If I were to describe Michael Bay in three words, it would be…
KA-BOOM!
POW!
SMASH!
I think that basically sums it up. Pretty awesome to be known for big-budget, high-concept action films and best characterized by fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special effects. And of course explosions.
But how did he get there?
Born in Los Angeles, he was raised by his adoptive parents who were a bookstore owner/child psychiatrist and a Certified Public Accountant. As for Bay’s earliest memory of where he got his love for the explosions we know him for today, he claims to have found his interest in action films back to an incident during his childhood in which he attached firecrackers to a toy train and filmed the fire with his mom’s 8mm camera. Which then resulted in having to call the fire department.
As for Bay’s career start, it was interning with George Lucas when he was fifteen, filling the storyboards for Raiders of the Lost Ark, which he thought was going to be terrible. His opinion changed after seeing it in the theater and this experience led to him deciding to wanting to be a film director.
He graduated Wesleyan University in 1986 majoring in English and Film. For graduate school, he attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena where he also studied film.
After a few years of directing commercials and music videos at Propaganda Films, things just took off from there with a long list of music videos and movies.
We now know him for movies and series such as Transformers, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan 6 Underground, TMNT: Out of the Shadows, Bad Boys II, and Pearl Harbor to name a few.
So happy birthday Michael Bay… (INSERT MEGA EXPLOSION)
And here is the part that I love… THE COMICS! Below are my very biased comic recommendations that Bay would approve (or that I would imagine he would approve since I don’t actually know him).
TRANSFORMERS: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE
The ultimate Transformers saga begins here! More Than Meets The Eye reunites the fan-favorite creative team behind Last Stand of the Wreckers and sends the Transformers on an epic quest to the farthest reaches of the Transformers Universe — and beyond! Also includes the one-shot Death of Optimus Prime.
He is a warlord, a genius, and a squishy pink brain. He is General Krang! One of the most signature villains in TMNT history, Krang has an arsenal and wit unlike any other villain and his master plan sees the TMNTs come into direct confrontation with one of their mightiest enemies!
TOM CLANCY’S THE DIVISION: EXTREMIS MALIS
Months after a bioweapon attack devastated New York City, the Division agents are the last hope of a United States struggling to hold itself together. During a mission gone horribly wrong, Division agent Caleb Dunne’s partner is gruesomely killed and Dunne vows to track down the mysterious woman responsible. Known only as Mantis, Dunne pursues her to Philadelphia, Fort Meade, and eventually Washington, D.C., enlisting the help of fellow agents Heather Ward and Brian Johnson along the way. Together, this newly-formed group of agents uncover a much larger scheme that poses a grave threat to a nation already on the brink of total collapse.
So what is your favorite Bay film? What is your favorite Bay themed comic? What are you reading now? Let us know in the comments and we will catch you next week, same Nerd-Time, same Nerd-Channel.
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