Bale turns American psycho with expletive-laden tantrum on set
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
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In a tirade that lasted just under four minutes, Christian Bale, who was arrested last year for allegedly assaulting his mother and sister, furiously criticised Shane Hurlbut, the film's director of photography, for distracting him during a scene
His alter-ego, Batman, is a man of quiet confidence, uttering nothing more provocative than the occasional "holy smoke" as he bangs adversaries to rights. But Christian Bale has a more direct – and controversial – style of conflict resolution.
The British actor's short temper became the subject of international debate yesterday, after a tape surfaced of him throwing a profanity-ridden tantrum on the set of the forthcoming film Terminator Salvation.
In a tirade that lasted just under four minutes, Bale, who was arrested last year for allegedly assaulting his mother and sister, furiously criticised Shane Hurlbut, the film's director of photography, for distracting him during a scene. The subsequent rant contained 37 uses of the "F-word", an average of one every six seconds. Bale repeatedly dubbed Hurlbut a "prick", threatened to "kick his ass" and told executives he would quit the $185m (£128m) film if his colleague wasn't fired.
The full video of the incident was posted online on Monday after apparently being leaked to the showbusiness website TMZ.com. "I'm going to kick your fucking ass!" it began, as Bale grew increasingly angry at Mr Hurlbut's attempt to apologise for interrupting the scene. "I want you off the fucking set, you prick. No, don't just be sorry. Think, for one fucking second. What the fuck are you doing?"
Bale, who is playing the film's hero John Connor, shrugged off attempts by his co-star, Bryce Dallas Howard, and the film's director, Joseph McGinty Nichol (known as McG), to calm him down during the rant, which was recorded on set at Kirtland air force base in New Mexico.
"Do you want me to fucking trash your lights? Do you want me to fucking trash 'em?" Bale asks Hurlbut. "Then why are you trashing my scene? You are trashing my scene! You do it one more fucking time, and I'm not walking on the fucking set if you're still hired."
Bale's publicist declined invitations to comment yesterday, but the star is famously highly strung. Last year, shortly before the London premiere of The Dark Knight, he was arrested following a family dispute at the Dorchester Hotel, although assault charges were never brought because there was insufficient evidence.
According to US media reports, the taped incident, which took place in July, was considered sufficiently serious for the film's producers to pass a recording of Bale's outburst to their insurer, amid concerns that a walkout by Bale would threaten the production. It seems to have then found its way into the public domain after being leaked to TMZ by an employee of the insurance company.
Many Hollywood commentators said Bale's outburst was a proportional response to an unforgivable lapse by a technician. "Hurlbut walked across Bale's sight-line during a scene," wrote Geoff Boucher in the Los Angeles Times. "That's a huge no-no. I'm not sure anyone in Hollywood will be surprised by this eruption, except by its duration."
Star's tirade against director of photography
Christian 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? 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 Hurlbut: 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?
Hurlbut: OK.
Bale: Fuck's sake man, you're amateur. McG, you got fucking something to say to this prick?
Joseph 'McG' McGinty Nichol (director): 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, all right? 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?
Hurlbut: I absolutely apologise. I'm sorry, I did not mean anything by it.
Bale: Stay off the fucking set man. For fuck's 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.
Bale: I'm going to fucking kick your fucking ass if you don't shut up for a second! All right?
(Unknown voices): 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 'em? Then why are you trashing my scene?
Hurlbut: I'm not trying to trash your scene.
Bale: You are trashing my scene!
Hurlbut: 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 fucking around like this on set.
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Comments
Wow, now there is an honorable profession for you. Its not like he was performing brain surgery, he is just an actor. Whatever.
This outburst will cost Bale. there is no doubt about it. Hell I don't care how big a star he is. If this happened on my picture I would have fired Bale on the spot. If I can afford to hire him I can afford to fire him.
JHC
Love you Bale!! Come to Portland Oregon!
Everybody's job is important when making a film. Sometimes other people get so involved in their jobs that they lose track of others. It happens; it's human. Does Bale never make mistakes? People ought to go off on him when he does. That might bring him back to reality.
He ought to take a lesson from a real professional. When filming 'Soylent Green,' Edward G. Robinson was terminally ill and stone deaf. (Could you tell he was deaf, by his performance?) There were scenes in which Robinson had his lines and timing down and delivered his lines perfectly, only to find aftrward that someone else had flubbed something. Do you think the great Eddy G flew off the handle? Do you think he started shouting and swearing?
If anyone remembers the scene in the Exchange: several times he turned in his usual impeccable performance, then walked out, as per the script. He was so deaf couldn't hear the director call 'Cut!' because of someone else's error. He just finished the scene, walking out past the stacks and through the doors, and someone had to be sent to chase after him. He never came back shouting or swearing - and the man was racing the calendar to make it to the end of the film before he was too sick and weak to do so.
Additional note: Bale needs to stay off the stage. He obviously doesn' have what it takes!
For the current series of Taggart I ruined the first take of one long scene by standing with my elbow in front of the camera - no big deal, no one jumped down my throat. If the same thing happens TWICE then of course people can and will get cross, but I've never heard stuff like the Bale rant. On set you quickly get to know who is a tosser and who you can chat to - Ciaran Hinds, for example, is a lovely bloke.
Bale is a creep.
And to the guy who said that all the producers he knew would fire him, I would question what kind of films you've been involved in. They fire him - they're not insured.
Hope he disappears into his own self importance .
In addition, from what I've heard, this was a very out of character moment for Bale on the set. Yes, he had charges against him in relation to yelling at his mother/sister, but you know nothing more about the situation than that. It is completely impossible to judge him based on these two events, because you don't know the entire context, and in face have only received information from news sources which tend to sensationalize things. In fact, Bale turned HIMSELF in in the first situation.
That being said, I am by no means defending him. I think, even though the other man did make a huge mistake, this level of disrespect is completely uncalled for. Does that mean that I'll never see a Bale movie again or that I'll trash my Batman movies (as others have suggested), which by the way are the culminated efforts of multiple actors and indeed a whole set full of people such as the man you are supposedly defending in this particular situation? Of course not.
I think an apology is probably in order, and I think Bale needs to work on his temper. He is intensely involved in what he does, but anger is rarely a good solution.
Regardless, I like him, and I think that people need to go beyond the two extremes, celebrity bashing or hero worshiping, and leave this situation to those who posses true knowledge of the context. Peace out.