Controversial, crazy, politically incorrect. The latest episode that sees him at the center of controversy concerns several dozen pigeons thrown against the windshield of a car in his film "6 Underground", (available on Netflix), so much so that he was accused of animal abuse.We are talking about Michael Bay, American director and producer, known by most for the saga of "Transformers" (five films to his credit) but also for some of the most spectacular films of the last thirty years: from "The Rock" (1996, with Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery) to "Armageddon" (1998, with Bruce Willis), passing through "Pearl Harbor" (2001) and the two chapters of "Bad Boys" (1995 and 2003).
Among the many records that can be attributed to him, however, there is one that arouses curiosity and concerns the number of cars destroyed during the sets: 354, more than double compared to the runner-up, Justin Lin also known for being the director of some chapters of the "Fast and Furious" franchise (135 cars destroyed for him). They are followed by John Landis (120), Christopher Nolan (83), brothers Anthony and Joe Russo and their Avengers (80), John Woo (77), Richard Donner and his "Lethal Weapon" (61), Steven Spielberg (60), Paul Greengrass (51), Lana and Lily Wachowski (45), Chad Stahelski (30), Edgar Wright (25), tied with James Cameron, John McTiernan (21) and George Miller (18). The study on the destroyed cars was carried out by the British website Scrap Car Comparison.
Obviously, much of Michael Bay's number of destroyed vehicles is due to the "Transformers" saga, where cars are real protagonists of the plot and their destruction is predicted right on the script. Yet, it is also a practice of other films directed by Bay, one above all "Bad Boys II", in the amazing scene of the accident, where 38 cars were destroyed in a single day of shooting.A sad merit, since, as he has been repeatedly complained of, it would be a waste of resources and considerable environmental pollution. But also one of the many wickedness attributable to this character, opposed by critics, praised by the public (the receipts of each "Transformers" film can testify to this) and defended by most of his actors. Genius and wildness, as they say in these cases.
