Michael Bay speaks out about Blu-ray, again

Michael Bay speaks out about Blu-ray, again
In what can equate to an "I told you so", director Michael Bay has spoken out again about Blu-ray and its recent "victories" over the rival HD DVD format.

Earlier this week, both Netflix and Best Buy seemingly chose Blu-ray as their HD format of choice although Best Buy said it will continue to stock both. Bay, taking the time to knock HD DVD had this to say at the Visual Effects Society’s sixth annual award show, “Blu-ray’s better, and I told everyone ... I was very vocal about it. I knew HD [DVD] was not going to make it.”



Ironically, despite his support for Blu-ray, his best selling HD Title is far and away Transformers which is available on HD DVD.

“Am I thrilled? It really wasn’t my fight, but remember what I said in the press? I was kind of saying HD [DVD]’s going to lose,”
he added. “No one believed me.”

Despite the fact that both formats support the same video and audio codecs and each have excellent interactive layers, Bay says he simply prefers the way his movies appear on Blu-ray Discs. “It’s just sharper,” Bay added. “It’s just [that] the tools are better. I just think it’s closer to what it should look like.”

This is not the first time Bay has talked about his preference for Blu-ray. He first voiced his displeasure with HD DVD when Paramount decided to go HD DVD-exclusive, and taking Transformers with it. Bay even went as far as to say that he would not come back to direct Transformers 2 as a boycott to the decision.

“I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were Progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me,”
said Bay back then.

The director than retracted his statements however, saying “As a director, I'm all about people seeing films in the best quality possible, and I saw and heard firsthand people upset about a corporate decision. So today I saw 300 on HD, it rocks! So I think I might be back on to do Transformers 2!”

More interestingly though, Bay accused Microsoft of confusing the consumer by backing HD DVD. He believes that Microsoft is only backing the format because it will confuse the consumer into giving up physical media and moving onto HD digital downloads.


Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Feb 2008 14:41
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  • 41 comments
  • themind

    can some one ask him about who is going to be the next u.s. president? cause id like to know.

    14.2.2008 15:10 #1

  • SDF_GR

    Dont get me wrong, i dont want to look cynic or ironic but why we/i should care what Michael Bays said about the format ex-war?
    He is just a director? Whats the big deal?
    HERE is he IMDB profile.

    14.2.2008 15:14 #2

  • maddog56

    ive seen blu-ray and HD movies on large screen HD tvs and HD has The Clearer Better Defined Picture out of them both so ill be sticking with my HD player

    14.2.2008 15:16 #3

  • axemurder

    Originally posted by maddog56: ive seen blu-ray and HD movies on large screen HD tvs and HD has The Clearer Better Defined Picture out of them both so ill be sticking with my HD playeryou probably should we have to have some one to tell i told you so to

    14.2.2008 15:21 #4

  • vinny13

    Ahh good for him! Some one get this guy a medal before a bunch of guys torch him :P

    14.2.2008 16:14 #5

  • chaos_zzz

    Originally posted by SDF_GR: Dont get me wrong, i dont want to look cynic or ironic but why we/i should care what Michael Bays said about the format ex-war?
    He is just a director? Whats the big deal?
    HERE is he IMDB profile.

    just a director?? he's also a producer, the dude has done big movies if u've read the profile u would know

    14.2.2008 16:30 #6

  • Icanbe

    LOL
    This guy is such a two-faced tool, on so many levels.
    By the way Mr. Bay, Transformers wasn't a very good movie, so who cares what format it was on.

    14.2.2008 16:33 #7

  • goodswipe

    The only good thing about Transformers was Megan Fox and Rachel Taylor. ;)

    "look honey, it said goodswipe! oh wow, that's amazing."

    14.2.2008 16:49 #8

  • SDF_GR

    Quote:Originally posted by SDF_GR: Dont get me wrong, i dont want to look cynic or ironic but why we/i should care what Michael Bays said about the format ex-war?
    He is just a director? Whats the big deal?
    HERE is he IMDB profile.

    just a director?? he's also a producer, the dude has done big movies if u've read the profile u would know
    I've read the profile but he can have that much of an influence so he can have a word at the format war?
    Cause we are talking about toshiba, sony, microsoft, warner, paramount etc that can turn the world around.

    14.2.2008 17:20 #9

  • MrXenu

    Originally posted by SDF_GR: Dont get me wrong, i dont want to look cynic or ironic but why we/i should care what Michael Bays said about the format ex-war?
    Do u mean current formate war, all seems lost, but it is still a war, HD DVD has not offically given up yet, therefore the war hasn't ended yet, i think the only hope is M$ buying out a BR studio, or HD players dropping below the $100 barrier!

    BAY has had a continually changing view, that seems to change every week, if HD was winning he has equal amount of quotes saying he beleived that they would win the format war, No medal should been given to this man, he is a complete idiot when it has coem to this war, only confusing consumers himself with his contianlly changing views!

    14.2.2008 17:36 #10

  • xdretorts

    Do you think that perhaps Microsoft's reason for supporting HD DVD had something to do with their Xbox competing against Sony(Blu-Ray) PS3?

    14.2.2008 17:49 #11

  • Icanbe

    Originally posted by goodswipe: The only good thing about Transformers was Megan Fox and Rachel Taylor. ;)That I will agree with.

    Hot damm


    http://www.dvdspot.com/member=morguex

    14.2.2008 18:15 #12

  • UkWizard

    Michael Bay should just keep his mouth shut. His movies suck anyway. No transformers 2? Good. Talk about milking the licence.

    14.2.2008 18:30 #13

  • simpsim1

    Originally posted by xdretorts: Do you think that perhaps Microsoft's reason for supporting HD DVD had something to do with their Xbox competing against Sony(Blu-Ray) PS3?Of course it is. It's all politics at the end of the day. Nothing more, nothing less. Of course, people will tell you it's about the best format blah blah blah, but really it's all politics, no matter what they say. Anybody who has bought an HD player of whatever type is going to be trumpeting their format's cause. Objectivity is officially dead as far as I'm concerned.

    You can count me out of any more format discussions, unless somebody can come up with something more constructive.

    14.2.2008 19:18 #14

  • Globe08

    Bay is a tool to the max. first he comes out swinging in the press bashing hd-dvd which we all know they are identical in quality aside fromk disc space. then he gets scolded by his people and less and a few hours later he says some trash about he hadnt even seen the movie 300 in high def and after doing so its clear hd-dvd is amazing. Now that he turns out to be correct which wasnt that hard to figure out when sony and the world is backing blu-ray and hes gloating on his call/ "nobody belived me" ... um yeh i think every ps3 owner believed him. F#cking tool!!!

    14.2.2008 19:32 #15

  • domie

    Originally posted by xdretorts: Do you think that perhaps Microsoft's reason for supporting HD DVD had something to do with their Xbox competing against Sony(Blu-Ray) PS3?Maybe but I don't see how using the same format disc would prevent them from competing against each other in terms of being games consoles.The discs would still be unplayable in each other's machines.

    I see plenty of film studios and dvd sellers competing against each other - all using the same format(films) and discs.

    14.2.2008 19:52 #16

  • c1c

    Bay you are an idiot. Transformers was a waste of time. All it had was some nice looking women and high priced overkill special effects and a plot that goes nowhere. And why would a stupid optical format prevent you from making another blockbuster movie that you know would make a killing no matter how crappy it is.

    Enough of the 1,2,3's of the same movies. You know you can condense all the sequels into one and make a great movie. Hollywood sucks.

    14.2.2008 20:24 #17

  • varnull

    He's an a$$hat.. open gob and pour out more crap...why does he even get media time?

    The only good thing about transformers?... The 2 hours of my life I haven't wasted watching it. The cartoons were drivel, the toys plastic crap.. so how the hell does anybody expect a good film??



    Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work.... Commercial "pay for" software = made by software developers who want paying... see where I'm going with this?

    14.2.2008 20:33 #18

  • NexGen76

    Originally posted by varnull: He's an a$$hat.. open gob and pour out more crap...why does he even get media time?

    The only good thing about transformers?... The 2 hours of my life I haven't wasted watching it. The cartoons were drivel, the toys plastic crap.. so how the hell does anybody expect a good film??
    It might be a waste of your time but the movie grossed 320 million dollars.Transformers goes a long way back either you liked it as a child growing up or you didn't but the Micheal Bay bashing i see on here is laughable not one person on here can discredit his work if you want to check count the awards he took home for best picture or better yet his resume.

