Good thing we have a "batshit" tag...
February 3, 2009 10:48 AM Subscribe

So, you may have heard about Christian Bale freaking out on Director of Photography Shane Hurlbut on the set of Terminator: Salvation. But have you heard the dance mix? None of this is even remotely safe for work.
posted by hifiparasol (259 comments total) 19 users marked this as a favorite

Wheres the fucking soundboard for this!? Come on! It's been on the web for almost 24 fucking hours, lets get on this people! What the FUCK dont you understand?!
posted by ElmerFishpaw at 10:50 AM on February 3, 2009 [5 favorites]

It must be hard playing make-believe when people keep ruining the illusion for you. The thing that gets me is the poor DP keeps trying to apologize, but "Newsie" ain't having it.
posted by ColdChef at 10:54 AM on February 3, 2009

Christ, what an asshole.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:54 AM on February 3, 2009 [8 favorites]

I'm thinking it needs a Newsies mashup.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:55 AM on February 3, 2009

I refuse to watch this, and members of the First Curch of Batman, Scientist are likewise forbidden.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:55 AM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

Bale vs. O'Reilly
posted by billysumday at 10:55 AM on February 3, 2009 [14 favorites]

Pulitzer and Hearst are FUCKING AMATEUR!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:57 AM on February 3, 2009

Also very NSFW: Bill O'Reilly and Christian Bale go at it.
posted by rigby51 at 10:57 AM on February 3, 2009 [3 favorites]

Drat.
posted by rigby51 at 10:58 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Okay, that dance mix kicks.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:59 AM on February 3, 2009

I listened to about 15 seconds before I decided that this guy makes Joan Crawford look like Anne of Green Gables.
posted by blucevalo at 11:00 AM on February 3, 2009

Soak em!
posted by ColdChef at 11:02 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Sounds like somebody need a nap.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 11:02 AM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

Truly an American Psycho.
posted by gman at 11:02 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

well, dick, it's got a fucking good beat and fucking lyrics i can fucking relate to, i'll give a fucking 90
posted by pyramid termite at 11:03 AM on February 3, 2009 [5 favorites]

What the hell is a sight-line?

Why the vicious tantrum? Essentially, Hurlbut walked across Bale's sight-line during a scene. That's a huge no-no and anybody with Hurlbut's two decades of experience on movie sets is well aware of that.
posted by exhilaration at 11:03 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

What a colossal self-important jerk. It's a (probably bad) Terminator sequel, not neurosurgery. The notion this screaming, tantrum-throwing multi-millionaire wants to deprive someone of his job when they poor guy probably makes less than 1/100th of Bale makes me physically ill.

What's funny is that this childish behavior is probably going to be far more memorable and get far more exposure than any other work Bale does on the movie.
posted by MegoSteve at 11:03 AM on February 3, 2009 [3 favorites]

If Bale could display any of this passion and energy on screen, he could be a good actor.
posted by rusty at 11:04 AM on February 3, 2009 [13 favorites]

He doesn't sound very Christian to me.
posted by mazola at 11:05 AM on February 3, 2009 [5 favorites]

Yeah that dance mix is oddly sexy. Takes pure rage and makes it sound like someone shouting at you during lovemaking...

Especially "OOOOH good for you! How was it? I hope it was fucking good, because it's useless now!" It was good, Christian. It was fucking good.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:06 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Oh man this fucking is great. This guy is a fucking serious fucking actor. I hope this terminator film is fucking awesome. Holy fuck.
posted by chunking express at 11:06 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'd be a lot more sympathetic to Bale if this had happened on the set of, well, practically any movie other than Terminator: Salvation.

But really, getting high and mighty while working on Terminator? Get over yourself.
posted by Caduceus at 11:07 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Dear christ, that dance mix made me laugh so hard. Shame my officemate had a student in...
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 11:08 AM on February 3, 2009

The notion this screaming, tantrum-throwing multi-millionaire wants to deprive someone of his job when they poor guy probably makes less than 1/100th of Bale makes me physically ill.

Actually, DPs can make hundreds of thousands of dollars per movie, sometimes even more. It's not like the dude was just some lowly PA or whatever. And frankly there are thousands of qualified DPs who would kill for this guy's job and, if they were lucky enough to get the gig, would know better than to walk across an actor's sight line. So, yeah, Bale is an asshole and immature, clearly, but it also sounds like the DP actually did fuck up - twice, apparently - and only got to keep the job cause his buddy McG was the director. So, fuck 'em both.
posted by billysumday at 11:08 AM on February 3, 2009 [17 favorites]

Don't you dare make an error in the Bale's presence unless you're ready for pure comedy gold.
posted by juiceCake at 11:09 AM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

Artist is temperamental, I'm shocked. Shocked I say!
posted by sfts2 at 11:09 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Everybody needs a hug.
posted by dawson at 11:10 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Bale also vented his anger on craft services.
posted by ColdChef at 11:10 AM on February 3, 2009 [6 favorites]

Sight Line
posted by niles at 11:10 AM on February 3, 2009

nthing the "It's terminator calm the fuck down" comments.

If cameron aint behind the story and camera it ain't a fucking terminator movie
posted by tylerfulltilt at 11:11 AM on February 3, 2009

And holy shit that dance mix is fucking awesome. Holy fucking shit.
posted by chunking express at 11:11 AM on February 3, 2009

Also: R U Professional?
posted by ColdChef at 11:13 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

And just cuz this is my favorite nsfw actors freak out ever:
Actor Bites Director
DIRECTOR BITES BACK
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:14 AM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

My friends in the industry are generally siding with Bale. You just don't get in an actor's sight line. You'll distract them, burn that shot, and waste everyone's time. A DP should know better.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 11:15 AM on February 3, 2009 [3 favorites]

billysumday: So, yeah, Bale is an asshole and immature, clearly, but it also sounds like the DP actually did fuck up - twice, apparently - and only got to keep the job cause his buddy McG was the director. So, fuck 'em both.

Seconded. From my (limited) experience, and from what I've heard, the camera department tends to be, shall we say, less than respectful of the actors, boom operators, set PAs, etc. Bale is overreacting, but he's got a job to do too, and it's hard to pretend you're one of the last flagbearers of humanity if there's a dude walking around behind you laying cable.
posted by hifiparasol at 11:16 AM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

I can't wait until Bale and Werner Herzog work together.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:17 AM on February 3, 2009 [11 favorites]

Seriously, though, what is the point of going to Hollywood other than to wind up filthy rich and coked up, walking around screaming at people that you're going to wear their flayed skin like a cheap suit?
posted by The Straightener at 11:18 AM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

The mistake the DP made was in trying to reason with him.

When a child throws a tantrum, the best thing to do is ignore him. And if that doesn't work, send him to his room.
posted by cjets at 11:20 AM on February 3, 2009

When a child throws a tantrum, the best thing to do is ignore him. And if that doesn't work, send him to his room.

And if that doesn't work, it's time for dance mix therapy.
posted by theefixedstars at 11:49 AM on February 3, 2009 [6 favorites]

I've seen a lot of comments, especially in that LA Times article, to the effect of "Bale is such an asshole. I won't see any of his movies ever again."

Who gives a shit if he's an asshole? Marlon Brando refused to take direction from Frank Oz in The Score unless Oz spoke in his Miss Piggy voice. Al Pacino is famous for having people ejected from sets for addressing him as "Mr. Pacino" when he's in character. Sean Young basically ended her career with her temper on the set of No Way Out. Googling "difficult actors" gets lots of fun anecdotes. What does that have to do with enjoying a movie? If you can't imagine the celebrity being your BFF, are you unable to enjoy them in a film?

Thirding the comments that the DP was in fact doing something he shouldn't have been, something anyone with experience in Hollywood would know not to do. Not that that justifies Bale's outburst, but if you don't know that eight-figure stars are touchy prima donnas, maybe Hollywood isn't for you.
posted by fatbird at 11:49 AM on February 3, 2009 [21 favorites]

Reminds of Batdance.
posted by smackfu at 11:52 AM on February 3, 2009

I can't wait until Bale and Werner Herzog work together.

From Herzog shoots
"Bale asked various questions as Herzog showed him how to position his body, but he was deferential. The actor, who had just starred in the summer blockbuster Batman Begins, had long wanted to work with Herzog, and he was willing to submit to onerous demands; he had lost 55lb in about four months for the role, becoming cadaverous."
posted by Tenuki at 11:53 AM on February 3, 2009 [5 favorites]

God I hate cinematographers. Prima donnas, the lot of them.
posted by cazoo at 11:53 AM on February 3, 2009

I refuse to watch this, and members of the First Curch of Batman, Scientist are likewise forbidden.

I hear and obey, but I ain't happy about it.
posted by scrump at 11:54 AM on February 3, 2009

Bale is like MetaTalk incorporated.
posted by Dumsnill at 11:55 AM on February 3, 2009

This happened two days before he assaulted his own mother in a hotel room, must have been a rough few days.
posted by fire&wings at 11:55 AM on February 3, 2009

My first thought after looking at this post was of scenesters swaying insouciantly to the dance mix of some star losing his shit, and I thought, jeez, that's so something in a Bret Easton Ellis novel, and I hate feeling that way, half like that's so devoid of value and half like, "dude, that comment about that dance mix of the star losing his shit says so much about how little value our modern culture has".

But then I listened to the dance mix and it worked. It transcended the original rant and did something better with it.
posted by theefixedstars at 11:56 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

The dude's lucky this never happened on the set of The Dark Knight. There are seven working defences from Bale's position. Three of them disarm with minimal contact. Three of them kill. The other...hurts.
posted by PenDevil at 11:56 AM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

Makes sense to me. If the DP keeps fucking Bale up, and his performance is shitty as a result, it's not like Roger Ebert's gonna criticize the DP.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 11:56 AM on February 3, 2009 [5 favorites]

For all we know the director was sending the DP in on purpose to get Bale riled up for the scene.
posted by ageispolis at 11:56 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

You guys have no idea how hard it is to be an actor.
posted by grounded at 11:58 AM on February 3, 2009

The sight-line is where the actor is looking, basically. Many actors (but not all) request that there are no people or other distracting elements there, and especially not people walking around, since it's distracting and may break their concentration or make their eyes wander.

God, you mean he may actually have to act naturally as if there may be going on in the world than what is happening between the people in the scene? *shudders*

This is why stage acting often translates to screen acting, but not necessarily the other way around (of course, on the other hand, constantly wandering out of the shot and talking so that the back of the sound stage can hear your wispers does tend to get on a film director's nerves). If Bale had cut his teeth delivering dialogue while some guy in row 5 has a coughing fit or the spot he'd chosen to gaze off stage longingly during an intense scene happened to be the seat of the strangest looking person you've ever laid eyes on who haoppens to be picking his/her?! nose, then holding his concentration while a guy pokes his head in for a light reading would be child's play.
posted by Pollomacho at 11:59 AM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

Pretty ridiculous rant, but why is everyone attributing it to Hollywood? I've seen flameouts from nobodies on the Internet that were just as spectacular. It's a human thing, not an actor thing.

(MetaFilter: flameouts from nobodies on the Internet)
posted by DU at 11:59 AM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

"Marlon Brando refused to take direction from Frank Oz in The Score unless Oz spoke in his Miss Piggy voice"

Wut?
posted by Liquidwolf at 12:01 PM on February 3, 2009

His instrument is very finely tuned.

Or he's just an asshole.
posted by Joe Beese at 12:02 PM on February 3, 2009

He tantrums like he acts: badly. I hope you keep lookin' good in plastic jumpsuits, Chris, because Keanu Reeves has broader emotional range than you.,
posted by boo_radley at 12:02 PM on February 3, 2009

If we could get some video of Bale dancing to his own dance-mix, everything would be forgiven.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:02 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

fatbird:"Who gives a shit if he's an asshole?"

