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Uwe Boll confirms 'Boll vs. Bay' brawl, Michael Bay denies accepting Boll's challenge
Those who were wishing to actually witness a few rounds of fisticuffs between crummy filmmaker Uwe Boll and occasionally crummy filmmaker Michael Bay (following Boll's challenge last weekend) have certainly ridden a rollercoaster of excitement and disappointment these past few days. We admit, we got pretty pumped after viewing the above video, a supposed confirmation that Bay had accepted Boll's terms, and that the two would meet in the ring -- unfortunately, this directorial showdown isn't in the cards (much to Boll's chagrin, we're sure).An administrator on Michael Bay's official forums recently talked to the blockbuster poster boy (currently doing post-production work for "The Horsemen") who denied accepting Boll's challenge, and claimed he'd never spoken directly with Boll in the first place. We can't help but wonder -- is this another publicity stunt for the antagonized franchise-wrecker in light of the May 23 U.S. release for "Postal", or has Uwe finally lost his damn mind? Little from Column A, little from Column B.[Thanks, Fernando]
Uwe Boll thinks Michael Bay 'sucks big time', wants to fight
We were always taught to "use our words" to solve disputes between our peers and colleagues; but we guess if your words are ogreish and oft-incomprehensible, your fists will have to do. That's right -- Uwe Boll, much like the honor-bruised 1800 presidential candidate Aaron Burr, has officially donned the boxing gloves he wore in the Webcritic Massacre of 2006 (and while he wrote the script for "Postal", we assume) and challenged the king of summer blockbusters, Michael Bay, to twelve rounds in the ring.No offense, Bay -- we loved "Bad Boys 2", but you'll forgive us for putting our money on Boll's massive ham-fists. What that guy lacks in movie making ability and social graces, he more than makes up with his pugilistic proclivities.
Paramount officially Blu-ray (again)
Michael Bay can breathe easy, Paramount (Dreamworks included) has officially gone Blu-ray. Two and a half years after announcing itself purple, and exactly five months after becoming HD DVD exclusive, this move makes all six major Hollywood studios Blu. Don't make space for that Blu edition of Transformers in your DVD rack just yet, as the company plans to "monitor consumer adoption and determine our release plans accordingly", but with PS3 sales up and BD Live on the way, we can't imagine it will take very long. The Hollywood Reporter expects to see Universal and Paramount new releases hitting Blu-ray and DVD at the same time by late spring or early summer, when we can forget this whole thing ever happened -- unless of course you picked up an HD DVD player for Shrek, in which case we have a few ideas on what to do next.[Thanks to Robert and everyone who sent this in]
Two years of battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray: a retrospective
It's hard to believe it's actually over, but for more than two years we've followed what has come to be one of our favorite topics as Blu has faced Red in a battle to be the next physical home media format. In the end it came down to studio and consumer electronic industry support -- not to mention the PS3 -- but it was by no means an easy victory, and just because it was more popular than HD DVD, doesn't mean Blu-ray can win over the hearts of millions of DVD fans. But while we wait to see how well Blu-ray is adopted by the masses, we wanted to take a second to look back at how it all ended up working out. We'll start this story way back in the Summer of '05 where the talks to create a unified format broke down: this is the moment most of us realized we were in for some fun. Sure, this thing got started way before that, but we have to start somewhere and this is when it really began to get interesting. As HD DVD approached the BDA to join forces and demanded too many changes to the Blu-ray disc format, the BDA told them to pound sand.
Verizon grabs Michael Bay, coaxes him to campaign for FiOS
Not even a fortnight after DISH Network snagged Frank Caliendo to push its satellite TV service, and merely hours after Michael Bay was caught speaking out for Blu-ray yet again, it seems that Verizon has found a way to get the aforementioned filmmaker to plug its wares. More specifically, Mr. Bay will be an integral part of the fiber carrier's "This is FiOS; This is Big" campaign, which aims to demonstrate how FiOS "is the best and first choice for home entertainment." We know, most of you out there will do just about anything to avoid an ad, but if you're curious about this particular one, feel free to head here and take a peek.
