Maybe use the Bill O'Reilly Inside Edition blowup footage with this audio? "We'll do it live!! Fuck!! We'll do it live!!"

We heard him freaking out and going way over the top on trashing the DP. A professional way to handle it would have been to go straight to McG and have him put an end to it. Not a tirade on a locked down set. We don't know the context at all, so how do you know McG didn't want the lighting tweaked. You just bashed this "young DP" by making it look like it's his fault. Just because you have some insider knowledge doesn't make it the truth.

From distance, it all actually seems far simpler than a "he's not a bad guy" tale. In fact, it seems more like this: skinny Machinist --> swollen Batman --> 'roid rage!

People, this happens every day on any given set, especially with such actors as Christian Bale. We are blessed with their amazing performances because of the mind set they take on when they hear "Action", and with method actors like Bale, Day-Lewis, De Niro, Pacino, Nicholson, etc. this happens before and after the cameras role.

Imagine trying to engage yourself into the reality of a scene only to see a DP or crew member walk in the line of sight without any consideration. And by the sound of it, this happened more than once.

Bale shouldn't be singled out because I promise you that a majority of the best actors out there had a few moments like this. Heck, he even pointed out that the DP was a nice guy, but professionally...

People in the industry won't even blink an eye because they know the realities of filmmaking.

Leave it to the media to blow this out of proportion.

Acting isn't fucking easy. I'm not an actor and even I know that. People think it's all just pretending like frackin' children. It's not. Actors dig deep down and it's hard to emote those emotions and truly nail it. So then comes some young DP with no consideration and distracts you while you're trying your best to sell the moment. He had every right. Sure, for the general public it might seem a little too much as far as his reaction goes, but the general public doesn't understand how damn hard it is to make films. To say Bale is an asshole or whatever is to say the same to nearly every acclaimed director, producer, and especially actor.

Bale took it too far. End of story.

Unlike many people here I don't believe violence is a 'no no'. Once someones been told repeatedly and isn't responding, then shouting starts, and once shouting starts the end point is a fist. The unreasonable one is he who causes provocation. You can all argue about professionalism and so forth. He could just have walked away. Maybe raising it at wrap would have been the more civilised method. I won't judge a man for losing his temper at an asshole.

Absolutely he should be allowed to loose it with whomever he likes, because they are just regular people remember.

I hear you Chris. Let them eat shit. YOU are THE MAN!

Actually, I think it would have been better to not even address this issue. I don't come to AICN for celebrity gossip, I come for the creative or business aspects of the industry.

After seeing Harry's take, I'm curious, what is the next movie Christian Bale is shooting and when can we expect a set report? Also, does Bale taste salty or sweet?

and i said it yesterday, i want my brain surgeon to be emotionless, and my actors full of emotion and passion. and for those of you who think the actors aren't important in movies, then you deserve movies like kingdom of the crystal skull or hitman.

And I've been saying it for six months now. McG is a phony, passive aggressive, soul patch wearing fraud who went from producing Sugar Ray albums to trying to earn geek cred by using buzzwords he doesn't understand. He is the most cowardly fucking director I've ever heard - letting his AD take all the hits so he doesn't have to be the bad guy. Leaders are willing to be disliked to keep shit running, douchebag.

B. Same way, the fucking DP should not be tinkering with the lights during a scene. Talk about fucking unprofessional. I know many DPs and everyone of them knows that tinkering with lights while a scene is shooting is what low-budget filmmakers do, not big budget. This guy sounds like a dumbshit.

C. In the end the person who holds the most blame is McG. It is his set, his movie. He should have took both guys aside and made them work this out. If Bale does a hissy fit, he should take him aside and telling him he won’t stand for that behavior on his set. If the DP won’t stop tinkering with the lights, he should let him know that he better or else he’ll be fired. This problem is something that never should have happened on a real movie set (when is the last time you heard of a problem like this on a Scorsese, Spielberg or Rob Howard set?). You are the damn director, God on set, not a fucking milquetoast. If anyone is yelling on set it should be you (or even better your First AD).

D. Harry, don’t pick sides. Just say either you aren’t going to play or talk about the set episode because you don’t have enough facts in yet; just don’t try to rationalize it or take one persons side over another’s. That is just as unprofessional as they have been.

Once again, the DP shouldn't be tinkering with lights or be in an actors eyeline, very unprofessional, but it is up to McG to make sure they don't do that and if that can't follow those simple rules, it is up to McG to get rid of them.

your "explanation" doesn't cut it Harry - Bale should be ACTOR enough to justify the massive paycheck he's getting and be able to do a simple INSERT, no matter if some guy is walking around in the background or not - shit, he should still be able to act his little heart out even there are people NAKED and doing UNNATURAL things to CIRCUS ANIMALS in the fucking background!

I've heard plenty of stories of actors in similar situations, where the person who is out of shot, or being shot over-the-shoulder for their eyeline in a scene is pulling all kinds of strange faces or winking at them or whatever - but a PROFESSIONAL will still pull a great fucking "emotional" scene out their fucking arse regardless...

as for the DP being a "tweaker" - well shit I'm not somewhere when someone who was somewhere on some day when something happened aso I haven't got the inside scoop, but Bale was going off at this guy for TWEAKING the lights during the shot - merely WALKING AROUND - and you know what?

maybe that "young" guy saw something Bale could not possibly have and McG obviously did not either?

you can put in the greatest fucking performance of your entire career but it doesn't mean DICK if YOU ARE IN DARKNESS...

ok I get that he might have been under stress that day and all that - which excuses the FIRST minute or so... but then he fucking UNDERMINES the director, REFUSING TO TAKE HIS DIRECTION and apparently decides HE is the director now and begins ISSUING FREAKIN ORDERS to the crew and his director - that right there is fucking INEXCUSABLE, Harry

and I haven't even got to the part where he threatens to beat his co-worker up!

if I was that DP, I would take this recording to my lawyer and see how much of a chunk of Bale's big fat paycheck I can make my own over that threat

Either that or Christian Bale is just another megastar who takes himself and his 'work' far too seriously, which is also pretty fucking easy to believe. "Think of him as one of us," asks Harry. L O Fuckin L.