The next time I see Bale in a film, and in fact every time I see him in a film from now on, I won't be paying attention to his character and suspending my disbelief. Instead, this tirade will be playing through my head. So if (lol) I go to see the next Terminator movie he isn't going to be John Connor to me, he's going to be a spoiled, rich actor who threw a tantrum. This little tantrum completely ruined his value as an actor for me.
posted by mullingitover at 12:03 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

MetaTalk incorporated

Snark it all and snarking no regrets.
posted by bondcliff at 12:03 PM on February 3, 2009

Was Bale just staring into space - or was he trying to perform his characters reaction in a scene with a post-prod cgi death-robot who at the moment he was shooting was represented by a fluorescent green dot on a steel pole? Or was he just being a cock-ass? We may never know...
posted by Jeremy at 12:04 PM on February 3, 2009

or was he trying to perform his characters reaction in a scene with a post-prod cgi death-robot who at the moment he was shooting was represented by a fluorescent green dot on a steel pole?

He was doing a scene with Bryce Dallas Howard, who he mentions in the tirade. The DP was walking behind her.

McG in Wired:

""A lot of people make CG movies where actors are emoting to poles with tennis balls on top of them," said McG. "That's the last thing I wanted to do. I don't like dealing with cartoons, so to speak. I wanted real robots for the actors to interface with so you could get that grittiness and realism. There's an archetype shape to the T-800."
posted by hifiparasol at 12:08 PM on February 3, 2009

Just to put a little perspective on this, Heath Ledger had recently died, his mother had basically had him arrested assault after refusing to give his sister $200,000, and his marriage was rocky. Sorta understandable that he might be a little touchy.
posted by theroadahead at 12:09 PM on February 3, 2009 [17 favorites]

It's a complicated situation: in my view, Bale was completely out of line. You don't talk to ANYONE like that. On the other hand, Bale is paid to emote. It's hard to just turn that off. Sometimes these things are just going to happen. To me, the real indicator of whether Bale is an asshole or not, is whether he sincerely apologized later. And we don't know whether he did or not. To save his reputation, he should probably apologize publicly, but that's more for his own sake. What I hope is that he privately apologized to his co-workers.

To me, it's really not an issue whether or not the DP was at fault. The way Bale acted is not acceptable. He should man up and say he's sorry. THEN, he can quietly and professionally deal with the DP's transgressions.
posted by grumblebee at 12:10 PM on February 3, 2009 [9 favorites]

Also, am I crazy for thinking this is a publicity stunt? I hadn't even heard of this movie until this morning--I thought the 3rd Terminator was the last one. Now there's a 4th? And who or what is "McG"?
posted by DU at 12:11 PM on February 3, 2009

then holding his concentration while a guy pokes his head in for a light reading would be child's play.

Well, yeah, but there's a huge difference between stage and film acting. In stage acting you're playing the same part over and over on a daily basis. You don't need every single production to be exactly the same and perfect; in fact that would be impossible. But film acting is different; you're trying for exactly one perfect performance (if spliced together from multiple takes). Plus, if you're performing on stage you don't have a high definition camera zooming in on your face revealing every single twitch or minute facial reaction in glorious 1080p or whatever. So tiny distractions would be a much bigger deal when you're shooting a film.
posted by Justinian at 12:12 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

And who or what is "McG"?

I envy your ignorance.
posted by The Whelk at 12:18 PM on February 3, 2009 [9 favorites]

"Also, am I crazy for thinking this is a publicity stunt?"

That's what I kept thinking while hearing the rant. Surely a decent actor could make a real rant sound less contrived than this?
posted by Dumsnill at 12:18 PM on February 3, 2009

Well, yeah, but there's a huge difference between stage and film acting.

Seconded. The biggest problem is that when someone walks into your line of sight, your eyes flick to them. It's involuntary, and on stage, it's not that big a deal. Nobody will notice it from 20/50/100 feet away. But the camera picks up everything. It ruins a take, and it's hard enough to hold focus during a take when everyone's doing their job right.

Bale overreacted and was horrifically unprofessional, but the DP should absolutely, positively know not to do that, let alone repeatedly. The director should have been chewing him out, not one of the actors.
posted by EarBucket at 12:19 PM on February 3, 2009 [5 favorites]

I've seen a lot of comments, especially in that LA Times article, to the effect of "Bale is such an asshole. I won't see any of his movies ever again."

I think people assume that if they don't see it for themselves than it doesn't exist. They assume because he is a good actor that he is the nicest guy ever. Putting an actor on such a high pedestal means you cant smell their shit way up there. But once they hit the ground and they are at your level, all bets are off.

sorry for all the metaphors :)
posted by SheMulp AKA Plus 1 at 12:23 PM on February 3, 2009

I would go mental just having to look at McG no-talent assclown face all day.

And yeah, method actors are notoriously for this kind of stuff. De Niro, Daniel Day Lewis and Bale have all done some crazy shit to get into the mindset of their characters. When shooting American Psycho, Bale did Bateman's morning routine for real leading up to the shoot. Day Lewis lived in the woods for a few weeks before shooting Last of the Mohicans. He also refused to talk 'out of character' (i.e. be nice) with Dicaprio on the set of Gangs of New York.

Hell, it's the same behind the camera: Cameron, Kubrick, Fincher and Herzog to name a few have all been known to decimate actors and crew when the smallest detail doesn't match their expectations. I still go see their movies because more often than not, that passion and attention to detail pays off.

If you veto films based on the actors/directors/writers/creatives being assholes, you're not going to be watching many movies. Or do you just pretend shit like this doesn't happen on lots of movie sets?

Oh, and people and reactions like this is part of the reason I don't feel too bad about not working in the film industry any more.
posted by slimepuppy at 12:24 PM on February 3, 2009 [3 favorites]

I have to side with bale, although he was overreacting.

If you screw up a shot like that, the absolute worst thing you can do is try to justify and defend it with "I was looking at the light" - and then KEEP defending it. It's not that he walked on the set, it's that he just kept trying to justify it. It basically comes across as the one defending it feeling MUCH more important than anyone else there.

I've raged a bit myself when people I know have seriously screwed up something I've put a lot of time into, and then defended their mistakes to the death- This has happened to me quite a bit professionally. The difference is that I'm not a star, and I wasn't being recorded.
posted by MysticMCJ at 12:24 PM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

Seriously, though, what is the point of going to Hollywood other than to wind up filthy rich and coked up, walking around screaming at people that you're going to wear their flayed skin like a cheap suit?

I hear the roller coaster at the Universal theme park is kinda fun.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:24 PM on February 3, 2009

You guys have no idea how hard it is to be an actor.

Does Bale?

Oh, and "boo fucking hoo".
posted by JaredSeth at 12:25 PM on February 3, 2009

"Marlon Brando refused to take direction from Frank Oz in The Score unless Oz spoke in his Miss Piggy voice"

Wut?

Settling the Score
How to Make a Score.

Brando allegedly showed up for scenes in underpants, and refused to work with director Frank Oz, a former puppeteer who did the voice of Miss Piggy. On set, Brando purportedly called Oz "Miss Piggy," and said, "I bet you wish I was a puppet so you could stick your hand up my ass and make me do whatever you want."

Notice in the interviews how Oz, a consummate professional, deflects the rumors, attempts to keep the interpersonal conflicts out of public scrutiny, and even accepts responsibility for any challenges with Brando.
posted by terranova at 12:27 PM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

It kinda depends for me. Now, if I had been on the set and had the brains to have seen The Machinist, it would not take a great deal of insight to know that Bale is probably a very, very intense guy who brings that with him wherever he goes. About ten minutes of that film and you should realize that this is a guy around whom one would very carefully walk. You can laugh and say, "Well, it's a flick in the frikkin' Terminator franchise," but I think Bale is not a guy who phones in performances.

So I would have awarded about 60% jerk for this, but then when you look at when this happened and I drop the jerk factor some more. Then you realize that the guy did it twice, and I'm starting to feel pretty sympathetic to Bale.

Best Brando story about The Score I have heard: he apparently wandered around the set naked. A lot. Without prompting. I'm envisioning Miss Piggy commanding a mostly-naked Brando in his later years to deliver various lines and it is not going to nice places.
posted by adipocere at 12:28 PM on February 3, 2009 [9 favorites]

But, mysticMCJ, it appears at least from the audio that Bale was asking him, in an abusive and not terribly sincere way, to defend himself. It wasn't as if the guy kept on defending himself without being asked. What can you say to someone who has lost their shit like this?
I don't care if you're a movie star or being filmed or not, that's shitty behavior.

I understand that it's very stressful to be an actor, but what it comes down to is that (at least from how it sounds) Bale is treating someone he's working without any civility or maturity, and that has to be more unprofessional than the original offense.
posted by theefixedstars at 12:31 PM on February 3, 2009

Maybe Bruce IS a fucking asshole. Maybe everyone thinks that about Bruce, not just Bale. Ever think of that?
Didn't think so.
posted by Liquidwolf at 12:32 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

And who or what is "McG"?

I was wondering that myself. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629334/. Looks like he directed a Korn video and some episodes of the OC and other such shows.
posted by melgy at 12:36 PM on February 3, 2009

I've seen a lot of comments, especially in that LA Times article, to the effect of "Bale is such an asshole. I won't see any of his movies ever again."

Bale is such a boring actor. I won't go out of my way to see any of his movies ever again! Nor will I avoid them if they look decent! In fact, I won't even fucking care if Christian Bale is in the cast or not!
posted by rusty at 12:36 PM on February 3, 2009

it needs an, "...everybody dance now!..."
posted by bonobothegreat at 12:37 PM on February 3, 2009

You're trying to plausibly play the savior of humanity fighting a race of intelligent, murderous machines. You're getting paid millions to do this, but if you fuck it up, you'll go from Oscar-winner to worldwide laughingstock seemingly overnight (see Costner, Kevin; Waterworld; Postman). While you're doing this and dealing with these pressures, you're surrounded by guys in cargo shorts and T-shirts with essentially zero concern about your well being -- in fact, their bosses have bought insurance to cover themselves in case you turn out to be a flop.

In the middle of all this, a guy that really should know better casually comes in and fucks up your day.

DUDE.

Now you're distracted. And because of this, the production isn't getting the results they want, so you're causing a waste of time/money/energy.

I'm surprised Bale was so relatively composed about this. Seriously.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 12:37 PM on February 3, 2009 [34 favorites]

I listened to about 15 seconds before I decided that this guy makes Joan Crawford look like Anne of Green Gables.

Joan Crawford was always, almost pathologically, pleasant and professional and prepared. Spielberg when doing that "Night Gallery" episode she's in, remarked how she never missed a line. Remember the opening scene in "Mommy Dearest" when she's writing in the car? Those are personal thank you notes to everyone on the set. She did this for Every. Single. Movie. I always thought it helped explain the booze-fueled rage benders she'd go off on in private.
posted by The Whelk at 12:38 PM on February 3, 2009 [6 favorites]

Also, am I crazy for thinking this is a publicity stunt?

My impression, as well.
posted by ericb at 12:38 PM on February 3, 2009

The tribute song.
posted by mikesch at 12:39 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

And who or what is "McG"?

I was wondering that myself. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629334/. Looks like he directed a Korn video...

Ahh "Who then and now" Good video!

totally off topic sorry!

Please continue...
posted by SheMulp AKA Plus 1 at 12:40 PM on February 3, 2009

Well, for what it's worth, I think that dance mix was the best performance of Christian Bale's career.
posted by jamstigator at 12:41 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

None of this is as entertaining, by the way, as Overnight. And if you've seen Overnight and haven't seen the video for Boondock Saints "Two Ravens", I am so sorry I do not have time to find it because it is awesome.
posted by theefixedstars at 12:41 PM on February 3, 2009

And who or what is "McG"?

He's a director who has said that 'the kids' don't won't story/narrative or anything like that, just spectacle. Which explains a lot about Charlies Angles.

Oh and IMDB reminds me his exec-producing the US remake of Spaced.... Oh. Dear. God. No.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:43 PM on February 3, 2009

Maybe Bruce IS a fucking asshole. Maybe everyone thinks that about Bruce, not just Bale. Ever think of that?
Didn't think so.

Bale says Bruce is a nice guy near the end of the recording.
posted by yertledaturtle at 12:43 PM on February 3, 2009

I think the guys need shirts. And, where's Joe?
posted by davebush at 12:45 PM on February 3, 2009

And apparently Bale was in the middle of the most emotionally intense scenes in the movie... according to the assistant director. I'm impressed he, mostly, stayed with his American accent. This is the guy who keeps his character's accent all the way through the publicity... so, yeah, I'm pretty sure he's an intense/no-phone-in performance actor.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:46 PM on February 3, 2009

Any download links aside from a youtube ripper?
posted by jellywerker at 12:46 PM on February 3, 2009

I can't fault Bale.

