with anyone whos in the film business. Whether youre working in ILM, audio, or video, theres enormous pressure on each department. It just comes as part of the job.

 

They're filming a multi-million dollar film. What do you expect? They're gonna do anything they can to get that certain shot. I remember they wouldn't let Bay film next to the Lincoln memorial in D.C., but Bay found the way.

Shit, he can film in my backyard all he wants. Blow up my house, idc.

 

T.J. Miller is an annoying pain in the ass. The only time I ever found him remotely funny was his role in Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds carried that thing like a magic football all the way to the endzone and it was glorious. Miller, on the other hand, couldn't carry a movie if he tried. He's a talentless unfunny hack. Can't find a damned comb, either, it seems.

That said, Bay CAN be a douche on set. An absolute asshole and a bully, yes. I've yet to really hear anything about him being a bad person off set, though. I've heard the following: Shy, withdrawn, socially awkward, a bit weird. Those labels could be applied to any one of us. None of us should be pointing any fingers at anyone else.

 

As a resident of London I can confidently assert it hasn't impacted on my life one iota and don't give a shit.

So that's One out of 8.4 Million you can put in the "No Reaction at all" column.

 

You know, at the end of the day, or how I see it, sometimes it's probably best to separate the art and it's creator. Now, I know it's a controversial way to see things, sometimes, but if I was working with Bay in any capacity - actor, crew member - I would just keep my head down and get on with the day's work as it is.

Same case for Richard Wagner and his operas.

 

That was classic.
"Well they wouldn't let us use a tripod... so we put shoes on a tripod."

 

That's fair. lol

Bay does a lot of things that defy explanation.

Sure, it sometimes looks pretty on screen, but it makes no sense on paper. Like the massive village explosion in ROTF when the US military bombs Megatron and the Decepticlones. If I remember correctly that was a full gas tanker that was blown up to get that effect and the heat was felt pretty much across the set.

It sounds great, looks great, but someone at some point should've asked "Michael, uh.... Why is this a thing?"

 

You answered your own question.

 

My friend from action camera group works with Michael Bay for 10 years already and most of the crew too. They all appreciate what he do or at least respect it (never forget the glowing eyes of head of action camera team. He was very enthusiastic!) As Yuri said it's not easy to pick up such team and many new people can not withstand the crazy pace of filming and exactingness and at the same time capriciousness of a director. But as people here already said, it's his film and EVERY just tiny detail MUST be the same as he sees it in his genius mind. At Holborn I watched how they filmed TRF soldiers and police rushing to museum and they repeated it again and again and Michael Bay was literally gloomy as a thunderstorm cloud. At one moment he walked away from ordinary people and loud cried something to actors from extra who played TRFs, I didn't hear what he said and it really didn't sound very angry, just strict claim. But, my God, the next attempt was totally different! Cars stopped with screech, TRF popped from cars very agressive, run in leg with very determined faces, holding guns strongly, even the coattails of one agent's jacket was fluttering and it was very nice detail!

 

Well to be fair, TJ Miller was playing Lucas who pretty much got killed off pretty early in the film. (Though on a side note I actually did cheer when that happened.  )

Sounds like he's pretty determined to the job, though to be honest I can't say I don't blame him. I admit that when I get very enthusiastic about a project, I really get into it to the point even I can come off as a bit intimidating to some people. But it wasn't because I was intimidating, I just had put all my enthusiasm and focus on a goal I wanted to see to its completion.