Michael Bay Signs Two-Picture Deal With Paramount

Michael Bay is really good at one thing… blowing stuff up. Having directed some of the largest blockbusters of the past 15 years (Transformers, 1-3, Pearl Harbor) Bay has recently been signed on to direct two more movies for Paramount, where undoubtedly... more things will blow up.

First up is “Pain and Gain” the true story about a group of bodybuilders who terrorize Florida with acts of kidnapping and murder. Starring Mark Whalberg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “Pain and Gain" is set to begin production in the next few months.

After that, Bay will be tackling the next installment in the wildly popular Transformers series. (Transformers: Dark of the Moon was the 4 highest grossing film of all time coming in at 1.124 billion boxoffice dollars worldwide.) Word has it that he’ll be taking the series in a bold, fun new direction. As a child of the 90’s I can only hope that means the return of the animal Transformers series “Beast Wars.”

Michael Bay is known for making loud and fast action movies and it’s that claim to fame that makes him a love/hate director for most people. While I would consider myself a fan; as a student of film I have sometimes found myself getting frustrated at a lot of his decisions. For example, the unnecessary close-ups that break the flow of action, the racist robots in Transformers 2, or the second half of The Island. But all negative criticisms aside Michael Bay definitely knows how to make a fun ‘turn off your brain and and enjoy the ride’ style of movie, and sometimes that’s just perfect.

With that out of the way I’d like to ask a parting question. Does the fact that I can’t stop chuckling every time I read the “Pain and Gain” description make me a terrible person?