The Christian Bale Explosion – My Two Cents

Rodney 114 Comments

I was going to leave this topic alone, but since every post I put up that involves Bale, Terminator or Batman turns into a discussion about his verbally abusive explosion, I thought I would throw my own two cents on the pile and give you a place to talk about it.

First off, in case you were under a rock for the last few days, here’s the story.

Gossip Mongers TMZ shared:

You may remember that Christian Bale went nuts on the set of “Terminator Salvation” a few months back, threatening to stop production and beat some serious ass.

The incident was audiotaped, and it’s amazing. It happened on the set after a director of photography accidentally ruined a scene by walking onto the set. Bale lost it, screaming, yelling and threatening to quit if the bosses didn’t fire the dude.

Now let me start off with the notions being thrown around that I do agree with.

Professionalism Bale going off on this guy is clearly unprofessional. Did he have the right to be upset? Yes! Was he validated in calling him out on his blunder. Of course. He points out rather bluntly, but still accurate that the Director of Photography, Shane Hurlbut interfered in the shot. Now Bale had to redo the shot, not because he messed it up, but that someone who should have known better messed it up.

It was unprofessional of Hurlburt to ruin the shot, but it was just as unprofessional to take the offense to this level. He makes it sound like this is the first time anyone has ever messed up a shot before. I am sure there are countless times when a boom mike is present, or someone else forgets their lines, or any number of other goofs made on set that mess up a shot. But he goes off on the guy like he was just told the last 16 days of shooting was done with a camera with no battery.

But this is why I didn’t post about it Yes, this was all the big buzz in the last couple days. And I love a good story about a celebrity goofing up, or making fun of a celebrity just as much as anyone else. But this just seemed to be blown out of proportion in the media as well.

Every website posting about this is talking about Bale like he is out of control and a menace to society. Yes, its known that the guy is pretty intense, but this is what directors seem to love him for. And this incident did happen around the same time that he had a domestic dispute with his mother and sister which had the police involved, so that just made this even more gossip rich news.

But in reality all we have here is one incident of an actor getting angry on set and losing his kittens in a fit of rage. I am not defending him, but If the story had been how Bale beat Hurlburt to a pulp then it would have been about rage crossing the line. That would have been a different story.

Rage is a spiraling emotion. It needs to feed. Bale might have a temper, and this might have been the thing that set him off, but I listened to the clip. He is just in blind rage. He didn’t hit anyone, he was just venting. The problem for Bale’s momentary madness was that no one else was escalating the situation, which only escalated Bale, but that is what Rage wants. It wants a reaction to satisfy its lust for conflict. It wants someone to cry, or fight back or SOMETHING. Sounds to me that he wasn’t getting that so he tries harder. You here bits of Hurlburt saying he is sorry and Bale continues to berate him saying he didn’t think he was sorry. Then he calls for the guy’s job and demands he leave the set etc. But he just yells. He isnt assaulting anyone physically (despite threatening to or gesturing), and he isn’t destroying set pieces and going all Hulk Smash. He is just yelling.

Everyone else seems to be in a state of shock and rightfully doesn’t get into it with Bale. Those who voice concerns that he should calm down are met with more rage. He is not thinking clearly, and to hear someone tell him to calm down translates into simple opposition – not logic.

I am sure later on cooler minds prevailed and everyone calmed down, apologies and reality set in and they went back to the business of making movies. I heard no stories saying “.. that was the last of Hurlburt’s career” so I am sure it was nothing but an isolated conflict. Hurlburt kept doing his thing, Bale kept doing his too. Life goes on.

So in short, it was no big deal. They managed to catch him with his pants down and we got to hear it all online.

Guess celebrities are humans after all.

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114 thoughts on “The Christian Bale Explosion – My Two Cents”

    1. Kittens are the source of cuteness and innocence. What transpired with Bale was the complete loss of that.

      Also it pays tribute to the 80s John Hughes era when “he’s going shit kittens” became pop culture vernacular.

  2. Sorry. Any pampered highly paid movie star who speaks like that to a crew member is a class a shot head. Get a angry sure. Yell if you want but listen to how overboard bale goes. I have been on many sets with bigger and better actors then bale and have not seen any of them Behave even close to this. He’s a dick with anger issues and mcg is a pussy who should have stepped in and told bale to chill out. For one the guy didn’t walk Into the shot. Listen to what is being said. Obviously the camera is pointing at bale who Is doing a scene with bryce Howard. Bryce Howard is off screen giving bale something to react too and the dop walked behind her into Bales eyeline. Not on camera
    he just distracted bale. Which is bad but in. I way deserves the reaction bale gives.