I work internal IT support; I feel like going on one of these tangents on a co-worker twice a day.
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 12:47 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

If you screw up a shot like that, the absolute worst thing you can do is try to justify and defend it with "I was looking at the light" - and then KEEP defending it. It's not that he walked on the set, it's that he just kept trying to justify it. It basically comes across as the one defending it feeling MUCH more important than anyone else there.

I guess context, being screamed at to justify yourself when you can't really justify having made an error, doesn't matter. Apologize, admit your mistake, and if the cunt yelling at you can't accept it and won't move on it doesn't matter what you say and frankly, why bother to engage in a rational explanation when the situation will not allow it.
posted by juiceCake at 12:49 PM on February 3, 2009

I'm surprised so many people think Christian Bale's a crappy actor... in both Empire of the Sun and American Psycho it seems to me his performance was the key. I guess he's more "intense" than "subtle" in style, but generally I think he chooses the right movies for that to work out as an advantage.

The remix is funny. Can't help thinking how much stuff like this has always gone on but not been available to the broader public pre-internet... As grumblebee said, he's paid to emote, which may mean he's not very good at being mature and in control, or whatever, but in my opinion he's good at emoting in an interesting way on screen. His personal life is his own problem.
posted by mdn at 12:49 PM on February 3, 2009 [3 favorites]

And who or what is "McG"?

The Whelk : I envy your ignorance.

Hey now, McG is at least partially responsible for Fastlane¹, which wasn't completely awful, Chuck which is pretty damn good, and Supernatural which is just excellent. He may not be perfect, but some of the stuff he touches is actually worth seeing.

1: Ok, Fastlane had a lot of problems, but the cars were cool, the cinematography was nice, and there was some good music in it.
posted by quin at 12:50 PM on February 3, 2009

Yah, the fact that the guy lost all that weight for The Machinist, put it back on for Batman Begins, lost it again for Herzog, then put it back on makes me ashamed that I've been unable to weighttrain my scrawny butt past 175.
posted by daHIFI at 12:52 PM on February 3, 2009

US remake of Spaced.... Oh. Dear. God. No.

Thankfully, McSpaced is DOA
posted by Tenuki at 12:53 PM on February 3, 2009

How long do you have to be in Hollywood before you become a complete asshole?
posted by fusinski at 12:56 PM on February 3, 2009

I'm surprised Bale was so relatively composed about this.

You have got to be joking. Does it work the other way around, when some tempermental actor won't come out of his trailor until he gets his favorite bagel Fed Ex'd to the set? Who screams at him for delaying the production?

Mistakes happen. Lets keep things in perspective. Pretty Boy Bales is an employee as well.
posted by davebush at 12:56 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yeah, I'm kinda on Bale's side here. Heath Ledger's just died. His mom's trying to have him arrested or whatever that weird situation was. He's in a movie that's probably going to suck and is directed by the same dipshit who did Charlie's Angels, but he's incapable of putting less than 100%-method-actor-hardcore into a performance. And then this dildo, some twerp who only has a job because he's pals with aforementioned dipshit director, fucks up the scene. For the second time. So, he snaps. I can understand that.
posted by DecemberBoy at 12:57 PM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

Now you're distracted. And because of this, the production isn't getting the results they want, so you're causing a waste of time/money/energy.

I'm surprised Bale was so relatively composed about this. Seriously.

Wow. You're kidding.

I'm sure his long winded rant was a really good use of energy/time/money. A simple "get him off the set" and "move on" would be most efficient.. assuming that's your point.

Who was really wasting more of the producer's money?

Dude. Bale. No question.
posted by 5imian at 12:57 PM on February 3, 2009

I can't wait to hear what he yells at the Sound Recordist who leaked this.
posted by chococat at 1:00 PM on February 3, 2009 [7 favorites]

Mistakes happen. Lets keep things in perspective.

You go first.

I'll bet there were 30+ people on set that day. Any idea what that costs for an average movie, not to mention a special effects blockbuster?

Seriously, never mind the sight lines, walking around on set is a rookie move.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:01 PM on February 3, 2009

Pretty ridiculous rant, but why is everyone attributing it to Hollywood? I've seen flameouts from nobodies on the Internet that were just as spectacular. It's a human thing, not an actor thing.

How dare you derail this thread! That was so fucking unprofessional of you DU. Don't expect me to show up here tomorrow if that fucker is not permabanned!

The biggest problem is that when someone walks into your line of sight, your eyes flick to them. It's involuntary, and on stage, it's not that big a deal. Nobody will notice it from 20/50/100 feet away.

True, but if you are in a scene where you are outside or with other people, it's easy to play it off as looking at something other than the person you are talking to like you would in real life. Now I don't know exactly what this scene was, maybe a close-up of intense dialogue where a flick of the eyes might throw the viewer off as an indication that something was coming up behind the other person, in that case they would have to do another take and get back everything they had going on at that moment, that would certainly piss me off if I were Bale. To suggest someone should be fired over it is ridiculous, I'm sure Bale has never in his career flubbed a line or screwed up blocking or had to cough or had hair out of place or anything else that caused the entire production to have to go back and redo a line or a scene.
posted by Pollomacho at 1:04 PM on February 3, 2009

A missed take costs tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. If I cost my employer tens or hundreds of thousands of wasted dollars doing something I should know better than to do, I'd be very happy to get away with a five minute profanity laden dressing down in front of my coworkers.
posted by fatbird at 1:04 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

None of this is even remotely safe for work.

But I work at the obscenity factory...
posted by Rhomboid at 1:06 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

I also have to side with Bale here. Though, mostly because he's Batman.
posted by chunking express at 1:06 PM on February 3, 2009 [5 favorites]

DecemberBoy at 12:57 PM

Anyone who loses it like this is not right in the head. Sorry, but defending him because he's a good actor is no excuse. People do not talk to co-workers like this. If I was the director I would consider throwing Bale off the set. But here is the problem. If a DP or any other person on the set [except the director] loses it like Bale did they would be fired instantly. But Bale gets the VIP treatment no matter what he does. That is the problem with Hollywood. They excuse the worst behavior of their royalty [for obvious reasons] but could not care less about everyone else.
You should know that most DP's and crew work a lot harder than the actors, spend more time on the set and are paid much much less.
And, face it, if Bale can't take a guy walking across his sight line then maybe he isn't such a good actor. Every considered that? Stage actors have to deal with this all the time. You don't see them stop the play and start yelling at a guy in the third row for getting up to get drinks. [Although it might be sort of humorous if they did].
posted by Rashomon at 1:08 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Bale should have practiced a little Princess-bride "miserable vomitous mass" or Hook "two-toned zebra-headed, slime-coated, pimple-farmin' paramecium" style insult-work. Three minutes of Etude and Variations on the expletive "Fuck" might help carry over a feeling of intensity, but it's not going to garner any awards or creative respect.

As well as making him look like an ass.
posted by weston at 1:08 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

The truth is that, yeah the DP screwed up, but that Bale's reaction is so over-the-top and inappropriate that it doesn't matter all that much. Bruce not only shouldn't have been checking out the light in the middle of the take, he's the fucking DP - he should've been glued to the monitors watching the take so as to make sure there weren't any problems with it. That's his job. He's one of two people allowed to say "cut" on the set, and if there was a problem that required immediate attention that's exactly what he should have done. Going through the shot not only fucks up the sightline, butalso disrespects those who are working around him. The shot is the end product - nothing he could be doing is more important to his job than that. That's why the DP doesn't leave the monitors.

OTOH, the DP is also the guy running the show on set, on par with the director. The director instructs the performers, and the DP runs the crew. Dressing down the leader of the crew in front of his crew, on the type of production that's probably costing a thousand bucks per minute or more, is going to be far more detrimental to the production as a whole than whatever Bruce could've done. There's a right and a wrong way to handle this sort of thing, and Bale handled it very wrongly. So, provoked or not, he needs to get registered.
posted by Navelgazer at 1:10 PM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

You don't see [stage actors] stop the play and start yelling at a guy in the third row for getting up to get drinks.

Actually, Laurence Fishburne once stopped in the middle of a performance of Othello to yell at a guy who's cell phone just rang "SHUT YOUR FUCKING PHONE OFF!"
posted by fatbird at 1:12 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

Although I will see the movie, because I really like the first two and Sarah Connor Chronicles, and everyone seems to have collectively decided that the awful third film never happened (SCC starts a few years after the events of part 2). Even if it sucks, we're at least probably guaranteed cool robots, although the same couldn't be said for part 3. I knew there was no hope for it when they explained that the female Terminator's clothes were some kind of organic implant, thus providing a PG-13 cop-out for why she didn't time travel naked like every other character in the series. Not because I was upset about being denied bewbies, but because it was stupid. They had no such copout for the teenage girl Terminator in SCC, and even used it for a really funny scene where she distracts a group of fratboys with her nakedness, then beats the shit out of them and steals their clothes.
posted by DecemberBoy at 1:12 PM on February 3, 2009

Anyone who loses it like this is not right in the head. Sorry, but defending him because he's a good actor is no excuse. People do not talk to co-workers like this. If I was the director I would consider throwing Bale off the set. But here is the problem. If a DP or any other person on the set [except the director] loses it like Bale did they would be fired instantly. But Bale gets the VIP treatment no matter what he does. That is the problem with Hollywood. They excuse the worst behavior of their royalty [for obvious reasons] but could not care less about everyone else.
You should know that most DP's and crew work a lot harder than the actors, spend more time on the set and are paid much much less.
And, face it, if Bale can't take a guy walking across his sight line then maybe he isn't such a good actor. Every considered that? Stage actors have to deal with this all the time. You don't see them stop the play and start yelling at a guy in the third row for getting up to get drinks. [Although it might be sort of humorous if they did].

posted by Rashomon at 9:08 PM on February

That's not how I saw it
posted by fullerine at 1:13 PM on February 3, 2009 [18 favorites]

That is the problem with Hollywood. They excuse the worst behavior of their royalty"

Box office clout fades. Professionalism is forever.
posted by Joe Beese at 1:13 PM on February 3, 2009

You guys have no idea how hard it is to be an actor.

Or a DP. Or pretty much anyone in a highly-skilled, highly-paid position whose ability to execute in real time has a significant impact on the amount of money burned in a very short period of time.

Especially one whose job is so foreign to you that you assume it must be easy.

The thing is, these highly-skilled, highly-paid people themselves don't konw how hard it is for the other highly-skilled, highly-paid people around them. The DP thinks the actor is just talking, and the actor thinks the DP is just moving a camera around. If you're going to survive in any business of this nature, you have to have respect for other people -- and you also have to know how to avoid losing your shit when they don't have respect for you.
posted by davejay at 1:14 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm with Bale here. He even says, "look man, you're a nice guy, but quit fucking around on the set!"
posted by nitsuj at 1:14 PM on February 3, 2009

I would think handling something like this gracefully should be the goal of all humans, high paid actors included.
posted by davebush at 1:14 PM on February 3, 2009

Wait, who is everyone calling "Bruce" here? The DP's name is "Shane." and Bryce Dallas Howard's name is "Bryce."

Are we somehow talking about Bruce Wayne?
posted by hifiparasol at 1:19 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Upon reading the rest of the thread and learning the context of when this had happened, I'm thinking I need to recant my previous comment, at least to a certain extent.
posted by Caduceus at 1:20 PM on February 3, 2009

I knew there was no hope for it when they explained that the female Terminator's clothes were some kind of organic implant, thus providing a PG-13 cop-out for why she didn't time travel naked like every other character in the series.

She, like...was naked. It was the only good thing in the entire terrible, terrible movie.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 1:22 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

You guys have no idea how hard it is to be an actor.

Lol. Most good actors are so inside the scene they don't even notice tiny distractions like this. Total prima donna movie on Bale's part. Actors blow takes all the time, and the DP doesn't scream at them.

