Will viralness of tirade harm Christian Bale's career?
Christian Bale is about to learn the power of the Internet.
Bale, who starred as Batman in The Dark Knight and in the western 3:10 to Yuma, apparently suffered a complete meltdown last summer on the set of Terminator Salvation, screaming profanities at the picture's director of photography.
An audio recording of the tirade has gone viral and is rapidly spreading on the Web. According to reports, it is Bale's voice lashing out at the DP for walking into his line of sight during filming. (Warning, the tirade is profanity-filled and the audio is very clear--use headphones).
"I want you off the (expletive) set, you (expletive)," Bale says. "Think for one (expletive) second. What the (expletive) are you doing? Are you a professional or not?"
At one point, Bale threatens the man, whose job it is to make Bale look good, with violence.
Bale, who was once accused of assaulting his mother and sister, sounds like he needs a vacation. If this thing plays out like it has with other stars, he may get one. Film and TV fans want to believe that their screen gods are, well, nice people. If that illusion is shattered, then they often don't want to pay to see that actor's movies or shows. (I remember a time when all it took to wreck an actor's career was booze and drugs).
A clip of David O. Russell, director of Three Kings, shouting the F-word at actress Lily Tomlin on the set of I Heart Huckabees was a hot Internet item for a while and Russell hasn't directed since. Michael Richards, a former cast member of the TV series Seinfeld hasn't worked much since his 2006 comedy performance in Los Angeles saw Richards shower racial epithets at a group of hecklers. The scene was videotaped and spread wildly across the Web.
The same thing happened to George Allen, the former U.S. Senator from Virginia. On videotape, he called an Indian-American a "macaca," and pundits speculate that the incident not only cost Allen his Senate seat but also derailed any presidential hopes.
It should be noted that the cases of Richards and Allen involved racial epithets and Bale's did not.
Someone who has survived a viral beat down is Alec Baldwin. An audio recording of Baldwin calling his daughter a "pig" and other names sent the actor and his handlers into spin control. Baldwin rebounded in his role as the bumbling entertainment executive on the hit show 30 Rock.
Baldwin could moonlight these days by offering public relations advice to fallen actors.
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET. 
Bale's got a puffed up ego just like that Batman suit puffed up his scrawny body and the audio guys puffed up his voice to make it appear he actually had a pair.
It's an abusive public tirade against a subordinate, completely out of proportion to the "offense". It would most certainly have resulted in Bale's termination in any normal workplace.
He also did this to his own mother. What a disgusting, weak, bullying, wimp.
I think this improves my feelings about him, because he seems more human to me now. I hate how actors/actresses end up seeming immortal sometimes. They are no different than you and me, except for their pay grade :). I think it's great to see the human side sometimes, and this wasn't really that bad. I'd have liked to talk to my bosses in the past like that, but I would have gotten fired.
I think one thing the Internet has done more and more of lately, is blown things out of proportion. Made snowballs into an avalanche when it's really not that bad.
Your ability to logicify is Bushesque.
Anyone who thinks they have never had a day like this is deluding themselves over it. You are just lucky the world didn't get to pass judgement on the act. Everyone now a days is way to quick to judge people one way or the other instead of looking how they can improve themselves.
That's a threat. And in any other industry, other than Hollywood, you'd be put in your place for making such a threat.
In a world where mediocrity is lauded and "everyone gets a gold star for participating," it is encouraging to know that there are still people, in whatever profession (or 'job') they may work, understanding that "nothing is perfect," still _aspire_ to perfectionism.
That a DP would be walking into a scene, regardless of the emotional content of said scene, does hint at unprofessionalism.
Too bad not everyone takes what they do for their livelihood as seriously as Mr. Bale.
Huzzah!
As I write this, I'm already regretting allowing myself into being goaded into replying to your comment in re my post, as you clearly are unable to spell, punctuate correctly, or display even a semblance of a remedial understanding of syntax.
In addition to that, your preference of rebuttal is to employ name calling. Your mother must be so proud.
