Trivia

The Rock (1996) is his favorite of the films he has directed and Sean Connery is his favorite actor that he's ever worked with.

All his films up to and including Armageddon (1998) made him the youngest director to reach the billion dollar mark world wide.

He is a very close friend of writer/director George Lucas from whom he often seeks advice. As a teenager, he worked at ILM in the storyboard department for films like Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

In Bad Boys (1995), Bay paid $25,000 (one quarter of his fee) for the climax explosion scene. The initial shot was made impossible by a rainstorm, and the production company refused to pay for another try.

Has a great respect for and is good friends with filmmaker Zack Snyder as they went to the same school and worked at Propaganda Films.

Shot over 1 million feet of film for Pearl Harbor (2001). Used only about 20,000 feet for the final, 9-reel cut.

Such is the intensely busy and chaotic nature of his film sets, the cast and crew generally refer to it as "Bayhem".

Owns two English Mastiff dogs, named Grace after the character played by Liv Tyler in Armageddon (1998) and Bonecrusher after the Decepticon that appeared in Transformers (2007). His bullmastiff Mason Rock Bay named the character Sean Connery played in the The Rock (1996)) died of old age in 2007.

Was considered to direct Superman Returns (2006).

Joined Propaganda Films two weeks out of graduate school. He befriended actor Djimon Hounsou, who was working across the street at a modeling agency. Djimon Hounsou later appeared in The Island (2005).

One of 20 prominent filmmakers to sign a letter in protest of Premium Video on Demand, which allows films to be streamed by home viewers at a cost of $30 only 60 days after the film's release in theaters.

Was challenged by German filmmaker Uwe Boll to a charity boxing match in 2008.

"Movieline" revealed in 2001 that Bay's father is John Frankenheimer. Frankenheimer, who always denied paternity, took a DNA test in the 1980s which was negative.

Uses a Mark V director's viewfinder while shooting a film. The viewfinder is often prominently featured in photographs of him, hung around his neck. It is engraved with his name and the names of every film he has directed.

Was reported to be fine and uninjured after fending off two men who attacked him demanding money--and carrying an "air conditioner" as a weapon--on the set of the latest Transformers (2007) sequel shooting in Hong Kong in October, 2013.

Turned down the offer to direct Van Helsing (2004), opting to do The Island (2005) instead.

Two of his films, Armageddon (1998) and The Rock (1996), are in the Criterion Collection.

Was classmates with Joss Whedon in Wesleyan University. For graduate work, Bay attended the Art Center College of Design where he was classmates with Zack Snyder and Tarsem Singh.

Was offered the chance to direct Man on Fire (2004).

Michael was adopted when he was two weeks old, by Harriet (Markowitz) and Sheldon James "Jim" Bay, who raised him. He has a sister, Lisa Bay.

Was offer the opportunity to direct Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) but pulled out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.

Was considered to direct Watchmen (2009).

One of the few directors to have won multiple Razzie Awards for Worst Director. He has won two. Both of his awards were for directing "Transformers" sequels.

Is good friends with filmmakers J.C. Chandor and J.J. Abrams as they help one another on their films.

He filmed the dynamic shots of the thrown dice in the gambling scenes for Adrian Lyne's Indecent Proposal (1993). He later "repossessed" the shots for a montage in Armageddon (1998).

Since the age of 26, Bay has won every major commercial directing award, including the Gold and Silver Lions at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. He also won the Grand Prix Clio for Commercial of the Year for his "Got Milk/Aaron Burr" commercial, which also won him the Museum of Modern Art Award for Best Campaign of the Year.

Filmed the movie Armageddon (1998) with an eye towards Middle America. Has a love for Americana.

Has directed seven films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing.

Good friends with Ben Affleck.

Was originally set to direct King Arthur (2004) but dropped out.

Co-Founded Propoganda Films in the early 1990s.

President of The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness, also known as The Institute, a commercial and music video production company he founded with Scott Gardenhour.

Was considered to direct Planet of the Apes (2001).

Has produced remakes to five cult horror films: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), The Amityville Horror (2005), The Hitcher (2007), Friday the 13th (2009) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010).

Cousin of Susan Bay Nimoy, cousin-in-law of Leonard Nimoy.

Studied under film historian Jeanine Basinger at Wesleyan University; Basinger later provided audio commentary, along with Bay, for the Pearl Harbor (2001) DVD. Filmmakers Ruben Fleischer, Joss Whedon' and Benh Zeitlin are also Wesleyan graduates.

He was raised Jewish and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony.

Was offered the chance to direct Red Dragon (2002) but turned it down. Job went to Brett Ratner.

Received a post-graduate degree in Film at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design in California.

He considers himself an old school director, preferring analog over digital, both in shooting on film stock and keeping CGI shots to a minimum, staging practical action and stunts whenever possible.

He is a very good friend to Don Michael Paul and even lent him some aerial shots from The Rock (1996) to Paul's movie Half Past Dead (2002).

Was very interested in directing Speed (1994) and Drop Zone (1994), but was turned down for both.

Was considered, at one point, to direct I Am Legend (2007).

Ranked #47 on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List. Previously ranked #54 in 2004.

Filming Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) in the United States, Russia and possibly Africa. (July 2010)

He has been nominated twice by Alliance of Women Film Journalists for their Pig of the Year Award. He lost to Robert Lukitec in 2009 and to Mel Gibson in 2011.

Directed the 1996 action film "The Rock" and many years later in 2013 directed Dwayne Johnson in "Pain & Gain". Johnson goes by the nickname "The Rock".