Christian Bale phones child with leukemia in hospital.

MakeEmLaugh

In case anyone has not yet seen it, here is a video of an 8 year old boy, Zach Guillot, being phoned by Christian Bale in a hospital in Seattle. Zach is being treated for leukemia, and is a huge fan of Batman. He seems very happy to be speaking to the man who played Batman himself.

Touching stuff.

Incidentally, there is a Facebook page entitled ZachAttacksLeukemia which charts Zach's progress.

admiralofthefleet

did he ask him if he was listening to hughie lewis and the news?

The Floyd p

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

did he ask him if he was listening to hughie lewis and the news?

Let's see his donor card!

smash

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

Incidentally, there is a Facebook page entitled ZachAttacksLeukemia which charts Zach's progress.

Yea touching stuff, but that fb page is sick in my opinion. "Likes" won't make him better. The whole voyeuristic nature of it given that it's something so serious that's happening to this child just gives me the shivers.

El Guapo!

smash wrote: »

Yea touching stuff, but that fb page is sick in my opinion. "Likes" won't make him better. The whole voyeuristic nature of it given that it's something so serious that's happening to this child just gives me the shivers.

I hate all those types of pages with a passion.
The people who start them are sick, and the people who "like" them are retards.

denhaagenite

.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Reminded me of this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70r-Ca8wcVg

IM0

denhaagenite wrote: »

.

good point

bootybouncer

El Guapo! wrote: »

I hate all those types of pages with a passion.
The people who start them are sick, and the people who "like" them are retards.

And I hate the fact that people now think its normal practise to use the retard if someone goes against your grain

Johro

It's a nice thing to do, would be better again without all the publicity surrounding it. I'm not sure if it's true in this case, I'm not really bothered about watching the video, but when a celebrity's good deed is accompanied by photographers and/or reporters it makes me feel a little sick myself.
Like I said, nice thing to do for the boy, but the peripheral stuff is nauseating.

Johro

Like if you cried.

3ndahalfof6

My hole is bleeding but I cut my wrist, why is this, that is all.

MakeEmLaugh

smash wrote: »

Yea touching stuff, but that fb page is sick in my opinion. "Likes" won't make him better. The whole voyeuristic nature of it given that it's something so serious that's happening to this child just gives me the shivers.

True, 'likes' won't make him better, but perhaps his family can take some comfort in the fact that many members of the public have him in their thoughts. Again, this won't effect the outcome of his health, but hundreds of thousands of people deal with leukaemia every year, and have no one outside of their family who knows or cares.

Perhaps also they may require financial help at some point for Zach. Again, most of the people who have 'liked' his Facebook probably won't donate, but some might.

Remember when 16 month old Colin McStay appeared on the Late Late Show in 1984? His family required £100,000 for him to have a liver transplant, as he an incurable liver disease. Within a week, £200,000 was raised - this at a time when unemployment was rife and a huge number of people were emigrating.

A good day for the Irish people, in my opinion.

Johro wrote: »

I'm not sure if it's true in this case, I'm not really bothered about watching the video, but when a celebrity's good deed is accompanied by photographers and/or reporters it makes me feel a little sick myself.

Well if you did watch the video, you'd see there were no photographers or reporters present. The video was taken by Zach's family, and uploaded to their Youtube channel.

7 7 12

Like if you wish cancer never existed

Johro

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

Well if you did watch the video, you'd see there were no photographers or reporters present. The video was taken by Zach's family, and uploaded to their Youtube channel.

Yeah, that's why i said ''I'm not sure if it's true in this case'' blah blah blah.
He did a nice thing, period. The rest of it stinks.

El Guapo!

bootybouncer wrote: »

And I hate the fact that people now think its normal practise to use the retard if someone goes against your grain

And I hate it when people feign outrage and get up on their high horse when someone says the word retard when it's obviously not used in the way they're trying to be offended by.

Dietsquirt

Johro wrote: »

Like if you cried.

