Large Appliance Attacks on Directors: Michael Bay Just the Latest

As you may have heard, Hollywood director Michael Bay was attacked on the set of Transformers 4 by a man wielding a large air conditioner unit. Bay evaded the attacker and narrowly escaped injury.

Though rare, the incident is far from the only case of large appliances being used to attack film directors. Since the earliest days of film, such directors as D.W. Griffith were routinely attacked on set by large blocks of ice, frequently from film critics, fans and crew members. As appliances became electrified and silent film turned to the talkies, the odd tradition evolved into heavy electric and gas appliances.

In 1963, Tippi Hedren hired a teamster to attack Alfred Hitchcock on the set of The Birds with a large oven. The event, which left Hitch with a small scar on the nape of his neck, led the Directors Guild of America to institute "Hedren Appliance Protocols" to monitor large appliance attacks on directors. Despite the DGA rules, such attacks have continued, though more sporadically.

From Steven Spielberg to George Lucas; James Cameron to Peter Jackson; almost every major Hollywood director has endured at least one major appliance attack. Not limited to mainstream directors, I can tell you from first-hand experience that even on award-winning independent movies (like my own film Between Us, with Julia Stiles and Melissa George), the danger of appliance attacks is an ever-present one. Just because your budget is lower, doesn't mean the appliances are smaller.

Other than Michael Bay being attacked by an air conditioner, which are some of your most memorable large appliance attacks on directors? See the slideshow below.