Summary
Pearl Harborstar Josh Hartnett reflects on his experience working with director Michael Bay. Hartnett played Danny Walker in the epic period drama, which also starred a supporting cast including Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, William Lee Scott, Ewen Bremner, Michael Shannon, Jaime King, Jennifer Garner, Jon Voight, and Cuba Gooding Jr.Pearl Harborwas one of Bay’s early directorial effortsbefore he took on theTransformersseries.
Speaking withVanity Fair, Hartnett details his experience working with Bay onPearl Harbor.
According to the actor, he was “trepidatious” about working on a film as big asPearl Harbor, and working with Bay due to his reputation. Contrary to this, Hartnett maintains that he"got along with Mciahel[Bay] really well.“and he “didn’t have that experience” of Bay’s intensity. While Hartnett said that Bay might have “[taken] it easy on him,” the actor asserted his positive experience. Check out the full quote from Hartnett below:
Pearl Harbor is by far the biggest film that I’ve worked on. And I was trepedatious about it. Because I was very happy with the amount of work I was getting and the type of directors I was working with.
You read the script, and you know it’s not going to be a direct historical film. It is a romance. And you know, a few years after Titanic had come out, and they wanted to capitalize on a similar type of audience. And that Michael Bay makes big, spectacle films. He’s interested in large aspects of filmmaking and it’s not necessarily about the intimate moments. That said, I got along with Michael really well. I think a lot of people at that time were saying he’s a very difficult director to work with, and like blah blah blah blah blah and watch out. And I didn’t have that experience at all. I think Ben took some of the brunt of Michael’s unhappiness at times when things would go wrong, but they already had a relationship. But I didn’t have that experience, I think maybe because I was so green, that he just took it easy on me.
Bay’s Reputation As A Director Explained
Bay Is Known For Being Ill-Tempered
Looking at Hartnett’s career up to that point, it is no surprise thatPearl Harborwould have come with a lot of associated pressure. While he had major film roles already inThe Virgin SuicidesandThe Faculty, Hartnett was only 23 years old and still in the very early stages of his career at the timePearl Harborcame out. Thebudget forPearl Harborwas a hefty $140 million, making it, as Hartnett characterizes, the “biggest film” he had worked on to date. As a rising star, the pressure he would feel as a result makes sense.
Bay, on the other hand, had alreadydeveloped a reputation for “spectacle"in the grandiose films that populated his early career. This included large-scale projects such asBad BoysandArmageddon. With these films, he also gained a reputation for being “a very difficult director to work with.” Bay’s reputation as hot-tempered and challenging remains somewhat in place today.
Every Michael Bay Movie, Ranked from Worst To Best
With the release of Ambulance on Netflix, it’s time to look back at the work of the infamous Michael Bay, ranked from worst to best.
Hartnett’s statement about Bay does not completely dispel the rumors about the director. Rather, Hartnett says thatco-star Affleck"took the brunt” of the director’s “unhappiness” on the set. WhileHartnett does not specify what that unhappiness looked like, the phrase can nonetheless be taken to mean that Bay occasionally acted out on the set ofPearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor
Cast
Two best friends and pilots find themselves caught in a love triangle with a dedicated nurse just as the catastrophic attack on Pearl Harbor plunges America into war. The events of December 7 dramatically change their lives, and the film tells a dramatized tale set during the event that marked the United States' entry into World War II.