    14.2.2008 20:51 #19

  • UkWizard

    Quote:Originally posted by varnull: He's an a$$hat.. open gob and pour out more crap...why does he even get media time?

    The only good thing about transformers?... The 2 hours of my life I haven't wasted watching it. The cartoons were drivel, the toys plastic crap.. so how the hell does anybody expect a good film??
    It might have been a waste of your time but the movie grossed 320 million dollars.Transformers goes a long way either you liked it as a child growing up or you didn't but the Micheal Bay bashing i see on here is laughable not one person on here can discredit his work if you want to check count the awards he took home for best picture or better yet his resume.
    I checked his "resume". It is full of milking. Nominated for worst director of armageddon and worst picture. The last time he has won an award was way back in 1999.Oh before I forget to mention, pearl harbor was that bad I walked out half way through

    14.2.2008 21:00 #20

  • Icanbe

    Originally posted by c1c: Transformers was a waste of time. All it had was some nice looking women and high priced overkill special effects and a plot that goes nowhere.Excatly what I thought about his movie or to be more precise "What the hell was the point of this movie"

    @Nexgen76

    Your right he has made some goods films and won plenty of awards, But I think the reason he's getting bashed is because, one min. he loves Hd-DvD, then the next min. he loves Blu-Ray.

    But hey thats just my opinion.

    Peace

    14.2.2008 21:04 #21

  • Nephilim

    Transformers hit the market back in my day and I loved the film. It was cool to see the Autobots and Decepticons in full CG action while thinking back on the days of mucking about with the plastic toys. Young'uns these days have always had films to go with their toys but it wasn't always that way............

    14.2.2008 21:17 #22

  • varnull

    As usual neph you are right.. it must be an age thing. All I saw was a low production standards 80's childrens animation...

    But I still don't give a flying f--- how much money it grossed at the box office.. that just says hype, not quality. I haven't even bothered to download it.



    Free open source software = made by end users who want an application to work.... Commercial "pay for" software = made by software developers who want paying... see where I'm going with this?

    14.2.2008 21:43 #23

  • Nephilim

    The age thing definitely adds a wonderful dimension to those type of films. When I've thoroughly enjoyed something in a older medium such as toys, comics or cheesey 70's cartoons (bless 'em!) seeing it done well in modern cinema can be extraordinary. As a kid I watched the Spiderman cartoons religiously and my all time favorite character was Doc Ock so when I finally got to see Spiderman 2 in the theater I got giggly as all hell and flushed with goose bumps whenever Doc Ock was on the screen. It was great :D



    My killer sig came courtesy of bb "El Jefe" mayo.
    The Forum Rules You Agreed To! http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/2487
    "And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight" - Numbers 13:33

    14.2.2008 21:58 #24

  • DietCoke

    Lost me at "Michael Bay speaks out..."

    14.2.2008 22:43 #25

  • nobrainer

    I guess Drm-Ray makes Pearl Harbor a better film!

    note to movie and game studios, constant remakes, sequels and flat story lines do not get fixed by better effects! but reselling crap in Hi-Def at double to triple the price of the DVD really takes the pi**.

    Michael Bay LMDB

    The BPI Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.

    The RIAA Soundexchange Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, EMI.

    The IFPI Are: The same anti consumer lot as listed above!

    The MPAA Are: SONY, UNIVERSAL, WARNER GROUP, DISNEY, PARAMOUNT, FOX.

    How do you stop anti consumer = its easy purchase only second hand media and avoid their propertarian hobbled by DRM hardware! http://www.boycott-riaa.com/

    15.2.2008 03:16 #26

  • pomelo

    I like both.

    15.2.2008 03:59 #27

  • Ryu77

    Originally posted by UkWizard: I checked his "resume". It is full of milking. Nominated for worst director of armageddon and worst picture. The last time he has won an award was way back in 1999.Oh before I forget to mention, pearl harbor was that bad I walked out half way throughWhat? Armageddon and Pearl Harbor weren't any good?! You have terrible taste in movies. I think they were great and the awards they won says that many others also agree with me.

    In regards to the rest of the thread... If Transformers was such a bad movie, then why is it the number one seller for your dying format (the number one seller in both formats for that matter)?

