Transformers director Michael Bay assaulted on set in Hong Kong

(UPI) -- Director Michael Bay was reportedly the victim of a mugging in Hong Kong Thursday, where he is in town filming the fourth installment of the "Transformers" franchise.

Police reports describe an attack on the American director by two men demanding money early Thursday morning. Two brothers with the surname Mak were arrested in connection to the assault.

Policed alleged the two men approached Bay in the street near where "Transformers: Age of Extinction" is being filmed around 8:45 in the morning, demanding 100,000 HKD ($12,000), and attacked when he refused to pay.

Both Mak brothers were injured in the melee, with the 27-year-old taken to a hospital for treatment. He was charged with blackmail and assault on a police officer. His older brother, 28, was charged with common assault and assaulting a police officer.

On his company's website, Bay disputed some of the details of the attack.

"Some drugged up guys were being belligerent asses to my crew for hours in the morning of our first shoot day in Hong Kong," Bay explained. "One guy rolled metal carts into some of my actors trying to shake us down for thousands of dollars to not play his loud music or hit us with bricks."

That same man, Bay said, was demanding "four times" the "fair price" the film paid to vendors on King's Road in Chaiwan for the inconvenience of blocking their shops.

"I personally told this man and his friends to forget it," Bay explained. "We were not going to let him extort us."

"He didn't like that answer. So an hour later he came by my crew as we were shooting, carrying a long air conditioner unit. He walked right up to me and tried to smack my face, but I ducked, threw the air unit on the floor and pushed him away. That's when the security jumped on him."

"But it took seven big guys to subdue him. It was like a Zombie in Brad Pitt's movie World War Z -- he lifted seven guys up and tried to bite them. He actually bit into one of the guard's Nike shoe, insane. Thank god it was an Air Max, the bubble popped, but the toe was saved."

"Then it took fifteen Hong Kong cops in riot gear to deal with these punks. In all, four guys were arrested for assaulting the officers."

Fortunately, Bay said, the thugs didn't spoil the day.

"After that, we had a great day shooting here in Hong Kong," he said.

"Transformers: Age of Extinction" stars Mark Wahlberg and Nicola Peltz and is set for release on June 27, 2014.