It seems that if you’re a talentless hack in Hollywood, you too can earn $125 million in Hollywood.

According to Vanity Fair, the biggest money earning individual in Hollywood in 2009 was Michael Bay, director of Transformers Revenge of the Fallen.  His income apparently came from the following sources

• $75 million: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (back-end profit participation for directing and producing, based on worldwide box-office gross of $835 million)
• $28 million: Transformers: R.O.T.F. (share of estimated $280 million in DVD revenue)
• $12.5 million: Transformers: R.O.T.F. (share of toy and other licensing royalties)
• $4 million: Friday the 13th (back end for producing, based on worldwide gross of $90 million, and share of DVD)
• $2 million: The Unborn (back end for producing, based on worldwide gross of $77 million, and share of DVD)
• $2 million: A Nightmare on Elm Street (fee for producing inexplicable remake)
• $1.5 million: Royalties from older films, other income

While I think the whole thing is fairly silly, the part that is blowing me away is the fact he earned $12.5 million from a share of the toys and licensing … excuse me?

Michael Bay is brought in to make a movie based on characters he had nothing to do with.  He has to go to Hasbro, the makers of the toys, before each film to discuss with them what characters they will allow him to use.  So how in the world is he getting paid a cut of the toys, let alone licensing fees for the characters to be used elsewhere?  He didn’t create Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee or any of the others, so why should he be getting paid a dime?

The other stuff he earned … oh well, whatever, when you have no talent beyond making things look pretty when they explode, I guess you have to play to your strengths, and if it makes you some money in the meantime, why not?