Michael Bay singlehandedly wins the HD format war
Finally, Michael Bay has stepped down from Cheese Mountain to pontificate on the finer points of the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray war. Speaking from the inner-sanctum of his lair -- located equidistant from the Church of Scientology and a gigantic cotton candy stand -- Mr. Bay reminds us that, "Blu-ray's better, and I told everyone," then goes on to further prop himself by adding, "I was very vocal about it. I knew HD [DVD] was not going to make it." We're glad that Bay can sleep at night, safe in the knowledge that the mere "quality" of the formats decided the winner of this battle, rather than massive business partnerships fueled by the desire for marketshare. He wrapped up his message (actually given at an awards ceremony held by the Visual Effects Society) by saying, "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... No one believed me." He then slammed a trophy he was receiving to the floor, pointed to the packed room, and yelled, "In your face, HD DVD!"[Via Blu-ray, thanks Kiwi616]
Paramount following Warner out the HD DVD door?
The Financial Times is reporting that Paramount is preparing to use a get out clause in its HD DVD exclusivity deal, and go back to Blu-ray, about 4 months after ending its dual-format release schedule. The move would be a result of Warner's switch to Blu-ray, using a "get out" clause in Paramount's promotional agreement with the HD DVD camp. No details on what it might take to rip up the contract and make Michael Bay very, very happy, but if the rumor proves true this could make the slow death he predicted for HD DVD a very, very fast one.
Michael Bay says HD DVD will die a slow death
We're used to Michael Bay voicing his strong Blu-ray preference, but what is new is that this post wasn't written during the wee hours of the morning. The possibility of posting under the influence aside, Bay -- like many Blu-ray supporters -- is gloating after the latest dramatic announcement from Warner. Not only does he think that HD DVD will die a slow death, but also states "Blu ray is just better." He then urges his fans to "Have faith people Transformers will come out in Blu-ray one day!" Yeah ok, Michael we get it, but we wonder how you could've left out "You're my boy blue!"
Michael Bay talks HD DVD and Microsoft's 'dirty secret'
Michael Bay has been sipping the "Kool-Aid" again. Several months after the director's infamous night with a band of Blu-ray owners and a few glasses of alternate-reality drink (ending in a brief holdout with Transformers 2 on the line), Bay is back to blasting HD DVD. Despite a sobering HD DVD screening of 300 in late-August and newfound acceptance of Paramount's decision to partner with Microsoft, Bay has fallen off the wagon, stumbling onto a trail of deceit leading to a "dirty secret," a corporate plot to annihilate all forms of our beloved polycarbonate discs -- with explosions, lots of 'em.Bay writes, "Microsoft wants both [HD DVD and Blu-ray] formats to fail so they can be heroes and make the world move to digital downloads. That is the dirty secret no one is talking about. That is why Microsoft is handing out $100 million dollar checks to studios just [to] embrace the HD DVD and not the leading, and superior Blu Ray [sic]. They want confusion in the market until they perfect the digital downloads. Time will tell and you will see the truth."While we can't verify just how many $100 million checks have been cashed (we know of just the one we received to ensure the Sony bias keeps flowing), we do know what Bill Gates told us nearly a year ago: "HD DVD is great ... It's neat. But over time, eventually online is going to be more important." That don't sound like no secret to us. Sony was early to the HD movie market and Microsoft didn't want its competitor to run away with a new format before it could get the proper digital distribution network and hardware in place. HD DVD certainly can be viewed as a stalling tactic, and two formats with varying Hollywood support is definitely confusing to consumers, but let's not mistake reality for Michael Bay's vision of Armageddon.
Michael Bay's format war conspiracy theory: it's a Microsoft fix
It's no secret that Michael "Transformers" Bay prefers his high definition optical discs in the Blu variety, but what we didn't know was how convinced the man is that the whole format war is nothing but a stalling tactic, with Microsoft pulling all the strings. Responding to a commenter angry over Paramount's decision to burn Optimus and friends onto HD DVD only, Bay claims to have the inside track on the "corporate politics" at play here, suggesting that "Microsoft wants both formats to fail so they can be heroes and make the world move to digital downloads." He goes on to claim that Redmond has only been financially backing HD DVD over "superior Blu-ray" to create "confusion in the market" until such time as high def digital downloading goes prime time. In other words, if you believe Bay, Microsoft is backing a known loser in order to prolong a war it doesn't want anyone to win. Pretty wild theory, if you ask us -- hey, this guy should make movies.[Thanks, Timothy and Kiwi616]
Michael Bay still pushing for Blu-ray
You'd think that Michael BDA Bay might be happy with his record-breaking HD DVD release of Transformers, but he re-voiced his preference for the blue camp in a recent interview. Granted, his movie probably would have been wildly successful on either HD format, but it seems like either he's got a bit of "gift horse"/"mouth" or he's come down from the kool-aid. Talking about the format war, he said "It's short-sighted and it has delayed consumers' moving to HD (home video). As a director, my critical eye is that Blu-ray is where my money is." We totally agree with him on the format war being a real mess, but if he really wants to get feedback on which format consumers prefer, shouldn't he be pushing for a dual-format release?
