RIYADH: Renowned American director and producer Michael Bay, best known for the franchise.transformeris optimistic about the future of the film and game industries in Saudi Arabia.
in an interview with arab news At the Next World Forum in Riyadh, which is the world’s largest gathering of eSports and gaming experts and influencers, Bey said he was also considering shooting a film in AlUla, and that “discussions” about it were ongoing. .
Known for his stylized, high-concept productions and box office successes, he apparently helped lay the foundation for the Saudi film industry. Bay recounts that during a visit to Hollywood a few years ago, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked him, “How can I attract film shoots to my country?”
This was before Saudi Arabia opened cinemas in 2018.
Bey said, “I have toured the whole world. I’ve shot a lot in the Middle East and to get a great film like mine for a few hundred million dollars (1 US dollar = 0.92 Euro) the one thing that needs to be done is to have a suitable infrastructure. I love going to places where I have never shot before.”
“I asked the Crown Prince to increase his tax allowance to 40%, which is the highest in the world, because you have to attract people. Ironically, I probably did scouting in the Al-Ula desert ten years ago, because we do satellite scouting. This is a desert that has not been touched. I shot in Wadi Rum, Jordan, which is linked in alula,
In fact, the film industry continues to flourish in Saudi Arabia and its incentive program offers discounts of up to 40% to local and international productions.
Bay received the Lifetime Achievement Award (lifetime Achievement Award) at the major Joy Awards ceremony in Saudi Arabia in 2022. During her first visit to the state, she was taken around the country and introduced to various artist communities.
“I was thrilled by the number of young people living here. And what really excites me is how quickly this space is evolving. The outside world does not know. They don’t know anything until you’re here,” he said.
“I spent almost a week here. They showed me these amazing new cinematographic facilities, scenes from filming…more Neom’s websiteWhich is an extraordinary human achievement,” he said.
youth in limelight
Michael Bay this week took part in a Next World Forum panel discussion with businessman and public figure Gary Vaynerchuk and professional footballer Gareth Bale, titled “High Score: When celebrities enter the gaming industry,High Score: When celebrities enter the gaming industry,
“I got invited back on this stage because I wrote a video game about seventeen years ago, and we’re about to sell it. We did our tests to make it come true. Many big players were interested in buying him. But I held back from selling it because I knew there were big players out there and I knew they wanted to invest in all kinds of art, architecture and technology. So I am very happy to be back here,” he said. arab news,
Bay said that his relationship with the video game industry has not always been good. He claimed that early in his career, an attack scene in the film Pearl Harbor he directed was “copied” by video game developers without crediting him.
To compensate for the eighteen months his team spent making the film, Bay decided to design his own game. Fifteen years later, “It’s now a movie idea and a game.” According to him, the key to creating unique video entertainment is having a director who is interested in and passionate about both film and gaming.
Bay noted that the Saudi film industry benefits from the fact that 75% of the country’s population is under the age of 35.
“I have a small budget division where we help young directors… where we support young directors. And you should also appeal to young talent, be it for action films, horror films or otherwise. You will see that your business continues to grow.
“China did exactly that. His film industry was not very big. We started filming there and now they have made their industry in China.
This text is a translation of an article published on arabnews.com