    It’s funny though. Especially how
    He
    Doesn’t drop the us accent. It’s gets more and more
    Bronx-ish as is it goes On

  3. I think it was kind of a big deal. No one should have to put up with rampages from a co-worker like that crew guy did. Maybe the guy made a mistake, so what. Christian Bale never screwed up a line before? I hate seeing celebrities acting like spoiled brats

  4. well I think that it’s not a big deal. He wasn’t acting profestional at the time and I don’t think anyone can be profesional all the time. But unfortunately for him he works in a profestion that requires cameras and boom mics to be on him all the time and so if he ever lost his cool plenty of recording equiptment could be there to get it.
    I would feel sorry for him if it wasn’t for the fact that he gets paid milions of dollars for what he does.
    Though I must say i’ld never heard about this until just now and at first I thought you were talking about his explosion at his mom and sister.
    And it does sound like you’ve taken a few psych classes by the way you talked about rage. Or maby it’s cause your a dad.

  8. I completely disagree, there is no excuse for this behaviour.

    I have worked on set with actors for many years years, I honestly have never seen this, Christian Bale was completely unprofessional, it doesn’t matter what the DOP did there are always retakes and he needs to get off his high horse and relax!

    I’m thinking he’s on some sort of meds or steroids to behave in this manner. I hope he never gets hired again.

  9. Um has anybody here ever worked in a fine dining kitchen?

    That kinda thing is pretty commonplace.

    Also like the guy says this happened around the same time that there was the big family bust up and I’ve not really heard of any similar behaviour before or since, could be that one was related to the other or they both have a common root that we’re not aware of?

  10. At the end though, he did say to the DoP that he was was a “nice guy” but they were done professionally. So clearly this was a rant at thayt bruce bloke on a professional level rather than a personal attack, albeit an over the top one at that. I think CB was right to get angry, but maybe that wasn’t the best way to vent it. reminded me of my wife when she vents at me lol.

  11. well they should let us know who taped it…idk why its anonymous,
    if it was me that taped itr, id want people to know it was me that taped that fucker act like a 2 year old in a place full of professionals

    i would be sooo famous..

  12. Bale got angry on the set of T4? Ok. But before judging the guy, has anyone been on the set of a movie? This happen at least once on every shooting due to too much pressure, there is nothing extraordinary here. He crossed the line and he certainly shouldn’t have done that, but like Rodney said he didn’t physically assault anyone, he just yelled. This is just the kind of incident that happen all the time on shootings.
    I won’t give names but someone from my family saw an international movie star yelling on props men. It was unfair because what was happening wasn’t the props’ fault. But the actor hadn’t taken any day off for 2 months and a half, not even a sunday. Yelling was not right but he was tired, had a lot of pressure on him, and trouble happened in the middle of an action scene. Except this incident, the guy was very peaceful and nice to work with. I don’t compare the two guys but I compare the two incidents : it’s the same thing. Do we need to debate about this ? No.

  14. Why did my post get deleted. I’m genuinely curious as to why this is such an important topic?

    I fail to understand what his flip out has to do with anyone or anything.

    1. Your post was removed because of the way you expressed that concern. Your degrading remarks that anyone would discuss this topic were not appropriate, nor was the response it gathered (which was also removed)

      Its a movie site and its movie news. We talk about stuff. If you don’t like the topic at hand, find one you are interested in discussing or just leave it alone.

      We keep these comment sections pretty open for discussion and even disagreement, but we do not tolerate inappropriate behaviour suggesting our readership “Go outside, or read a book” or suggesting that our lives are not worth living because we participate in this site.

    2. Fair enough, apparently I’m slightly too crass. Sarcasm aside, I still don’t understand why it’s an important topic. I mean, it’s not just this website, you can’t even turn on the radio without hearing about it.

      I could understand the big deal if he like, killed someone, but this is just another case of a celebrity being a baby. They whole lot of them are.

      I’m confused as to why this has been blown so far out of proportion.

