This month legendary American film director and producer Michael Bay turns 50. His talent directing big-budget action films with stylistic visuals and extreme special effects has allowed him to make a name for himself as one of Hollywood's boldest and most bankable feature film directors.
Michael Bay
Bay finds success whether he is in the director's chair or on producing duties and has been behind some of the biggest and most recognisable films in recent years.
He returned to a producing role as year as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were brought back to the big screen by director Jonathan Liebesman. The movie enjoyed big box office success and it now out on DVD & Blu-Ray. To celebrate Bay's career, we're taking a look at his career in pictures.
- Bad Boys and Bad Boys II
Released in 1995 Bad Boys starred Will Smith and Martin Lawrence who played best friends and detectives of the Narcotics Division of the Miami Police Department. The movie marked the feature film directorial debut of Bay, while Smith and Lawrence proved to be a terrific comedy and action double act.
The movie went on to be a commercial success, as it grossed over $141 million at the global box office - easily making back its $19 million budget. However, Bad Boy fans would have to wait nearly a decade for Smith, Lawrence, and Bay to reunite for Bad Boys II. The movie did perform well at the box office - grossing over $273 million - but it struggled with the critics.
- The Rock
Bay teamed up with Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, and Ed Harris back in 1996 when he directed action film The Rock. The movie follows an ex-con - who has escaped from Alcatraz - who must lead a group of soldiers back onto the island to stop a renegade general.
The movie which, saw Bay reunite with producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, was both a critical and commercial success. By the end of its theatrical run, the movie had grossed over $335 million and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Sound Mixing.
- Armageddon
Armageddon was one of the biggest box office successes of Bay's career when it hit the big screen back in 1998. The movie was released just a couple of months after the similar Deep Impact, but it was Bay's movie that raked in the most money.
The film saw the director team up with Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Will Patton, and Steve Buscemi, who took on the roles of deep core drillers who are called upon to save the world by destroying an asteroid that is heading for earth. Liv Tyler and Billy Bob Thornton were also on board.
The movie grossed over $553 million worldwide and went on to become the highest grossing film of the year - surpassing Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan.
- Pearl Harbour
Bay returned to the director's chair in 2001 with Pearl Harbour, a movie that followed the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and the Doolittle Raid that the Americans set out on in retaliation. The movie saw the director reunite with actor Affleck, while Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale were also on board.
Pearl Harbour was a movie that was not met well by the critics upon release; however, it would go on to be a big box office smash - grossing almost $450 million worldwide.
- The Island
Bay mixed action with science fiction back in 2005, when he brought The Island to the big screen - this was a film that he produced as well as directed. The movie saw him team up with Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Bean, Djimon Hounsou, and Michael Clarke Duncan - he had worked with Duncan on Armageddon
The Island was a movie that did struggle at the box office - especially in America - but it eventually grossed over $162 million - jus managing to pull back its $126 million budget.
- The Hitcher
Bay was on producing duties for The Hitcher, as he teamed up with director Dave Meyers and reunited with actor Sean Bean. The movie was a remake of 1986 horror movie of the same name.
Released in 2007 this horror thriller told the story of a couple driving across New Mexico and their run-in with a hitchhiker… who turns out to be a serial killer. Bean is joined on the cast list by Sophia Bush, Zachary Knighton, and Neal McDonough.
- Transformers
It was back in 2007 when Bay brought Transformers to the big screen for the first time - making stars out of Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox - and it has gone on to become one of the most successful film franchises of all time. LaBeouf starred in the first three movies: Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen, and Dark of the Moon, before the franchise was given a reboot last summer.
Transformers: Age of Extinction saw Mark Wahlberg take over the central role, while Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer, and Nicola Peltz were also on board. The film grossed over $1 billion and was the highest grossing film of 2014.
So far, the Transformers franchise has grossed over $.7 billion and is the eighth most successful film franchise of all time.
Michael Bay's most recent work is the action-packed and highly entertaining comedy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which is out on DVD & Blu-Ray now. The legendary heroes Shredder, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo take to the streets to defend their home, New York, which is under attack. The film stars Megan Fox as an intrepid reporter.