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Optimus Prime Time
Optimus Prime 見參～～
''Transformers'' director Michael Bay opens up about working with
Steven Spielberg, the art of the action film, and the possibility of a
sequel
電影「變形金剛」導演Micheal Bay敞開心胸暢談與Steven Spielberg共事的
感覺、拍攝動作片的奧妙、以及續集是否會問世。
By Adam B. Var
記者：Adam B. Var
''I've thought more about robots in a year and a half than probably
anybody,'' sighs Michael Bay. Slouched in his chair, a gentle breeze
wafting through his surprisingly zen Santa Monica, Calif., office,
he's still hung over from the previous evening's mega-premiere of
his latest summer-action extravaganza, Transformers - the movie
adaptation of the 1980s cartoon TV series and Hasbro toy line about
a race of alien machines who bring their war to Earth. (He may be
doing more celebrating after seeing the estimated $36.3 million in
box-office revenue from the movie's first 36 hours in theatres,
including $27.5 million on July 3, its first full day of release, a
new record for a Tuesday opening.)
在加州Santa Monica充滿”禪意”辦公室中的椅子上，懶洋洋的Michael Bay
嘆了口氣說：「過去一年半以來，我腦中想到機器人的時數比地球上任何人
都還要多。」才剛剛結束一場超盛大首映會的他，又推出了一部Micheal Bay
出品的暑假動作巨片－變形金剛。變形金剛奠基於一九八零年代的電視卡通
與Hasbro公司的玩具產品，故事主要提到一個外星機器生命族群，將他們的
爭戰帶到地球上。（記者註：如果Bay知道變形金剛在上映的前三十六小時
內就賺進三千六百萬美金，包含七月三號一天之內賺進兩千七百五十萬美金
，創下歷史上周二首映票房紀錄的話，他也許會更放鬆一些吧）
Over the course of the next hour, Bay talked to EW.com about his
working relationship with exec producer Steven Spielberg, what
helped him get over the notion of directing just ''a toy movie,'' and
how he feels about being, you know, Michael Bay.
在接下來的一個小時中，Bay與EW.com聊到了他與執行製片Steven Spielberg
之間的合作關係，什麼力量幫助他擺脫”我是被請來拍玩具電影”這樣的想法
，還有，他對於．．「當Michael Bay」有什麼想法。
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I have to tell you, as a Transformers
fan since childhood, the special effects were pretty darn cool.
ＥＷ：我必須要告訴你，身為一位變形金剛多年的粉絲，片中的特效對我
來說相當相當酷。
MICHAEL BAY: That's what it's all about. I worked a long time on
that. It wasn't always easy.
ＭＢ：這部片就是關於酷囉。我花了很多時間在那上面。這可沒那麼簡單。
I can see why - the machinery is incredibly intricate. Why did you
want to go in that route and not more -
ＥＷ：我看得出來，片中的機器人真的是不可思議。為什麼你選擇採用這
樣的表現方式而不是．．
Simple? Like a cartoon? Basically it's the equivalent of, like, the
Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters. It's got to withstand, you
know, a 40-foot screen - you just need a lot of detail and a lot
of things moving just to keep your eye dazzled by these complex
machines. It wasn't always peaches and cream. The robots kind
of sucked in the beginning. My whole thing is lighting with
[visual] effects. We all know something in our brain is telling
us it's not lit right - that's what makes you say it looks like a
cartoon. You figure out how it's all going to reflect different
pieces of light - different materials reflect differently.
ＭＢ：簡單點的設計嗎？像是．．卡通？基本上，這跟「Ghostbuster」
（捉鬼特攻隊）裡面的「Marshmallow Man」（棉花糖人）不能比。我們
的成品必須要．．能夠在．．十公尺高的螢幕上放映出來，還要有看頭，
要讓你眼花撩亂需要很多的細節、很多小零件的移動，這樣你才會被這些
複雜的機器人給震攝住。而整個創作的過程可一點都不輕鬆寫意。機器人
的設計一開始還蠻爛的。我抓住的重點就是「視覺特效」。我們都知道，
我們會從事物表面的光澤、外表得到訊息，然後大腦處理之後會”告訴”
我們眼睛看到的事物是不是不對勁，這個機制就是我們之所以會看著一樣
東西然後說”這看起來像卡通嘛．．”你必須搞懂一樣東西為什麼會反射
出那麼多不同的光線，還有不同的材質怎麼反射光線。
What first hooked you into wanting to direct Transformers?