As for not confronting the DP, you can easily take the two aside and discuss it like professionals. I have noticed the times that I have been on set the least experienced and professional Directors are the ones with the most anarchy and disruptions on their sets. Like I mentioned earlier, you don't see trouble like this on established, confident directors sets (even Chris Nolan has control of his set, and he is about the same age as McG).

AICN has always posted creative difference stories on the sets of numerous movies since you began. In the beginning, you were never worried about "upsetting" people by a particular news story.

Yet, right here. You're trying to say you're too classy for this one?

Right. Keep saying that to the mirror but in the end game, you've become nothing but a corporate suit now. Which is everything that this website was against back when it was launched.

The week that this rant took place from Bale was the same week that The Dark Knight was coming into theaters. And the same week that he was charged with assaulting his sister and mother. Charges that were later dropped.

But you could have posted this AND given the above context in the article.

That would have made your excuses for some poor set behavior at least somewhat believable.

Better than looking like the exact opposite of the Harry who created AICN so long ago..in a galaxy far, far away.

I've never said anything like that to anyone's face and if someone disrespected me like that to my face you better fucking believe I'll fuck you up, movie star or no movie star, trained or not trained.

Again, the DP shouldn't have been in the background but shit, you don't tear the guy a new asshole for it and try to get him fired. No one's perfect. Have I lost respect for Bale? I'm not sure. Maybe a bit perhaps. Will I see T4? Fuckin' A!!!

And people of similar rank never yell at each other. The DP and Bale are above the line talent, basically officers. Officers might debate, but not yell at each other. If they did it would give the impression to the enlisted men that they had no idea what they are doing and make them lose confidence. Same with on a film set.

And once again the fault lies with the commanding officer, McG. It is his job to establish discipline on his set. Once again it is like the army; if the men under you are constantly breaking rules and acting disruptive, it is your fault for not reeling them in or establishing disciple, or because they don’t respect you. McG is the Lt. Colonel Henry Blake of directors, the only problem is he doesn't have Radar to help him.

and yes I have been on plenty of film sets in my time, including my OWN films as producer (yes I'm THAT kind of producer) so - again, I'm only going off what I've heard with my own ears here, not what some guy who knows some guy tells me, but Bale's issue was NOT about him playing with the lights, it was about him WALKING AROUND...

like I said above, he should earn his friggin paycheck and DEAL WITH THAT SHIT - the man was not walking over to get a coffee or have a chat about the weather, he saw a PROBLEM with the lights and was INVESTIGATING - WHO do you suppose would be in the shit if it was not discovered until the RUSHES come in that Bale did the whole thing IN DARKNESS or with the light just hitting the top of his head instead of his face?

you cannot trust the video monitor when it comes to that kind of thing because video does not have the same light-sensitivity as film so McG could well have not seen it on his screen - and NEITHER CAN THE ACTOR - which is why you TRUST your DP when he says he sees a PROBLEM with the friggin lights!

and again, you should be able to do your scene while looking at performing fucking monkeys - what the fuck kind of actor are you if you can't even handle some guy WALKING AROUND??

But my argument was in defense of Bale, it was to point out that discipline and order has to be maintained on a Hollywood movie set for it to work properly. Unlike other jobs, a movie set as only an X number of days (the duration of the shoot) to get the material it needs to make a movie. Because of that you can’t afford waste, inefficiency and incompetence to creep in because they all rob you of usable footage. . McG obviously doesn’t have any control of his set; he might be a nice guy but no one respects him as a director, apparently even himself.

I will say one thing in defense of Bale. Yes, this isn’t Hamlet but instead just T4, but at least he is such a hard worker that even for schlock like this he wants to put forth his best work. His temper tantrum might have been a bad idea, but I for one admire his drive to put forth his best work no matter what type of movie it is.

The director flipped on the tape-op much worse than Bale did to the DP. Though we did finish the shoot without incident (in the sound dept. anyways), I haven't heard of that tape-op since (granted I'm in post now too, so I'm not on-set much anymore).

Aren't I the greatest storyteller, ever?

~dork~

That is all

I'm a sandwich artist. And my coworkers will just leave the fucking sandwich papers in the microwave--so fucking unprofessional. It breaks my fucking concentration when fucking assholes are giving me their order wrong, and fucking amateurs are leaving their fucking sandwich papers lying around, and not fucking wiping the mustard off the knives. I'M GOING TO KICK THEIR ASSES. I mean, Karl at the cash register, he's a nice guy, but me and him are fucking done. Professionally.

And I'm not trying to attack the DP or anything. I mean, surely the guy seems talented, and I don't think he's a moron or anything. Maybe just inexperienced. Whatever the case, it SOUNDS to me like he was the one in the wrong here, but of course, none of us were there, so we'll never really know.

