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Yesterday, Michael Bay made his much-anticipated cameo in the Phil Spector trial, taking the stand to dispute the defense team's theory that the director's alleged snubbing of Lana Clarkson at a Hollywood party drove the despondent actress to shoot herself in the home of a happy-go-lucky guy who loved to joke about how women "all deserve a bullet in their head." Court TV reports that while Bay was initially a little uncomfortable, it didn't take long for the director to break out some of the trademark, rapid-fire banter he always uses to lighten up any explosive spectacle he's involved with:

Dressed in a gray suit, blue shirt and patterned tie, Bay initially seemed nervous on the witness stand. After he offered jurors a list of his films, Jackson noted that he had forgotten one, "Bad Boys II."

"Oh, yes," Bay said.

Later, the judge asked him to wait for the lawyers to complete their questions before beginning to answer.

"That's what we do in my business, too," he said, shaking his head and muttering to himself, "stepping on my lines."

On cross-examination, a defense lawyer attempted to use Bay's appearance to suggest Clarkson had little talent and therefore limited prospects. Attorney Bradley Brunon asked Bay if he had ever cast Clarkson in any of the many roles in his movies.

"Uh, no, but I never offered Tom Hanks a part either," Bay answered.

"We're not talking about Tom Hanks. He may not have accepted," Brunon shot back.

Despite the brief momentum gained by that tart riposte, the defense's ensuing line of Tom Hanks-related questioning quickly petered out, as the attorney sensed that the jury wasn't inclined to believe that Hanks now teeters on the brink of self-harm because of Bay's emotionally cruel refusal to offer him the Transformers role that ultimately went to Shia Labeouf, depriving the beloved actor of participation in one of this summer's most successful blockbusters.

[Photo: AP]