Chapter 787: Just Find Yourself

In the reception room on the top floor of the Relativity Building, Ronan met Michael Bay.

This director, who takes explosions as his second life, has a long face, which is unforgettable.

"Sit wherever you want." Ronan greeted, "Michael, we are old friends, you're welcome."

Michael Bay sat on a single sofa and said bluntly: "I didn't expect that at this time, Ronan, you would intend to cooperate with me."

Ronan smiled and said, "The Transformers project suits your style, and I believe you can succeed."

"Thank you." Michael Bay's failure this time made him experience the coldness of the world that he had never experienced in Hollywood: "Ronan, thank you for believing in me."

Counting from the first film he directed in Hollywood, even if "Pearl Harbor" did not meet the expectations of the film crew, strictly speaking, Michael Bay has never had any failures, and his journey has been smooth. Other than the crow's mouth, everyone else valued him very much.

But after the failure of "Escape from Clone Island", DreamWorks stopped cooperating with him, and people around him also began to speak sarcasticly, as if everything had changed.

It was also at this time that Relativity Entertainment sent out an invitation.

Michael Bay also hopes to prove himself again with the success of a new work.

"About the "Transformers" project." Ronan didn't go around in circles and asked directly: "Michael, are you interested?"

There is no need for the two sides to go round and round. If Michael Bay is not interested, Relativity Entertainment should hurry up and contact the backup director candidate.

The person sitting opposite was Ronan Anderson, and the person who sent the invitation was Relativity Entertainment. Michael Bay knew that this was what he needed urgently, so he said without hesitation: "Ronan, I have read the script. See, as far as I am concerned, I would like to be the director of the "Transformers" project."

Ronan nodded slightly: "I will let Shahai Entertainment discuss the specific cooperation with your manager."

"I'll say hello to my agent when I get back," Bay said.

Ronan knew very well that the reason why the talks went so smoothly and Michael Bay agreed so simply was closely related to the failure of "Escape from Clone Island".

The film's disastrous box office and word-of-mouth failures,

Seriously weakened Michael Bay's original overconfidence, even inflation, brought about by his long-term success.

But there are some things that Ronan must say first, lest "Transformers" appear in a situation similar to "Escape from Clone Island".

Ronan said directly: "Michael, "Escape from Clone Island" is not doing well recently, have you considered the problem?"

Michael Bay showed a wry smile and said, "Maybe the audience is tired of me."

Ronan raised his finger and shook: "How could the audience get tired of you?"

Michael Bay put away his smile, and said in a serious manner: "I have thought about it to some extent. Regarding this film, I thought a little too much during the filming and production."

"That's how I see it too." Ronan couldn't make "Transformers" another experiment in Michael Bay's style transformation: "Michael, in my opinion, your ability has never been a problem. "Escape from the Clones" It is not difficult to solve the various problems you face after "Island".

If someone else said that, Michael Bailey wouldn't pay attention to it, but this is the opinion of the top gold medal producer in the industry, so he couldn't help but ignore it.

Michael Bay is very modest, at least in front of Ronan: "Ronan, I really need someone to guide me now."

If you really want to give pointers to Michael Bay, Ronan certainly doesn't have the ability. After all, he is not a director, but from the perspective of a bystander, he can somewhat remind this commercial director.

Ronan thought for a while and said, "Actually, the key lies in your choice. Michael, you also said just now that you had too many ideas when filming "Escape from Clone Island". Then give up these unnecessary ideas and find Back to yourself, back to yourself."

The meaning of these words could not be more clear. Michael Bay understood Ronan's meaning after just a little savoring: "You mean, I'm going back to a purely commercial route?"

Ronan would not dictate other people's lives, but he must be responsible for the company's projects, saying: "Transformers" is a purely commercial film project. Michael, I asked you to be the director, and it is to play your best role in this project. style."

What Michael Bay is best at, of course, no one knows better than himself.

Ronan said directly: "I don't need you to think too much about this project, just bring out what you were best at when you were successful before, and I believe you will be able to succeed."

Michael Bay said slowly, "I see."

In fact, the failure of "Escape from Clone Island" has made Michael Bay reflect on it. Did he really think too much about film shooting and production?

As for Michael Bay's abuse of explosions and vulgar jokes, Ronan has not talked to him for the time being. When the project is prepared, he will naturally spare time to discuss this issue with Michael Bay.

And different from before, Ronan planned to serialize "Transformers" from the beginning, and properly integrated part of the style of "Special Forces" to create a "Transformers" universe. All the plots and contents of "Transformers" movies It is not fragmented and has a relatively unified plan.

In particular, there will be no self-denial like the previous "Transformers" series.

To be precise, the planning rights of the series are in the hands of Relativity Entertainment and Sand Sea Entertainment, not Michael Bay.

The disastrous failure of "Escape from Clone Island" can not only lower Michael Bay's salary, but also effectively limit his power.

This is also the key reason why Ronan waited until after "Escape from Clone Island" before letting Relativity Entertainment contact Michael Bay.

Countless movie fans have complained that the reason for their interest in "Transformers" is the influence of childhood memories and feelings on the one hand, and the huge publicity sensation on the other.

Fans who were waiting to watch the Autobots vs. Decepticons did not respond well to the first half of the film. In the first hour or so of the film, it only talked about how Bumblebee helped a young American Erbi boy fall in love.

There are even more people complaining that Optimus Prime, who is the absolute hero, did not show up until more than an hour later, and the "Decepticon" logo was not seen from beginning to end.

At that time, someone gave the most correct way to watch "Transformers". After entering the theater, sleep for an hour, and then watch the rest of the movie with enough energy. You will find that the movie is really cool.

Then there's the deliberately funny content everywhere.

Even in North America, Michael Bay's jokes are recognized as boring by the audience and the media, and most of the time it's just the characters talking awkwardly.

Probably Michael Bay was deeply impressed by the several cooperations with Will Smith, and he always thought that he was very good at making jokes. Little did he know that without Will Smith, his jokes would even be boring to American audiences.

What Michael Bay is most loved by the audience is still explosions, collisions and special effects.

Although there are cases of excessive abuse, but in these respects, Michael Bay belongs to the top level in Hollywood.

Ronan has thought deeply about the situation of inviting Michael Bay as the director. On the one hand, it is necessary to properly limit Michael Bay’s abuse of certain elements, and on the other hand, he must make some fuss about the design of the robot, so that the audience can clearly distinguish the Autobots. and the Decepticons, and the main villain, King Kong.

Otherwise, it will be a mess during the fight, and you can't tell who is who at a glance, which will affect the viewing effect too much.

Regarding the design of the Autobots and Decepticons, the Industrial Light & Magic team employed by Shahai Entertainment has already started preliminary work. In order to maximize the emotional effect, Ronan emphasized that the styles of the two King Kongs must be retro. It allows people who are familiar with toys and cartoons to see the shapes in the movie and immediately connect with the memory in their minds.

No one can deny that the "Transformers" movie series can be successful, and the peripheral products are selling well, and the emotional effect is one of the keys.

Michael Bay is not a fan of Transformers, and he directly admits it.

In Ronan's view, this is not only a defect, but an advantage. "Transformers" needs emotional effects, and it cannot be turned into a pure fan movie, otherwise the problem will be serious.

The former Zach Schneider was a die-hard fan of DC comics, and he wanted to copy the comics to the big screen.

The results of it? It is relatively difficult to rely solely on fans to support the market for a top-level, large-scale commercial film.

"It doesn't matter if you are not a fan of Transformers." Ronan reminded Michael Bay: "But you must understand this series."

He emphasized: "Michael, after you go back, you must supplement knowledge related to Transformers. Transformers have affected many people's lives, and we must pull them into the theater. The frame of the film has already been determined, and what we want to produce is A work that highlights the humanity of Optimus Prime and the Autobots, and then finds the best actors to make the best use of this robot-related cultural property.”

Michael Bay has done his homework before, saying: "Those kids who grew up through the 80s, they may now want to see those characters and stories they once loved made into movies, and I think this will definitely It's a wonderful feeling."

Ronan smiled and said, "There are still a series of promotional plans behind Relativity Entertainment. You will see them when we can reach an agreement. I hope you can cooperate with Relativity Entertainment."

"I'll let my agent talk to you in detail." Of course, Michael Bay will not make a promise of not understanding the content at will: "I hope we can finally cooperate on such a great project."

Ronan shook his hand: "I hope so too."