Which brings me to the quote I cited above. If this Shane guy was an "unrepentant light tweaker" -- which by pure definition means it had ALREADY BEEN GOING ON AGAIN AND AGAIN -- they why the hell wasn't this issue ALREADY addressed? Or this guy fired? Seems to me that's the larger question. Why was this guy CONTINUALLY...or should I say "unrepentantly"...allowed to continue with his practices?

And you're right -- where the fuck is any sense of professionalism taking place here, amongst all parties involved? Where is any sense of PROPER business and set management occurring versus a bunch of egotistical, overpaid Hollywood crybabies running wild? Conspiracy is right again -- this is why 75% (if not more) of the movies released each year are utter shit. It's because utter loons like this are the ones working behind the scenes.

But a lot of points still stand.

Harry WOULD have posted this as news back in the beginning of AICN. Not only for the hits/traffic but also because it was a site that catered to being a FAN, first and foremost.

Now, AICN has become a coporation and all Harry cares about is a freaking buck and those exclusives that he may miss out of from WB, Christian Bale and director McG (who does read this website.).

That pretty much says it all.

This is reminding me of the ethics debate of 99-00 in which Harry also came under fire. Ironically, it's for difference circumstances here.

Normally, in ethics, this wouldn't matter. It's all about Christian's performance, whether he was right or wrong, in addressing a fellow crew member in public in such a fashion.

But we frequently have to cover news that has "creative differences" on the set of movies and this is one right here.

Instead of covering the story in a legit fashion (with some context to Christian's very bad/stress ful week), Harry puts up a story that will feed hits/traffic to his website but also makes it sound like this above his notice.

He gets the best of both worlds here.

Play to WB, AICN fan McG and Christian Bale by feigning indignity but also posting it so the people have a feedback frenzy. It works for both.

It's been long accused that Harry sold out. People have been talking about it for years but here's one more example of it.

When did Harry stop really caring about providing content for FANS (the whole reason behind the launch of AICN) and start caring about STUDIOS??

Don't try passing excuses for selling out, Harry. The occasional 3rd grade humor aside, your readers are intelligent enough to read between the lines and that line is "Corporate Suit Harry." while the "AICN Harry" sold out a long time ago.

Think, would Armageddon really have made all that money if they didn't have a star like Bruce Willis to make it look respectable, and would the Matrix have been as big of hit (despite how well it was made) if that didn't have Keanu Reeves in it to make it look like a legitimate Hollywood movie?

Hurlbut acted inappropriately and unprofessionally on repeated occasions. Does this merit assault (not battery, just the threat of physical violence demonstrated by Bale in the recording)? No thinking person would agree, and to speculate about the actor's ego is just as pointless; it's is best left as dispassionately labeled "unprofessional".

But who is truly at fault here? As has been voice many times on this thread, clearly Joseph McGinty Nichol did not run a tight set. To allow his star to rant unprofessionally and his DP to tweak/meander repeatedly is far more damning than anything Bale said.

...except, perhaps, Harry's one-sided defense of Bale. Perspective, man. You almost had it, but had to just wade in the shallow end of the pool. This is really one of the most compromising postings I've seen on AICN since the blubbering at the studio-screening of ARMAGEDDON. I know you need to maintain your contacts and sources, but you undermine any semblance of professionalism by referring to unattributed sources and mawkish rationalizations of rude behavior. It makes you comes across as a shill, whether or not that is accurate.

This "story" will be forgotten within a week's time, but I think many of the readers who've taken the time to respond in this talkback will have come to realize where Knowles' loyalties lie, and it's not necessarily in objective reportage. I think it's pretty safe to say that as May 22nd approaches, Warner Bros. will smile kindly at Ain't It Cool News...

as soon as ET says "will this affect the movie?" they need to peddle out a PR guy to say "no, he's human. he was being asked for money by his estranged family, his marriage was going through something and his friend and coworker had just died" No big deal.

Think of it another way: Say the DP and the Gaffer are trying to set up their lights and they're under pressure bc the crew is behind schedule, so they're working their asses off for this very complex lighting scheme. And everytime they take a look at the stand-ins to see how their light is hitting their faces, the fucking BOOM OPERATOR with that giant boom mic is standing in front of the lights chatting up a PA, casting shadows all over the set. Now how can the DP and Gaffer do their jobs when the sound guy is fucking things up by getting in the way?

Its the same fucking principle. When you're on set, stay out of the other departments' way when they're trying to get things done. You don't sit on grip equipment, you don't stand in front of lights, and you sure as shit don't continue to work while the actors are acting, ESPECIALLY NOT IN THEIR EYELINES.

it's right to the point, everyone knows what it means, people will chuckle and it's all over.

Problem was I had no patience for that shit at that time. I was young, broke and living in my car and not getting paid for this job, just like all the other PAs weren't (it was treated like an internship). So when I finally found out about what he was doing I blew my lid during lunch, front of the director and the actors. I told this guy he ever did this again I was going to fucking kick his ass and I meant it.

I will say the difference between McG and the director of this flick is that my director had it under control. He didn't fire me, but took me aside and explained that wasn't appropriate behavior on set; he said if I was having problems with the first AD I should have approached him or the Producer or even the 2nd AD and explained the situation. He also took the 1st AD aside and gave him the riot act about how he treated the PAs, telling him that was unprofessional to treat unpaid people that way. He then made us shake hands in public in front of the rest of the crew and told us he didn't want any problems from now on.

