Director Spotlight Michael Bay
Michael Bay is the youngest director to have a film reaching the billion-dollar mark. That film was Armageddon, released in July 1998. Michael is currently 34 and has another major film, Pearl Harbor about to open (May 25, 2001).
Michael was born February 17, 1965 in Las Angeles, California. He attended Wesleyan University and majored in English and film. While at Wesleyan, Bay won the Frank Capra Award for Best Student Film. He did his graduate film work at Pasadena Art Center College of Design.
Bay’s initial commercial work was in music videos. After directing the music video of Donny Osmond’s comeback, he took a job at Propaganda Films where he directed music videos for many artists such as Lionel Richie and Aerosmith. He then moved into television advertising. His first commercial was an ad for the American Red Cross that won a Clio. He did many 60-second commercials as short stories. These were for clients such as Nike, Coca-Cola and Mercedes. Bay was most known for his Got Milk series of commercials that also won him a Clio. His commercial directing won him the Gold and Silver Lions at Cannes.
Bay always wanted to direct a feature and this desire finally materialized when he met Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson. They offered him the chance to direct Bad Boys (1995), which grossed over $160 million worldwide. The following is his filmography as a director:
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Pearl Harbor (May 25, 2001)
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Armageddon (1998)
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The Rock (1995)
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Bad Boys (1995)
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Shadows and Light: From a Different View (1992)
His acting credits include the following:
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Cayote Ugly (2000) Photographer
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Franky Goes to Hollywood (1999) Himself
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Mystery Men (1999) Frat Boy
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Armageddon (1998) NASA Scientist
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Shadows and Light: From a Different View (1992) Himself
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Vengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo (1986) Sled Agent