Random Musings about the Christian Bale Tirade.

[Mike 03]

Having been on movie sets in my lifetime, I have certainly seem some explosions and have a mixed reaction to this story.

1. If the press reports are correct, he didn't just blow up at a gopher or production assistant, but the Director of Photography. That is pretty amazing. The DOP is responsible for making the stars look good. A lot of them don't look all that great unless they are properly photographed and lit. (Makeup is not all that important, IMO)

That is something I have never seen.

Secondly, if the guy was the lighting gaffer, that is pretty shocking too (because it's unusual for the DOP to be changing lighting positions or moving lights at all). I have never seen a director or cinematographer move a light. I've only seen them request that the gaffer shift a light.

2. But, if it is true that the DOP wandered into a shot while the director was rolling, that is very odd too. That is also something I have never seen. How could the DOP not know that he is filming a scene?

3. Does anyone know if the DOP was actually fired just because Bale wanted him fired? I would find that to be pretty unlikely.

4. Everyone has their bad days, so I'm not shocked or horrified that Bale blew up, but yes, it is a bit shocking. That is the worst "blow up" I've seen on a set since Klaus Kinski was alive and making films with Herzog.

ON EDIT:

I'm writing specifically of actors blowing up, not directors. I do know of directors who have blown up big time.

[dgibby]

1. Don't know about movie sets, but I recognize a hostile work environment when I see one.

Looks like a lawsuit going somewhere to happen!

[MajorChode]

6. As we live in a sue happy society I wouldn't be surprised

...but neither do I see a basis for a lawsuit. "Hostile work environment" in the legal sense refers to illegal discrimination and requires some type of basis (age, gender, religion, race, etc.) I don't think those conditions were involved in this case.

Now the guy might claim defamation or disability based on "intentional emotional distress", but that's pretty shaky legal grounds although it might be good enough to extort a few bucks in hush money. However in doing so it would probably mean his career in the industry is dead.

[NashVegas]

2. All of My Sympathy Is For Bale On This One

Audio indicates Bale previously told the DP on multiple occasions, he was interfering with his ability to concentrate.

Other sources on the set back that up, and one AICN poster claims the director was asked to get the DP to stop it, multiple times.

I have a job where it's necessary to concentrate on what you're doing and saying, and at a certain point, people who have been asked more than once to stay out of your vision and hearing when you're trying to do your thing ignore those requests, each time they do it they aren't just distracting you with their presence, they're distracting you with a big flashing sign that says FUCK YOU whether they intend to, or not.

See that sign often enough and you will eventually throw a fit of your own, you might even do it in a calculated fashion, designating how much heat you think is needed for them to get the message.

Whomever released this audio did so to embarrass Bale but within the business, I think it's going to backfire - it probably already has. People are saying nasty things about Shane Hurlbut on his imdb board.

[MajorChode]

7. Even if all of that were true it still doesn't excuse the behavior

It would be the director's job, and not Bale's to correct the situation. If Bale had a beef, he should have directed it toward the person who is getting paid to direct.

It's also worth noting that Bale has previously blown up on his own family before, so he certainly has a history here. He's a child actor that may have some talent, but now he's turned into a primadonna and if he doesn't temper his mood it's going to bring his career down around his ears.

As far as who released the audio, it's very unlikely that Shane Hurlbut did it. The studio sent the tape to their insurers in case Bale quit the film, so it has changed hands several times. Anyone could have released it. Shane Hurlbut appears to be a talented DP who has worked on numerous big projects with excellent critical reviews and awards. I'm sure he's seen his share of primadonnas before.

[NashVegas]

9. Bale's Behavior Doesn't Need Excusing

He did what people who have a lot of other peoples' money riding on their backs do when someone, who (ordinarily) will never face public criticism and have their paycheck directly be affected by public perception, repeatedly interferes with the performer's ability to get the job done.

[redqueen]

10. Thank you!

Sweet Holy Christ... wtf is going on with this shit... is it really that big of a deal that he lost his temper?

I thought that was something nearly all humans did from time to time, have their emotions get the best of them... and while for some people that just means turning their anger inward and crying or just storming off... for other people it means actually *venting* their anger. It happens.

