Director Michael Bay Goes on 3D Offensive

NEW YORK – Transformers franchise director Michael Bay has gone on the offensive amid recent criticism of 3D films and their outlook, urging CEOs of movie theater groups to show Transformers: Dark of the Moon in a specific way that makes 3D look brighter, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
   
His attempt to get the word out before the June 29 theatrical release that people will not regret paying an additional $3 to $5 for seeing the movie in 3D comes after such recent films as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides have done weaker 3D business than expected and stocks of companies with a 3D tie-in, such as DreamWorks Animation and 3D film technology provider RealD, have been on the decline.

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Last week, Bay called the CEOs of exhibitors to urge them to show Dark of the Moon, whose budget hit $195 million, “in a way that burns out projector bulbs more quickly but makes 3D look brighter and sharper,” the Times said.  

“If this was having my name on it, I was determined to make it technically perfect,” Bay told the Times. “We’ve spent an enormous amount of time making sure the eye is transitioned from shot to shot.”      

Bay had originally dismissed 3D as a “gimmick” and a bad fit for his fast-moving filmmaking style, but recently told the Hollywood Reporter that his old friend James Cameron changed his mind.

“We’re putting all of our resources into this,” said Brad Grey, who heads up Viacom’s Paramount Pictures, which is releasing the movie. “It’s the most spectacular visual experience I have ever seen.”       

Rob Moore, Paramount’s vice chairman, told the paper: “With Transformers people are going to leave saying, ‘You absolutely must see this in 3-D’.”