    3. Robert, you missed my point entirely.

      While the rest of the internet was all a tizzy with this I deliberately did NOT write about it. But since most of the posts that were batman or terminator related got overrun with the topic I addressed it.

      And in addressing it I stated that I didn’t think this warranted a reaction like it did. Its no big deal.

      He acted unprofessional and over reacted in rage. Shit happens. People are acting like its the first time someone yelled at someone on a set. No big deal.

  15. First of all, ALL of this is taken out of context. We DON’T know if how long he was doing this take, how long the take is, how much preparation there is for it, if there’s any make-up etc…daylight conditions…and so on and so on…

    And we also don’t know how facets of Bale’s off-screen life are going. I’m a former military officer, and trust me personal life affects soldiers’ performance and attitude greatly. He also doing three big productions this year.

    Also, MANY MANY actor’s and athlete’s have a hard time AFTER huge successes such as TDK. Super Bowl performances etc…Also, Bale may just feel a bit overshadowed by Heath Ledger, as he is getting the Oscar buzz. Although I believe that Bale is just as talented as Ledger.

    1. i dont see y he would feel overshadowed by ledger he may as talented but ledger gave an unforgetable performance as the joker and bale was just the same as he was in batman begins

  18. To everyone that says “Do celebrities have a right to vent…yadda yadda”.

    You’ve never been on a film set before. It’s a different beast than than real world jobs. Long hours. High tension.

    What Bale said in that clip. That wasn’t rage venting. That was angry frustration. If the DOP did that to someone like Gary Busey or James Woods. They would have beaten the crap out of him.

    The DOP should have known better to do what he did during the shot. Knowing Bale throws himself into his acting during the take, and being warned previously to not get in the eye line.

    That’s rule #1 during a shot. Do not make noise. Do not get in an actors eye-line. Anyone of a lesser position would have been fired on the spot for ruining a take like that on a film.

    Now was Bale not a fault. NO. All 3 were IN THE WRONG during this. Bale, the DOP, and especially McG who didn’t step in to stop the whole thing from escalating.

    The thing they should be worried about is whoever leaked that clip. They’re heavily in the wrong and crap like that might cause Bale to walk out on production.

    1. well i work 12 hours in a factory and there is a shit load of tension there and im able to keep my cool when someone makes a small mistake.

    2. i say its fine to blow up if your the most important part of the movie….but to use that as a excuse is sad…..fuck this guy if he is mad cause of working long hours…..if he made $25,000 a year then fine but he doesnt…he is fuckng rich,,,,he can buy a clock that sings jack johnson and a swedish hooker EVERY NIGHT TILL HE DIES…that is a shit reason for hom to blow up….i liked it better when it was “hey im a good actor and i care” ….pfft be mad when u loose your job u had for the past decade cause gas prices got to $5 a gallon for diesal!

  19. Here’s where I stand.

    Yes, we heard about the incident months ago. No, the DOP wasn’t fired and there were no further problems with Bale and the DOP as far as we know.

    Yes, Bale should have kept his cool. It could have been one small thing added to a heap of other things, and he had to vent. There may have been other reasons why the DOP got in the shot.

    But here’s my problem

    Why do we need to hear the “tapes”? Why have they surfaced-several months after the fact? Yes, it most likely was a member of the crew, who released the outtakes/tapes to the media, either for $ or for payback of ‘taking verbal abuse by cast or crew’. I cannot think of a third reason.

    That person is more despicable. In giving this out to the press -perhaps well after Bale and Hurlbut worked it out, shook hands and apologized to one another (I would think that they did at some point- why, nobody thought to audio tape or film behind the scenes footage of that? No,) but now, if “the public perception” is that Bale is behaving more like a nut and not so much as an actor, then the speculation (already started) will be that it will hurt his career, not unlike that of his 3:10 To Yuma co-star Russell Crowe.

    So, the person(s) who put this out…could they, in effect, damage the very film they themselves have worked on? Not entirely, I’m sure. But if one less person goes the movies because “Bale is a hothead” whose time was wasted most of all?

  20. As said before, this happens all the time. It’s just that this time it got recorded and spread like wildfire.
    My old film teacher used to work on set and even he said to me that tempers flying on set is far more common than many people would like to think.
    Also, if you’re seriously not going to watch his movies anymore because of this little spat then I feel sorry for you. A viewer should divorce an actor’s personal life from their work on screen and the former should not influence the latter.

