the explosions in ph was GREAT!...some could also have been better...if he had used less gazolin and more dynamite, thats makes the explosions look much more reel!
All I wanted was some suggestions on how Bay is an auteur (like it or not, the fact is that he is). Instead all I have got are comments saying his films are crap.
Oh well, I least I won't run off crying like Sabrea!
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I've seen most of his films. He's making a living behind the camera because he has that MTV touch (which is how he broke into the business--by directing music videos). If I had to choose between someone like James Cameron and Michael Bay for talent and ability as a storyteller, I'd certainly go with Cameron.
You've applied the term 'auteur' to Michael Bay, and realistically I believe it better describes Cameron. They both have a problem with romantic subplots, though, but Cameron knows how to make up for it by adding a certain honest dimension to characters that works. I'm not sure if Bay even writes scripts. Perhaps. With Cameron you have "Aliens". When I see films like "Con Air" and "Armageddon", the characters are the same rehashed "Aliens"-motley group of smart-alecks of every size shape and color. A simple-minded approach to "diverse characters". Booorrring.
Bay set out to make "Pearl Harbor" in the same style as "Titanic". He craved the same multi-level success that "Titanic" achieved, including the industry respect that Cameron attained as a result. Hollywood, in it's characteristic sadistic-style, wanted Cameron and the film to flop. Instead, they ended up giving him two Academy Awards, and they hated doing it. Kind of sweet, when you think about it.
As far as the human elements of "Titanic" and "Pearl Harbor" go, I thought both films were as pretentious as a cheap soap opera. But "Titanic" has heart where "Pearl Harbor" seems to be on life support.
I know crew who have worked for both men and the overwhelming opinion is that they are both, well, jerks. Of Cameron, one guy said to me, "he knows his job AND he knows YOUR job, so you better know your job, too, or your in for it." Of course, that doesn't make him a jerk, but micromanaging has some obvious negative effects. One Bay story I heard involved "The Rock", where Connery got fed up and said to him, "Michael, you can be an a**hole to everyone else around here, but you can't be an a**hole to me because I'll walk." Supposedly, the crew loved it.
So back to Bay as a filmmaker. He's the captain of a very big, state-of-the-art, aircraft carrier. Put him in a canoe, and we'll see how good he can stay afloat.
If you're writing a paper about a modern filmmaking auteur, Cameron would be an authentic subject.
KMC Community Forums
Oct 16th, 2002 09:21 PM