HTML5!

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

True, 'likes' won't make him better, but perhaps his family can take some comfort in the fact that many members of the public have him in their thoughts.

Yeah, he's in their thoughts while they click 'Like' and then they promptly forget about him and go about their day. It's b0llocks!

While I agree with the rest of your post in so far as raising awareness etc, espcially when a kid requires and expensive operation (and there's something admiral about that), but the whole 'Like' thing on Facebook is cheap in my opinion.

blatantrereg

If a tree falls in the wood and no-one is around to see it, does it make a noise?

El Guapo!

blatantrereg wrote: »

If a tree falls in the wood and no-one is around to see it, does it make a noise?

Yes

HTML5!

blatantrereg wrote: »

If a tree falls in the wood and no-one is around to see it, does it make a noise?

Yes. Sound is a series of vibrations and a tree falling would inevitably cause those vibrations.

Czarcasm

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

True, 'likes' won't make him better, but perhaps his family can take some comfort in the fact that many members of the public have him in their thoughts. Again, this won't effect the outcome of his health, but hundreds of thousands of people deal with leukaemia every year, and have no one outside of their family who knows or cares.

Perhaps also they may require financial help at some point for Zach. Again, most of the people who have 'liked' his Facebook probably won't donate, but some might.

Remember when 16 month old Colin McStay appeared on the Late Late Show in 1984? His family required £100,000 for him to have a liver transplant, as he an incurable liver disease. Within a week, £200,000 was raised - this at a time when unemployment was rife and a huge number of people were emigrating.

A good day for the Irish people, in my opinion.



Well if you did watch the video, you'd see there were no photographers or reporters present. The video was taken by Zach's family, and uploaded to their Youtube channel.

Well, you're not really a laugh at all, are you?

Scruffles

bootybouncer wrote: »

And I hate the fact that people now think its normal practise to use the retard if someone goes against your grain

am under the label of intelectual disability [aka learning disability here] and in much agreement,its rarely accepted in society that it is so called high functioning individuals who take part in vomit inducing acts such as those pretending to give a sht on facebook by pestering everyone for a 'like' or binge drugging party goers getting off their tits on a serious amount of alcohol shots and ending up on one of those cop shows, or one of broadmoors finest pyschopaths.
those of us with ID struggle with day to day functioning,facebook is difficult for us to use as it requires a lot of information processing and quick thinking,so it makes more realistic sense to call people doing these stupid things normies.:P

Corvo

smash wrote: »

Yea touching stuff, but that fb page is sick in my opinion. "Likes" won't make him better. The whole voyeuristic nature of it given that it's something so serious that's happening to this child just gives me the shivers.

Jesus

Smithwicks Man

Good deed from Bale all the same

Da Shins Kelly

smash wrote: »

Yea touching stuff, but that fb page is sick in my opinion. "Likes" won't make him better. The whole voyeuristic nature of it given that it's something so serious that's happening to this child just gives me the shivers.

It's very emotionally manipulative too. It's almost as though if you don't 'like' it then you're somehow not supportive of the kid's recovery. It's just people using a child's illness to make themselves look compassionate and caring in public. It's all about themselves really.

Czarcasm

Griffin1988 wrote: »

Jesus

Nope, just Christian Bale.

Bad Santa

Would have been great if he flipped out when the parents kept interrupting:

"Hang on, why are you two talking in the middle of our call? Why are you talking in the background when I am trying to have a conversation with your son?!? What the fcuk is it with you two! You got any fcuking idea how fcuking distracting that is? Having somebody talking to the person you're on the fcuking phone with? Answer me! What don't you get about that? Fcuk sake you're amateurs!"

blatantrereg

blatantrereg wrote: »

If a tree falls in the wood and no-one is around to see it, does it make a noise?

just saying... That facebook page was around a while and popular when he did it. He could pretty much count on being recorded and put online. Would be nicer to hear about about him dispensing goodwill with a target not guaranteed to pay off in PR.