ＥＷ：是什麼原因促使你接下變形金剛導演一職？
It was a pitch that Steven [Spielberg] gave me. The story is true: I
hung up [after we talked] and went ''I'm not doing that silly movie
because it sounds like a toy movie.'' I thought about it. And I said
okay, you know, [I'll] just go to Hasbro [for] this thing called
Transformer School. I sat in this conference room and we went
through the entire lore of Transformers. I like Japanese anime movies
- I just think visually they're really cool. There were some images
in the room; I kept looking at one and I'm like, you know, if I make
it real and edgy, it might be something really interesting. So I was a
non-Transformer fan, but that's good because I think it makes it more
accessible for people that are non-Transformer fans. I kept having this
image of a kid hiding his robots from his parents. To me that's just
a great kid fantasy. You have alien robots that are your friends.
That's charming to me. [Chuckles]
ＭＢ：是Steven給我這樣的動力，是他給我的那個切入角度給我動力。在
我們通完電話後，我第一個反應是”我才不要加入這個白痴計畫，這聽起
來像是一部玩具電影嘛．．”。之後，我考慮了一下，然後說服了我自己
。我想”好吧，我會去Hasbro公司，我會去參加變形金剛特訓班看看”。
之後，我去公司的簡報室，開始吸收所有變形金剛的知識。我喜歡日本的
版本，我真的認為，日本版本看起來蠻酷的。房間裡還有些照片，我盯著
其中一幅開始想”如果我把這東西搞得像真的一樣、又很先進，這也許會
很有趣”。我原本不是個變形金剛迷，但是，這因為這樣，我比較能夠吸
收整個題材。我不斷看到一個孩子想辦法讓父母親別看到他的機器人朋友
這樣的影像。對於我來說，這是一個很棒的關於孩子的故事。你知道的．
．有外星機器人當朋友。聽起來很迷人。哈哈哈。
My understanding is that Spielberg really was the guy that roped
you into directing this film. What was the first time that you realized
that he was following your career?
ＥＷ：據我了解，Spielberg是真正讓你接下導演一職的人。你什麼時候才
發覺他在注意你。
When I was 27, I did a whole string of commercials that were pretty
famous, the type of commercial where people go to a bar [and say],
''Did you see that commercial?'' That ''Got Milk?'' stuff, a whole
string of funny Nike ones, whatever. So I sent this reel [of my work]
around Hollywood. I get this call from my agent. ''Steven wants to
see you.'' I go, ''Steven who?'' ''Steven Spielberg wants to see you.''
Okay. I drove down to his office. A true story - I said, ''You know,
when I was 15, I worked at Lucasfilm and I filed your Raiders of
the Lost Ark storyboards. I saw the entire movie [in storyboard form]
and I honestly thought it was going to suck.'' [Laughs] And he
started laughing. And I said, ''When I went to the Grauman's Chinese
[Theater] with my parents and saw it, I went 'Oh my God, I've got to
do this.''' [Pause] I don't know, he's always been nice to me.
ＭＢ：當我二十七歲的時候，我拍了很多出名的廣告，就是那種大家聚在
一起的時候會問”你有沒有看過那個ＸＸ”的廣告。有「Got Milk」、
「Nike」等等。之後，我把自己的作品送給好萊塢圈內人。有一天我的經
紀人打電話給我說”Steven想要見你”，我問他”史蒂芬周嗎？”，他說
”Steven Spielberg想要見你”。好吧。我就開車到他的辦公室。接下來都
是真正發生過的，我說：「你知道嗎？我十五歲的時候在Lucasfilm上班，
我負責把”法櫃奇兵”分鏡圖歸檔。我看了所有的分鏡圖，而我真的認為
這部片一定很爛。他（Steven）就開始笑。」接著，我說：「之後我跟我
父母一起去到Grauman的中國戲院看這部片，我的反應變成”我的老天爺
啊！！我一定要進這行！”」我不知道．．他總是待我不錯。
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: There are stories of him asking you
how you would pull off certain shots, or certain sequences.
ＥＷ：我們聽說他（Steven）會要求你照著他說的拍某個鏡頭、某個片段？
MICHAEL BAY: What was fun working with him, we would sit
in my war room and [I'd say], ''Oh, Steven, I got this scene and I
want to do it like this and shoot like that.'' And he knows what I'm
talking about. He goes, ''Oh, what if you do that?'' But you can see
when I'm showing him stuff that his gears are ticking for Indiana
Jones 4. [Chuckles] You can see that he's a competitive director.