This was an ultra low-budget movie, and this guy showed more leadership skills than McG. The director is supposed to make sure the set runs smoothly.

if McG, in fact, had been told by Bale even only ONCE before this, he should have handled it.

http://tinyurl.com/armageddont ears

Pretty fucking amazing stuff, especially the last couple of lines. There are only 20 talkbacks in there, so it'd be fun to boost it back up - if you're up to it.

Damn this talkback 100% represents how our society is beyond fucking media crazed, judgemental, ignorant, cynical, etc. Arm chair fucking Monday morning quarterbacks.

LOL!!! Damn people. It's the nature of the business. Film sets are high pressure atmosphere's and EVERYONE is on edge. Someone from every fucking department has a meltdown in any given 3 month or more shoot. Damn you better not like James Cameron, then. You better not like Scorsese. You better not like Day-Lewis. You better not like Ed Harris. Just a few examples. Important thing is they get the work done and hands are usually shook soon afterwards.

It doesn't make it right, but damn people, get off your high horses. If you're going to call out Bale, then you call out pretty much all of Hollywood at one time or another. Shit happens. And yes, the context does matter.

In the end, who cares. As long as Bale delivers like he arguably has been these last many years in hte context of the films I'm watching, it's all good. Some of my favorite filmmakers have proven to be assholes, or at least that is the perception that I've received for whatever reason.

Adam Sandler, his guys, and myself were playing b-ball at the Sony lot. Sandler and I were covering each other and my knee popped. One guy not with Sandler said, "Hey, you should sue him bro." Fucking tool dumb ass thing to say right? And you know what Sandler's reaction was? "How about I punch you in your fucking face." Taken out of context, Sandler comes off as an asshole. BUT, it was a logical and understandable reaction to some idiot suggesting that I take advantage of Sandler's fame... even if it was a joke. And for anyone who knows Sandler, he's not an asshole. THAT is why context is so important.

I remember this - I was there as an extra. We were way in the background in the middle of a scene when Christian Bale started this tirade. Those in charge hid us out of sight during most of it, and I was far enough away that I couldn't hear exactly what he was saying. It's entertaining to hear this and finally understand completely.

Apparently Christian Bale is a true method actor, and has to get into his role pretty heavily. I pity the fool (like this guy) who breaks his concentration.

I wish I had gotten a chance to shake his hand or something, but I'll just have to wait until sometime when he's not on set.

EDIT: Also of note, this took place only a couple of days before his "verbal assault" on his mother and sister.

I've worked with a number of people who have worked with Leonardo DiCaprio. I've heard nothing but good from every single one of them. Yet I know a boom guy who worked on GANGS OF NEW YORK and in a street scene, Mr. DiCaprio was walking on set, smoking a cig, being all tough, and he flicks it away.

It lands on my buddy. Burns him. My buddy says "hey!" Mr. D looks back at him, keeps walking. My buddy says "well, you gonna say sorry?"

Leonardo DiCaprio turns around, says "I can't act any more today" and walks off the set. That's a wrap, folx.

And memos were exchanged, and phone calls were made, and my buddy didn't lose his job and the show went on... long story short, Leonardo DiCaprio, general all-around nice guy, was likely horrified that he'd flicked a cigarette butt onto a crewmember. Amsterdam Vallon, street thug, on the other hand, would likely have put it out in his eye. And when Mr. D had to reconcile those two people in his mind, he sorta popped out of gear and had to quit for the day.

Sets are emotionally supercharged. What happens there should not be mistaken for real life for a single minute.

(and yes - Christian Bale is a bit of a method actor)

FUCK BALE AND FUCK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THIS HORSESHIT!! JOIN US!! JOIN US OR SUCK THE DICK OF A DEAD DOG YOU MOTHERFUCKING RATS!

I don't know the whole story and, frankly, I don't really give a shit, but let's face it, acting is not a real job, is it? It's dressing up and playing make-believe for huge sums of money. Being able to act for a living should be regarded a privilege. It certainly isn't a grind like the poor sap above who's slogging his guts out in 'Subway'.

Grow up, Christian, you spoilt little tit.

Erm, no. Not really. Not when you think about it. My missus is a casualty nurse. I'm a forensic photographer. That's 'serious work'. Christian Bale is a bloody actor. He's playing dress-up and make-believe in the third sequel to a low budget film about robots for more money than the wife and I will ever see in our entire lives and you regard that as 'serious' work?

Sorry fella, but what little credibility you still had just evaporated with this post...

I think if I had been there I would have been asking him to calm down, it's not worth going ballistic over it, and just getting the other guy out of the room. Just keep trying to de-fuse the situation until cooler heads can prevail.

Of course if after all that Bale still wanted to go nuts it's two warnings and then "say hello to Mr Mace" time. Is reasonable, no?

Secondly, when I said "personal lives", I meant what celebrities do when I don't see them on tv or movies. Whether it's filming a movie or walking down the street, I don't give a shit.

Pull your head out of your ass. Get some fresh air.

no

did the 1st AD have a problem with the DP walking around?

no

did Bale suddenly decide this was HIS movie and his movie ALONE and that HE was in charge, not the director, not the AD - and take matters into his OWN hands?

yes

Harry, I can think of at least one scenario where the lights would need to be constantly be tweaked and the DP could well be the only one who can see it (ok maybe the camera op, too - unless they're one in the same on this set) -

let's say you are doing a REVERSE (do I need to explain what kind of shot that is to people?) and you are reasonably CLOSE on your actor's face - and it's an "emotional" scene where he tends to move his head around a fair bit...

sometimes you can light a shot like that so the actor can move their head all they want and it's no problem, but sometimes you just can't - sometimes you need to get in there and adjust that shit - course you do that IN BETWEEN takes and who knows? maybe the DP was completely unprofessional and needed to be talked to?

that's not the problem - the problem is it's NOT HIS PLACE to do that and THAT is completely unprofessional!

did BALE threaten physical violence on the DP?

yes

did BALE tell the AD to "shut the fuck up"?

yes

did BALE contradict and UNDERMINE the director in front of the whole crew??

yes

so tell me Harry, who exactly was behaving unprofessionally here?