And just because you know Bale's name doesn't mean he's more important or "outranks" the DP. Yes, an actor is hard to replace once you've already started shooting with him, but a great DP is worth a dozen prima donna actors when it comes to actually making a good film.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:26 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

(or the DP would be worth a lot, if the movie wasn't going to be inevitable CG fest that will look like total shit no matter what they film on the set.)
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:28 PM on February 3, 2009

but a great DP is worth a dozen prima donna actors when it comes to actually making a good film.

You mean one that doesn't wander all over the set during takes?
posted by fullerine at 1:28 PM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

My friends in the industry are generally siding with Bale. You just don't get in an actor's sight line. You'll distract them, burn that shot, and waste everyone's time.

And a three minute whiny baby tantrum doesn't waste time? Although it is all completely worth it just for the dance mix.
posted by lysistrata at 1:29 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Box office clout fades. Professionalism is forever.

A facilities manager I knew in Philadelphia, a guy who had worked for UPenn for 20-plus years and had dealt with all kinds of angry, entitled people in the course of his job, gave me some sage advice once:

"The people you meet on the way up are usually the same ones you meet on the way down."

Christian Bale's career won't last forever. He will likely, if privately, regret some of his on-set behavior.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:30 PM on February 3, 2009 [3 favorites]

As much as I love film, and as much as I've been weirdly glued to this thread all day, I'm a little tired of pretending that the entertainment industry deserves so much of our respect, even if the only reason for this respect is because so many dollars and jobs rest upon its easily-angered monster-bosom. No, let it be our job to mock them, to cry foul, to set their furious roars to music.

(I'm not saying let's follow them around and make their private lives more miserable, but there are a lot more jobs out there harder than being a movie star; some people have to actually live in the thick of reality.)
posted by theefixedstars at 1:30 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

I imagine Pauly Shore had similar rants making Biodome.
posted by starman at 1:31 PM on February 3, 2009 [8 favorites]

Caduceus: If in some way the majority defense of this freakout has given you the impression that T4 is not going to be a horrible horrible travesty then I beg you to reconsider your reconsideration.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:35 PM on February 3, 2009

That is the problem with Hollywood. They excuse the worst behavior of their royalty [for obvious reasons] but could not care less about everyone else.

I know it's easy to turn this into a "Famous People are Spoiled Brats" rant, but in virtually any job I've ever had the same type of power dynamics have been in place. Highly valued employees (high-producing sales reps, for example) are virtually always held to a different (read: more lenient) standard than the more easily replaceable ones. This isn't a situation unique to Hollywood actors.
posted by The Gooch at 1:38 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

She, like...was naked. It was the only good thing in the entire terrible, terrible movie.

I could have sworn she wasn't, and that there was some lame explanation for how her little red pantsuit was part of her body, but Googling shows that you're correct. I don't know where I got that from, but in my defense I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the movie.
posted by DecemberBoy at 1:39 PM on February 3, 2009

I would like to suggest another possibility: This so-called "tantrum" is actually a real scene from the film.

That is, McG is cleverly using Bale to "break the fourth wall", a daring technique never seen before in a major action movie picture.

By courageously placing the audience into the narrative, by having the viewing audience "break" the actor's concentration, and Bale, in turn, "breaking" down, he brings us closer to understanding the perils of naked time-traveling cyborg entities.

It's a ballsy move on the part of McG and Bale, and it requires complete artistic trust in each other and the material. If this works, the creative payoff will be immense. I wish them great success.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:44 PM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

I just don't think it's "does he have a right to be pissed"; it's the complete lack of control that he's exhibiting, and the disrespect he's showing everyone else onset by wasting their time having a tantrum. Just because you have a reason to be angry at someone doesn't mean that you have a right to treat him or her like shit. Something like this would be an appropriate reaction to someone's life being in danger.

And the dance mix? Hilarious.
posted by witchstone at 1:45 PM on February 3, 2009

Where were all you people during the Patti Lupone post? Bale's a dickhead and Lupone's the professional?
posted by theroadahead at 1:45 PM on February 3, 2009

fullerine at 1:13 PM
That's not how I saw it.

Maybe I am missing the humor or irony here.
Not sure what you mean by 'how you saw it?'
Don't get me wrong. I like Bale and think he is a good actor. But his response here is over-the-top and [in my opinion] not acceptable behavior by anyone no matter how much entitlement they have.

drjimmy11 at 1:26 PM
but a great DP is worth a dozen prima donna actors when it comes to actually making a good film.

I like the spirit of this sentiment even if I am not sure I completely agree. Let's say half a dozen prima donna actors.
posted by Rashomon at 1:45 PM on February 3, 2009

This can be read one of two ways:

One: it was a one time freak out under debateable conditions on a very bad day which Christian Bale (who might normally be very professional) is going to have to hear about for the rest of his life

Two: like when Dan Quayle couldn't spell potatoes properly, it's a one-time slip of the tongue which normally would totally be forgotten because it is actually a minor incident... except it happens to be a particularly compelling example of something we already know (e.g., Quayle is stupid, Bale is an asshole) which we will remember as a convenient example to explain why we feel the way we do about a person

One real problem with a lot of news stories like this (or tabloid stories in general) is that they utterly lack context. I mean, yes, you can explain what a DP does or why it was a rookie mistake or not, and you can talk about what it is to be an actor on a film like that, but the whole point of the story seems to be "the dp is an unprofessional jackass" or "Bale is an unprofessional asshole", but I have absolutely no idea whether that's true or not. We all have bad days where we make mistakes or are grumpy little shitheads, and that goes for both Bale and the DP. But before I throw stones at either of them, I'd need to know about more them - like whether this is indicitive of them in general or not. Because if it is - well, then I can understand the symbolic value of an anecdote like this. But otherwise? Seriously, this was a five minute thing that happened months ago between two people in the middle of a project which has long since been finished successfully. Who cares?
posted by Kiablokirk at 1:46 PM on February 3, 2009

Maybe I am missing the humor or irony here.

Maybe you should check your user name.
posted by theroadahead at 1:47 PM on February 3, 2009

Wheres the fucking soundboard for this!?

The fucking soundboard for this.
posted by muckster at 1:48 PM on February 3, 2009 [6 favorites]

but there are a lot more jobs out there harder than being a movie star; some people have to actually live in the thick of reality.

And if you're trying to do something that you really trained for, worked hard at, only to have it ruined by some "accident", you'd be pissed off too!

It's not the accident that's the big deal; it's the fact that what the DoP did is TOTALLY AVOIDABLE, and is a basic rule, an INDUSTRY STANDARD. And worse? It happened NUMEROUS TIMES.

It's the equivalent to having a cellphone go off during a memorial's minute of silence, except the moment of silence is for someone you have invested a lot of time and energy into...

Besides, what shot was it? Was it climax worthy? Was it expensive? Was it a "deep" scene?

People outside the industry react to the sensationalism. People in the industry know that having a 60 person crew on a shoot requires people who know how to do BASIC THINGS... like not walking around during a scene!!! 3 minutes of venting (which by the way, someone can do in a normal cell phone conversation with their dysfunctional significant other), compared with at least 5-10 minutes of re-setting the shot? Especially if it was a big shot?

By the way: actors can continue through a cell phone or something at a play. They're willing to forgive at least one bonehead move. It might not phase them, but repeated incidents... by the same person... I mean, MetaFilter people, use your noggins! Really! Maybe you have never had to really, really, really work on something you love doing and have it ruined by a simple, avoidable asshole mistake.

Go into the industry and then come back and let us know how YOU did.
posted by Khazk at 1:50 PM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

"Wait, who is everyone calling "Bruce" here? The DP's name is "Shane." and Bryce Dallas Howard's name is "Bryce." "

He calls out someone named Bruce, i thought he was the DP but....don't know. Couldn't be Bruce Lee , he'd been crazy to speak to him that way.
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:50 PM on February 3, 2009

You mean one that doesn't wander all over the set during takes?

Exactly, fullerine. This thread's full of people who don't know what they're talking about. A good DP - hell, a mediocre DP - doesn't tweak lights during filming. You lock that shit down before or after a take. The DP on this production, Shane Hurlbut, is an unrepentant light 'tweaker.' He fucked up.
posted by NationalKato at 1:52 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Stage actors have to deal with this all the time. You don't see them stop the play and start yelling at a guy in the third row for getting up to get drinks.

The stage equivalent of someone walking around in your sight-lines is the audience member's mobile phone going off. And yes, you regularly see stage actors breaking character to hurl abuse at people whose phones interrupt a key scene, demanding that they leave, refusing to restart the play until they're ejected from the theatre, and so on. The audience is normally on the side of the actors.

There's something weirdly contradictory about the people saying that a) Bale is paid too much, and b) he's overreacting because, hey, it's just a McG Terminator movie. I mean, the fact that he's paid so much... surely the very least he can do to deserve that salary is to really, really care to the point of mania that the end product is as good as it can be?
posted by flashboy at 1:53 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Roshomon: check your username

theroadahead: Patti Lupone was in the second-to-last performance of her career, and the audience had been told beforehand that flash photography was strictly forbidden, because it's unsafe for the actors, who then can't see what they're doing, and also because it's rude as hell to everyone else in attendance. Bale could've taken the guy aside and made his point politely, Patti Lupone couldn't have necessarily done the same. That's the difference.
posted by Navelgazer at 1:55 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Go into the industry and then come back and let us know how YOU did.

Ok, but this should take a couple years. Sit tight...
posted by From Bklyn at 1:56 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

jellywerker: I had the same interest in downloading this post-haste, ideally in MP3 format. I googled furiously and frantically, found a possible lead that fell through, and then checked out RevoLucian's Twitter page, which is linked in his YouTube video description. MP3 download link
posted by aydeejones at 1:57 PM on February 3, 2009

Err..."Direct-to-MP3" download link
posted by aydeejones at 1:59 PM on February 3, 2009

None of you have ever worked in a busy kitchen? In construction? I've worked both, and this kind of dressing downs are common, specially with rookies who do not listen and experienced people who start getting to comfortable and make rookie mistakes. In my not humble at all opinion, it fucking works. The first one makes you feel like shit, fills you with fantasies of revenge, and you either quit or get better. The second one? You don't take it personal anymore.

Now I work in offices, we are all professional, you do not get yelled at. You just get a bad performance report from a manager that has not had a word with you for months, you get fired with no notice, your 8 months projects get taken from under you and assigned to the bosses' favorite asskisser 3 days before completion. All very civilized.
posted by dirty lies at 2:03 PM on February 3, 2009 [20 favorites]

Maybe you should check your user name.

So obvious...urf
posted by Rashomon at 2:06 PM on February 3, 2009

The stage equivalent of someone walking around in your sight-lines is the audience member's mobile phone going off. And yes, you regularly see stage actors breaking character to hurl abuse at people whose phones interrupt a key scene, demanding that they leave, refusing to restart the play until they're ejected from the theatre, and so on. The audience is normally on the side of the actors.

I'm a stage actor, and I think this behavior is really unprofessional - at least, it's unprofessional if you care one bit about the play. Sure it's gratifying to yell at some asshole who doesn't have the courtesy to respect the actors or the other other audience members, but by calling him out and launching into a tirade, you're creating an even bigger distraction. It's selfish and it doesn't serve the play - I don't care if you are Patty Lupone.

I was playing Yelena in a production of "Uncle Vanya", and somebody's cell phone went off in the middle of a very quiet scene with Sonya. I stopped and lowered my head until the ringing quit, and then I backtracked a couple of lines. I wasn't trying to make a point. I knew that the audience wouldn't be able to concentrate until the ringing stopped, but I also knew that breaking character and telling someone off would be even more damaging.
posted by Evangeline at 2:06 PM on February 3, 2009 [3 favorites]

All else aside, I bet that the DP didn't walk through anyone's sight-lines for the rest of the shoot.
posted by mikesch at 2:16 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Didn't seem that bad, actually. The guy is apparently an unrepentant fuckup; Bale had every right to castigate him.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 2:18 PM on February 3, 2009

"All else aside, I bet that the DP didn't walk through anyone's sight-lines for the rest of the shoot."

All else aside, I bet this end up costing Bale millions in personal brand value and future prospects.
posted by mullingitover at 2:22 PM on February 3, 2009

I'm a stage actor, and I think this behavior is really unprofessional...

Oh, I don't necessarily disagree (it depends on what kind of production it is, of course). I was just saying that this idea that Big Hollywood Actors are ranting prima donnas, while Humble Stage Actors are quiet and noble and never shout at people for fucking their scene up, is off-base.
posted by flashboy at 2:23 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Oh, and as a stage actor, let me just say that cell phones and audience members talking is bad enough. But if a member of the tech crew walked on stage in the middle of a scene to adjust a light or a prop or a piece of scenery? I'd let him know exactly what I thought of him the instant I got backstage. It's just basic fucking Stagecraft 101 that you don't do that, and that's the equivalent of what this guy was doing.
posted by EarBucket at 2:29 PM on February 3, 2009

He should have launched this tirade in his batman voice. Then everybody would be talking about how much his batman voice sucks.
posted by Foam Pants at 2:35 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

I could have sworn she wasn't, and that there was some lame explanation for how her little red pantsuit was part of her body

You're both right.

She showed up nekkid in her default configuration.

But she's also got the liquid-metal skin of the T1000 over a working endoskeleton. So the little red pantsuit was just her skin, basically.

As an added bonus the commentary track for T3 includes Ahnult, and as Kristanna "Todd" Lokken makes her naked debut you get to hear Ahnult talking about how he enjoys working with women with sexy botties and she has a sexy botty and SEXY and NAKED and you can practically hear him whip it out and start fapping. It's not at all COMPLETELY CREEPY.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:40 PM on February 3, 2009 [3 favorites]

All else aside, I bet this end up costing Bale millions in personal brand value and future prospects.

I think it's more likely that it'll be forgotten in a few weeks unless flipouts become a habit of his. One 3 minute rant at someone who may have deserved it doesn't kill a career. We're not talking a Rourke or Busey level of insanity here. Bale is generally well regarded and he just happened to crack once. I'm not sure anyone can honestly say they haven't been close to flipping out like that, his was just caught on tape.
posted by mikesch at 2:47 PM on February 3, 2009

.
posted by Brak at 2:57 PM on February 3, 2009

All else aside, I bet this end up costing Bale millions in personal brand value and future prospects.

Russell Crowe has a much worse reputation for being a complete jagoff on set, and it doesn't seem to have hurt his prospects at all.

OTOH, Jon Voight apparently dropped off the radar like a bird sucked through a jet engine when he was a complete asshole on set and his movies stopped making money.

That's it, really. It doesn't matter how much of a prick a star is. It's the box office that matters.
posted by fatbird at 2:58 PM on February 3, 2009

It's nothing on the dance remix for Hello My Future Girlfriend[flashing image and sound]. thanx for stopping by
posted by nomisxid at 3:00 PM on February 3, 2009

An actor once pointed out to me that yes, some actors wear their emotions very very very close to the surface, which can cause a certain amount of upset on a set... but that this "character flaw" is kind of how we need them to be. If their emotions weren't easily accessible, they'd be doing something else for a living.

As others have pointed out, this whole blowup is pretty much out of context for anyone who wasn't there, and I'm not sure how much of a right we have to judge Bale's behavior. Maybe this is the ONLY FRIGGING TIME he's ever yelled at anyone in his life. I don't know.
posted by OolooKitty at 3:02 PM on February 3, 2009

LOOK AT THIS FUCKING ACTING!

SERIOUSLY HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ACTING THIS GOD-DAMNED GOOD FUCK NO YOU HAVEN’T!

MOTHERFUCKER TAKES A CHARACTER FROM A PIECE OF CHRISTING PAPER AND DIVES INTO IT WITH ALL HIS HEART FUCK!

THIS SHIT IS INTENSE YOU CAN BET YOUR BALLS!

DON’T FUCK WITH THE LIGHTS!
posted by turgid dahlia at 3:07 PM on February 3, 2009 [9 favorites]

fatbird: "OTOH, Jon Voight apparently dropped off the radar like a bird sucked through a jet engine when he was a complete asshole on set and his movies stopped making money."

Ahem, I think you're forgetting Voight's recent, critically-acclaimed "An American Carol."
posted by mullingitover at 3:12 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Like Bale has anything on Klaus Kinski...
posted by cinemafiend at 3:18 PM on February 3, 2009

The sentiment in this thread is that "the truth is that, yeah the DP screwed up", and "this kind of dressing downs are common ... it fucking works", and "what the DoP did is TOTALLY AVOIDABLE".

This kind of behavior is not acceptable anywhere. In a productive smartly run workplace people work together to achieve a good result. Being pleasant goes a lot further. Actors should be able to control their emotions as well as express them.

The people who should be worried about this is the AD and director, and quiet word to one of them should solve the problem. If the actor had an issue, they should not talk to the crew, it is not their job, no matter how big their ego is.

I am not sure what happened here, but it doesn't seem that the DOP walked in front of the camera (as some people are saying), it sounds like he moved in the background. Perhaps the light looked like it was going to fall? Yes, a mistake, but we are human, god damn it.

Actors are not royalty. They're not scientists or humanitarians.

I will finish this with a quote from a Dustin Hoffman interview:
MF: You seem to take incredible joy in the process. Was it always that way for you?
DH: Yes. I keep saying it over and over again, but it's the crew that makes your experience a spiritual exercise, if you will. For me, it is an honor to be a part of that cadre of excellence. I am the opposite of many actors who say, "Clear the sight line," or "I don't want people around." I want the crew there. I want to feel them. I want to look at them.
posted by niccolo at 3:19 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

EarBucket: "Oh, and as a stage actor, let me just say that cell phones and audience members talking is bad enough. But if a member of the tech crew walked on stage in the middle of a scene to adjust a light or a prop or a piece of scenery? I'd let him know exactly what I thought of him the instant I got backstage. It's just basic fucking Stagecraft 101 that you don't do that, and that's the equivalent of what this guy was doing."

If it was a performance, sure unless the SM told them do to it because they felt there was a safety issue. But if it's a rehearsal, esp a tech rehearsal. Fuck yeah I've walked on and across a stage while actors rehearsing to check on a scenery element, or come up to them and turned on their mic pack the forgot to turn on which makes my job of setting a level problematic. I've also watched LDs walk up with a sheet of paper flagging lights and checking focus during scenes. The actors usually keep performing.

Yes this is a rehearsal and not a performance. Funny thing about film is it's not really either, it's not really a performance until it's edited and played in a theater. Tho a take is more than a rehearsal. It can however be stopped at any time and restarted. Yes this costs time and money, but it happens all the time on set. I'm curious do DPs ever unload on actors who can't get back into the moment after something made them laugh in the last take, and they "ruin" take after take trying and failing to compose themselves?

Accidents happen, getting angry is natural. This behavior however is unacceptable.
posted by MrBobaFett at 3:42 PM on February 3, 2009

I see three causal factors here:

First as theroadahead said, we're looking at a man who's under enough stress as to bring on either a nervous breakdown or something on the verge of it. I for one tend to pity people who are having a mental health crisis rather than laugh at them. I hope that whatever he's going through gets better for him.

Second, method acting.

I've worked around method actors. One guy I knew got into character an hour before showtime, just found a room off by himself and stayed there. I've never done film, but I imagine the thing about the sightlines is similar -- avoiding character breaking distractions. Notice that Bale doesn't want to stop filming -- he wants people to stop apologizing and work because he didn't want to break character. Method actors put themselves through a meat grinder for their work. The DP was being disrespectful to Bale as a person, not just Bale as an actor. "...you don't understand what it's like working with actors..." The part itself is putting stress on Bale whenever he's in character, and that's part of why he snapped.

Third, respect for the craft.

"no don't just be sorry, think...are you professional or not...walking right through...it's distracting...it's useless now...you amateur...I've never had a DP behave like this...why are you trashing my scene...let's put this back on, let's go again...you and I are done professionally"

If Bale had said only that, he would have been entirely justified. This isn't a spoiled movie star whining about not having a big enough fruit basket, it's an actor complaining that the people he's working with don't care about the acting.

Everybody on the set agrees with the people on this thread who think it's stupid to care about the acting in T4, and that's what's making him angry. He has an obsessive, insane dedication to his craft. Pictures: Christian Bale in the Machinist (2004), 121 pounds. Six months later in Batman trim, 230 pounds. Christian Bale will die of a heart attack at 50 because he cares too much about his craft.

What's going to haunt Bale about his unjustifiable tirade isn't going to be the public humiliation, or even knowing that he did wrong. I think what's really going to eat at him is that he was unprofessional, and I suspect he's the sort of person who would never forgive himself for that.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 3:43 PM on February 3, 2009 [8 favorites]

I'm very late to this party, but here is my favorite example of "ordinary people flipping the hell out over stupid minor crap." Also conveniently set to music!

(Now my "rants set to techno" folder has TWO files instead of one. Three if you count DJ Ted Stevens and the Tubes. Somehow, I'm certain, this will assist me in taking over the world.)
posted by Scattercat at 3:43 PM on February 3, 2009

But she's also got the liquid-metal skin of the T1000 over a working endoskeleton. So the little red pantsuit was just her skin, basically.

Are you sure? Because I just saw the movie recently (only the beginning) and she arrived naked and stole the clothes and the car from the women she sees. Or at least, the women in the car was wearing the same red outfit that she's seen in after she steals her car.
posted by dead cousin ted at 3:48 PM on February 3, 2009

Wow. It's like none of you ever had family over for the holidays.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 3:48 PM on February 3, 2009 [6 favorites]

I'm enjoying this back and forth between film types and definite non-film types. Film types are all siding with Bale, and non film types are like omg how could you he was so arrogant and berating?

Please... please... if you've been on any MajorHollywooodSet(tm), this was a factor of 3, maybe 4, on the 10 point scale. This was a conversation. Maybe just a heightened conversation. I don't work there anymore, but when I did, this outburst would have been more than justifiable. True story: People who are bent that certain way that makes them crave attention and an audience for validation because of whatever deep seated development issues they have (not a slight), well, they are extroverted to the Nth degree. This means they do not also bottle frustration inside and keep it burning an ulcer. Now, every day doing this, that's maybe more of a whack job, but this? With everything else he was dealing with? This was a 3 or 4.
posted by cavalier at 3:49 PM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

I will finish this with a quote from a Dustin Hoffman interview:

Amusingly, Dustin Hoffman has a reputation as a perfectionist, which I'm sure endears the crew to him as well.
posted by smackfu at 4:07 PM on February 3, 2009

This is why stage acting often translates to screen acting, but not necessarily the other way around

Bale made his professional debut on the London West End stage.

Anyway, I guess no one here has ever flipped out when it wasn't warranted? Not saying that Bale ISN'T an asshole (most people devoted to a craft are, at least some of the time), but is this really that big of a deal? I've been on the receiving ends of worse tirades from my dad and from my (ex) wife. People are imperfect, but very resilient. I'm sure Shane got over it, and so should we. It's funny more than anything, especially with the dance remix.
posted by Saxon Kane at 4:14 PM on February 3, 2009

Isn't this the way of most Mefi outrages? A legitimate but trivial factor that should have stayed where it happens gets blown up out of proportion.

I was disappointed in the remix. It started off reasonably well, but I had to bail after a few seconds of nothing but the f-bomb. There has to be a law of diminishing returns there somewhere.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 4:19 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

"Anyway, I guess no one here has ever flipped out when it wasn't warranted?"

Not really, no, and in fact I (correctly, imho) associate this type of behavior with mental illness. Mentally healthy people generally don't 'flip out.'
posted by mullingitover at 4:22 PM on February 3, 2009

I worked on sets where tempers flared often. Never with this sort of intensity or duration. And I've heard that in movies real budgets that kind of thing happens even more. Actors in "charachter" for weeks on end can get pretty hair trigger. I think it was a HUGE mistake for set morale for the director to let this go on like it did. franly I blame him. It's his set. He needs to control it. Maybe he thought Bale was gonna just let off steam but a minute in he should have told everybody to clear the set and dealt with the two parties. That shit was unprofessional.

Mostly I experienced producers and directors having flame outs. Usually actors want everybody to get along.

