Michael Bay received one of the highest honours in Hollywood: his handprints in the Walk of Fame.
Bay sank his hands and feet into the forecourt of Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre recently as he was honored for a money-spinning movie career that has netted almost $6 billion.
The 52-year-old Los Angeles native is known for directing some of history’s biggest effects-laden blockbusters, from “Bad Boys” (1995), “Armageddon” (1998) and “Pearl Harbor” (2001) to the “Transformers” franchise, whose fifth installment, “Transformers: The Last Knight” opens in the US and the Philippines on June 21, 2017.
“It brings back your childhood because I remember as a kid I came here. And this is where I went to the movies with my parents, this was the place where I saw ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ when I decided I want to become a director,” he told Agence France Presse.
Bay, who now calls Miami home, worked as an intern for George Lucas’s special effects company Industrial Light and Magic before kickstarting his directing career with commercials and music videos for Tina Turner, Lionel Richie and Meat Loaf.
His first feature film — “Bad Boys,” starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence marked the beginning of a string of collaborations between Bay and veteran producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
“It’s bizarre as a kid to think, this was always untouchable to me, you know,” he said of being honored by Hollywood.
“You don’t ever think that’s possible, so it’s kind of a bizarre thing having your hands printed here.”
Known for high octane action, Bay’s movies have made $5.8 billion, allowing him to indulge a passion for aviation and motoring, according to Rolling Stone magazine, snapping up a $50 million Gulfstream jet and a fleet of luxury and sports cars.