SparkySpitfire

Wish he'd give me a call...

Mongfinder General

Bad Santa wrote: »

Would have been great if he flipped out when the parents kept interrupting:

excuse me but that's a very fine chardonnay you're not drinking...

Senna

The phone call had to be set up, i'm sure he didn't just phone without knowing the kid would be able to chat to him at that time. So the parents knew it was coming and they videoed it and posted it on Youtube.
So Christian Bale could have told the parents not to record it and not to mention it to anyone, or he could have been "normal", made the call and whatever happens after that is up to the parents.

There is a lot of shít that goes on just for PR, but there is equally a lot that is never reported and a lot that is reported when that wasn't the aim. Be cynical all you want, but if Christian Bale phoned your sick kid and it made him happy, would you roll your eyes up to heaven?

smash

MakeEmLaugh wrote: »

True, 'likes' won't make him better, but perhaps his family can take some comfort in the fact that many members of the public have him in their thoughts. Again, this won't effect the outcome of his health, but hundreds of thousands of people deal with leukaemia every year, and have no one outside of their family who knows or cares.

His family shouldn't be looking for comfort based on how many people people like the page of what is basically "the sick kid that Christian bale phoned". They put the video on youtube, a Facebook page isn't needed.

The level of people who deal with the disease is totally irrelevant. All they're doing is making a minor temporary Internet celebrity out of one child. It's doing nothing to raise awareness.

bootybouncer

El Guapo! wrote: »

And I hate it when people feign outrage and get up on their high horse when someone says the word retard when it's obviously not used in the way they're trying to be offended by.

you know what way ure using it.........your the type of person who calls his buddy a retard if he picked up diet coke instead of coke, all the while a person in a wheel chair with many disabilities is beside you..................................seems to be the new buzz word

juan.kerr

El Guapo! wrote: »

I hate all those types of pages with a passion.
The people who start them are sick, and the people who "like" them are retards.

I like this post.

bootybouncer

Is stephen hawking a retard?

juan.kerr

bootybouncer wrote: »

Is stephen hawking a retard?

Is this a trick question?

El Guapo!

bootybouncer wrote: »

you know what way ure using it.........your the type of person who calls his buddy a retard if he picked up diet coke instead of coke, all the while a person in a wheel chair with many disabilities is beside you..................................seems to be the new buzz word

Yeah fair play to you. You know exactly who I am from a post on the Internet.

I do use the word retard when slagging my friends but so what? I wouldn't say it in front of a person with disabilities because I know it could be taken in the wrong way.

You know quite well what way it was meant when I posted it but you decided to be outraged instead of taking it as it is.
The word retard means slow. When I say it, I'm using it in this context the same way I'd call somebody an idiot or a fool. I'm not using it as a derogotary term for people with disabilities.
Its the same as if, for example, you were looking for something and it was right in front of you, and I said "Are ya blind? It's right there!"
Would you jump on your high horse and scold me for being offensive towards blind people?! No you wouldn't.
But you seem to be like a lot of people jumping on the pc bandwagon lately. You feign outrage when it suits you and pick and choose what to be offended about.

Do yourself and everyone else a favour and don't be so uptight, because to be honest, nobody cares if you're outraged or not.

Feathers

blatantrereg wrote: »

just saying... That facebook page was around a while and popular when he did it. He could pretty much count on being recorded and put online.Would be nicer to hear about about him dispensing goodwill with a target not guaranteed to pay off in PR

So you want the media/social media to report that he phoned sick kids, when there's no reporters & then only kids whose parents are the type of people who won't publicise it? Fan of irony at all? :pac:

smash wrote: »

His family shouldn't be looking for comfort based on how many people people like the page of what is basically "the sick kid that Christian bale phoned". They put the video on youtube, a Facebook page isn't needed.

The level of people who deal with the disease is totally irrelevant. All they're doing is making a minor temporary Internet celebrity out of one child. It's doing nothing to raise awareness.

