Michael Bay Defends His Use Of Actors

If you go to see a Michael Bay movie then you are guaranteed certain things: explosions galore, witty dialog (or at least dialog that’s intended to be witty), and hot actresses looking, well, hot. Things you may struggle to find are a decent storyline or any hint of pacing.

Transformers is really no exception, apart from the addition of lots and lots, and lots, of CGI. Megan Fox is, of course, the hot actress of choice in Transformers. And she is hot, although watch the first film on Blu-ray and tell me she doesn’t have the worst skin you’ve ever seen.

The problem is that Fox’s part in the Transformers movie is as a bit-part player. She did at least do something useful in the first movie but her role in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen has been reduced to that of a moody woman who does nothing of note. But she does look hot, naturally.

Michael Bay’s use of Fox, and the other actors, in Transformers 2, led her to claim the director’s movies do not offer many acting opportunities. Bay has not hit back, claiming Fox is too young and naive to know better, and defending his part in introducing actors to the world. He said:

“Well, that’s Megan Fox for you. She says some very ridiculous things because she’s 23 years old and she still has a lot of growing to do. You roll your eyes when you see statements like that and think, ‘Okay Megan, you can do whatever you want. I got it’. I 100% disagree with her.”

“Nic Cage wasn’t a big actor when I cast him [in The Rock], nor was Ben Affleck before I put him in Armageddon. Shia LaBeouf wasn’t a big movie star before he did Transformers - and then he exploded. Not to mention Will Smith and Martin Lawrence from Bad Boys. 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.”

How interesting that all the actors he mentioned are male. Is Bay a die hard caveman who thinks women exist purely to be eye candy for guys? Or does he just doubt their ability to play a central role in a movie? Either way, the facts paint a picture of someone who undervalues the female of the species.