1905 Movie Network Exclusive Interview with Director Michael Bay
Michael Bay, the explosive maniac who single-handedly created the Transformers series of movies, came to China with his new Transformers 4: Reborn, and gave an exclusive interview to the 1905 Movie Network on the sidelines of the world premiere in Hong Kong.
He may not be a master of film art, but he is definitely an outlier born under the Hollywood system, one of the most attractive directors after Steven Spielberg. He is confident enough that when it comes to the Transformers series, he will use Cameron's Avatar to make comparisons; he is also self-sufficient, and what is more enviable than the career goal of "only doing what he wants to do and is doing it this way"; and in the face of the use of Chinese elements in this film, the implantation of Chinese products and other quite topical issues, he does not shy away from it: "My films have always been made for audiences all over the world, not specifically for somewhere." Coming to China to shoot and tell stories related to China, of course, requires the implantation of brand products Chinese daily life. ”
"Filming Chinese stories implanted in Chinese brands is real, and there is no special way to please the audience of any country"
Michael Bay's "Transformers" movies have always attracted the most attention, and there has never been a shortage of controversy: "Change 4" has made a Chinese story that is said to please the Chinese market and Chinese audiences, and implants Chinese brands and is repeatedly ridiculed by the media. It is undeniable that the "Transformers" series is a very expensive and successful commercial blockbuster, and the countless new luxury cars and products that appear in the movie are naturally inseparable from the help of sponsors.
In the face of these highly topical questions, director Michael Bay uses the word "worldwide" many times: "My films are for a global audience, not specific to a country or a place." 」 At the same time, he also feels that China's product implantation is very normal: "Shooting China, the product must of course use the ones that will appear in Real Life in China." ”
Working with Mark Wahlberg again after Give and Take
1905 Movie Network: If the first three Transformers were so successful, why make another one?
Michael Bay: Because Transformers movies are what I create and that's what I've been doing. That's actually the same reason James Cameron is still working on the Avatar series, which is part of the series, and you hope to continue forever.
I thought it might stop at the third, but when Mark Wahlberg asked me after working with me on Give and Take, I thought it was a super idea, so we started working on the new Transformers 4: Reborn.
The scene in Wulong is spectacular, with Steel Locks and Optimus Prime staging the Battle of the Sinkholes
1905 Movie Network: Why did You Choose China and Hong Kong as new elements and filming locations for the film's story?
Michael Bay: When Change 3 was 2 years ago, we shot all over cities like Cairo in Egypt and the United States. Then they told me that we needed to find a place that was particularly far away from the United States. You know I've always been particularly obsessed with China, so I chose this place.
China is really beautiful, especially in Wulong, Chongqing, who deliberately closed the National Geopark for at least 2 days for the sake of our filming, and they have never closed the entire park for the Americans before. It was raining when we were shooting, but I think the raindrops fell just right from the valley, which was very interesting.
1905 Movie Network: What is it like to work with Chinese actors?
Michael Bay: Li Bingbing is great and humorous, she does very well in the movie, and she is beautiful. We also had a great time working with four other Chinese auditioned actors, each of whom had been on set for almost a day or more, and it was a fun experience to incorporate their scenes into the film.
It was a pleasure to work with Chinese actors such as Li Bingbing
1905 Movie Network: The Transformers series has a lot of product implants, such as the use of soothing milk in "Change 3", is it deliberate?
Michael Bay: No, that was brought in by Ken Jeong himself, who is a comedian, so we thought it was funny too.
1905 Movie Network: How did you arrange so many different kinds of brands in Change 4?
Michael Bay: This story takes place in China and is filmed in China, so the products we use must be brands in real life in China.
Just like the cars used in the Transformers movies, they are sponsored for free by major brands, because we can't rent them. For example, Bugatti gave us cars to make a new Autobot "crosshair"; Chevrolet asked us to redesign the Hornet to be so cool as it is now; when we shoot car chase scenes, we usually need at least 3 cars, and GIC provides some cars that we can crash and destroy during filming... It can be said that the implantation of these "products" means investing a lot of money.
1905 Movie Network: So your film doesn't really flatter the Chinese audience?
Michael Bay: No, I'm not just making movies for american or Asian audiences, I'm making movies for audiences all over the world. So I don't particularly please people in a particular country or region, my films have always been made to audiences all over the world.
Michael Bay told reporters about the filming of one of the scenes
"My goal was to do what I wanted to do, and I'm doing it now."
Leaving aside those topics and just talking about the movie itself, Michael Bett immediately is as interested as a child, and he will explain to you in a slightly proud detail how a certain picture was made, and how the theme song of the movie was written. He is such a person, only doing what he wants to do, and this is what he has been doing, which is his career goal.
1905 Movie Network: There are many close-ups in "Change 4" that are very impressive, such as a shot of a wheel running over a person's face, how did you shoot it?
Michael Bay: That's a movie trick. My team didn't even know if I could achieve it when I was shooting, so I kept telling them to trust me, it would definitely work out.
During the shoot, we hoisted the car up so that it was more than 3 meters high (10feet) in the air, so that the car could move forward very slowly, and the wheels were turning. In order to avoid injury to the actor, we have to make the tire particularly soft, when the stuntman has something in his mouth, runs to the tire and hits it, he spits out the thing in his mouth, plus the picture of the dirt splash we shot before, shooting at a low speed, it feels like the tire is running over the face.
A new character has been introduced in Change 4
1905 Movie Network: In the past, some beautiful young actresses were chosen as the heroines, such as Megan Fox, Rosie Huntington-Wheatley, etc., why did you choose Nicola Peltz this time? How does it feel to work with Mark Wahlberg again?
Michael Bay: In this film, I need a younger actress to play Mark's 17-year-old teenage daughter. It's funny that Mark and Nicola's father are good friends, so he knows very well how she grew up, and there is a very natural father-daughter feeling between them, I think they work very well together, Mark is a very professional actor, and I am very satisfied with the cast this time.
The Dream Dragon Band recently sang the theme song "Battle Cry" at the world premiere of "Change 4" in Hong Kong.
1905 Movie Network: Why did you choose the younger, avant-garde Dream Dragon Band than Lincoln Park as the singer of the theme song of "Change 4"?
Michael Bay: I started talking to them via Skype, and they turned down a lot of movies, so I told them, "If you want the world's audience to know you, you're going to sing for Change 4." "I showed them about 15 minutes of footage, and they recorded a demo on their iPhone in the car back to the hotel." "Battle Cry" is a really good song that fits the feel of the movie.
1905 Movie Network: How do you think your career is progressing now? What exactly are your goals?
Michael Bay: It's fun, it's tough, it's rewarding, it's still going on. I think my goal is to do what I want to do, and I'm doing it.