WHERE they do it - if you do that shit in front of everyone, especially if you single someone out in front of everyone - MOST especially if you disrespect those who are trying to help you by telling you to take that shit some place else - you fall into the dumb shit category.

I have seen plenty of blow-ups in my time but the people whom I still respect afterwards are the ones understand you do that shit in private

Actors, however, are judged by their performance which they have to do while the cameras are running. They are put on the spot and expected to hit a mark or perform flawlessly each take, and if they don't get it people will look down upon their work.

The second thing is that DPs also are lower on the totem pole than most major stars and as such are not given as much preferential treatment. Producers and studios pay way more for a major actor than they do for a star, plus if a star pulls out of a picture halfway it cost shitloads to reshoot, but you can always replace a DP in hopes no one notices. Stars are simply more important than DPs and as such you have to take their belief that their craft is more important to the success of the film than a DPs. It isn't fair, but life isn't fair. Soldier's actually do all the fighting, but they have to salute some dick with stripes who usually never sees the frontline. That is how life operates.

I will admit, if more info comes out showing that this isn't an isolated incident (that maybe this was Bale finally loosing his cool after constantly trying to be calm about a problem) but instead a pattern by him or verbally abusing people, I will agree that he is a fuck head.

"You and me, we're done professionally. No Fuckin eh, Harry. I mean it. You're a nice guy, but you don't know shit about talkbackers!"

Shut the fuck up and move along. Thanks.

Serious, talented filmmakers take making movies seriously. You walk on a Scorsese’s set, you know not to walk in front of the actor's eye line. You come on a Spielberg’s set, you don't walk in front of the actor's eye line. You walk on Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Chris Nolan, Tarantino or even Wes Craven’s sets, and you don't walk in front of an actor's eye-line. The reason why is because you do not want to disrupt and actors performance, even for a moment, and take the audience out of the film. It is rude and disrespectful to an actor, and shows that you are not serious about the film or your craft.

And I know that Bale and McG are only making a film about robots that take over the world, not King Leer. But guys who are the big shots, the top guys in this town, treat everything they work on seriously and try to do their best work, and guys who hope to be big someday also take making films seriously, even if they are about ridiculous subject matter. That is how you get to the top, but treating it more than just playing pretend.

It’s like being a fucking pro athlete and telling him to relax because it is just a game. Yeah, it’s just a game, but it is a game they have dedicated their life to playing and are now getting paid millions. It also takes more dedication and devotion than I think many of us can fathom. So you can understand why an athlete can get emotional during a game, just like I can understand how and actor can get emotional while on set.

Yes, people freaking out about there sports team losing is ridiculous, but an athlete getting paid millions upset about losing is another thing. They have spent years training themselves, pushing themselves and competing against other people who want their spot. It is completely understandable how they would look at it as more than a game.

Another thing is you can’t just turn on and off passion, as much as people like to think so. One of the traits that make the actors, writers and directors who reach the top get there and stay up there is their dedication and their consistency. You put out only 50% on a bad movie, than it is very unlikely you’ll put out 100% on a good movie. Its like working out or practicing before a sporting event. If you don’t push yourself during your practice or workouts, how are you going to push yourself during the big game? Well that also works for movies; you don’t push yourself even on the less important ones, how are you going to turn it up a notch on the big ones. Just magically flick a button. I am an editor now, and I am not going to pretend I am some big shot or claim I work on big movies - far from it. But I have worked on some very good projects, just like I have worked on some crappy features. And while I might not have put as much effort in the crappy ones as the ones I cared about, I treated both films seriously and tried to do the best job I could. And if someone broke one of the taboos of the editing room, even during the crappy movies, I let them know about it.

Is there obvious exceptions to this rule? Yes, obviously with a place as chaotic as a film set there is going to be people crossing in front of the eye-line, no matter what, and you expect your actors to be able to handle that. But the question is it a rare occurrence or is it common occurrence. If it is common, I imagine that is not a very professional set and I doubt I would have much confidence in the film being made.

yes bale shouldnt have react like that,it isnt the most correct way to express your dissatisfaction with someone,BUT on the other do you know what really happened there and what caused his outburst? are you so sure you wouldnt have reacted like that? moreover does he do this all the time in all his films? was it a random bad moment of his life or is this a trademark of his character? how would you react in his place? or havent you ever reacted like that in your life,when an idiot whom you work with,is unprofessional and ruins your work? oh yes i forget you are all saints...

how the frak do you know that bale is a monster who beats his mother and sister, if you dont know him personally and havent ever work with him? how the frak can you judge him only by an mp3 file? oh yeah you are the audience,the people who send the artists,their idols,their gods to paradise,as easy as they send them to hell if they,god forbid,behave like humans...

frak you people and your fraking judgements.

This is the worst, most embrassaing talkback ever.