Michael Bay "drinks the Kool Aid," now supports HD DVD
Ha, so much for standing up to the boss-man. Michael's latest post now says that, "I drank the Kool Aid" blah blah blah "so I think I might be back on to do Transformers 2!" Whatever, wuss.
Michael Bay responds to Paramount's abandonment of Blu-ray: "No Transformers 2 for me!"
So by now you've heard that Paramount has dropped support for Blu-ray right? Good, so has a notable Hollywood director. Michael Bay -- the man behind "Transformers," "Bad Boys," "Pear Harbor," etc. -- just threw down with Paramount in his personal blog. In a forum post titled "Paramount pisses me off!", he states, "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!" That's right Mike, aim your PS3 right at their coffers!Update: Ha, so much for standing up to the boss-man. Michael's latest post now says that, "I drank the Kool Aid" blah blah blah "so I think I might be back on to do Transformers 2!" Whatever, wuss.[Thanks, Pilam69 and Carl G.]
Prince of Persia film to feature Parkour, says early script review
Latino Review, who always manages to nab early script reviews, has recently taken a look at the Prince of Persia movie and given it an overwhelmingly positive A-.Though the review attempts to abstain from spoilers, it does mention the script specifically calling for Parkour, a French physical art form that emphasizes momentum and efficient movement. You might remember seeing it in the French action flick District B13 or Casino Royale. It also fits really well given the Prince's acrobatic nature.The Prince of Persia film is being developed by Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer, who managed to take a theme park ride and turn it into one of the highest grossing movie trilogies of all time. Can they work the same magic with a video game adaptation? With Michael Bay? The sands of time are trickling, and it looks like this movie is moving along.See Also:Gears of War screenplay details leaked onlineScript for Halo movie leaked and reviewed?[Via Movie Chronicles; thanks, Paul]
Michael Bay eager to put his 'world-class images' into games
Director Michael Bay is preparing to transform Digital Domain, his Hollywood special-effects house, into a full-scale, game-churning production studio, reports Los Angeles Times. Bay (Bad Boys, Armageddon) will channel the convergence between film and games through his very own first-person shooter, perhaps taking a cue from fellow cross-over director Steven Spielberg. Bay's project will be followed by as many as four additional games over the next two years, as Digital Domain's new owner, Florida investment group Wyndcrest Holdings, begins to pump nearly $100 million into the studio; in part, to purchase the equipment and bring on the talent necessary to compete in the games industry -- including chairs, hundreds of ergonomic chairs. Look for Digital Domain to also acquire several game firms later this year.As foreshadowed by the studio's "Mad World" Gears of War TV spot, Digital Domain won't be using game engines for just games. Also on the agenda will be a series of teen-targeted animated features, which will utilize machinima er, a "new" cost-effective animation method. Does Hollywood actually have anything to offer the games industry? Or are Bay & co. just hopping over the fence 'cause the grass smells greener? "I make world-class images," says Bay. "Why not put those images into a game?"
Disney wants Michael Bay for Prince of Persia film
Film site IESB reports that Disney is hoping Michael Bay, after finishing up Transformers, will helm the film adaptation of Prince of Persia. With frequent Bay producer Jerry Bruckheimer already signed on for the project, we expect the Armageddon director will take the job.The Bruckheimer-Bay duo has brought us some entertaining (Bad Boys, The Rock) and not-so entertaining (Pearl Harbor) films, but there are some prevalent themes in all of their collaborations. Prince of Persia, heavy on explosion and light on character development and plot, is expected for a Summer 2009 release and, if successful, to become a franchise.[Via Cinematical]%Gallery-1859%
Last minute holiday shopping?
There's always DVD's, CD's and videogames. So what might you pick up today that would look great on the screen of the HDTV owner in your life? I've got a few ideas.DVD's - The Island - I know I know, nobody went to see it at the theaters, let me tell you, I think they made a mistake. It was a great summer action flick and will make for a great winter action flick to watch inside while it snows. The sets and the special effects had me thinking this may be my first Blu-ray/HD-DVD purchase when I originally saw it in the theater, since neither of them made it this year I'll have to settle for regular DVD quality upconverted. Oh yeah, and Scarlett Johansen? Incredibly easy on the eyes.