And I hope to God that that DP is *adult* enough to withstand the horror and trauma of being yelled at.

And two incidents is a pattern? WTF? It's like the media runs two stories about him yelling and that's all the evidence the peanut gallery jury needs to conclude that he's some raging asshole?

Sorry... I just don't fucking get it.

Actually though losing your cool is something I consider apology-worthy. It's perfectly understandable human behavior, but it's also rude.

[MajorChode]

17. Bullshit

Countless other performers and other movie professionals somehow manage to make it through their entire careers without such outbursts. I suspect you idolize Bale to the point at which your judgment is clouded (or at least I hope so).

If you want another example of the exact same behavior, consider O'Reilly's famous long winded rant. Do you feel that behavior "doesn't need excusing" either?

That type of behavior is not professional and is much more counterproductive than productive. How much do you think Bale's rant interfered with everyone's ability to do their job on that set? The world doesn't revolve around these people. I realize that's hard for some to accept, but that is reality.

[DarkTirade]

3. Dang it, why does everybody keep bringin' me into this?

I don't even know the guy! :P

[Fire Walk With Me]

4. Oh dear, entrapment.

Last vestiges of George Bush, among those who haven't yet learned to be instantly sick at such things.

[OneMoreDemocrat]

5. I think it's great.....

DPs are generally assholes.

Yay Christian !!!!

I'd be willing to bet that more than one other crew member was happy
that the guy was raked over the coals.

[Heidi]

8. Best thing on the internet today: "Bale Out ," RevoLucian's Christian Bale Remix!

http://www.idontlikeyouinthatway.com/">RevoLucian's Christian Bale Remix!

[jobycom]

12. Oh, that's good. Thanks! nt

[Tuesday Afternoon]

13. good beat and easy to dance to.. I give it a rocking 10

:headbang: :rofl:

[jobycom]

11. I've gotten and given worse from my teenager. Can't understand the big deal.

Some people live weird, repressed, or denial-filled lives if this really shocks them. You can drive down any city highway at rush hour and see tirades ten times worse and ten times less deserved. Even in the workplace that isn't too unusual, unless you work in some quiet cubical forest. I grew up around service stations, oil rig employees, and military bases, and I've heard playful banter more caustic than that.

Just my thoughts. I have no reason to side with one or the other on this, but self-righteous outrage bothers me. If any of us were judged by our lowest moments on bad days, none of us would fare well.

[Heidi]

14. Is that hyperbole, or do your kids really speak to you in that way?

I was plenty angry with my dad during my teen years, but it would never have crossed my mind to disrespect him with a Bale-esque tirade. And it's not because I was weird, repressed or denial-filled, or even that I would have suffered for it. I just grew up with the understanding that we were a family and that no single one of us was the center of the universe. :shrug:

[jobycom]

15. A little hyperbolic, maybe, but yeah, my oldest curses at me from time to time.

To me, letting her rant tells me more about what's bothering her than enforcing some archaic societal customs about naughty words, or trying to make her bury her anger. My parents did that, and we fought all the time over the same things, because I was never allowed to show them what really bothered me. My kid can say anything she wants, mostly, and I'll hear her. To me, that's a lot more "family" than squashing her. I don't see that as disrespect, I see it as me respecting her, and in your phrase, not making my own ego the center of the universe. Heck, I've even learned things about myself by letting her scream at me.

We don't fight much, and when we do, it's not for long. She fights longer with her mother, who is more arbitrary and repressive. And both kids say I'm the stricter one, too, so it's not a case of me giving in more easily. Most teenagers I've met--as a parent and as a teenager a while back--are more frustrated by not being taken seriously, or by being treated as an inferior, than by all the rules and restrictions they fight over. They are less angry when they get banned from the Internet if they feel they were being treated fairly than if they feel the rules are arbitrary, and the parents deaf.

[Dukkha]

16. rock stars have outbursts all the time

and totally understandable since fans are getting more and more disrespectful to the performing artists. Particularly quiet music in an intimate environment with inconsiderate asshole who can't stop talking or using their cell phone.

Roger Waters was notoriously sensitive about that

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozg3l6Y8mRo