I once had a fairly big-time producer (that will go unnamed) throw a stapler at my head in one of the on set production trailers. He'd had a real bad day and was arguing with somebody on the phone. There was all this noise outside between scenes and me and another grip were fucking around in the adjacent office/stoop. When I stepped in to the main production office to leave paper work Mr. Producer let fly with the stapler right as I opened the door. It missed my face by maybe a half inch. He slammed down the phone and came at me screaming all sorts of obscenities... most of which I realize now were residule from his phone conversation and not really directed at me. Still, I was completely shocked and assumed there was gonna be a real fight. I had never had a boss lose his shit like that before.

So I shut the door behind me and stepped right into him about an inch from his face. "Don't ever do that again." I said very calmly. Again I headed him off when he reached for the door " I mean it." He suddenly realized I was twenty years younger and 50lbs heavier— I I think he saw that he was being a dick. He sighed and said "I'm sorry. about that. It wasn't personal. I'm under so much pressure...blah blah blah etc" be both breathed a sigh of relief and smiled and that was that.

The problem was later like a true asshole I went and bragged about it to the other grips "Dude I was gonna kick his Yuppie ass, man!".

So I got fired the next day.

And rehired on art-department the day after that. I realized he had to save "face" But he still felt kind of bad so I got another job. I do not miss that business.
posted by tkchrist at 4:24 PM on February 3, 2009 [6 favorites]

Well, clearly Christian Bale overreacted. He lost it and refused to calm down. He's got problems, and in the context of beating his mom up, etc. it seems to be consistent with his character.

But sight lines are to be carefully protected during takes. When someone distracts the actors, it can be hard for those actors to get back to the emotional places where they were before. It's also tough on set, because most of the technical people aren't very sympathetic to the craft of acting, and there really isn't a lot of respect for the actors amongst the camera, grip and electric crews. It's kind of short sighted, but because people get caught up in their jobs, they focus on getting the lights perfect, forgetting that what they are lighting is the acting, and without great acting, you got nothing.

So the D.P. could have done better here, but it still doesn't excuse Bale's behavior. It may be common enough in Hollywood, but it still isn't excusable. He gets away with it, because if you fire Bale, you have to re-shoot everything that's already in the can, which costs millions. If you fire the D.P., you have a new one the next day, and the audience at home can't tell the difference.

I saw this on the news, and apparently, this audio tape was released to the insurance company, as the production company was trying to cover their own asses in case Bale walked off the set. They wanted to protect themselves and make sure that the insurance would kick in so that they could re-shoot everything.

So, I imagine that the leak is from there, not from the sound guy or from someone in post on the movie.
posted by MythMaker at 4:31 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

So has anybody SongSmithed it yet?
posted by minifigs at 4:33 PM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

OMFG. I lost it during the Barbara Streisand intermezzo :D
posted by liza at 4:38 PM on February 3, 2009

He's got problems, and in the context of beating his mom up, etc. it seems to be consistent with his character.

Except that wasn't true. He didn't beat up his mom. She, and his sister, called the cops in an effort to essentially extort 200,000 dollars from him. With a famaily like that is it any wonder the kid is fucked up?

This is all tabloid fodder anyway. It's funny people citing stuff like this like it's somebody we all know. I suppose that speaks to the success of the celebrity tabloid machine. Build them up to worship them. Then tear the fuckers down and laugh!
posted by tkchrist at 4:39 PM on February 3, 2009 [3 favorites]

Here's some more info from AICN:

The DP on TERMINATOR SALVATION, Shane Hurlbut, is a apparently a light tweaker. He's a fairly young DP and likes to fiddle with his lights on set during action, which is a big "NO NO" on most productions unless worked out in advance with performers. But apparently Shane was a pretty unrepentant light tweaker.

The scene in question, was a very emotional and tough scene between Christian Bale and Bryce Howard. A scene that required soul bearing and a deep level of immersive concentration. The sort of scene where everyone on set knows not to get in anyone's eye lines, and definitely not to move lights around while FILMING. You lock that shit down before the scene starts.

Bale had indeed warned the DP on multiple occasions about messing with lights while the cameras were rolling, and Bale was in the midst of a painful scene with Bryce, what was described to me as being the emotional center of the film and his character for the film.

posted by MythMaker at 5:13 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

He's got problems, and in the context of beating his mom up, etc. it seems to be consistent with his character.

From Wikipedia:

On 22 July 2008, Bale attended a London police station by appointment and was arrested in connection with an alleged verbal assault on his mother, Jenny, and sister, Sharon, who called the authorities. After being held for more than four hours, he was released on bail, pending further investigation. He has denied these allegations. On 14 August, British police declared that they would take no further action against him. [bolding mine]

"Verbal assault". So no, Bale isn't a psychopath who beat up his mother and sister. They asked for some of his money, and got told off. Not something I'd do to my mother, but hardly the acts of a ticking time bomb.
posted by fatbird at 5:14 PM on February 3, 2009

Christian Bale techno remix, now with more cowbell.
posted by zippy at 5:16 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Not really, no, and in fact I (correctly, imho) associate this type of behavior with mental illness. Mentally healthy people generally don't 'flip out.'

Well, have fun up on your pedestal in perfectland where no one ever yells.

Except that wasn't true. He didn't beat up his mom.

Doesn't matter to most people. The real story never got as much traction as the initial story, so he goes down as an abuser of women -- unfortunate because even if he is an asshole he shouldn't have accusations like that hanging over him if they aren't true. But, such is the flavor of the media and celebrity news -- people like the shocking shit, don't really care if its true or not as long as it tickles their schadenfreude.
posted by Saxon Kane at 5:19 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Kermit Bale
posted by Morrigan at 5:21 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

Not saying that Bale ISN'T an asshole (most people devoted to a craft are, at least some of the time)

None of you have ever worked in a busy kitchen? In construction?

These.
posted by generalist at 5:29 PM on February 3, 2009

I work in the film and television and film industry, and personally feel that these sort of hissy fits are what brings the whole profession down. Regardless of whether one feels Christian had a point or not, there were better ways to deal with this situation. Behind the scenes folk take alot of flak, even though they are the backbone of the production. Without the hard working men and women of the crew, there would be no film. They deal with just as much stress as the actors (sometimes even much, much more) and oftentimes do not reap the same reward financially. Alot of these guys and gals do their job with very little glitz and glamour, and oftentimes that is forgotten and that is a crying shame.
posted by scarello at 5:32 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

Excuse the above typos.
posted by scarello at 5:33 PM on February 3, 2009

This is a good opportunity to flog The Magic Christian, which for all its hyperbolic over-the-topness is one of my favorite things ever written about an actor. If you think he's a hack please spare yourself the read -- or don't, cover yourself in spittle flecks, sometimes it can be a lot of fun to be well and truly irritated.
posted by melissa may at 5:34 PM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

I work in the film and television and film industry, and personally feel that these sort of hissy fits are what brings the whole profession down

Dude, those hissy fits occur in EVERY profession. You haven't lived until you've seen been in the mail room when a clerk does a SPECTACULAR tantrum about god, the universe, and everything. The Hollywood stuff is just a smokescreen. Was there a better way to deal with it? Sure. Was it out of line and wasteful? Yes. Does this happen in every single environment where people work together? Yes. People can be childish and mean, at times.
posted by The Whelk at 5:38 PM on February 3, 2009

You know, before late onset color blindness took me out of the game, I was a light tech working towards being a dp one day. I saw a lot of ridiculous behavior from people stretched to the end of their rope. The business attracts a lot of emotional cripples who have the added disorder of never having had a real job where you have to get shit done and nobody cares about your feelings.

That being said, I would never, never, never have touched a light during a scene. That's like 101 bullshit. I can't see myself going off on someone like this, but I think he deserved it.
posted by lumpenprole at 5:38 PM on February 3, 2009

and DAMN THE TYPOS!
posted by The Whelk at 5:39 PM on February 3, 2009

There is something that great stars like Cary Grant and Michael Caine have: the elusive Common Touch, which makes their divine gifts non-alienating to the less fortunate. How does one recognize the Common Touch in a star?

I have devised a fail-safe, if vulgar, test: Can you easily picture him shitting his pants?

With Bale, the answer is a resounding yes -- you can also picture him becoming wildly frustrated by the parking valet or sticking his elbow in the gravy boat. He's human, in every beautiful, fucked-up sense of the word. He wears all the inconveniences and embarrassments of being alive very openly.

See? Thesis, meet elegant proof.
posted by melissa may at 5:39 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Sight lines, white lines, and Shane was a pretty unrepentant light tweaker. That could be a movie.
posted by juiceCake at 5:41 PM on February 3, 2009

And I agree that the it's the Director's job to scream at people, off set, and keep these boiling point rants contained. This sounds like a very bad day on set that's getting press cause it was recorded and people are famous.
posted by The Whelk at 5:44 PM on February 3, 2009

"Does this happen in every single environment where people work together? Yes."

Should people get called out and shamed in public when they regress into this toddler-stage behavior? Absolutely. I'm not a fan of spanking children, but there are plenty of adults that could use a proper hide-tanning. Barring that, public mockery of their behavior is the least we can do.
posted by mullingitover at 5:55 PM on February 3, 2009

And to reiterate, this is a 4 on the rage rant scale. I've seen so much worse over much smaller things. Bale overreacted, and the DP was a jerk. Can;tt we leave it at that?

Oh god there go my director impulses again Bale drifting into his real accent was seriously cute someone kill me seriously argh
posted by The Whelk at 6:20 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Should people get called out and shamed in public when they regress into this toddler-stage behavior? Absolutely. I'm not a fan of spanking children, but there are plenty of adults that could use a proper hide-tanning. Barring that, public mockery of their behavior is the least we can do.

Yeah, but its the director's job,right?

Didn't Lieutenant basically tell off a Captain while the Admiral watched with his thumb up his ass? I don't know I'm admittedly not in film..so I am asking.
posted by 5imian at 6:26 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Another mix of Bale's rant set to music here. Even catchier! Even more ludicrous!
posted by joyceanmachine at 6:27 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

Dude, those hissy fits occur in EVERY profession. You haven't lived until you've seen been in the mail room when a clerk does a SPECTACULAR tantrum about god, the universe, and everything. The Hollywood stuff is just a smokescreen. Was there a better way to deal with it? Sure. Was it out of line and wasteful? Yes. Does this happen in every single environment where people work together? Yes. People can be childish and mean, at times.

Never said it didn't happen in any other profession. I was just commenting on the profession and industry that I know and which is being put in the spotlight at the moment. Regardless of where it happens, my end point is that it shouldn't. I have seen my share of good people burn out because of it and personally refuse to accept it as something that "just happens"
posted by scarello at 6:28 PM on February 3, 2009

"Yeah, but its the director's job,right?"

Hell naw, I hope future productions will include live feeds to the web so we can enjoy the QQs and BAWWWing in real time. Heck, charge for access to the feeds. Make the production pay for itself before the film even hits the theatres.

And to reiterate, this is a 4 on the rage rant scale. I've seen so much worse over much smaller things.

Please tell me you have audio. We will make beautiful mashups together.
posted by mullingitover at 6:30 PM on February 3, 2009

Please tell me you have audio. We will make beautiful mashups together.

I like this idea.
posted by 5imian at 6:33 PM on February 3, 2009

blowouts shouldn't happen, this was a huge failure on behalf on everyone, the Director, the DP, The actors, everyone. I'm a little twitchy on the "OMGACTORSARESUCHCRAZYLOL" thing. Rants happen anywhere, and they could be avoided, but they're a part of dealing with people and thier stupid peopleness. The clip shows a big breakdown of the set on everyone involved.
posted by The Whelk at 6:35 PM on February 3, 2009

Batshitinsaneman.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 6:45 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

I loves me some Christian Bale but dude seriously need to step back from the 'riods. Try as he may, he's never going to have anything remotely resembling Ahnold's body in Terminator 2.
posted by fuse theorem at 6:51 PM on February 3, 2009

Sounds like he's right to me. He's working with amateurs.
posted by Flex1970 at 7:05 PM on February 3, 2009

Simian -

Didn't Lieutenant basically tell off a Captain while the Admiral watched with his thumb up his ass? I don't know I'm admittedly not in film..so I am asking.

Well, in film it's more complicated than that. One of the big challenges of directing really big actors is that it may be that the actor is the highest paid, most powerful person on set. A big enough actor can get the director fired. So, calling him a Lieutenant isn't quite right. With Christian Bale's marquee value at the moment, he certainly outranked the DP, and possibly the director, although McG is doing pretty well for himself.

I remember when I was studying directing with Edward Dmytryk, he'd tell stories about directing Marlon Brando, and the challenges of that, because essentially Brando was more powerful than him on set, so you'd have to have very specific strategies to keep him in line.

That's why McG isn't going to do anything but publicly support his actor at that moment in time. What he's saying to the executives and producers behind closed doors is something else entirely. As I pointed out above, why this got out was that it was submitted to the insurance company in case Bale walked, so obviously they were concerned about him.
posted by MythMaker at 7:17 PM on February 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

The mashup makes want there to be some sort of current-events night in which a club plays techno remixes of recent world news. There ought to be plenty of good audio to sample in all the world's newsfeeds.
posted by hattifattener at 7:19 PM on February 3, 2009

The mashup makes want there to be some sort of current-events night in which a club plays techno remixes of recent world news.

Somewhere William Gibson is smiling and starting a new chapter.
posted by The Whelk at 7:22 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

Are you sure? Because I just saw the movie recently (only the beginning) and she arrived naked and stole the clothes and the car from the women she sees. Or at least, the women in the car was wearing the same red outfit that she's seen in after she steals her car.

The TX certainly could have just taken her clothes, but they'd get in the way if it needed to shift to some other appearance. So probably better to just use the mimetic polyalloy as fake clothes unless it needs all of it to bulk up its body.

If you don't mind, I'll take off my LOOK AT THE GIANT DORK hat now.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:31 PM on February 3, 2009

Regarding method actors: I know a couple-three people that work in the movie industry, in various capacities. Sometimes they have great stories to tell.

For example, there's a gay sex scene in Velvet Goldmine featuring Ewan McGregor and Christian Bale. Word on the street is they both take their method acting very seriously.

So whenever you need a good laugh, you can just think: Batman lost his anal virginity to Obi-Wan Kenobi.
posted by rifflesby at 7:43 PM on February 3, 2009 [5 favorites]

Well, in film it's more complicated than that. One of the big challenges of directing really big actors is that it may be that the actor is the highest paid, most powerful person on set. A big enough actor can get the director fired. So, calling him a Lieutenant isn't quite right. With Christian Bale's marquee value at the moment, he certainly outranked the DP, and possibly the director, although McG is doing pretty well for himself.

I remember when I was studying directing with Edward Dmytryk, he'd tell stories about directing Marlon Brando, and the challenges of that, because essentially Brando was more powerful than him on set, so you'd have to have very specific strategies to keep him in line.

That's why McG isn't going to do anything but publicly support his actor at that moment in time. What he's saying to the executives and producers behind closed doors is something else entirely. As I pointed out above, why this got out was that it was submitted to the insurance company in case Bale walked, so obviously they were concerned about him.

Thanks for the info, sounds like your ..well "rank" is basically your salary then? is this something that everyone there knows? In most places you work that stuff is usually (well supposed to be) confidential. Tell me more, what you are saying is valuable to understating just how "justified" this guy really was.

The ass-reaming isn't the issue to me, it's whether or not he had the right to do it. If your boss reams your ass ... he can. Same with your mom or superior officer. Even if its heavy handed.. its accepted by society...as long as you have the social position to do it.
posted by 5imian at 7:53 PM on February 3, 2009

pardon my excessive use of the phrase "ass reaming" my next choice was "chew you out" and i'm starting to realize that's not much better.

uh

"yell at"
posted by 5imian at 8:04 PM on February 3, 2009

Just like to Nth the fact that moving around during a take is the most extraordinarily amateurish thing to do. You do not move around on a sound stage during a take, full stop. And if you are DP, even if you are not operating, what the FUCK are you doing tweaking lights during a take? Why are you not on the video feed? There are not many possibilities here, really.

1) The DP was a total amateur
2) The DP was not a total amateur, but didn't realize they were going for a take. Huh?
3) The DP realized they were going for a take, but wandered around anyway fiddling with lights.

On a film set, the take is the fulcrum of it all. That's what everyone is there for. A good take is such a fugitive thing that you CANNOT fuck it up. You may only get one really good one. That's how movies are made, one hard-won moment at a time. To have the DP of all people wandering around in the middle of it is really unbelievable.

As others have said, in Hollywood the sympathy is with Bale, and not just because he's the star.

To those who draw a comparison with theater, it's not like someone's cell phone going off, it's like the stage manager walking behind you and moving the furniture around.
posted by unSane at 8:25 PM on February 3, 2009 [3 favorites]

unSane: "To those who draw a comparison with theater, it's not like someone's cell phone going off, it's like the stage manager walking behind you and moving the furniture around."

Which has happened, and will happen again. And usually nobody blows up.

The Whelk:"And to reiterate, this is a 4 on the rage rant scale. I've seen so much worse over much smaller things. Bale overreacted, and the DP was a jerk. Can;tt we leave it at that?"

Because other people have been bigger assholes does not justify someone elses assholish behavior. The DP might have been a jerk, but we have no evidence of that. Even if he was I doubt he was enough of a jerk to deserve this sort of a dressing down.

Also the DP sure as hell doesn't report to the actors. Just like the Artistic Director doesn't report to the key grip. Know your place in the chain of command.
posted by MrBobaFett at 8:59 PM on February 3, 2009

So whenever you need a good laugh, you can just think: Batman lost his anal virginity to Obi-Wan Kenobi.

If by laugh you mean erection, then I'm with you.
posted by The Whelk at 9:00 PM on February 3, 2009 [4 favorites]

Also the DP sure as hell doesn't report to the actors. Just like the Artistic Director doesn't report to the key grip. Know your place in the chain of command.

Mythmaker made a useful comment about this earlier, did you read it?
posted by 5imian at 9:06 PM on February 3, 2009

The DP might have been a jerk, but we have no evidence of that.

According to the industry insiders posting here (and in the link to Ain't it Cool News), we have expert testimony that he was doing something everyone on the set knows NOT to do, and had been doing it repeatedly beforehand and been told to stop.
posted by fatbird at 9:22 PM on February 3, 2009

Oh this makes me so sad. I've been a total Balehead since Little Women (I was 9, ok?), and I always liked to imagine that on top of being absurdly talented (albeit with an iffy ability to pick movies worth being in), he was a good guy. I know it sounds really lame, but this hurts a little. This is not the same guy that had middle school me spending hours downloading video clips of cut Newsies dance sequences on a dial-up modem.
posted by naoko at 9:35 PM on February 3, 2009

(Oh man, I'm a dork. Should have just dropped a snarky, vaguely appropriate quote from a Bale flick).

You're turning into a fucking Nazi!

(That's better.)
posted by naoko at 9:41 PM on February 3, 2009

Evangeline had a good point above, and handled her Uncle Vanya situation in the best way possible, but I'm still in Patti Lupone's corner on that one, for a couple reasons:

1. It wasn't a cell phone going off. That can happen, it's usually not malicious, and the reaction from the "offender" will probably be something like, "Oh fuck, I can't believe I forgot to turn my cell phone off!" This was someone taking repeated flash photos of her, which ruined the show for everyone else and which caused a dangerous situation on stage and which wouldn't have stopped if she'd just waited it out (with the band playing!) and hoped they'd be finished. They had to be actively engaged in order for the offending behavior to end, and when you're speaking from the stage to the audience, you can't just simply take a person aside (though that would've been equally awesome if she had.)

2. There's a reason why the rest of the audience tends to cheer so loudly on the rare ocassion that this sort of thing happens. For one thing, it's rude as hell to everyone and they're happy to see someone getting dressed down for impoliteness, but for another - it's a live show! A big part of the reason theatre tickets go for so much more than, say, movie tickets is the spontenaety of it all. People on any other night might have headed home talking about the show for a half hour or so, but people who were there that night have a story to tell for the rest of their lives. They don't feel like the illusion was broken - they feel like they were present for something unique! Which is what they paid for!

3. Patti Lupone is a treasure and Christian Bale is a dick who should be far more thankful than he seems to be that he was born pretty and able to convince people that his hyper-intense ego-centric emotionality was a feature rather than a bug.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:06 PM on February 3, 2009

5imian -

Power on a Hollywood set, when we're talking about the above-the-line personnel, has everything to do with how much money you are perceived to be able to make for the production. (Below-the-line personnel, which includes the D.P., grips, editor, production designer, etc. are organized in a more predictably hierarchical fashion, with heads of departments and people who are under them, in hierarchical ranks - the DP is above the key grip and gaffer, who are over their respective best boys, above the grips and electrics, etc.)

But the above-the-line -- the director, the producers, the writers, the actors -- their power has everything to do with how much money they are perceived to be able to make the production. So, if you are Tim Burton, as a director, your name has clout in the box office, people will come to see movies based on your "brand", and that gives you a certain level of power. The same is true of the actors. If your "brand," your marquee value is high enough, if having your name on the poster sells enough tickets, then that gives you quite a lot of power.

Something interesting happens with actors and power as they ascend in Hollywood. For a very long time, actors are at the bottom of the totem pole. They are treated as expendable and interchangeable. Just check out some cattle-call auditions for commercials to see just how interchangeable they are considered.

But when they become a "name," once their Q value goes up, once their presence on a TV show or movie guarantees eyeballs and money, then they get quite a lot of power. Instead of auditioning for every job, parts are offered to them. Being attached to a project will get that project made - the reason "The Matrix" was greenlit wasn't because of the Wachowskis, it got greenlit because Keanu Reeves signed on. The power switches, and at the highest levels, with the top stars, they certainly can be the most powerful person on that set. They are why the project got greenlit, and they are what the marketers will be selling.

The studio executives still outrank them, ultimately, but it's not uncommon at all for top stars to effectively outrank their directors. It's to their benefit to not abuse that position. Getting ahead by getting along is the name of the game in Hollywood. You have to be very powerful indeed to be a genuine alienating asshole. If you make the people in charge enough money, they will put up with an awful lot, but when you start making them less money, that's the time when you will wish you'd been less of an asshole.
posted by MythMaker at 11:13 PM on February 3, 2009 [3 favorites]

I should add that I've been on the receiving ends of one of these types of rants before, with the cameras rolling.

It was when I was working on the short-lived Town Haul back in 2004, and the contractor had a paint emergency that was going to require me to make a Home Depot run that would, at the most optimistic estimate, be an hour-and-a-half round-trip. When I showed up to find out what he needed, I had my headset on because I was relaying everything back to the production office who was on the phone with Home Depot to make sure that everything was ready for me when I arrived.

The contractor refused to stop the saw that was running right next to him and refused to move away from the work that was being done, so all-in-all, it was tough to hear anything. When I asked him to repeat something he'd said to me that I couldn't hear over the din, he flipped out, ripping my headset off of my head (violently) and screaming at me in a manner very similar to Bale's. Unlike Shane, I didn't take it so nicely, and got into it with him exactly why I was talking into my headset while simultaneously talking to him, and that the problem was the extra noise around us that he was too much of a stubborn-ass to cease/move away from, but that just made me more of a "fucking retard" in his eyes.

We hugged and made up when the Sox won the series, but I'd lost most of whatever lingering respect I'd had for "the talent." Actors and performers deserve no special treatment, no genuflexion, unless they are genuinely good people (and I've known a few) in this industry which usually gives out no extra credit for that and which caters to anyone on camera being an asshole.

Shane screwed up badly here - as was said above, it's like tweaking lights and scenery during a live performance - but the outburst was still way the fuck out of line, and says way more about how shitty Christian Bale is than about what Shane did to provoke it.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:27 PM on February 3, 2009 [2 favorites]

Also... god, why am I spending so much time in this thread tonight? Anyway, MythMaker makes some good, accurate, and realistic points, none of which excuse Bale's behavior.

Power in the industry is very different, as it must be, from power on set. Most industry professionals see power on set as an unspoken, almost sacred thing, as they must, considering how much money and time are so easily wasted during production. There are tons of little rules.

For instance: generally union (and this is carried over with most non-union crews by the twin powers of good faith and the desire to seem more professional) crews get exactly a half-hour off for meals. This half-hour is timed from the moment the AC (assistant camera) goes through the line (the cheap-as-shit, usually warmed-over baked ziti "buffet") and sits down. The AC will always, thus, be the last man through the line. It may seem silly that this sort of thing would be so written-in-stone, but when you're on set, this sort of thing means everything. Also, if you've ever done it, you'll know that the AC has the worst job on set. I don't care if you're working on an anal porn shoot and you're the fluffer; the AC has it worse. So why does he (or she) get the least time to eat? Because (1) they're as concerned with the efficiency of the production as everyone else is, because the sooner they're done the sooner they're off the clock and sleeping for the next hellish day and (2) because the power makes up for it. Just an example.

There are three "power phrases" which may be uttered on set, each of which may only be uttered by one or a couple individuals. The most powerful thing you can say on set is "shut it down," which only the execs and the producers can say. The second most powerful is "print," which only the director has the right to say. the third and most common is "cut," which only the director and the DP can say. That's your chain of command, and everyone understands it, except for certain prima donna actors, who believe it's in their rights to say it as well. That's not chain of command - it's a tantrum. Bale surely has more industry recognition than Shane, but his childish tantrum short-circuited the on-set chain of command, and may have irreparably harmed the production in doing so.

"Dailies" are when the director and prodcers and so on look over the previous day's footage. As a general rule, actors aren't allowed into dailies, because they'll flex their muscle whenever they think their smile wasn't as perfect as it might have been or whatever, and ruin the whole process. They're kept out because the people making the movie know the kind of power they hold in the industry, and know that it has no place in that setting. What CHristian fucking Bale was doing here was akin to forcing his way into dailies.
posted by Navelgazer at 11:57 PM on February 3, 2009 [3 favorites]

"The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about." - Oscar Wilde
posted by josephtate at 12:15 AM on February 4, 2009

^ Kermit Bale

For each combination of two subjects, there exists a person on the internet who is ... obsessed with both.
posted by zippy at 12:51 AM on February 4, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'd originally only heard about half the rant before shutting it down, but after reading through this entire thread I went back and listened to it again.

Maybe it was all the defence of Bale colouring my judgment, maybe I don't understand the command structure on-set, but it didn't seem that bad. I've had retail customers go above that in unjustified anger. The entire tirade was about Shane not being professional, fucking around with the scene, etc. - nowhere, if I recall, does Bale descend into personal attacks.

It's an emotional scene. The few moments where he tries to calm himself down and move on with the take, or tries to be nice to Shane, these moments seem to convey to me that the was borne of an immersion in the scene and the craft. Sure, he overreacted, but this giant media kerfluffle raking him over the coals seems uncalled for.
posted by Phire at 1:02 AM on February 4, 2009

when was batman ever accused of being a nice guy? come on!

And if the rant wasn't classic enough, the remix surely adds another layer of delicious icing to the old celeb-spastic cake. one slice for Hollywood; more than enough left over to make the whole nation gain a few pounds. bravo!
posted by vantam at 1:35 AM on February 4, 2009

Why so professional?
posted by Eideteker at 4:25 AM on February 4, 2009

[a bunch of people piling on Bale]

"I have to side with bale, although he was overreacting."

[a bunch more people ripping on Bale]

"Yeah, I'm kinda on Bale's side here."

[starting to get really unoriginal here, folks]

"I also have to side with Bale here."

Guys, guys, the main thing here is that we all take sides in an argument between two people we don't personally know that's based on a context we're not privy to.
posted by Eideteker at 4:47 AM on February 4, 2009

Guys, guys, the main thing here is that we all take sides in an argument between two people we don't personally know that's based on a context we're not privy to.

Wasn't that in Johnnie Cochran's closing argument?
posted by MegoSteve at 5:39 AM on February 4, 2009

This is why stage acting often translates to screen acting, but not necessarily the other way around

Bale made his professional debut on the London West End stage.

Um, not quite. Bale was in commercials, then briefly did a play with Rowan Atkinson when he was 8. He then went right into TV and film acting where he got his big break in Empire of the Sun.
posted by Pollomacho at 6:24 AM on February 4, 2009

Thanks NavelGazer and Mythmaker I think your comments are super useful to understanding why so many Hollywood people are often siding with bale, wheres most others see it as inexcusable.

Thanks again for your input.
posted by 5imian at 6:49 AM on February 4, 2009

Also, one of the first things called out on set before "ACTION" is "SETTLE!" which means you're supposed to STOP WALKING AROUND. It is incredibly distracting to have someone walking around on set during a take, as well as potentially wasteful -- you're making noise, you're distracting the actors, and you're probably ruining the take for any number of reasons.

Hearing that the DP had been asked several times before to stop his behavior is starting to make me think that Bale was, indeed, if not justified then at least understandably upset and frustrated. And he did keep trying to rein himself in ("you're a nice guy", etc) only to be apparently set off again by the DP's cluelessness.
posted by OolooKitty at 11:39 AM on February 4, 2009

Thank god this actor's take wasn't ruined!
posted by applemeat at 12:08 PM on February 4, 2009

And even before "settle" is "lock it down", which is all about making sure that there aren't people wandering around, entering and exiting the set, etc.

The protocol of no one walking around during a take is very well established.
posted by MythMaker at 12:10 PM on February 4, 2009

Should people get called out and shamed in public when they regress into this toddler-stage behavior? Absolutely.

So, basically you want to turn the entire world into a Reality TV series?
posted by Saxon Kane at 12:49 PM on February 4, 2009

SK: "So, basically you want to turn the entire world into a Reality TV series?"

It's gonna happen sooner or later.
posted by mullingitover at 1:40 PM on February 4, 2009

Huh. After all this kerfuffle I expected something worse. As OolooKitty points out, he didn't get into personal attacks and like Phire, have had worse experiences working in the restaurant industry.

Don't get me wrong- he gets no major points for style. Where's the creativity in using "fuck" over and over? But as far as blowing your lid, you just know Hollywood's got better ones on tape.

I've decided, without evidence, that this was leaked by the insurance company so I'll just use it to reaffirm my contempt for the insurance industry's professional standards.
posted by small_ruminant at 4:07 PM on February 4, 2009

“…according to Ain’t It Cool News, there’s more to the story.

‘The DP on ‘Terminator: Salvation,’ Shane Hurlbut, is apparently a light tweaker,’ Ain’t It Cool editor-in-chief Harry Knowles reported on Tuesday. ‘He’s a fairly young DP and likes to fiddle with his lights on set during action, which is a big no no on most productions. But apparently Shane is a pretty unrepentant light tweaker.’

Not only that, but Bale was in the middle of filming a scene that laid down ‘the emotional center of the film and his character’ with Bryce Dallas Howard when Hurlbut’s interruption came.

‘The scene in question was a very emotional and tough scene,’ Knowles wrote. ‘A scene that required ... a deep level of immersive concentration.’

A source told Knowles that Bale had ‘warned’ Hurlbut on multiple occasions about changing the lighting while the cameras were rolling, and that otherwise, he’d been an ‘utmost gentleman and cool guy’ on the set.

‘Transformers’ director Michael Bay, a man who’s seen his fair share of intense on-set moments, also weighed in on Bale’s actions in an interview with Billy Bush for Access Hollywood and ‘The Billy Bush Show’ on Wednesday.

‘Everyone’s allowed to have blow-ups on set, OK?’ Bay said. ‘It’s a very tense place. I could totally understand Christian’s point of view — it takes him out of the scene when he’s trying to give it his all.’” *

posted by ericb at 5:34 PM on February 4, 2009

This situation is kindasorta ambiguous. We just don't know enough about what the dynamics were, and especially if Bale calmed down later and apologized. He's an actor, apparently a character actor, which I guess means he's in character all the time. If he didn't apologize for this later, yeah, I say he's a major league prick, NO MATTER WHAT THE DP WAS DOING. The poor guy apologized profusely, but Bale carried on with his rant. I've been out of control a few times like that, but I always apologized later.

As for Bale as a bad actor...I think he's a very hard working actor. The guy has an intensity to his roles and you can see his intelligence and hard work in all of his movies. But great acting? He's like the male Demi Moore--someone who takes herself really seriously (or at least, she used to) and works damn hard at being the best actress she can be...but just isn't. It doesn't click. I feel the same about Bale. I give him an A+ for effort, but I don't see any real natural talent, like a DeNiro or a Nicholson or a Streep. Those people can really act.
posted by zardoz at 5:59 PM on February 4, 2009 [1 favorite]

Did The Rant remind anybody else of this scene from Glengarry Glen Ross [youtube]? "Whoever told you that you could work with men???"
posted by Byun-o-matic at 6:38 PM on February 4, 2009

Can;t favorite xardoz enough there. Dedication does not equal talent. Bale did not get where he is because of any talent. Hell, I don't think he even got where he is because of his dedication. He got where he is because he's pretty. Chris Nolan's Batman movies aren't great because of Bale, but despite Bale. Bale is, as a friend of mine says, a nickle who thinks he's a quarter.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:22 PM on February 4, 2009

On Bale and professionalism.

And as far as Bale as an actor goes, I can't speak for anyone else, but as an actor, I find him really interesting to watch. He makes complex choices, he's not showy, and you almost never see him working. No, he's not a Nicholson or a DeNiro; thank god. Those guys are parodies of their former selves. The man's got a real dedication to his craft.
posted by EarBucket at 7:18 AM on February 5, 2009

So has anybody SongSmithed it yet?
posted by minifigs at 7:33 PM on February 3 [4 favorites +] [!]

Yes. Another.But not as good as any of the actual crafted songs. Which makes sense.
posted by MysticMCJ at 7:26 AM on February 5, 2009

EarBucket - interesting article for the most part, but the guy needs to learn how to use punctuation and in general... write better... the shoddy prose was really distracting.
posted by Phire at 7:29 AM on February 5, 2009

fwiw, I don't think he's pretty at all and I still like watching him.
posted by small_ruminant at 9:54 AM on February 5, 2009

From earbucket's post:

One day during one of the torture scenes our Thai soldiers tie Christian's hands behind his back, tie his feet together, hang him upside down and spin him...while he's covered with real ants! This was dangerous for several reasons but mostly if the actors lost control of the rope holding him up he would fall and break his neck. Anyway we did the scene several times spinning and spinning him...he was getting ill and Herzog was asking for more so it created a tense situation. Out of nowhere, Herzog starts calling "stop" to end a take instead of "cut" and it set Christian off. he said "Look we dont' know what stop is and we won't stop if you say stop...say cut"...very next take Werner yells "STOP". Christian now vomiting says "If you say Stop one more time I'm done for the day". he didn't and that was it. We then went on to holding his head under the water for 5 takes.

Looks like hes on an asshole, hes just hardcore.
posted by 5imian at 11:31 AM on February 5, 2009

*not
posted by 5imian at 11:32 AM on February 5, 2009

Metafilter: It's FUCKING distracting.

I can't believe it took me so long to think of that
posted by heathkit at 4:22 PM on February 5, 2009 [1 favorite]

Bale on blow-up: ‘I acted like a punk’.
posted by ericb at 11:33 AM on February 6, 2009 [1 favorite]

Stephen Colbert Christian-Bales Steve Martin.
posted by terranova at 2:15 PM on February 6, 2009

I was disgusted by Bale when I heard the original tape, but he has completely redeemed himself in my eyes. He is not behaving like a gentleman. I choose not to think of his current statements as spin. They seem sincere.

Everyone acts inappropriately at times. The real test of character is how you clean up your mess afterwords.
posted by grumblebee at 8:28 AM on February 7, 2009

This almost deserves its own post.
posted by you at 5:31 AM on February 10, 2009 [2 favorites]

Christian Bale takes David to the dentist.
posted by EarBucket at 10:57 AM on February 10, 2009 [2 favorites]

"OMG a celeb acting like a regular person lol wtf."
posted by Zambrano at 11:40 AM on February 12, 2009

Don't Bale on Peter!
posted by SheMulp AKA Plus 1 at 10:21 AM on February 26, 2009

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