When it comes to taking chaotic and high-budget ideas and transforming them into a polished and consumable movie, not many directors match up to Michael Bay’s talents.
Ever since his feature film directorial debut with Bad Boys, Bay has shown he perfectly understands how and when to fit in eccentric ideas and massive explosions in his star-laden movies, and at the same time make money for the studios who are willing to back his expensive vision. His movies like Pearl Harbor, Armageddon, and the Transformers series have collected a combined total of more than two billion dollars at the box office.
Having said that, eccentric ideas also attract more questions. Armageddon‘s plot is so off-beat that Ben Affleck ended up being puzzled by Bay’s thought process during the filming.
How Michael Bay Reacted to Ben Affleck’s Questions During Armageddon’s Filming
Armageddon, a science fiction thriller starring the likes of Bruce Willis, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, and Steve Buscemi among others, was a huge commercial success, grossing $553 million worldwide against a $140 million budget. In fact, it was the highest-grossing film of 1998.
However, not many critics found the basic plot of the movie very reasonable. It follows the story of NASA’s Dan Truman, who concludes that the only way to stop an asteroid from colliding with Earth and causing irreversible destruction is to drill into its surface and detonate a nuclear bomb. He calls in Harry Stamper, a deep-core driller, and his team to take on the implausible mission. In short: NASA turned to a group of drillers to save the earth.
Ben Affleck – who played cocksure A.J., who is initially disliked by Willis’ character – also apparently irked Michael Bay with too many questions about the plot. An audio clip of Good Will Hunting co-writer from the DVD commentary of the movie has gone viral, wherein Affleck says that his director told him to shut up when he started asking too many questions.
The talented actor, who was 25 at the time, said [via New York Post]: “I asked Michael why it was easier to train oil drillers to become astronauts than it was to train astronauts to become oil drillers, and he told me to shut the f—k up.”
He continued: “I was like, ‘You mean it’s a real plan at NASA to train oil drillers?’ And he was like, ‘Just shut your mouth!'”
Despite concern from his actor, it seems Bay was convinced Armageddon’s idea would translate well at the box office, and judging by the numbers, he was absolutely right.
Did Michael Bay Work With Ben Affleck Again After Telling Him to Shut the F**k up?
The revealing audio clip of Affleck suggests not everything was rosy between him and Bay on the sets of Armageddon. However, the two seemingly didn’t harbor any ill feelings toward each other, as they reunited for Pearl Harbor just a few years later.
Moreover, in this 2001 war action movie, Affleck got the lead part of Capt. Rafe McCawley, who finds himself caught up in the “horror of an infamous Sunday morning” in 1941 alongside his lifelong friend and a nurse.
As is the case with Bay’s most movies, Pearl Harbor also became a blockbuster, managing a worldwide total of $449 million. Question his logic, but never doubt the charismatic filmmaker’s money-making capabilities.
Source: New York Post
