(Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)
Actor Christian Bale’s expletive-laced tirade on the set of the upcoming action movie “Terminator Salvation” has been the talk of Hollywood this week. The widely heard audio tape from that verbal explosion has been remixed into a dance song and has inspired a T-Shirt.
But on Wednesday, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton linked to perhaps the most creative product of the audio remix cottage industry that has resulted from Bale’s blow-up. It’s a mashup of the Bale tape and footage of television commentator Bill O’Reilly losing his cool on the set of his news program. Be warned, audio from ”Batman” Bale’s tirade is not exactly family friendly.
The recording of Bale’s outburst was first posted at celebrity news site TMZ.com. Bale reportedly lost his temper on the set of “Terminator Salvation” when the director of photography interrupted a scene the actor was playing in.
Hollywood has a long history of on-set tirades and grudge matches. What’s new is that the Internet provides a place to hear exactly how bad Hollywood’s bad boys and girls can be. Does that mean actors like Bale will keep their behavior in check next time? Don’t bet on it.
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Scary looking guy great actor
- Posted by EvCo3it prob took him a hwile to get into character and he prob knew its costly to have re-takes..after so much effort into it , Dp ruins the moment so off he goes in his rant. does this make sense?
- Posted by arty Zwe’re all human and flawed. no right, no wrong, everyone have their reasons justifying their actions. its all business…$$$$…i woulsnt be surprised if everything in la-la land was ’scripted” to create sensational news and sell magazines/tabloid to spur the economy..hahahahaha…anything is possible.. this is hollywood for ya..
For the last several years Bale has been my top pick for talent and inspired performances, however I haven’t put him so far up on a pedestal that he can’t be toppled off. I was very disappointed to hear of this witless outburst of self-indulgence. No one is that important. Sean Penn was a bad boy for years but his acting was always top knotch. Will Smith has always glittered on the screen but now he’s flirting with (or maybe engaged to) Scientology. Actor after actor (and actresses aren’t exempt here) has shown his or herself to be poor sport, self-indulgent spoiled brats, and worse, but a good portion of them are exemplary in their work. I guess it depends on what you’re more interested in. Their persona on screen - or off.
- Posted by Mary Kaymmm…. let’s process what is going on here… who is the victim and who is the bully?? we all have the capacity to be both…
- Posted by NI think the union should take up the cause for the DP. Christian obviously holds so much power on the set that he holds the DP’s employment and employment environment in his hands as much as any management. Regardless, if the union doesn’t protect the DP from this what good are they?
- Posted by John MashburnI have worked in the Film Industry as a Camera Operator for the last 23 years.
- Posted by LarryI hate to admit this… but this type of behavior is not unique… it is barely rare. It is
absolutely unprofessional and uncalled for. There are a lot of professionals on the set
that have to move during a take. Did the DP have to move? Maybe… maybe not. Hard
to say. Sometimes the only way to see what the “problem with the lighting is” is to go see for yourself. There are discreet ways to go about and it seems Shane did not go unnoticed… obviously. But at no time, right or wrong, is it acceptable to speak to another coworker this way. Christian Bale was being a bully, plain and simple… and like all bullys a coward at heart. Shane made a mistake, he then apologized(more than once) and that should have been the end of it. Period.
THis is funny stuff about bale outrage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvDT8u7j6 BI
- Posted by GianfrancPeople should stop placating him and talk to HIM like he talks to everyone else. I wish the DP would’ve been less apologetic and let Bale work himself up into a physical confrontation (you could tell it was coming), then he would’ve gone to jail…which is where he will be before long. He’s just a thug in a suit.
- Posted by EHThis was six months ago. He had just been recently jacked by his mom and sister who felt they deserved more money for existing. Remember that the London police force came down on his side and tended to say it was an attempt at blackmail. He goes from there into a desert with a DP who was acting like a screwball who thought his craft was the most important craft on the movie. So we have a man with serious family issues in extreme heat dealing with a moron. The miracle is the F-Bombs did not rain down from him for another 30 minutes. Yes he took out undeserved anger on the moron but thats what you do to morons. You vent at them. We do not know if he apologized later (although thats doubtful given that the moron was being extremely moronic), but that is not something we will know. Christian Bale does not deserve scorn for this. It was a moment during a tough period of his life. That we get to hear it tells me someone thought they could make money off of this. It sounds bad out of context. But as the cliche goes: “Walk a mile in his shoes” and then see if you would still judge him as harshly.
