While Bay's movies are best known for their over-the-top action sequences, he is developing a strong following from families, and his growing female audience suggests that for all of the film's leering close-ups of "Transformers" costar Megan Fox's anatomy, ticket buyers enjoy the "Transformers" love story, too.
Screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who wrote on both "Transformers" films, said that for all of the pyrotechnics you'll find in a Bay film, there are also a number of personal, emotional touches. They said Bay was initially intrigued by "Transformers" not just because vehicles could turn into battling automatons but because the story's lead character, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), was guarding a secret -- the fact that his car had special powers -- from his parents.
"You know there are going to be massive explosions," Kurtzman said, "but there is also going to be something sweet at the center of it. And that's the secret of Michael."
Said Paramount Pictures Chairman Brad Grey: "I think audiences are mesmerized by what he's able to do on screen. What is unexpected for the moviegoer is that his characters have heart and warmth." He said that while it is an "interesting question" if better reviews would have yielded better "Transformer" ticket sales, what matters for Bay's movies is positive word of mouth, not critical raves.
Speaking from his Miami vacation home as the box-office figures piled up, Bay said his "Transformers" sequel was succeeding because it appealed to "the kid in all of us -- it's a wish-fulfillment movie. This one is just a big, epic adventure. It's got scope beyond belief and it's got more heart" than the first "Transformers" movie, which grossed more than $319 million domestically.
Bay said his commercial training helped teach him the importance of lighting, camera moves and close-ups -- how to sell something as efficiently as possible.
"The one thing commercials teach you is how to convey a message in 30 seconds," he said. "And this I know for a fact: I shoot actors -- even young actors -- as if they were movie stars. And that's something a lot of other directors don't do."
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john.horn@latimes.com
Times staff writer Juliette Funes contributed to this report.
