- Nhà Tù Đá (1996) is his favorite of the films he has directed and Sean Connery is his favorite actor that he's ever worked with.
- All his films up to and including Ngày Tận Thế (1998) made him the youngest director to reach the billion dollar mark world wide.
- He is a very close friend of writer/director George Lucas from whom he often seeks advice. As a teenager, he worked at ILM in the storyboard department for films like Indiana Jones Và Chiếc Rương Thánh Tích (1981).
- In Những Gã Trai Hư (1995), Bay paid $25,000 (one quarter of his fee) for the climax explosion scene. The initial shot was made impossible by a rainstorm, and the production company refused to pay for another try.
- Has a great respect for and is good friends with filmmaker Zack Snyder as they went to the same school and worked at Propaganda Films.
- Shot over 1 million feet of film for Trân Châu Cảng (2001). Used only about 20,000 feet for the final, 9-reel cut.
- Owns two English Mastiff dogs, named Grace after the character played by Liv Tyler in Ngày Tận Thế (1998) and Bonecrusher after the Decepticon that appeared in Transformers: Robot Đại Chiến (2007). His bullmastiff Mason Rock Bay named the character Sean Connery played in the Nhà Tù Đá (1996)) died of old age in 2007.
- Such is the intensely busy and chaotic nature of his film sets, the cast and crew generally refer to it as "Bayhem".
- Was considered to direct Siêu Nhân Trở Lại (2006).
- Joined Propaganda Films two weeks out of graduate school. He befriended actor Djimon Hounsou, who was working across the street at a modeling agency. Djimon Hounsou later appeared in Đảo Vô Hình (2005).
- One of 20 prominent filmmakers to sign a letter in protest of Premium Video on Demand, which allows films to be streamed by home viewers at a cost of $30 only 60 days after the film's release in theaters.
- Was challenged by German filmmaker Uwe Boll to a charity boxing match in 2008.
- "Movieline" revealed in 2001 that Bay's father is John Frankenheimer. Frankenheimer, who always denied paternity, took a DNA test in the 1980s which was negative.
- Was reported to be fine and uninjured after fending off two men who attacked him demanding money--and carrying an "air conditioner" as a weapon--on the set of the latest Transformers: Robot Đại Chiến (2007) sequel shooting in Hong Kong in October, 2013.
- Uses a Mark V director's viewfinder while shooting a film. The viewfinder is often prominently featured in photographs of him, hung around his neck. It is engraved with his name and the names of every film he has directed.
- Turned down the offer to direct Van Helsing: Khắc Tinh Ma Cà Rồng (2004), opting to do Đảo Vô Hình (2005) instead.
- Two of his films, Ngày Tận Thế (1998) and Nhà Tù Đá (1996), are in the Criterion Collection.
- Was classmates with Joss Whedon in Wesleyan University. For graduate work, Bay attended the Art Center College of Design where he was classmates with Zack Snyder and Tarsem Singh.
- Was offered the chance to direct Người Đỡ Đạn (2004).
- Michael was adopted when he was two weeks old, by Harriet (Markowitz) and Sheldon James "Jim" Bay, who raised him. He has a sister, Lisa Bay.
- Was offer the opportunity to direct Kẻ Hủy Diệt 3: Người Máy Nổi Loạn (2003) but pulled out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.
- Was considered to direct Người Hùng Báo Thù (2009).
- One of the few directors to have won multiple Razzie Awards for Worst Director. He has won two. Both of his awards were for directing "Transformers" sequels.
- Is good friends with filmmakers J.C. Chandor and J.J. Abrams as they help one another on their films.
- Since the age of 26, Bay has won every major commercial directing award, including the Gold and Silver Lions at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. He also won the Grand Prix Clio for Commercial of the Year for his "Got Milk/Aaron Burr" commercial, which also won him the Museum of Modern Art Award for Best Campaign of the Year.
- He filmed the dynamic shots of the thrown dice in the gambling scenes for Adrian Lyne's Lời Đề Nghị Khiếm Nhã (1993). He later "repossessed" the shots for a montage in Ngày Tận Thế (1998).
- Filmed the movie Ngày Tận Thế (1998) with an eye towards Middle America. Has a love for Americana.
- Was originally set to direct Vua Arthur (2004) but dropped out.
- Has directed seven films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing.
- Good friends with Ben Affleck.
- President of The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness, also known as The Institute, a commercial and music video production company he founded with Scott Gardenhour.
- Co-Founded Propoganda Films in the early 1990s.
- Was considered to direct Hành Tinh Khỉ (2001).
- Cousin of Susan Bay Nimoy, cousin-in-law of Leonard Nimoy.
- Studied under film historian Jeanine Basinger at Wesleyan University; Basinger later provided audio commentary, along with Bay, for the Trân Châu Cảng (2001) DVD. Filmmakers Ruben Fleischer, Joss Whedon' and Benh Zeitlin are also Wesleyan graduates.
- Has produced remakes to five cult horror films: Tử Thần Vùng Texas (2003), Ngôi Nhà Rùng Rợn (2005), The Hitcher (2007), Thứ Sáu Ngày 13 (2009) and Ác Mộng Phố Elm (2010).
- Was offered the chance to direct Rồng Đỏ (2002) but turned it down. Job went to Brett Ratner.
- Received a post-graduate degree in Film at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design in California.
- He was raised Jewish and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony.
- He considers himself an old school director, preferring analog over digital, both in shooting on film stock and keeping CGI shots to a minimum, staging practical action and stunts whenever possible.
- He is a very good friend to Don Michael Paul and even lent him some aerial shots from Nhà Tù Đá (1996) to Paul's movie Cận Kề Cái Chết (2002).
- Was very interested in directing Tốc Độ (1994) and Vùng Trời Tự Do (1994), but was turned down for both.
- Was considered, at one point, to direct Tôi Là Huyền Thoại (2007).
- Ranked #47 on Premiere's 2005 Power 50 List. Previously ranked #54 in 2004.
- Filming Transformers: Vùng Tối Của Mặt Trăng (2011) in the United States, Russia and possibly Africa. (July 2010)
- Directed the 1996 action film "The Rock" and many years later in 2013 directed Dwayne Johnson in "Pain & Gain". Johnson goes by the nickname "The Rock".
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