If you’re wondering, for some odd reason, where Michael Bay has been these last few years, well, he’s actually been struggling to greenlight any of his new projects.
Bay tells THR that he recently had a call with a certain famous director where they mourned the current state of Hollywood, and wondered what in the hell is actually happening:
I just had a conference call with Jim Cameron and we were both commiserating about Hollywood. No one can greenlight anything anymore. It’s just so slow. It’s a very different business.
Bay adds that one of the projects he’s failed to get off the ground is “Black Five,” which has been described as an ensemble thriller that centers on an elite military team with an advanced technology.
Bay does have a project in the pipeline, “Fast and Loose,” starring Will Smith and set up over at Netflix. However, he says the film isn’t necessarily a done deal until he actually witnesses cameras rolling with his own eyes (“until it’s going, it’s not going”).
Bay, best known for making big-budget, high-concept action films, has a style of filmmaking that can best be described as an assault to the senses; fast cutting, over stylization, slick cinematography and lots of explosions. He’s been attached to all sorts of projects these last five years, almost all of which still haven’t been shot.
Bay’s last film was 2022’s “Ambulance”. He also directed 2019’s “6 Underground” for Netflix. His most notable works include “Bad Boys,” “The Rock,” “Armageddon,” and “Transformers.” His best film, and it’s not even close, is 2014’s underseen “Pain and Gain.”