Michael Bay vs. Megan Fox

The new "Transformers" movie contains more metal than many a junkyard - and most critics have been left wishing that's where the franchise ends up.

For the press reviewers, the movie was a mind-numbing mayhem of metal machines and wooden actors, with the humans just as robotic as any of the CGI creations clanking across the screen.

Much of the critics' abuse was leveled at Hollywood hottie Megan Fox. She has claimed that director Michael Bay failed to make full use of her acting skills - and he now says she is being ridiculous.

I just recently saw the movie and have not written a review yet because I am still trying to figure out what exactly happened. There are enough explosions but not enough plot and character development. To say the action is the only thing that carried the movie is an understatement.

The Daily Mail reviewed with venom the film and Megan Fox's acting: "No one in this is any good, but the most woefully inept actor is Megan Fox, who wears the same wet-lipped, open-mouthed, vacant expression whether she is in mortal danger, expressing undying love for our hero, or hot-wiring a car.

"Bay is especially fond of frontal shots of her running away from enormous explosions in a tight halter-neck top, while her breasts wobble from side to side in very slow motion."
So what explanation does Fox have for all this?

Asked by Entertainment Weekly what percentage of her acting range people had seen so far, she said: "Seven per cent. On the new one, I tried. But unless you're a seasoned veteran, working with Michael Bay is not about an acting experience."

On the question of a third installment, she said: "Sure. I mean, I can't s**t on this movie because it did give me a career and open all these doors for me. But I don't want to blow smoke up people's ass. People are well aware that this is not a movie about acting. And once you realize that, it becomes almost fun because you can be in the moment and go, 'All right, I know that when he calls Action! I'm either going to be running or screaming, or both.'"

And she added, in a hint that she is starting to tire of the series: "If I'm still making 'Transformers' five years from now, I might not be so über-excited."

In a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider, she was asked if it's true that Bay is more interested in explosions and special effects than his actors, and responded: "That's true. He thinks it's funny to put his actors through Navy Seal boot camp to make a movie. And it's not even necessary for the job! It amuses him."

Bay, however, did not seem to be amused by her comments.

He today told the Wall Street Journal: "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.' But I 100 per cent disagree with her.

"Nick Cage wasn't a big actor when I cast him, 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."
But is he that happy with the finished results of all those explosions, mechanical carnage and shaking cameras? Bay had recently made comments that were taken to mean he was quitting the 'Transformers' franchise, though he later clarified that he just wants a break.

He elaborated further to the Wall Street Journal: "I just want to take some time off. It's been almost three years that I've devoted myself entirely to this world of robots."

He doesn't seem overly excited about doing another "Transformers" movie: "I don't know who [would] want to take on my shoes with this franchise. We might just take a year down."

In the meantime, he is keen to try something else: "I've been talking to some big actors right now about something that is totally different. A small dark comedy, a true story, with actors just acting, no effects. I'm done with effects movies for now. When you do a movie like 'Transformers,' it can feel like you're doing three movies at once - which is tiring."

Of course, money talks in Hollywood and the staggering success of "Transformers" - so far taking $491 million globally, despite being pummeled by critics - more or less guarantees a sequel.

In fact, Paramount and DreamWorks greenlit a third big-screen adventure in March, naming July 1, 2011 as the release date.

But it does sound - judging from the weariness of Bay, Fox, and the critics - that the franchise is starting to rust.
So what's next after "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen?" The screenwriters for the first two films have already said they won't return for a third one. Will Bay and Fox not return as well or will the box office success mean that the studio sees it as far from fallen?

More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Source: The Geek Files