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Anthony Hopkins Calls Michael Bay a 'Genius' and 'Savant'

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L

LordOfLore

Banned
Link. Original source is a video interview.

Anthony Hopkins has worked with some of the best in the business, like Steven Spielberg and Oliver Stone. The latest visionary director to earn Sir Hopkins’ favor? None other than the king of explosions, Michael Bay.

In an interview with Yahoo! Movies, Hopkins gushed about working with Bay on the latest Transformers movie, Transformers: The Last Knight, where he plays an astronomer and historian who knows the “true history” behind the Transformers. In the interview, Hopkins praised Bay and the entire Transformers series, comparing him to some of the greatest directors of all time, including Martin Scorsese. That’s right, Hopkins thinks the guy who reportedly made Megan Fox audition by washing his car for a now-missing video is in the same category as the man behind Goodfellas (then again, Scorsese has defended director Roman Polanski, so maybe not the best comparison).

“He was telling me about the work he did on [the Transformers bots] – how he would refine them and go into the special effects guys and design them and get all the details of light on metal and all that. He told me all that at breakfast before I started on the film. I thought ‘This guy’s a genius. He really is.’ He’s the same ilk as Oliver Stone and Spielberg and Scorsese. Brilliance. Savants, really, they are. He’s a savant,” Hopkins said.
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K

Kart94

Banned
Two things Michael Bay should never be called.

Has Anothny Hopkins looked at Armaggedon? i think he would change his mind
 
K

Krev

Unconfirmed Member
Bay is a visionary and greatly talented, but it's wrong to place him alongside great artists.
 
B

Bedameister

Member
luck-5.png
 
D

Derwind

Member
He's better at marketing his movies than most directors. I doubt there is a single person who hasnt heard of Bay but not because he makes quality movies.

The Rock being a special exemption for me.
 
S

SilentRacoon

Member
Kart94 said:
Two things Michael Bay should never be called.

Has Anothny Hopkins looked at Armaggedon? i think he would change his mind
Click to expand...

If he hasn't already, It would only elevate his opinion of the man even more.

I mean he is not wrong, Bay knows the art of his craft.
 
G

gurudyne

Member
Slayven said:
I mean Micheal Bay is damn good at what he does.
Click to expand...

Very true. Man takes a keen interest in many aspects of film making and likes to push special effects artists to create something impressive. Man is also a genius when it comes to box office hits. Shame it all comes with Bay's signature low points like story, wit and cinematography.
 
S

Sho_Nuff82

Member
You do an artsy Westworld monologue for awards, you do Transformers 5 and Thor 3 for that paper.

There's probably a quote somewhere of him comparing The Dark World to a Shakespearean tragedy.
 
D

Dabanton

Member
There are not many directors who can make a scene look absolutely chaotic but have total control over it.

Even Gaf faves like Nolan have said how they admire Bay as they know the immense skill needed to know how to pull off those kind of movies.
 
S

SRG01

Member
Michael Bay's cinematography is out of this world. That's undeniable.

Whether his movies are any good is something else entirely...
 
B

broncobuster

Banned
Not a fan of Bay, of his movies or as a person, and I wouldn't say Hopkins wrong. Bay is incredibly talented. Watch some of the BTS and making-ofs for the Transformers movies.
 
N

NightShift

Member
I wouldn't call him a genius although he certainly got the formula of making shitty but profitable movies down to a tee. However comparing him to Scorsese and Spielberg is ridiculous.
 
S

Succinct Verbosity

Member
The guy likes money.

I mean, as long as Hopkins gives us a Westworld kind of performance alongside these obvious payday films he can think whatever he wants about Michael Bay.
 
L

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
There's for sure no one better at doing what Bay does. It also seems by all accounts that he's a very good person - I mean practically everyone who worked with him has nothing but praise, and I get the impression that he lives and breathes for his film crew. You don't get that impression out of people who just get paid to say stuff.
 
J

J_Viper

Member
The worst part of this god awful Transformers franchise is that Bay absolutely can do better, he simply chooses not to.

Pain & Gain and 13 Hours both are reminders of the man's talent. Why he can't bring that quality over to the TF flicks, I'll never know.
 
C

chrisPjelly

Member
In terms of effects and just general coordination of stuntwork and explosions, can't disagree with him there. Now only if we could pair him some half decent writers...
 
S

sn00zer

Member
SRG01 said:
Michael Bay's cinematography is out of this world. That's undeniable.

Whether his movies are any good is something else entirely...
Click to expand...

Yup...one of the best action directors out there. But got damn he needs a better script writer, or an assistant "actors director"
 
S

SandMan2233

Member
J_Viper said:
The worst part of this god awful Transformers franchise is that Bay absolutely can do better, he simply chooses not to.

Pain & Gain and 13 Hours both are reminders of the man's talent. Why he can't bring that quality over to the TF flicks, I'll never know.
Click to expand...

It's the scriptwriting. I mean, he was sort of stuck with Transformers, since they make tons of money. But when he has a good screenplay, as he did with the two films you mentioned (and The Rock, which still holds up), the man shines.
 
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