    NexGen76, don't bother... It's futile. They are all in denial!

    This is a ridiculous joke. I have almost given up posting on these format war threads as I much prefer to have conversations with adults and not entertain desperate childish posts that try to make points that just sound plain pathetic. If you make a point that is coming from a reasonable point of view, I will be the first to agree with you but trashing blockbuster hits because a Director has made a move to support the other format. Well... It's like you have a best friend and when they decide to hang out with someone else, you decide to tell the World what a loser they are.

    15.2.2008 04:10 #28

  • 7thsinger

    Originally posted by Nephilim: Transformers hit the market back in my day and I loved the film. It was cool to see the Autobots and Decepticons in full CG action while thinking back on the days of mucking about with the plastic toys. Young'uns these days have always had films to go with their toys but it wasn't always that way............I'm much the same way. I was a huge transformers fan as a kid. I had the toys, the 1986 full length movie, and the sheet set.

    I liked the movie...it made me think of those days fondly. I enjoyed the film and was not disappointed with it at all.

    Ahh...the memories. :)

    However, Michael Bay is an officious prick. No argument there.

    15.2.2008 08:53 #29

  • spydah

    Quote:Originally posted by UkWizard: I checked his "resume". It is full of milking. Nominated for worst director of armageddon and worst picture. The last time he has won an award was way back in 1999.Oh before I forget to mention, pearl harbor was that bad I walked out half way throughWhat? Armageddon and Pearl Harbor weren't any good?! You have terrible taste in movies. I think they were great and the awards they won says that many others also agree with me.

    In regards to the rest of the thread... If Transformers was such a bad movie, then why is it the number one seller for your dying format (the number one seller in both formats for that matter)?

    NexGen76, don't bother... It's futile. They are all in denial!

    This is a ridiculous joke. I have almost given up posting on these format war threads as I much prefer to have conversations with adults and not entertain desperate childish posts that try to make points that just sound plain pathetic. If you make a point that is coming from a reasonable point of view, I will be the first to agree with you but trashing blockbuster hits because a Director has made a move to support the other format. Well... It's like you have a best friend and when they decide to hang out with someone else, you decide to tell the World what a loser they are.


    I agree 100%. To many people are stuck in the follow the leader mode on these format threads. If one person starts a bash then you get all these other people following up less then important comments that dont make since.

    15.2.2008 09:57 #30

  • emugamer

    Originally posted by Nephilim: Transformers hit the market back in my day and I loved the film. It was cool to see the Autobots and Decepticons in full CG action while thinking back on the days of mucking about with the plastic toys. Young'uns these days have always had films to go with their toys but it wasn't always that way............Ahh...I watched the cartoon after school when I was a wee lad. I have all of the episodes now and still enjoy the animation - brings back fond memories. So my friend rented it and I watched the movie with him. I Don't even know what it was about, it sucked so bad. But Optimus Prime's booming voice brought tears of joy to my eyes :-)

    Bay makes dribble. Plain and simple. It would be one thing if he could give some more details as to why he prefers one format over another, but to say he likes it just because he does, or the picture is better in his opinion, is nonsense. How can anyone take him seriously.

    15.2.2008 12:08 #31

  • hughjars

    Michael Bay.

    LMAO

    15.2.2008 12:10 #32

  • UkWizard

    I suggest you go and check out the michael mann "resume".

    15.2.2008 13:27 #33

  • hm577

    What a PRICK!

    "it's just sharper" ??? WTF is that? I'd like to slap him upside his face so that he can't SIT for days.

    The difference (if any) is negligible..........PERIOD!!!

    He just prefers the ironclad hold BD has (at present only) on the data encoded on the disc. He's a big fat BABY and I wouldn't mind starting a brawl with him at a bar.

    Here's my cry for help.............."SOMEONE PLEASE HACK THE SH*T OUT OF BLU-RAY AND WITH QUICKNESS!!!!!!!"

    only THEN we will truly see how 'dedicated' those are to BD.

    Is it me or does it seem like Blu-ray is the Republican and HD-DVD is the Democrat? .................................... Probably just me.

    15.2.2008 13:51 #34

  • hm577

    Quote:Originally posted by goodswipe: The only good thing about Transformers was Megan Fox and Rachel Taylor. ;)That I will agree with.