Do you not think that it could be of comfort to the child? "Oh look, someone all the way from Brazil/Japan, etc. left a comment to wish you well. isn't that nice Jimmy". "Look at all the people who've watched your phonecall & said they'd have loved to have spoken with Christian Bale, that was a really special day wasn't it, Jimmy?", etc.

SantryRed

Senna wrote: »

The phone call had to be set up, i'm sure he didn't just phone without knowing the kid would be able to chat to him at that time. So the parents knew it was coming and they videoed it and posted it on Youtube.
So Christian Bale could have told the parents not to record it and not to mention it to anyone, or he could have been "normal", made the call and whatever happens after that is up to the parents.

There is a lot of shít that goes on just for PR, but there is equally a lot that is never reported and a lot that is reported when that wasn't the aim. Be cynical all you want, but if Christian Bale phoned your sick kid and it made him happy, would you roll your eyes up to heaven?

http://www.denverpost.com/theatershooting/ci_21147699

He's done it before too. Seems a sound guy.

smash

Feathers wrote: »

Do you not think that it could be of comfort to the child? "Oh look, someone all the way from Brazil/Japan, etc. left a comment to wish you well. isn't that nice Jimmy". "Look at all the people who've watched your phonecall & said they'd have loved to have spoken with Christian Bale, that was a really special day wasn't it, Jimmy?", etc.

Like I said, the video was up but there was no need for a Facebook page. And for what it's worth, I don't think a kid his age would be bothered about what someone from the other side if the world thinks. Hell, I think he'd have been as happy if Michael Keaton phoned him. He's a bat man fan, not a Christian Bale fan.

Feathers

smash wrote: »

Like I said, the video was up but there was no need for a Facebook page. And for what it's worth, I don't think a kid his age would be bothered about what someone from the other side if the world thinks. Hell, I think he'd have been as happy if Michael Keaton phoned him. He's a bat man fan, not a Christian Bale fan.

Well the Facebook page was up there before the video — they mentioned the Facebook to Christian Bale in the video. I don't think the parents are trying to become celebrities off the back of their kid. Maybe it's just me, but I think at that age I'd be more appreciative & amazed of well wishers from far & wide than I would be now.

I'm not saying just about Christian Bale. E.g. it says on the page that someone anonymously sent him a Batmobile from Amazon. If a dying kid can get a bit of solace from gestures like that, I don't see the harm.

Madam_X

bootybouncer wrote: »

you know what way ure using it.........your the type of person who calls his buddy a retard if he picked up diet coke instead of coke, all the while a person in a wheel chair with many disabilities is beside you..................................seems to be the new buzz word

Not new. People were using it as an insult in the 80s.

Idiot was once used to refer to intellectually disabled people too and there isn't an issue with that as an insult.

Rasheed

Madam_X wrote: »

Not new. People were using it as an insult in the 80s.

Idiot was once used to refer to intellectually disabled people too and there isn't an issue with that as an insult.

Still and all, I think 'retard' should be flagged as offensive and archaic.

That and 'handicap' were great school yard insults to throw around 15-20 years ago but they aren't just harmless insults, they insinuate a deeper meaning.

It reminds me a bit about the thread on the golliwogs. No harm to say it 30 years ago but it's not the job to be saying it now and people would hold you up on it.

Tar.Aldarion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0auwpvAU2YA

Feathers

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0auwpvAU2YA

I think he makes some valid points

blatantrereg

Feathers wrote: »

So you want the media/social media to report that he phoned sick kids, when there's no reporters & then only kids whose parents are the type of people who won't publicise it? Fan of irony at all? :pac:

That's not irony. Irony's when what you're expressing is the opposite of what you literally say.

It might easily be reported if he contacted a sick kid who wasn't already in the spotlight. It just would seem like he was doing it just to be nice, rather than generate PR.

Dj Grimreefer

If he was really concerned he should have visited in person, instead he got on rge bat phone I'm Alfred this is lame