- Posted by ConanIsn’t a tirade on a movie called “Terminator Salvation” a bit like a tirade at McDonalds over a burger not cooked to perfection. The lighting might end up being the best part of the film.
- Posted by GlennThere is absolutely no justification for his actions. In the corporate world he would have been fired. These actors think that because they can “act” that they are special. Well they are NOT! His blood is the same color as the rest of us plain old folks. His s**t stinks like the rest of us plain old folks. He is just like us. And to talk to someone else in that manner is repulsive! I will never see another Bale movie ever again. Even if it is for free. Bale has showed that he has no class. And, I hope other performers get the message that these instances of acting like a spoiled Brat will get out to the media now. He needs anger management FAST. What a low class a** he is! I hope his reps read this.
- Posted by JudyI’m actually surprised at how so many people are defending this child. Lucky he didn’t get his ass kicked? I’ve worked in so many different professional environments where people have screwed up, where people have gotten upset or had good reason to, and I’ve never heard anyone come close to a tirade like the one we heard there.
Anyone have any doubt now about what his mother and sister had accused him of doing last year?
- Posted by Tomgreat actor. i pay to see his movies. i never feel as if any actor owes me something. its work for them. i enjoy the product. so what if he let off some f-bombs. cast the first stone much anyone?
- Posted by roseObviously the DP is a former grip who was heading to crafty or some nonsense whilst the cameras were rolling and has absolutely no concept of the process behind how an actor gets into character or performing. Even the most amateur DP would, after noticing a lighting issue during a take, wait for the shot to cut before making any kind of a move. He got in Chris’s eyeline during the shot. Not a
- Posted by DJmake-up girl, not a props guy, not even a PA, but the freakin DIRECTOROF PHOTOGRAPHY! Of all people, he should know best, but to do it twice to the same actor is truly careless and believe me, if he’d have done that to a megastar he wouldn’t have heard a thing about it until he
showed up one day and discovered someone else lighting the set and directing camera. The fact that Bale let him have right there is good because it lets him know that in spite of DP’ing a couple of movies and Key Gripping a few others, he still has a lot to learn about working with actors on a film set. I hate guys that don’t take
their job seriously because it shows they just don’t care… oh and one more thing, shame on the sound mixer Mark for continuing to roll during all of this. I don’t think he was the one that leaked it (probably someone in post production) but it’s up to him to make sure this recording doesn’t happen in the first place, and he blew it too.
MICRO
- Posted by LISAPersonally, I really don’t care about the situation. This is simply a question of weather it’s moral for a person like this to exist in the limelight. Up to now, I actually liked Bale, but now, I vow never to see another movie that he is in. You simply cannot treat people this way. He is done!
- Posted by DavidActors develop arrogance as much because of the way we treat them as they do due to character flaws -it comes with the territory.
It really is silly to assess (and judge) who Bale really is based on this one intimate moment without any of the context that led up to it.
I’ll bet the people who are saying they’ll never watch a Bale movie again would probably not watch any movies at all if they were able to witness the “stupid moments” that just about every actor has engaged in during certain moments in their career.
Also, last time I checked, I don’t go to movies to make freinds with the actors, I go to them to be entertained, and bale has given me that many times.
This really isn’t news, it’s more a reflection on society that we think it is.
- Posted by BruceI don’t care how many of you blogging are directors, actors, producers, etc… Those who are defenders of this. Anyone who speaks to other people that way is much more of a piece of shit than the person who is on the other end of it. Don’t give me that “method acting” excuse. Anyone who is smart enough to bank millions per picture should be happy enough to know they can afford another take. I love Christians work, but this is OBVIOUSLY, either a little baby hissy-fit, bipolar fit, or drug induced rage. Don’t try and say it was because he was broken from character. The rest of us who have REAL problems don’t act like that when something goes wrong. What a little bitch.
- Posted by cleanOther than the expletives, didn’t seem that bad to me. He was actually talking to the DP most of the time. My ex worked in the film industry and I know it’s a big no no messing up a scene and I was just an observer who had no background in the industry.
- Posted by TrevorYou know, if he were on stage performing, there could be all sorts of distractions. Be a pro man, keep going and get over it! I would have told you to take those lights and shove them up your over paid ass! Hire someone else to get the job done, as an actor myself, I know there are plenty of us waiting in the wings. You are NOT all that!
- Posted by Julia C.