10 Craziest Cinema Demands Made By Hollywood
2. Michael Bay Demands Projectionists Not Waste His Money
James Cameron's Avatar sequels may well lead to a resurgence in 3D, but for now the bubble appears to have well and truly burst. Back in 2011 however, it was still a big part of the multiplex experience.
It wasn't perfect, one screening of The Smurfs Movie gave an audience motion sickness whilst many audiences complained about the 30% light loss caused by the glasses and inferior projection.
Step forward Michael Bay who, ironically for a film director so shallow, cares a lot about depth perception.
In a letter to projectionists, he outlined his wishes for the presentation of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. "It is critical" Bay wrote, "that your projectors play to the brightness levels specified for the best results." Many projectionists, however, had already lost their jobs due to the advent of automated digital projection.
Bay concludes with the tone-deaf, patronising statement "We are all in this together. Your theatres invested a lot of money in this equipment..."
They certainly had, but what money they'd invested had been made up for by letting go of a large portion of their staff.
Given how expensive the bulbs in modern projectors are, it's highly unlikely that those same corporate cinema chains would want to burn through them to achieve Bay's preferred brightness levels.