Michael Bay is making his first television outing with a bounty hunter series forAmazon Prime Video. What inspired the over-the-top storyline reads like one of the famously bombastic director’s movie plots.
Say the name “Michael Bay” and it’s hard not to picture an explosion backed by hard-rocking music, which is the director’s signature style in the public perception. Take the mindset thatput out theTransformersmoviesand turn it to the small screen for the first time with an untitled bounty hunter drama, and fans will see just what Bay can do on TV.
Related:Michael Bay On Why He Prefers Being A Fan Of Superhero Movies Instead Of Directing Them
Deadlinereports Bay is turning from the big screen to the small for the first time with a show about a bounty hunter who finds himself in a cartel war south of the border.The Amazon Prime Videoshow is based on a real-life incident out of the life of one of Bay’s friends that reads like the plot to one of theTransformersdirector’s larger-than-life action spectaculars. “I was inspired about 5 years ago hanging out down in Costa Rica, with a former US Federal Agent, who surfs every day, living the good life," Bay said. “He supports his fun, relaxed lifestyle in Costa Rica by tracking down ‘Bad Gringos’ hiding out down in South America.”
The project is being written and created by Joe Barton, an English screenwriter behind the Sky seriesThe Lazarus Projectand whose next series is taking Peter Shaffer’s play,Amadeus(that inspired the Oscar-winning movie of the same name), and stretching that into something for the small screen. “I couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with Michael Bay and Amazon to bring this thrilling and action-filled show to the screen,” Barton said. Having learnedwhat he can do with drone shots onAmbulance, perhaps Bay will bring some of that same low-budget hi-octane energy to this action-packed untitled series.
Directors crossing over from TV to movies is nothing new. When Alfred Hitchcock was directing big-screen thrillers, he still turned his hand to TV and directed several episodes of hisAlfred Hitchcock Presentscrime series (he’d use the same crew to film all-timer,Psycho, guerilla-style). Spielberg started his career by doingTV with episodes ofColumboandNight Galleryand a made-for-TV movie calledDuel. Martin Scorsese turned to the medium to direct the pilot ofBoardwalk Empireand then returned forVinyl.
Bay’s series has a great premise, like a more action-packedMagnum P.I., that of a guy living the good life in paradise and doing it by hunting down bad people. Except in this case, he gets himself embroiled in something way over the top.
