Michael Bay Responds To Bruce Willis: 'Say It To My Face'!
Filed under: Action, Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Movie Marketing, Remakes and Sequels
I'm not sure how many of you have been following the Bruce Willis chat over on AICN. Scott mapped the whole thing out for us yesterday; initially, it all started when Vern ranted about the PG-13 rating that was given to Live Free or Die Hard. Eventually, some dude named Walter B. showed up in their talkback section alluding to the fact that he was indeed Willis. After about a day or so of back and forth (keep in mind no one from AICN was able to confirm that it was him), Walter B. posted his iChat name and was willing to prove his identity. Needless to say, some dude connected up with him, managed to snag some photos and a lot of us were amazed to find out that, yes, Bruce Willis had been leaving comments in the talkback section on AICN at 4am for two days straight. And God Bless the guy!
However, during one such comment, Bruce mildly bashed Michael Bay (as you know, the two worked together on Armageddon). Here's just a brief taste of what Willis said about Bay and his experience working on Armageddon: "It was a great crew, but a screaming Director does not make for a pleasant set experience. But look, we were all big boys, and we got thru it. A little to MTV-camera cutty for my taste, but the shots of meteors crashing into the WTC was pretty prescient." And yes, that's Bruce's bad spelling and grammar, not mine. Now, for those who aren't aware, Michael Bay is like the Hollywood version of that kid from high school who, if you accidentally glanced in his direction, would immediately get in your face and go, "What are you looking at? You got a problem?" Yeah, that kid. Thus, it didn't take long for the director to issue a response through his own blog (which you can read in its entirety here).
Here's a sampling of the Bay response in all of its schoolyard bully glory: "I mean it would be sad if he felt this way - he's never one to hide his feelings - I say sad, in that he wouldn't be man enough to say it to my face. But truly sad that such a big time actor would have to hide on a little talk back section." I can almost here the AICN talkbackers chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Bay also admits that Bruce's people called him awhile back to see if he'd be interested in directing Die Hard 4, but he couldn't take the gig because of Transformers. Therefore, he cannot understand why Willis would throw out the cheap shots. Personally, I think the entire thing is hysterical -- Willis said some pretty harsh things (he reminded me of the drunken friend who's too stupid to just shut the hell up), and I'll be curious to see if there's an official apology issued to either Joel Silver or to the producers of Perfect Stranger (a film in which he says he was "disappointed" with). Yet, one thing Willis (aka Walter B.) is sure about -- to a point where he kept saying it over and over -- is that Live Free or Die Hard is going to rock, regardless of its PG-13 rating. And boy, do I hope he's right.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-11-2007 @ 11:45AM
Douglin said...
How is "a screaming Director does not make for a pleasant set experience" harsh? If he did say something harsh why didn't you put it in your write-up?
And what's Michael Bay's deal...does he want Willis to just show up at his house to tell him he shouted too much? Someone asked him a question and he responded truthfully. Bravo.
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5-11-2007 @ 1:56PM
Stephen Lang said...
As a public service to Cinematical and Douglin, here are relevant snippets from Water B. The first quote is the juiciest I guess. Not a huge flaming rant, but put the 2 together and it's obvious what his opinion of Bay is. The part about people not wanting to work with him, I've heard more than once myself. And now Bruce Willis himself has corroborated this- ;-)
"[Bay] Would have ruined DH4. Few people will work with him now, and I know I will never work with him again. "
"I loved working with all the guys, the actor I mean. It was a great crew, but a screaming Director does not make for a pleasant set experience. But look, we were all big boys, and we got thru it. A little to MTV-camera cutty for my taste, but the shots of meteors crashing into the WTC was pretty prescient. Billy Bob was under-used for my taste. the spacesuits continually malfunctioned, and one nite, Ben Affleck was seen bashing the front glass on his helmet with a rock because he couldn't breathe. I am a fan and a friend of Liv Tyler, and thought she brought some fun to the movie. And it made a shitload of money for Disney. Jerry Bruckheimer is a great producer, and I would work with him again anytime. thanks bw"
This was also interesting. The words 'mythology' and 'Die Hard' don't really come together for me, but even Bruce sorted of touched upon the phenomenon elsewhere in the talkback:
"The Mythology of Die Hard, for me consists of the following- 1. an ordinary guy confronted with an extraordinary circumstances 2. MaClane loves his Family, his Country, and despises anyone who preys on people who cannot defend themselves, and has a severe distaste for Authority. 3.You just can't stop MaClane 4. A story that is riveting from beginning to end. 5. Finally, the weiredness of seeing a set of films whose timeline covers 22 years. Once the term "the Mythology of Die Hard started getting used, everyone got it, almost immediately. We never thought we were shooting a movie, not a rating. i have said it elsewhere on this Thread, but except for the Fuck quotient, this Film is as badass as the First, and way tougher than 2 or 3, and the hardcore heart of the Film's Mythology has not been compromised one bit, regardless of the outrage of those who haven't seen it yet. thanks WB"
Whether you like or hate Die Hard or his movies, blah blah blah, it was great to have him post on the talkback. He actually took time to read other peoples' posts and answer them. Most posters there don't even bother to do that.
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5-11-2007 @ 6:48PM
Tim A said...
I think that Willis and Bay need to get together, stand in front of a camera and unzip their pants to compare sizes, because thats what its starting to sound like here.
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