Bay Targets Extreme Sports with Giant-Screen Pic

Thu Feb 14, 3:44 AM ET
By Michael Fleming

NEW YORK (Variety) - "Pearl Harbor" director Michael Bay has partnered with several action sports filmmakers to shoot a 70mm large-format film about extreme sports. The picture will be ready for release in Imax theaters and large-format cinemas in spring 2003.

Bay will produce through his Bay Films banner, and has enlisted the shooting talent of Taylor Steele, Mike McEntire, Mike Hatchett, Bill Ballard and Dave Seoane. The picture will include snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, motocross, BMX and other extreme sports.

"These filmmakers dominate their respective sports, having themselves become major brand names across the youth market," said Bay. "By teaming up on a large-format project, we have selected the ideal platform for capturing the intensity of the world's most thrilling and dangerous lifestyle sports."

The idea was to team one of Hollywood's top action directors (Bay), with the next generation of Warren Miller-type shooters for a large-format film which is also expected to feature a strong soundtrack component.

Bay estimates the film will cost $8 million, which is being raised through sponsorships and private financing.

The picture is just one of several ventures launched by Bay after he completed "Pearl Harbor" and decided to become more entrepreneurial as a producer. He formed a division of his production company for lower-budget films, and launched a unit to concentrate on videos and commercials.