I apologize to all that read this for having posted in this piece of shit.

frak harry's statement,just listen to what bale shouts in the mp3.he doesnt give me the impression of a primadona,but rather a processional actor who got fed up with an amateur DP.

i dont acclaim bales outbreak,but i wont say,like the other crybabies here, that his reaction was unjustified.

Fucking nerds...

You hear that Harry. Frak you from the fans!

Boy am I bored.

I am not saying that is what happened, but that is what could have happened. Right now we don't know if this DP just accidentally got in front of Bales eye-line on one or two occasions (which is a no-no but completely understandable mistake, and might even have been necessary if it was an important scene and he say something that had to be fixed quickly) or if he was constantly getting in Bale's eye-line despite Bale asking him not too. Either the DP or Bale could be at fault here, but one person certainly has some blame and that is McG.

And you are all dumbasses for debating this shit that will definitely have no affect whatsoever on Christian Bale, the new Terminator movie, Harry Knowles, or me.

I personally have decided to post to tell you guys I hate you all.

Except Danny of course, who I believe has posted once above.

It's in The Kid Stays In The Picture- if Evans can be trusted.

And don't come back yodalovesyou.

I also apologise for posting in it.

anyway the animated gif with the sperm shot and tom cruises face expression from that joke,is priceless.

Once again, I am not saying Bale isn't an asshole. He might very well be. Be I see two things here:

A) The DP has been constantly fucking up Bale's eyeline despite being told not and McG has done nothing to stop it or;

B) Bale freaks out for no reason at all and McG does not put a stop to that either.

The one who looks the worst in this to me is McG. If Bale is an asshole McG should have put his foot down and asserted command of his set once he started mouthing off, and if this DP has been fucking up constantly than McG should have either got him under control or canned him before Bale felt like he had to go into a hissy fit.

dont u get angry with yourself, when u dont succeed at something important at repeated tries becayse of your own fault? i do when i cant get in my bed the super hot pussy i want,because i am not the super cool guy he wants. damn life.

Like telling people how stupid they are like me! Yaaaaay!

As for the rest of you...You and me are done, professionally. Assholes.

we are just bored and we dont have anything better to do (still searching for hot pussies,FEMALE ones),and this thing with bale is just too hilarious to ignore.

ps.ofc the only thing that is sure to happen,is that Bale is not ever going to work with this DP again in the future.

the REAL problem here-

Bale telling off the AD and then proceeding to ignore direction and (rather theatrically) undermine the director ON SET in front of the ENTIRE CREW - that shit is not on

McG may or may not have been trying to defuse the situation at first, but if one of his actors suddenly decides he is running the show now, he fucking well better pull than cunt aside and remind him just exactly who's ACTUALLY in charge here!

ninja, whenever I hear someone invoke the "gets the job done" line, I'm always reminded of Homer Simpson yelling at his TV while watching McGarnagle- "it means he gets results you stupid chief!"

thanks - just when I thought I couldn't get any more laughs out of this!

and he was that gay P.I. in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.

So you shut your damn mouth.

but from an artistic point of view,he inst there yet,and he is not going to be if he keeps doing not very demanding,as leading role, movies like dark knight and terminator.

he should find a good director,with a mutual understanding and respect,a balanced chemistry and start doing movies with him if he wants an oscar.just take for example dicaprio and scorsese.anyway.

The po widdle fella's all tuckered out.

Shane Hurlbut: Christian, Christian –

Bale: I want you off the fucking set you prick!

Shane: Christian, I'm sorry.

Bale: No, don't just be sorry, think for one fucking second. What the FUCK are you DOING ? Are you professional or not?

Shane: Yes I am.

Bale: Do I fucking walk around and rip down –

Bruce Franklin: Christian, Christian –

Bale: No, shut the fuck up Bruce! Do I want - no! No! Don't shut me up.

Franklin: I'm not shutting you up.

Bale: Am I going to walk around and rip your fucking lights down, in the middle of a scene? Then why the fuck are you walking right through? Ah da da dah, like this in the background. What the fuck is it with you? What don't you fucking understand?

Shane: (inaudible)

Bale: You got any fucking idea about, hey, it's fucking distracting having somebody walking up behind Bryce in the middle of the fucking scene? Give me a fucking answer! What don't you get about it?

Shane: I was looking at the light.

Bale: Ohhhhh, goooood for you. And how was it? I hope it was fucking good, because it's useless now, isn't it?

Shane: Ok.

Bale: Fuck-sake man, you're amateur. McG, you got fucking something to say to this prick?

McG: I didn't see it happen.

Bale: Well, somebody should be fucking watching and keeping an eye on him.

McG: Fair enough.

Bale: It's the second time that he doesn't give a FUCK about what is going on in front of the camera, alright? I'm trying to fucking do a scene here, and I am going "Why the fuck is Shane walking in there? What is he doing there?" Do you understand my mind is not in the scene if you're doing that?

Shane: I absolutely apologize. I'm sorry, I did not mean anything by it.

Bale: Stay off the fucking set man. For fuck-sake. Alright, let's go again.

McG: Let's just take a minute.

Bale: Let's not take a fucking minute, let's go again. And have YOU fucking walking in! Can I have Tom put this on please.

Franklin: Can I have Tom in wardrobe please? Can I have Tom in wardrobe?

Bale: You're unbelievable, you're un-fucking-believable. Number of times you're strolling-a-fucking around in the background. I've never had a DP behave like this. Ehhh…you don't fucking understand what it's like working with actors, that's what that is.

Shane: No, that's – Bale: That's what that is man, I'm telling you. I'm not asking, I'm telling you. You wouldn't have done that otherwise.

