Christian Bale's "rant", arsehole or artistic?

Richard Dower

Alot of you will have heard about it, listened to it on Youtube etc. - it's clear it was leaked as a malicious attempt to damage him, but with hindsight was he right to mouth off or out of order?

IMO, a bit of both, the tone and language used was out of order...but from an artistic and actorial perspective he was justified, the man is a very dedicated actor who throws himself into a roll....he was "in the zone" and you had some muppet in the background not having a clue :rolleyes:

indough

it wasnt exactly professional behaviour but neither was the bollocksing about going on around him, maybe he had come to the realization that the film was going to be ****e and was not really enjoying working on it in the first place

i suppose if it was just a case of him being in character or something then its entirely excusable

me_right_one

Nah nobody deserves to be talked to like that. If a fella messed up, a respectful, friendly, correction is in order, not a torrent of abuse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrvMTv_r8sA

indough

plenty of people deserve to be talked to like that

murrayp4

Arsehole- the guy is acting, not curing cancer ffs.

me_right_one

indough wrote: »

plenty of people deserve to be talked to like that

Maybe hitler, or ian paisley, not an ordinary lad who made a mistake:rolleyes:

mikemac

That's a director job to cuss out of the staff, not the actors

If the actor has an issue, go to the director

The director and producer can sack them on the spot if needed

me_right_one wrote: »

Maybe hitler, or ian paisley, not an ordinary lad who made a mistake:rolleyes:

Made the same mistake twice if you listen to it

indough

me_right_one wrote: »

Maybe hitler, or ian paisley, not an ordinary lad who made a mistake:rolleyes:

you do realize he just shouted at him and didnt shoot or stab him right? people are so sensitive these days

me_right_one

indough wrote: »

you do realize he just shouted at him and didnt shoot or stab him right? people are so sensitive these days

He went on a three and a half minute tirade of threats of violence, abusive language, personal belittlement, and all-round bullying. If an outburst like that happened in a normal workplace, it would be gate for the perpetrator. Totally unprofessional, immature, and unacceptable.

Goldstein

At least the episode gave the world this remix though, remember laughing my ass off the first time i heard it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTihsJQHt48

DOC09UNAM

to be fair he said he was a nice guy, he did fúck up though tbh.

Renn

Has he gone on another rant similar to the Terminator one?

Miguel_Sanchez

Renn wrote: »

Has he gone on another rant similar to the Terminator one?

Nope. But for some reason it seems we have to discuss it again.

Who knows why?

pickarooney

His accent goes all over the show there. Does he know who he is any more?

Smokin_Aces

I think the rant was staged between a few people, then leak it out so the film would have a buzz, make people be like, Christian Bale had a rant on Terminator, let's see what the fuss was about.

Morlar

He is a great actor and if someone was dithering around the set f***king things up repeatedly then at that level there is no excuse. The director should have kept a lid on things but failing that it's understandable. Also the 'baleout remix' is an absolute classic.

gonedrinking

The family guy parody of it is great too. Still, he is a class actor and the rant was pretty fcuking epic.

TonyD79

Was talking to someone who works in flim making in the states and they said the guy has a very bad repuation for doing things like this and he thought Bale was spot on. If this fella has a reputaion then I dont know how he still gets hired?

Handsome Bob

Just a bad day at the office I think. It says it all about the production of that film that his tirade even got leaked in the first place. I'd say that kind of behaviour wouldn't be out of the ordinary on a Hollywood film set at all yet we never hear about it.

It still was very bad form of Bale's half, I would strongly be of the school that would say that you can have words with someone without being a rude and demeaning dick.

End of the day though, I'm interested in his work, not his personality. As long as he continues to perform at a high standard then I don't care what he does. It's not my job to reign him in on his behaviour on set.

DeVore

Acting is an extremely stressful profession let me tell you

Every decent actor knows whats going on in that rant. Bale has "lost it". It just happens on sets sometimes, theres so much pressure and tension trying to get a scene right with a dozen different creative inputs and then something just flips and someone just blows.

The thing to listen to here isnt Bale, its the other people including the lighting guy himself. They all know there is no point in saying anything because it will just makes things worse, the only way is to let it fizzle out, let them decompress. They say nothing provocative nothing remonstrative, they just let him vent.

Filming is often 18 hours a day, often in crappy weather (frequently deliberately so!) and its a collaborative process between creative people. You dont think people lose the rag with each other occasionally?? You better believe they do!

Whats most galling about this rant (apart from the fact that Bale is obviously out of line, a fact he was the first to admit), is that what happens on set should stay on set. A crew should deal with their problems on set. An actor needs to feel that its safe to try out new approaches etc without thinking "am I going to end up on youtube if this doesnt work?". If that happens, then actors will be a lot more cautious and consequently great performances wont happen in some cases.


DeV.

Deliverance

Bale was arrested awhile back for allegedly assaulting his Mom and sister was he not. The guy possibly has issues. Just because he is a good actor does not mean that he should be allowed to disrespect the people he works with.

The people that he works with make his great acting possible technically. Mistakes will be made in big productions. He should learn to realise and respect that. He is just doing a job like they are doing their job.

Personally if I was the guy that he talked to in that way... I would have squared up to him and put his place. It is the background lads that do the graft that allow him to make his salary. Without them he would be nothing.

The bottom line is that it was unprofessional behaviour from a spoilt brat / child in a mans body who has not grown up enough yet and needs some serious guidance in the personal sense.

Handsome Bob

Comical interview with Bale, almost too comical at times:

http://www.esquire.com/features/christian-bale-interview-1210

I particularly like the final bit:

He stands up and flicks his eyes across the scene before us, the balcony overlooking the Pacific with the rich men and their wives, and flashes a last charming smile — this time with a measure of mischief.

BALE: You know the reason I picked this place?

ESQUIRE: Why?

BALE: 'Cause it has nothing to do with my life. I never come here, ever. It's as far removed from any place that I would ever go to. And that's exactly why I chose it. 'Cause it has nothing to do with me.

Anyway, I'm fine with the interview. The interviewer tries to make him out to be a weirdo and a dick but all I see is someone who couldn't be arsed giving the fake polished answers usually given by the Hollywood A-List. Fair play to him.

DOC09UNAM

Why is the font white, terrible colour choice :P

Handsome Bob

DOC09UNAM wrote: »

Why is the font white, terrible colour choice :P

Ah ****, it's because I'm using a different skin. :pac: