Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, left, and Jake Gyllenhaal play step brothers on the run in Michael Bay's 'Ambulance'. Photo: Andrew Cooper / Universal Pictures
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, left, and Jake Gyllenhaal play step brothers on the run in Michael Bay's 'Ambulance'. Photo: Andrew Cooper / Universal Pictures
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, left, and Jake Gyllenhaal play step brothers on the run in Michael Bay's 'Ambulance'. Photo: Andrew Cooper / Universal Pictures
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, left, and Jake Gyllenhaal play step brothers on the run in Michael Bay's 'Ambulance'. Photo: Andrew Cooper / Universal Pictures

How Michael Bay made heist film 'Ambulance' with Jake Gyllenhaal in record time


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Like just about everyone else, Michael Bay found his entire working life upset by Covid-19. The Hollywood film director behind such behemoths as the Transformers franchise, The Rock, Armageddon and Pearl Harbor, was planning his latest epic Black Five when the pandemic broke. Immediately, the project was derailed, with the industry in flux and Bay caught in limbo.

“It was so hard to be creative,” Bay recalls. “And everyone was so scared.”

It’s hard to imagine Bay terrified of anything. A former director of music videos and commercials at Propaganda Films, the Los Angeles native has been making movies since 1995’s seminal cop drama Bad Boys, with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. Now aged 57, Bay's films have grossed close to $6.5 billion across the world.

“I could retire,” he says. “But it’s fun! I mean, I like shooting. I really do enjoy it.”

Director Michael Bay took on 'Ambulance' after he was tired of being locked up at home during the pandemic. Photo: Andrew Cooper / Universal Pictures
Director Michael Bay took on 'Ambulance' after he was tired of being locked up at home during the pandemic. Photo: Andrew Cooper / Universal Pictures

Yet the pandemic stopped Bay dead in his tracks. Unable to shoot Black Five, he went back to his team. “I said to my agent, ‘Goddamnit, I just want to get out and shoot something fast. I’m tired of being locked up at home.’”

Thankfully, he was reminded of a script, based on a Danish film released in 2005, called Ambulance. A visceral heist movie, that could be filmed swiftly and economically.

“It kind of suited my needs,” he says.

The story sees decorated war veteran Will Sharp (Abdul-Mateen II), in need of money for his wife’s surgery, approach his adoptive brother Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal).

"They had a dad who was a bank robber [and] was pretty vicious,” explains Bay. “And one started to go on the straight and narrow and one kept going the darker way.”

Soon enough, Danny is leading Will into a lucrative bank robbery in downtown Los Angeles.

Unsurprisingly, the heist goes wrong, and the brothers find themselves in a stolen ambulance, carrying a cop who has been shot in the ensuing chaos. Bay calls it “a study in tension”, especially when Will and Danny run into an emergency medical technician or EMT (emergency medical technicians) played by Mexican star Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver) in the stolen ambulance.

“She’s really tough in this movie, which is good. Women really, really like her a lot," says Bay.

The director has already screened the movie to select audiences and says women have loved it.

Whether that will translate to box office gold is another matter, but with a bonafide A-lister such as Gyllenhaal and rising star Abdul-Mateen II, there’s every chance it will. In the case of Abdul-Mateen II, he’s enjoyed a remarkable past year, after taking the lead role in horror remake Candyman and co-starring in The Matrix Resurrections.

When Bay first saw him in 2018’s superhero tale Aquaman, he knew of his potential.

“I’m like, ‘That guy’s gonna be a star. I want to work with him'," he says. “I’ve worked with so many famous people in my lifetime and it’s just like I told him, ‘Dude, you are so humble. And you just have a spark about you. Don’t lose that.’ He really is just a humble guy. Just salt of the earth.”

He felt the same about Gyllenhaal, an actor whose diverse credits range from Donnie Darko and Zodiac to Spider-Man: Far From Home.

“We really hit it off,” says Bay. “Just great energy. He brings his A-game. I’ll embrace his different ideas, and he’ll give me different things.”

Jake Gyllenhaal as Danny Sharp in 'Ambulance'. Photo: Andrew Cooper / Universal Pictures
Jake Gyllenhaal as Danny Sharp in 'Ambulance'. Photo: Andrew Cooper / Universal Pictures

The chemistry with the two leads is there for all to see, he says. “Jake is fun to watch. Even though he’s out of his mind and Yahya ... the audience just loves him, and they just latch on. Even though their characters are doing something bad. It’s weird.”

Around his actors, Bay sprinkled real-life law enforcers to add to the verisimilitude. Yet, what really gives Ambulance its energy is the fact that he shot it on the hoof, in only 38 days.

“These smaller movies are hard because they challenge you, because you’ve got less of everything but it’s good,” he says. “It puts a lot of structure in the things. This is all you’re gonna get and you’ve got to make it work.”

The only time he’s done anything similar was 2013’s Pain & Gain, a riotous comedy-thriller with Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

“I mean, that was just running around my place in Miami with actors. And that was a pretty shoestring budget," he says.

Bay is also thriftier than you might think.

“I’m a type of director … I do not go over budget. I come on budget. And I don’t like spending more than I absolutely must. On big movies, there’s so much waste, it’s ridiculous,” he says. “You’re creating such a big world for so many people on payroll.”

It’s why he loved scaling back on Ambulance, with a smaller crew. Often, he’d jump in a car with just a soundman and a camera operator to shoot some footage.

Even his company, Platinum Dunes, that Bay co-founded in 2001, is devoted to producing low-budget horror movies, including John Krasinski’s hit film A Quiet Place and its 2021 sequel. Does Bay hanker after a grimy horror himself?

“I would love to do a scary movie,” Bay says. “But I’m wondering what I’m going to do next. I think it’ll probably be a big movie … but I don’t know.”

Ambulance is out in UAE cinemas on March 17

How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Scores

Day 2

New Zealand 153 & 56-1
Pakistan 227

New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining

Best Foreign Language Film nominees

Capernaum (Lebanon)

Cold War (Poland)

Never Look Away (Germany)

Roma (Mexico)

Shoplifters (Japan)

Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

The specs: Volvo XC40

Price: base / as tested: Dh185,000

Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder

Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 250hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 10.4L / 100km

Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHayvn%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristopher%20Flinos%2C%20Ahmed%20Ismail%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efinancial%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2044%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseries%20B%20in%20the%20second%20half%20of%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHilbert%20Capital%2C%20Red%20Acre%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile

Started: 2016

Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel 

Based: Ramallah, Palestine

Sector: Technology, Security

# of staff: 13

Investment: $745,000

Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors

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The Cairo Statement

 1: Commit to countering all types of terrorism and extremism in all their manifestations

2: Denounce violence and the rhetoric of hatred

3: Adhere to the full compliance with the Riyadh accord of 2014 and the subsequent meeting and executive procedures approved in 2014 by the GCC  

4: Comply with all recommendations of the Summit between the US and Muslim countries held in May 2017 in Saudi Arabia.

5: Refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of countries and of supporting rogue entities.

6: Carry out the responsibility of all the countries with the international community to counter all manifestations of extremism and terrorism that threaten international peace and security

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption. 

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks. 

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion. 

8. Pillar 2 implementation 

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations. 

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity. 

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

500 People from Gaza enter France

115 Special programme for artists

25   Evacuation of injured and sick

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now 

Updated: March 17, 2022, 5:41 AM