Transformers producers didn’t want director Michael Bay to read the first draft of the script for the movie, and they had a very good reason.
The producers of the first Transformers movie initially didn’t want director Michael Bay to read the script’s first draft. When Bay was first approached to direct a live-action movie based on the toy line, he was not even interested, but he ultimately signed on and Transformers became one of the biggest hits of 2007. It also launched a massive film franchise, with Bay continuing to direct the first four sequels. Then a spinoff, Bumblebee, was released in 2018, with Bay involved as a producer. He will continue in this role for the next installment, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, as well.
When Michael Bay agreed to direct Transformers, the producers did not want him to read the first draft of the script because they feared he would be put off by its child-friendly tone. The movie was based on a franchise of toys, cartoons, and comics geared toward kids, so that original focus made sense at the time. Despite his own preliminary reservations about the project, Bay agreed to direct so that he would have the chance to work with executive producer Steven Spielberg. He then had a hand in altering Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman’s script in order to better fit with his own creative tendencies.
Would The First Transformers Script Have Put Michael Bay Off The Movie?
With violent and profane action movies like The Rock and Bad Boys in his oeuvre, Michael Bay is not exactly known for child-friendly movies. Thus, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman’s initial draft of Transformers would have presented a major shift in tone compared to Michael Bay’s previous movies. The Making of Transformers, a behind-the-scenes documentary about the production of the movie, implies Bay did not even read the first draft of the Transformers script, with it being described as “way too kiddy“ for him. The producers feared that if Bay had gotten his hands on the draft he would have quit the project right then and there.
Bay stated that he was determined to bring the project to life for two reasons. Firstly, directing Transformers would give him the opportunity to finally work with Steven Spielberg again — Bay had broken into the film industry as a teenager working as a storyboard artist on Raiders of the Lost Ark. The second reason is that he became enamored with the property following a meeting with Hasbro, the company that makes the Transformers toys. Even though initially Transformers took inspiration from the child-friendly E.T., Bay saw some of the concept art created for the movie and felt that he could take it in a “real and edgy” direction.
How Different Michael Bay’s Transformers Movie Is To The First Script
After signing on to direct Transformers, Michael Bay oversaw changes to the script to make it seem more “credible and serious” with a “global impact.” In line with his previous movies, Bay increased the scale of the action scenes in Transformers. He gave the military subplot, featuring Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson as soldiers stationed in Qatar, more prominence in the story. In his attempt to make Transformers more realistic than the first draft of the script, Bay also based the Pentagon phone line scene on a real-life story he was told by an actual soldier. Compared to the “kiddy“ first draft, Michael Bay’s Transformers wound up more suitably gritty and action-packed.
