Bale went ballistic- Page 4

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 5:47pm

Weeeeellll, as I said, I'm not condoning his rage, but if someone-*anyone* walks on the set after the camera is rolling, it is not only the actor who is inconvenienced. Everything has to be started over, from sound, to lights,to camera, to the background, etc. It's more of a big deal than just saying "oh well, someone walked on the set."

[Weez]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 5:49pm

I'm with Jane. Blowing a movie shot isn't as simple as blowing a theatre line (unless it's press night and you're Hamlet and you can't remember what the alternative to being is?). Plus the fella had apparently done it before, which may account for the OTT nature of the response; if you've said "hey buddy, don't do that, it's a big problem" and then they do it AGAIN, you're going to be a tad more exasperated the second time you ask him not to do it again.

However - having a shot blown and being a tad more exasperated is not a good enough reason to treat a fellow human being like the worst slime that crawled the earth. There is NO reason for that sort of extreme behaviour. XP

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 5:56pm

I don't know the context of this audio...but, I sometimes feel this way when I'm working very hard on a project and others don't put in the same kind of work or respect the work I've put in. That isn't to excuse him...because there is no reason anyone should talk to another human being that way...but, while I've never come close to this kind of a meltdown, I am not above relating to it, either.

I sort of see it that way as well. I get Bale's frustration, especially since it wasn't this guy's first time making such an utter ridiculous mistake. But it was the way he handled it that was out of line and his uncontrolled repetitive rant is obviously a sign of something much more serious.

I thought the director calls the shots and the actors stay in character.

There's often not that distinction in high-profile Hollywood films with egomaniacal actors. And it's not so uncommon in Broadway shows, especially those using Hollywood stars. But a good director knows how to coddle them and diffuse an explosive situation. I'm not sure if "McG" had much experience dealing with this during Charlie's Angels or We Are Marshall.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 6:13pm

"There's often not that distinction in high-profile Hollywood films with egomaniacal actors. And it's not so uncommon in Broadway shows"

Example: Lonnie "Right away Miss LuPone" Price

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 6:18pm

http://www.ugo.com/movies/christian-bale-soundboard/

[sabrelady]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 9:15pm

OH dear. The fact that the sound man/insce company allowed these tapes to be heard outside tells you alot about how Bale is being viewed by the crew. And you don't want to p*ss off your crew. OR the Camera department of which the DOP is the head.( and usually a member of the Directors Guild who, if the DOP wishs, may have something to say to Bale) And the threat about the lights? PLEASE! The grips would have him down in seconds- you dont f*ck w big high voltage heavy electrical equipment.

Frankly, I've never seen or heard a DOP walk onto a hot set w camera rolling IN HIS DIRECTION. I listened to the audio again and it sounds more to me, that they were in a "turnaround" pov shot w the camera on Bale who's sightline was on the background where the DOP walked. Walking into a sightline is bad , for some actors it can break concentration easily but my own experince has been that w all the activity normally ( if quietly) going on out of camera range, when this has happened it's been the result of something else. In the case I'm thinking of the actor simply couldn't remember his lines for the scene, kept screwing them up and looked for anything to blame it on. I watched him blow 12 (!) takes and unfortunately it was the big AHA moment in the film so it couldn't be cut, worked around etc.
There is something else going on here. Maybe Bale's antibiotics/psychotics/depression meds worn't working. All I can say is I would't want to be working on that set for the next 6 wks.

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 9:20pm

THE DEVIN'S ADVOCATE: CHEER UP, CHRISTIAN BALE PART 2



Back in 2007 I gave Christian Bale some unsolicited career advice in this very column and he chose not to heed it. Today he is paying the price. As many of you know, the audio of his explosive, tinged with the threat of physical violence confrontation with Terminator Salvation DP Shane Hurlbut has made its way to the internet and you can now get a Christian Bale soundboard and dance to Christian Bale remixes, less than 24 hours after the audio appeared.