FYI, I'm a successfully self-employed creative consultant (exactly 15 years tomorrow), and I wouldn't hire you even for the amusement it would provide strutting into your cubicle to quietly inform you that your services are no longer required due to your unwillingness to hold yourself in higher esteem.
Go choke on that. I dare you.
There really aren't that many actors as bad@$$ as Christian Bale out there right now, so probably this will only help his image...
But then again im sure this is not the first time for Bale to lose it either. What was his excuse with his mother and sister? Well?
You can only imagine how he treated them. Even with how out of control he was here im sure he restrained himself (if you can call it that) because there were people around ect... but what when he was alone with mother and sister?
Bale is a hack and a Loser, I mean this is Terminator geez.. its a blow em up sci fi. LOL
If he was trying to do his job I don't think he'd be screaming his head off at someone else for that long, and definitely not at someone who's sensible enough not to join him in his infantile tirade. Christian Bale was making himself mad, in a nutshell. He didn't have to yell at someone else even after they had explained why they had done what they did and apologized.
And please don't tell me you didn't hear the parts where Christian Bale threatened him, because if you did, you need to go back and listen to the whole thing.
If Christian Bale was that intense and concerned about his job, something tells me that he would have sucked it up and just went and do the scene again.
If you're referring to the part where he says, "Let's not take a [expletive] minute. Let's go and do it again!" well, he was being stupid. He's old enough to know when he needs a minute, and I think he needed one. He didn't take it. He was making himself mad.
Drama queen.
Threatening violence is where he went wrong here. Not cursing.
In addition, the environment that he is working in isn't an office environment. So, please refrain from that analogy. This is a creative environment.
Well so is Google's campus and most, if not all, offices. You don't hear about people screaming at one another for distracting them while they are coding or brainstorming new ideas. And if you did, I bet that person was in the unemployment line shortly thereafter.
"actors strip themselves down to nothing, they become fully exposed emotionally when they are in a scene. So for Bale to react in this way shouldn't come as a surprise to us, as he is an actor that truly takes his craft seriously."
If he was an actor, then how did he let his emotions loose on the DP? Aren't you taught to control your emotions and to ignore distractions? You seem to contradict yourself.
In conclusion, Bale was acting (pun intended) immaturely and was in the wrong when verbally attacking the DP.
I don't agree with the way Bale handled himself and it actually made him seem less professional than the DP was being. There's nothing wrong with a little profanity, but damn, he just went on and on like a child. I am not a professional actor so I can't pretend I know the nuances of being one, but the DP, or Director of Photography for those who don't know (don't flame, some probably have no idea what a DP is), is an extremely important person on set and should know the ins and outs of the system; i.e. not walking in Bale's sight line. End scene.
Every body knows this... It's not a new Idea it even says so on many articles.
That does not change that Bales behavior was unacceptable, and not only childish but borderline psychotic.
He threatened with Violence!
And he was arrested for the same thing later, his victims his own mother and sister. So lets hear somebody Excuse that?
I can tell you with assurance that Bale won't be hired by me any time soon.
- by idaho52 February 5, 2009 4:18 PM PST
- Bale is nothing but an overpaid, spoiled, self-absorbed jackass. What a guy. Poor baby, he "stripped himself down to nothing..." fully exposing himself emotionally. What a load of crap. I totally agree with All American Boy. Bale acted unprofessionally. His behavior also lends credence to the fact that he probably shouldn't have gotten away with what he did to his mother and sister. He obviously has emotional issues, and a temper that he should get a handle on before it's too late.
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- by Everlovin G February 5, 2009 8:52 PM PST
- @All American Boy
- Like this
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(34 Comments)Nice try, AAB, but pornographic " 'movie' sets" are not _real_ movie sets. And, if "Dave" is walking around distracting your actors, perhaps "Dave" should put on some pants. Like you _know_ about movie sets. In the words of The Great One: "A hearty har-har."
@idaho52
You and AAB should date. I'm thinking a nice Meryl Streep movie for you two, like "Mamma Mia", then a cozy dinner at Chez Mommy Didn't Hug Me.