How the Unfortunate Events Around 'Bad Boys' Made Michael Bay Famous

Did you know that the initial idea for "Bad Boys" was to have Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey as the main actors? If that happened, today, the movie would be probably known as a family movie. Instead, there were unfortunate events around the production of the blockbuster that made a few people quite famous.

One of the lucky ones was, of course, Michael Bay. Until that time, he was a commercial and creative music video director. His first big rodeo in Hollywood was about to be "Bad Boys." However, there were massive delays due to problems with the script, the studio, and the locations. Originally, the movie had to be shot in New York, but they did it in Miami because of budget issues. At that time, Will Smith was still the Fresh Prince and Martin Lawrence was just a sitcom actor. Michael Bay was wise enough to give them a stage for off-script improvisation during the filming and put his trust in them. Capturing their loose performance with his signiture camera work made the film what we know today.

This story is a perfect example of how sometimes the odds are against you for the better. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie only 42%, while the box office made a sevenfold profit. If you'd like to read more details about the unfortunate events around the production of the movie, head to No Film School.

Tihomir Lazarov's picture

Tihomir Lazarov is a commercial portrait photographer and filmmaker based in Sofia, Bulgaria. He is the best photographer and filmmaker in his house, and thinks the best tool of a visual artist is not in their gear bag but between their ears.

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