Shane: No, what it is, is looking at the light and making sure, that you are, ugh –

Bale: I'M GOING TO FUCKING KICK YOUR FUCKING ASS IF YOU DON'T SHUT FOR A SECOND! ALRIGHT?

Unknowns: Christian, Christian. It's cool.

Bale: I'm going to go…Do you want me to fucking go trash your lights? DO YOU WANT ME TO FUCKING TRASH YOUR? Then why are you trashing my scene?

Shane: I'm not trying to trash your scene.

Bale: You are trashing my scene!

Shane: Christian, I was only –

Bale: You do it one more fucking time and I ain't walking on this set if you're still hired. I'm fucking serious. You're a nice guy. You're a nice guy, but that don't fucking cut it when you're bullshitting and fucking around like this on set.

McG: Alright, I know, let's, let's — (inaudible) –

Bale: Yeah, you might get it. He doesn't fucking get it.

McG: I got it, I know. I get it. I get it. I know.

Bale: You might. He. Does. Not. Get It.

McG: We made good adjustments. For real, honestly. I get it. Just walk for five seconds.

Bale: No, I don't need any fucking walking. He needs to stop walking.

McG: I get that –

Bale: I ain't the one walking. Let's get Tom and put this back on and let's go again. Seriously man, you and me, we're fucking done professionally. Fucking ass.

People see what they want to see. They can take something out of context and immediately make a judgment, without knowing the entire story. Bale vented his frustration with the DP and because his voice was recorded, here it is all over the internet. And because the internet is what it is, we can even DANCE to it.

Only two weekends ago, after watching REIGN OF FIRE with my wife (she hadn't seen it), I commented on Bale's smart career choices. Even REIGN OF FIRE seems better TODAY, in contrast to the disappointments that Hollywood has shoveled our way. You can see Bale's passion in his work...and as a movie fan, I sincerely appreciate that. There's just not enough passion in Hollywood.

I'm sure that both Christian Bale and the DP has learned a valuable lesson in all this. Same goes for McG. And so, they can ALL go back to concentrating on the work...and we will all be the better for it.

Now, if only they could all laugh at themselves and release a music video of the Remix. Bale acting tough as nails with the Remix pumpin' would be a hoot!

Go back watching Speed Racer, you monkeys. And please shut the fuck up about Mr. Bale! Thanks.

SAY NO TO ROMAN POLANSKI, CHRISTIAN BALE, AND HARVEY FIERSTEIN!

Well done Harry - you dont even KNOW this guy, your 'super secret' source is probably full of shit, and based on nothing more than shadowy rumors, you're going to call out the DP as an amateur. and THEN have the audacity to say "Im above doing what I just did so that's why you wont see me do what I just did on this website."

idiot.

Bale could quite possibly be a major asshole. My guess is dude has some underlying issues. But hell, Tom Cruise is despised for stupid things like jumping on couches and promoting Scientology.

Light tweaker probably deserved 1/4 of that rant but man...Bale just kept going and going.

Shane's lucky his balls weren't fucking fed to him, the fuckin' ass.

Are you ever actually going to carry through with this threat and fuck off for good? Or is this another round of empty threats before you get temporarily banned?

Unless all of you motherfuckers get your asses over there right fucking now, you and me-- we're fucking done professionally. Fuckin' ass.

Why bother putting in the effort to threaten to quit and then hover around like a fart in a spacesuit?

What did you want everyone to beg?

Oh please don't leave glovedone, your pathetic whinging about speed of news, and fucking classless behaviour in obits make the place soooooo much better?

Now, follow through with your threat and fuck off.

I got about half way down and had to stop.

First off. Harry, this most certainly IS news. It is film news and it has definite implications on what is going on during one of this year's biggest film releases. The fact that it was recorded and sent to the film's insurance handlers is proof of that.

I am putting myself in the camp that sees McG (god how I hate even having to type that) as the soul person responsible for this even occurring. It is his set and he needs to be the one to handle the problem before it gets this far. None of us were there so we don't know what channels Bale went through before this happened. If he went to McG, which seems likely to me. And it still happens, then McG is a prick for letting the DP still do it. If he only talked to the DP, then even that should have been enough for the guy to know better.

And think about this. If you in your job ever decided to explode on one of your co-workers, what would be the result? You'd most likely be fired, right? Because almost anybody can be replaced. Even the director. But halfway (or more most likely) through filming, you can't FIRE the lead. You can't replace him. You could even fire the director and have someone else come in and finish the job and only about 1% of the people watching the movie would know or care.

So, for all of you TBers who think Bale went too far with his rant, he did. But so what? The average movie viewer (and believe me WE who come to this site are NOT the average movie goers)DOESN'T CARE!!

Ok, it's an action movie following up a shit movie sequel that even Arnie's presence couldn't save. Bale was obviously taking it seriously. I'm sure the producers of the movie were taking it seriously too. And imagine if Bale DID walk off the picture because of this. I would say he would be right to do so, with unprofessional pricks like McG (and I'm only saying he's a prick because he wants to go by the name 'McG'.) That would certainly make this audio tape newsworthy.

Sounds to me like the best thing that could happen to this film is if Bale bailed.

The first at fault of being sued would have to be the person who recorded and let the footage out into the public.

On his website, he addresses Christian Bale’s explosive and embarrassing tantrum on the set of McG’s “Terminator Salvation,” when he reamed out director or photography Shane Hurlbut for disturbing his concentration during a scene.