    Hot damm

    That movie rocked!!! If you didn't like then you're in the vast minority and hence WHY YOU"RE NOT A CRITIC. People with bad taste don't get to pass their taste on and get taken seriously. At least they shouldn't be allowed to.

    I'd bet my ass that either one of you didn't think the movie was so bad that you didn't walk out 1/2 way through it. That simply means you were "entertained" by it which is a success story for both parties.

    15.2.2008 13:58 #35

  • simpsim1

    Originally posted by hm577: What a PRICK!

    "it's just sharper" ??? WTF is that? I'd like to slap him upside his face so that he can't SIT for days.

    The difference (if any) is negligible..........PERIOD!!!

    He just prefers the ironclad hold BD has (at present only) on the data encoded on the disc. He's a big fat BABY and I wouldn't mind starting a brawl with him at a bar.

    Here's my cry for help.............."SOMEONE PLEASE HACK THE SH*T OUT OF BLU-RAY AND WITH QUICKNESS!!!!!!!"

    only THEN we will truly see how 'dedicated' those are to BD.

    Is it me or does it seem like Blu-ray is the Republican and HD-DVD is the Democrat? .................................... Probably just me.
    I think they're both pretty much Republican. Both causes are trumpeted by many major corporate types, all of them very conservative. I suppose that with HD-DVD now seemingly the underdog, that Blu-Ray is seen as the aggressor in all this.

    I must say that as a preference, I would have preferred HD-DVD to be the dominant format, as I think it has lots more to offer outside of the HD realm. Sadly though, this is about what "They" say we should have and not what we as consumers would really like.

    As for Michael Bay, what the hell is he playing at?

    My opinions come with no warranty whatsoever, but are totally open-source, so you can reverse engineer or decompile them as you see fit. All other rights reserved.

    Bricked PSP? Live in the UK? I can pandorize your battery for you free of charge (Postage required). PM me if you want to know more.

    15.2.2008 15:01 #36

  • Ryu77

    I will agree that Michael Bay's comments were meaningless. We all know that a sharper picture is not the result of a better optical disc format. They simply hold data so the improvement in picture is a result of things like codecs and encoding methods used etc. The only influence on picture the disc could have is the data capacity and both formats have more than enough.

    My post up there ^^ was more referring to the thoughtless posts that accommodate every Blu-ray/HD-DVD thread. The funnier thing is that it's almost always the same people making these posts too.



    "A winner sees an answer for every problem... A loser sees a problem with every answer"

    15.2.2008 16:17 #37

  • FredBun

    Reading some of the bad write ups about transformers here was kinda shocking I guess, hell I'm 60 and enjoyed it, and I think Nephilim hit the nail right on the head.

    15.2.2008 22:37 #38

  • Ryu77

    Originally posted by FredBun: Reading some of the bad write ups about transformers here was kinda shocking I guess, hell I'm 60 and enjoyed it, and I think Nephilim hit the nail right on the head.Nephilim made a great point. Being in the right age bracket to revive the memories we had of our heroes in our younger years definitely adds another layer to the enjoyment factor. However, I still think it would rate as a good movie to other generations also.... Transformers weren't around 50 odd years ago, were they Fred? :-P



    "A winner sees an answer for every problem... A loser sees a problem with every answer"

    16.2.2008 00:08 #39

  • FredBun

    Your absolutly right they were not, but we had others, tobar the great, rocket man, flash gorden etc. and used our imagination that came close to things like transformers, and of course in our minds it wasnt as elaborete as today but sometimes it wasnt that far behind either, the things we would would think of and make up.

    And you know whats funny, as kids it was ok to make up things like that in your head, imaginary wakie talkies, if you were an adult and play dick tracy and talk to your watch than you were an idiot, not so anymore is it, hell even a thing like transformers being just imaginary anymore doesnt fly, I know I'll be long dead, but as long as man kind doesnt destroy itself or its environment first I don't think almost anything is imposible anymore, I just wish I was around to see it.

    16.2.2008 08:56 #40

  • borhan9

    The question we all know is that blu-ray won the war against hd dvd but the other question that still yet to be answered is that is there still room for hd dvd to still be around.

    9.4.2008 01:28 #41

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