Smith, Lawrence Confront R-Rated Rats

By Stephen M. Silverman

Monday July 14, 2003 11:00 AM EDT

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Director Michael Bay finally got his chance to rat out Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.

In their new movie "Bad Boys II" -- a comedy sequel to 1995's buddy-cop flick "Bad Boys," due to open Friday -- the two funnymen share screen time with some randy, R-rated rats, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

During the course of the Miami-based movie, Smith and Lawrence's characters reportedly enter a mansion of a drug dealer -- where they come face-to-tail with some reproducing rodents.

"When I told (Columbia chairman Amy Pascal) what we wanted to do, she was like, 'What?!"' explained the film's director Michael Bay ("Pearl Harbor"). "And I was like, 'Amy, trust me, it's going to be funny. I found where I can train rats to f--- for $3,500!"'

The studio head complied with Bay's request, which, it turns out, was not that far-fetched.

In researching the film, Bay said, he'd heard from police and Drug Enforcement agents about a certain real-life dealer with so much cash around his house that an infestation of rats was dining on it.

He then called pest control -- only to be visited instead by undercover DEA officials.

"Sometimes," admits Bay, 38, "you get your best stuff from real stories."