ＭＢ：跟他共事有一點很好玩，我們會在剪輯室，然後我會說：「嗯，
Steven，這裡有一幕我想要這樣拍。」他知道我在說什麼，之後，他會
說：「喔～那如果這樣拍呢？」但是，你看得出來，當我在秀出自己的
想法時，他的腦袋想得是「法櫃奇兵四」。哈哈哈。你看得出來他是位
相當優秀的導演。
I'm told he worked a lot with the Transformers' screenwriters Alex
Kurtzman and Roberto Orci to bring a certain innocent tone to the
film. The motto seems to have been, ''It's about a boy and his car.''
ＥＷ：有人告訴我們，Steven與變形金剛的編劇Alex Kurtzman 與 Roberto
Orci花了很多時間要把一種．．純真的感覺放進電影中。而這種ＦＵ好像
是「一位男孩與他的愛車」。
Yeah. That was the hook to the movie. But I added a stronger
military thing at the beginning to make it more, I guess, badass,
to make the stakes higher. But originally the tone was very suburbia.
We kind of changed that and made it edgier. I like the idea of the
suburbia. I specifically shot this a little bit more suburbia, meaning,
like, I would never put actors at a Burger King, but it's what people
do, you know what I mean? Or in [lead character Sam Witwicky's
suburban] house. It's not a sexy house. But it's identifiable, and
more accessible.
ＭＢ：是啊。那就是這部電影的一個主軸。但是，我在電影開頭加了很強
烈的軍事要素，讓整部片．．好像牽涉到更大更重要的大事。但是，一開
始電影的基調是非常生活化。我們有點把這個基調變奏，讓它更．．前衛
點。我喜歡生活化。我還特地放進了比較多生活化的感覺，像是，我以前
不會把演員放在漢堡王，但是，這就是真實世界人們會做的事情。你知道
嗎？還有，Sam的房子裡面，那不是間很酷的房子，但是你認得這樣的房
子，因為你認得這樣的”影像”，你會更容易投入在片中。
Was there a particular demographic that you thought would be
your target audience?
ＥＷ：有沒有哪個年齡層、客群是你刻意鎖定的？
I just thought it would be from kids to, you know, to 20-something
whatever. The first day on the set I'm working with all these guys
in the military and I was apologizing for the movie. Forty-something
guys. I was like, ''Okay guys, I know this sounds really stupid, but
there's a 40-foot-tall robot over here and it's going to flip and land
right here.'' They're like, ''Which robot? Is this Starscream?'' I'm
like, how do these guys know that? And I realized, oh my God,
it's a lot older than I thought.
ＭＢ：我只是想．．這應該是給孩子們看的，你知道，二十歲左右的，隨
便啦。開拍的第一場戲是跟一群軍人合作，我還向他們道歉。有四十幾個
人吧。我說：「好吧，各位．．我知道這樣說很蠢。但是，這裡有架十二
公尺高的機器人，他會在空中變形，然後他會在這裡著陸。」。然後，他
們竟然問說：「哪隻？Starscream嗎？」。我的反應是”你們怎麼會知道
Starscream！”。從那之後，我就了解了，這部電影可以鎖定更多更年長
的對象。
What is your work ethic with actors? What do you want and expect
out of them when you are on the set?
ＥＷ：你與演員之間對於工作態度的要求到哪個程度？當你在片場，你會
希望看到演員有怎樣的表現？
I want people to bring their A game. There are some directors that
sit in a chair. They sit in their trailer. I am always on the set. I do
12-hour days, that's it, and I don't go in overtime. And I shoot very
fast. When I am doing action I'm like your worst nightmare basketball
coach. I am there with my kneepads on, right next to you, and I'm
there because I'm trying to instill the adrenaline. When they see me
intense, I see actors' intensity starting to rise. It's like a game you've
got to play. Sometimes you create a bit of chaos. We call it on the
set ''Bayos.'' But no, honestly, it's like a manipulation thing.
ＭＢ：我希望看到「最高水準」的演出。有些導演，都坐在椅子上。坐在保
母車裏面。我總是待在現場。我一天工作十二小時，就是這樣，而且我不加
班。而且，我拍戲超快。當我在拍動作片段時，我會是妳做惡夢都不想見到
的導演。我到現場就是打到高速檔在衝，我就在妳身邊，因為我要把那種血
脈噴張的感覺注入的片中。當演員看到我緊繃著，我也會感受到演員們開始
燃燒小宇宙。這像是把妳丟到遊戲當中，你就是要玩下去。有時候，你會把
步調搞的有點混亂。我們稱之為「Bayos時刻」。但是，說實話，一切都還
是在掌握之中。
You made certain changes to the Transformers from the '80s series
to update them and make them cinematic - like giving Optimus
Prime a long-nose truck cab instead of a flat-front. There was a
lot of fan uproar about that. There were even rumors that you got
death threats.
