Michael Bay Clarifies 'Armageddon' Comments: "I'm Proud Of The Movie"
We saw this one coming. A quote surfaced yesterday in which Michael Bay said "I will apologize for Armageddon." And while the context of the article in which it appeared made pretty clear that Bay was just talking about the rushed post-production of the film, that didn't stop many from simply saying that Bay was writing off the movie itself.
The director isn't slow to issue clarifications when this sort of thing happens, and indeed he has posted a note on his own site. The short quote is "I'm proud of Armageddon," and we've got the full text explaining what he was really saying, below.
Bay wrote on the Shoot For the Edit forums,
One press writer has gone too far in reporting false information. He has printed the bare minimum of my statement which in effect have twisted my words and meaning. I'm not in the slightest going to apologize for the third movie in my movie career, a film called Armageddon. On the red carpet for Pain & Gain some reporters asked me what are you apologizing for, and I said what on earth are you talking about?
What I clearly said to the reporter, is I wish I had more time to edit the film, specifcally the the third act. He asked me in effect what would you change if you could in your movies if you could go back. I said, I wish we had a few more weeks in the edit room on Armageddon. And still today Armageddon, is still one of the most shown movies on cable TV. And yes, I'm proud of the movie. Enough said.
Michael
Pretty much exactly what we thought he had really said — or meant to say — in the quote. Now, whether Bay did say more than is quoted in the original piece, or if he thought he was making the above point more clearly, is something that he and the original writer can argue about. For Armageddon fans, however, this is quick closure.