Harry hasn’t written about it until now because, he says, “It isn't news. And it certainly isn't cool news. It is a moment in a man's life taken completely out of context and most likely leaked to personally embarrass Christian Bale.”

He knows what many of us are thinking: There's no excuse for a temper tantrum like that to ever occur, and if you are going to act that way, you deserve to be embarrassed by your own actions.

Now comes his insider explanation behind what REALLY happened. Are you ready? But first, Harry reveals his Deep Throat:

“I know this because I happen to be somewhere where someone that was there that day and for the shoot is. And this person isn't a publicist, nor are they invested in Bale's career.”

He then calls "young" DP Shane Hurlbut ...

... a known "light tweaker.”

Then he describes that emotional scene between Christian Bale and Bryce Howard as one that required “soul bearing and a deep level of immersive concentration.”

Again, back to why his source spoke out: "Now, the reason I know all of this is because the person that was there, felt that it should be made perfectly clear that Christian Bale was the utmost gentleman and cool guy on set. And the DP really was doing something that professional DPs with experience just don't do. Not during a performance."

Harry's heard the audio tape, all four-plus minutes of it, and believes that this particular outburst did indeed "modify the DP's behavior."

He then enlightens us lesser film buffs: "None of us are perfect, and certainly we have all sinned to some degree. Actors, Actresses, Celebrities and the people exploited on sites like TMZ. They're human beings that I personally feel are owed the same inalienable rights that the rest of us hold dear."

Anyway, you can read more of Harry's lame excuses for Bale’s behavior on his site.

I’m as disgusted by Bale as I am by Knowles who says he wrote this lame excuse "to express my opinion on the spreading of stories like this and making Christian look bad, when he isn't.”

Christian may not be a bad person, but his behavior -- screaming at a DP in front of the crew -- was reprehensible. And that's pretty bad.

But that's my take. What do you think? Or maybe you agree with Harry?

Or do you think Harry the film geek is standing up for a movie star just so he can maintain and increase his access to studio set visits for his site?

Nah, that' can't be it.

1) Bale was a complete asshole and lost his fucking mind on a guy for the smallest of problems, or;

2) Bale had constantly been asking this guy to stop walking in his eyeline but he kept doing it, and finally Bale snapped.

In either case we don't know if Bale apologized right away or not, or if he made any attempts to make amends with the guy. What I do know is that McG has a set where an actor can go on a rampage without any interference; or he has a set where an actor can repeatedly ask for someone not to cross into his eyeline and the director does nothing to stop it. We don't know the exact facts of the Bale scenario (although I will admit it was damn funny and I see no problem with laughing at him) but we can see the facts that McG can't keep order on his set.

If movies are not important, than why are you here? You're logged onto a site that gives you movie news, and you're the guys who've probably spent more hours on this thing than anyone else. I’ve got news for you, movies are important. It is a multi-billion dollar industry, one of the biggest exporter we still have in this country and it employees hundreds of thousands of people, and some of those people are the richest people in the world because of that industry.

Yes, in the grand scheme of the things movies are not as important as a man searching for the cure for cancer or a teacher working in the inner city, but it is just as frivolous (or maybe even less so) than a stockbroker, a pro athlete, a store clerk, or even people in the restaurant business (you can always eat at home). Fuck, 90% of the jobs in this country are not somehow any more “real” than working in movies. That is real work, like it or not.

The only problem it seems to you guys is that people in the film business can potentially earn more money than you ever could and that they are viewed as celebrities. Yeah, I’m not a fan of the celebrity culture but it is a fact of life, stop whining about it and move on. In the “real world” someone could have punched George Bush for his boneheaded decisions but since he is the President and he doesn’t have to hobnob with the rest of us that isn’t going to happen.

In the “real world” someone could have punched George Bush for his boneheaded decisions but since he is the President and he doesn’t have to hobnob with the rest of us that isn’t going to happen

Oooo! The TB gets POLITICAL!

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/?p =9418

http://tinyurl.com/bungxk

The gold is in the comments though...

Great news, I found an excerpt of the part of the script they were performing:

Bale: “It’s the future and robots are killing everyone! I don’t like that!”

Howard: “I’m a hot redhead from the future and I don’t like that either! But look at my future cleavage!”

Robot: “Boop beep boop bip bop.”

Bale: “NOOOOOOOOOOO!”

uhh...what?

it chaps my ass that such a poor writer gets to run such a huge film review site.

harry. i've been coming here a long time. and i've always turned a deaf ear to the jeers. but goddamn man. every time i come here, i lose a little more respect for you.

They are all abnormally fucking hilarious over there though.

I think on this site, we're here because we are movie FANS. Which means most of us--MOST--are still just like other "normal" audience members on the product / consumer end of the movie biz. No, we ordinarily don't know or care what goes down on the fancy-schmancy sets, but some of us MIGHT care if it comes to light that a Tom Cruise or Christian Bale or whatever start thinking that their success or stature gives them a right to belittle other people. I mean, Bale's only 35, which is still relatively young in my book. Younger than ME anyway, and I always make a point of still giving my elders some benefit of the doubt before I go biting peoples' heads off.

At the end of the day, or come this summer, my ass will still be in the theatre for this movie, because I WANT to see it. I'd like to think that Bale just had a bad day, that he doesn't explode all the time, and that he apologized. That's not for me to know. And frankly, I don't personally care so much, but yeah I do think there's people out there who MIGHT, or who would stop seeing his work

if it works for the Bale, it'll definitely work for you.