ＥＷ：你把八零年代的變形金剛做了些改變，像是。。升級還有讓他們更
有「大螢幕」感－像是Optimus Prime的卡車頭不同於過去。有許多粉絲大
表不滿。甚至傳出有人威脅要你好看？
No. You get these funny talkbacks, like, ''Damn you, Michael Bay,
you wrecked my childhood, Michael Bay. I want to hunt you down.''
I mean, whatever, you know. People are passionate about their
childhoods. [laughs] But honestly, they remember the cartoons
greater than what they really are if you look at them. Because
they don't stand up at all.
ＭＢ：沒有的事。你會收到很多有趣的來信像是「他Ｘ的，Micheal Bay你
毀了我的童年美夢。」「Micheal Bay我要追殺你到天涯海角。」。你也知
道的，人對於童年總是有股熱情。但是，說實話，如果你現在把卡通拿出
來看，他們「印象中」的卡通其實比實際上的情況來的好看、出色，因為
真正原版的卡通其實太古老了。
I watched the 1986 Transformers animated movie the night before
seeing your film, and it was, um, kinda not so good.
ＥＷ：我在到電影院之前看了一九八六年的變形金剛電影版卡通，嗯，看
起來是沒那麼優。
Yeah, I saw 15 minutes of that movie and I wanted to put a gun to
my head. ''I can't see this. I have to go into my own head about what
this movie [I'm making] is.'' [Laughs] So yeah, you take the heat,
but they weren't seeing [the robots] in a 3-D world.
ＭＢ：對吧。我才看了十五分鐘，就已經想拿槍轟掉我自己的頭了。我腦
袋就在配音說：「我不能看這個版本！我應該把腦袋中自己拍的那個版本
拿出來看．．．。」你感受到那種．．魅力，但是，那時候的機器人畢竟
不是在３Ｄ的世界中呈現。
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I couldn't help noticing that all the
Autobots other than Optimus Prime are GM cars.
ＥＷ：我很難不去注意到一點就是，片中除了Optimus Prime之外所有的
Autobots都是ＧＭ的車．．
MICHAEL BAY: Why did I do it? I did this movie for [a budget
of] $150 [million]. That was a hard number. Steven, he's tight with
the budget. So it forced me to get creative. I opened it to any car
company, from Ford to Porsche, anyone. I just did it to keep an
open mind because I wanted to find Bumblebee. I did not want a
Volkswagen [like in the original cartoon series] - it's the Herbie
Love Bug to me.I've had a relationship with GM, so they took me
to where they do these cool concept cars. I saw this picture of that
Camaro [used in the film], and I'm like, That's the car. It saved me
$3 million on my budget, getting all those cars. I don't think you
are whoring out the movie, because I think each car kind of fits the
character. Maybe not Jazz [the Autobot that's a Pontiac Solstice in
the film]. Jazz is the one thing which I was like, ehhh, I wish he
was a different car, personally. It's too little. But that's why I did it.
It saved me money.
ＭＢ：原因嗎？我手上有一億五千萬的拍片預算。這可不算充裕。Steven
對於預算也抓得很緊。所以，我必須想出一些辦法。我把這個合作機會提
供給所有人，從福特到保時捷。我這麼做是為了找到Bumblebee，所以我
不設限。我不想要金龜車，也就是原來卡通裡面的設定，那看起來好像
「金龜車賀比」。我與ＧＭ有合作過，所以，他們把我帶到概念車中心。
就在那裡，我看到了一台Camaro（電影中的Bumblebee），我腦袋一轉，
就是這輛了。能夠獲得這些贊助車輛，省了我三百萬美金。我不認為與車
商合作降低了這部電影的格調，因為，我覺得每輛車都與它的角色形象互
相輝映。也許．．只有Jazz跟Pontiac Solstice這組比較．．個人而言，我
希望Jazz能配不同的車子。因為最終這個組合讓它看起來蠻小隻的。但是
，我還是必須這樣做，因為我要開源節流。
Was there any concern that you were also serving Hasbro, making
sure that you are true to the toys and original characters?
關於玩具製造公司Hasbro這邊，你有刻意讓角色與玩具以及初代角色有忠
實的重現、相似嗎？
Well, I said ''Listen, if I do this, I'm going to redesign these things.
You might not like everything, but I'm going to do it my way or
I'm not going to do it.'' Starscream [the Decepticon fighter jet] they
had a big f