When Terminator Salvation was released back in 2009 fans of the science fiction franchise had been waiting six long years for another action-packed outing, one which could potentially expand upon James Cameron‘s post-apocalyptic universe of the nefarious rogue A.I. SkyNet, the Connor family, and the army of ever-changing endoskeletons.
The fourth Terminator movie would feature Christian Bale, Common, Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, Sam Worthington and the late Anton Yelchin fighting T-600s, Hydrobots, Harvesters, and a strong sense of shame, in the decimation and decay of a future war landscape.
Salvation, which would garner its fair share of controversy and virality before its release, was directed by one Joseph McGinty Nichol (AKA McG), edited by Terminator 2: Judgment Day alumni Conrad Buff, and with music from Danny Elfman; featured more than just fictional conflict on the screen – there was also a peculiar war of words between McG and Transformers director Michael Bay in the run up to the movie hitting theaters.
… it all began with a forum post and a barbed comment about “Transformer size robots“…
Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen director, Michael Bay, stated in an update on his official fan forum on January 8th 2009 that:
“Okay it’s time to turn up the heat on Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen. We’ve waited low in the weeds letting all the summer movies get their stuff out. We’ve seen the great year end movies, and watched the upcoming clips of the upcoming summer fare. We’ve seen certain movies coming out even try to duplicate Transformer size robots in their ads. Please, come on.
Well, I promise you we will rock your world with Transformers 2. The fans wanted ROBOTS KICKING ASS – well we got it. Today we are releasing the teaser poster and soon the onslaught will continue with a steady drum beat until June 26th.
I’ll keep you informed.
Bay”MichaelBay.com
McG then addressed Michael Bay’s post during a preview screening of Terminator Salvation on January 12th 2009 in New York.
McG said:
“It bothers me to tell you the truth. Ultimately, our large robots have nothing to do with the Transformers robots. I say with respect, giant robots have been the theme of film for a real long time. So we want to do everything we can to create separation. Our film’s about T-800s and the Marcus character and the Connor character, and this, that, and the other. So, to have people have a problem with that wouldn’t be working for us so we want to make sure there’s separation.”
The Playlist
Speaking to GQ early in 2009 about his feud with Michael Bay, McG upped the ante.
The article stated:
“McG loosens up on the subject of one of his detractors: Michael Bay, whose Transformers 2 will be taking on Terminator Salvation at the box office this summer. Bay and McG have been engaged in a “Whose robots are bigger, mine or yours?” contest for months. After McG shows me much of his near-finished film, he’s feeling pretty good and decides to take the feud to another level. “Michael Bay has a big cock,” he says. Huh? “But I’d like to believe mine is bigger.” McG smiles. “If he’s up for it, we can both reveal ourselves on the Spartacus steps at Universal and put the question to rest.”
GQ
McG walked back his statements regarding the disagreement on May 8th 2009, telling reporters at a press conference for Terminator Salvation that his comments shouldn’t have been taken seriously.
He said:
“It’s interesting because this is the sort of thing that makes me never want to speak again. They [the comments] were meant to be ironic because people were asking, ”Whose robots are bigger?’ Which is effectively asking, ”Whose cock is bigger?’ I responded by saying, ”We can meet at the Spartacus steps at midnight’. I thought it was plainly clear that I was kidding and by the way I have a tiny Irish cock. I have no business challenging Bay, who is a apparently packing a Duraflame, [according to] a guy who went to college with him. I can’t win that battle. It was meant to be ironic but the irony was lost in print. So I am done talking about such vulgar things.”
Straight.com
Even Terminator creator, James Cameron, eventually gave his two cents on the subject...
While promoting Avatar in an interview for Playboy back in November 2009, the subject of the McG Vs Bay spat arose…
Playboy: “When director McG’s Terminator Salvation was up against Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen at the box office last summer, McG said, ‘Michael Bay has a big cock, but I’d like to believe that mine is bigger. If he’s up for it, we can reveal ourselves on the Spartacus steps at Universal and put the question to rest.’ As co-writer and director of two Terminator movies, would you have been willing to drop trou with them to settle the matter?”
Playboy
James Cameron: “No, I prefer we keep work and play separate. Being a good director probably doesn’t have a whole lot to do with the size of one’s penis, big toe, thumb size or anything else. That’s about the dumbest fucking thing you could ever say. I’m surprised he [McG] didn’t call me out.”
James Cameron
2009, what a time to be alive, eh?
Yes, the existence of giant robots in film / TV / Media predates the creation of Transformers (created in 1984) and Michael Bay’s involvement with said franchise (which began in 2005); you only have to look at the 1968 novel The Iron Giant by Ted Hughes to see proof of this. Though, the similarities between the design of Salvation’s Harvester and that of the Transformers is hard to ignore; the issues arise from the very fact that the Harvester is a giant bipedal robot with the ability to ‘transform’ itself via the inclusion of Moto-Terminators which detach from the Harvester’s lower legs, and also change its own size by folding down to fit inside an aerial transporter for efficient travel and to avoid detection by the human Resistance.
A little like a Transformer.
But, as Hollywood is always very eager to point out when it comes to any kind of copyright dispute, and a potential loss of revenue on big movies; there is nothing new under the sun, and overlapping / parallel thought is just a thing that sometimes happens… especially when money is involved.
Healthy dose of cynicism: two directors start a flame war to cheekily promote their movies, one director gets carried away with a penis related comeback, which then escalates into an entire penis related narrative, which will live on the internet forever.
*It’s worth noting that in 2010, just a year after the the Transformers / Terminator Salvation dispute, the two directors had clearly laid any ill feelings to rest, as McG pitched his vision for the Michael Bay Platinum Dunes produced film adaptation of the Hasbro board game ‘Ouija‘ – ultimately the movie would go on to be directed by screenwriter and special effects artist Stiles White. Ouija was released in 2014.
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