As a film writer I don't really care about what an asshole Christian Bale seems to be on set, but I feel like this incident - and the public reaction to it - is part of what I warned Bale about in Ought Seven. A filmography that is densely packed with dour, morose, angry characters leads to you being identified with those characters, and when a tape like the one leaked yesterday makes the rounds (after Bale was charged with verbally abusing his own mom), the public starts making connections.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Bale's not a movie star. He doesn't open the movies he's in. You'd be hard pressed to lay any of the credit for The Dark Knight's massive take at his feet. But as of today he's one step closer to being a movie star because he finally has a narrative. Too bad it's a negative one.

http://chud.com/articles/articles/18020/1/THE-DEVIN039S-ADVOCATE-CHEER-UP-CHRISTIAN-BALE-PART-2/Page1.html

[Craww]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 9:23pm

I love this.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 9:34pm

Nice to know after "The Dark Knight" that he can enounciate and really doesn't have diction problems!

[Taryn]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 9:48pm

Frankly, I've never seen or heard a DOP walk onto a hot set w camera rolling IN HIS DIRECTION. I listened to the audio again and it sounds more to me, that they were in a "turnaround" pov shot w the camera on Bale who's sightline was on the background where the DOP walked.

That's the impression I got, too. Not that the DOP walked in front of the cameras, but that he was trying to adjust a light behind them and Bale could see him and found it distracting.

[nexttoelectric]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 9:52pm

Feed me a stray cat.

[tazber]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 10:08pm

Let's place bets on how long until this douchebag hits the rehab clinic.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 10:21pm

"Frankly, I've never seen or heard a DOP walk onto a hot set w camera rolling IN HIS DIRECTION...."

Good point.
I have, however seen a situation where a pyrotechnics technician actually walked on a live set in view of a camera during a take. They were about to burn down a house and and were shooting a take leading up to it. The technician stepped out too far into the set in the background.

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 10:58pm

While I understand walking in front of a shot distracts everyone and everything has to be reset, the DP had a job to do too. He messed up by walking on the set, but Bale is not the only person there that had a job to do. Frankly even if someone messed up like the DP did, I would NEVER yell at them for that. It's stressful for everyone, and mistakes are bound to happen.

I'm sure the DP had just as much respect for the film as everyone else did, but it seems Bale is the only one with a lack of respect. So the DP messed up, so what? You start over and do it better the next time. You don't threaten to beat someone because they ruined a shot.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 11:02pm

Hmm. Pretty junior behavior for a special effects guy. Usually they are careful, but you also have to wonder where the 3rd AD's were. It's kinda their job to lock stuff/people down before you hear the sound "ROLLIN".

[skb2010]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 11:34pm

No Reg. But i'm going to now.

He didn't go ballistic. he went batsh!t crazy.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 1:02am

"Hmm. Pretty junior behavior for a special effects guy. Usually they are careful, but you also have to wonder where the 3rd AD's were. It's kinda their job to lock stuff/people down before you hear the sound "ROLLIN"."

Not sure if this is about Bale or the house burning I mentioned. There were no special effects with gas jets, screens, etc. They were literally burning down a house that they had rigged to collapse and had only one chance. The thing was done in stages and the pyrotechnic people set the timeline. The director was doing some shots with the cast while the stage was being set for the fire. This was in Bulgaria and some things are done differently there. :)

[trinaaron]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 11:32am

Good gosh, Bale needs to get over himself. He's an actor, not a brain surgeon. Being inconvenienced is not life and death. Also, while I think he is technically a "good actor", he leaves me completely cold. I don't connect to him in the slightest, especially lately. In truth I find him very unpleasant to watch.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 11:45am

I haven't much liked him since "Little Women."

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 11:47am

"he leaves me completely cold. I don't connect to him in the slightest, especially lately."

I think that's what he's good at. The roles of cold hearted villains, I think. He was absolutely perfect in American Psycho. He's not the warm cuddly type. Handsome though.

[trinaaron]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 4:00pm

It's funny though. I loved him in Newsies. I found him to be wonderfully natural and warm. Now there is nothing. He's just creepy. I also tend to think he looks somewhat plastic.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 7:28pm

Why does everyone have to be so damned NICE all the time???

[me2]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 7:36pm

I found his behavior to be SO offensive, I would not any time soon run out to see a new Bale movie (old ones, like NEWSIES, okay), except for BATMAN.

Honestly, what a jerk. Who wants to support that?

Broadway Mouth: Shrek to Elphaba: Green With Envy

[tazber]

Posted: 2/4/09 at 7:48pm

I've heard so many remixes of his tirade, and they still make me laugh.

I agree with the plastic comment.

Thanks for that link btw, me2. It really encapsulates and expounds on the topic at hand.
A+ for effort.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/5/09 at 12:23pm

In defense of Christian Bale...from Salon.com