There has been a lot of drama surrounding Megan Fox and her TRANSFORMERS director, Michael Bay. It was the ultimate case of “biting the hand that feeds you”. For anyone who needs a refresher, Fox spoke to Wonderland Magazine about Bay, describing him as Hitler. She said:
“God, I really wish I could go loose on this one. He’s like Napoleon and he wants to create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation. He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is. So he’s a nightmare to work for but when you get him away from set, and he’s not in director mode, I kind of really enjoy his personality because he’s so awkward, so hopelessly awkward. He has no social skills at all. And it’s endearing to watch him. He’s vulnerable and fragile in real life and then on set he’s a tyrant. Shia [Labeouf] and I almost die when we make a Transformers movie. He has you do some really insane things that insurance would never let you do.”
Then, when speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Bay retaliated, saying about Fox:
“Well, that’s Megan Fox for you. She says some very ridiculous things because she’s 23 years old and she still has a lot of growing to do. You roll your eyes when you see statements like that and think, “Okay Megan, you can do whatever you want. I got it.” But I 100% disagree with her. Nick Cage wasn’t a big actor when I cast him, nor was Ben Affleck before I put him in “Armageddon.” Shia LaBeouf wasn’t a big movie star before he did “Transformers”-and then he exploded. Not to mention Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, from “Bad Boys.” Nobody in the world knew about Megan Fox until I found her and put her in “Transformers.” I like to think that I’ve had some luck in building actors’ careers with my films.”
And because of all that jazz, Fox ain’t a part of TRANSFORMERS 3.
Well now, Shia LaBeouf has put in his two cents on the whole debacle. When speaking with the LA Times, LaBeouf says that Fox was never really comfortable with her sexual role:
“Megan developed this Spice Girl strength, this woman-empowerment that made her feel awkward about her involvement with Michael [Bay], who some people think is a very lascivious filmmaker, the way he films women…Mike films women in a way that appeals to a 16-year-old sexuality. It’s summer. It’s Michael’s style. And I think [Fox] never got comfortable with it. This is a girl who was taken from complete obscurity and placed in a sex-driven role in front of the whole world and told she was the sexiest woman in America. And she had a hard time accepting it. When Mike would ask her to do specific things, there was no time for fluffy talk. We’re on the run. And the one thing Mike lacks is tact. There’s no time for (in a gentle voice) ‘I would like you to just arch your back 70 degrees.'”
Fox doesn’t feel comfortable being sexual? There’s something strange about that to me…
Whether or not it’s true, LaBeouf says his new costar, Rose Huntington-Whiteley, fits a lot easier into such a role:
“Rosie comes with this Victoria’s Secret background, and she’s comfortable with it, so she can get down with Mike’s way of working and it makes the whole set vibe very different.”