Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and extreme use of special effects. His films, which include Armageddon, Pearl Harbor and the Transformers film series, have grossed over US$5 billion worldwide. He is co-founder of commercial production house The Institute, a.k.a. The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness. He is co-chair and part-owner of the digital effects house Digital Domain. He co-owns Platinum Dunes, a production house which has remade horror movies including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, The Hitcher, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Despite his considerable success at the international box office, Bay has been heavily criticized for his work by film critics. [More at Wikipedia]

February 17th, 1965 in Los Angeles (Age 59)