    1. i doubt it will have any effect on his movie’s performance, by the time the movie comes out the heat will have gone done. and i agree decideing not to watch his films just b/c of this is fucked up.

  22. i could write a 7 page essay on how this guys an asshole. even in interviews. that audio was waaayy too vulgar for what i thought christian bale would ever say
    the guy has issues…but hey…hes a good actor

    btw…funniest thing ive ever heard

    “im sorry…we can make adjustmenmts…sorry christian..”
    “NO!!!! NOOOOOO!!! DONT SHUT ME UPPP!!! IM GOING TO KICK YOUR FUCKIGN ASS!!!!!”

  23. the guy has issues.

    but i bet john conner has a lotta shit going down all around him and he saved all mankind so wtf.

    if the dp has a history of doing this distracting stuff
    someone has to take him aside and tell him to stop it.
    how hard is that.
    he still gets hired.

    bale comes off as a whiny little spoiled unbearable little brat tho. lol.

    1. thats obviously the first time that DP has done that on a set before considering he still has a job, and after listneing to it again i realize that McG should have done something about it b/c for one he starts telling McG what he should when McG is the fucking director, dammit McG grow some balls would ya

    2. HAVE TO AGREE I WOULD BLOW UP….AND AS I STATED BEFORE…if u are bale u want this movie to be awesome cause it will have a good good amount of force that could make it one of the top 5 highesst grossing films of all time…when its something like that u dont want to fuck it up…until he kills a hooker im not worried haha.

  26. I’m a film student who rarely gets the luxury of shooting on actual film.

    If I was shooting and somebody screwed up a shot doing something so entirely and insanely unprofessional? I would probably flip out myself. To this degree? Probably not. But if I had any say at all that person would be gone before the camera rolled again. And I wouldn’t be politely asking them to leave, I don’t have that much control.

    Like you said, was this too far? Maybe. But was it what everybody is making it out to be? Absolutely not.

  27. im glad that you guys are finally saying something about this. i understand why you havent, but im glad something was said. first off, bale was out of hand with all the yelling. second, is anyone really surprised this would come out of bale’s mouth? im not. bale is the most intense guy in the biz as far as i know. on the set of “reign of fire”, i heard that matt mccaunhey(bad speller) and bale went to blows for real simulating a fight because both are intense and into their work. if you fake a fight, but really trade punches during filming, which is in the movie, then yelling is the safest thing bale gave that DP of “teminator:salvation”.

  29. This never happened on Rescue Dawn I think. I mean maybe it’s because Herzog knows how to deal with this sort of thing since he dealt with Kinski so much.

  30. Did anyone watch Colbert Report last night. He had Steve Martin on the show and while Colbert was doing his monologue, Steve Martin walked in front of him and Colbert went off on him….Bale style….solid comedy gold. Get that clip on comedy central its hilarious

  31. First off, this happens ALL THE TIME on movie/tv sets. And based on how the DP handled himself by just quietly waiting for the lashing to end then it’s clear that this isn’t a unique situation.

    Now what bugs me is the fact that it was recorded and sold to TMZ. Yes, I care about the underpaid gaffers and underlings of the movie world, but a good performance REQUIRES an actor to be emotionally involved in a scene. And if an actor has to start worrying that his coworkers are going to record his every move (or even bait him) on a closed set then he’s not going to be able to focus on the scene and the audience gets robbed.

  32. i didnt bother reading any of thsese comments cause i just want to state my too bits….hopefully i get no replies lol ……WHO CARES…IF IT WAS ME I WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME THING…..dont walk in front of the camera douchebag!

    and hey nick…the director of photagraphy walked in front of the dam camera!

  33. I’m a crew guy. No actor, or crew guy should throw their star power over someone else like that. But it happens all the time on these silly movies. Behind closed doors.

  34. Look, here’s the thing…I’m an actor. A good actor has to find a way to get into the emotional frame of mind of their character. Christian Bale is playing John Conner – an average joe thrust into a leadership role in a guerilla warfare situation against a dispassionate, brutal adversary. Get into a life or death mindset in a battle zone. Real or imagined, the emotions are real. It takes a couple minutes to turn off in ideal conditions. Now…imagine being ripped back to reality. This is likely what happened. It doesn’t excuse it, but it does explain it.

    1. I have to agree with that. If this was some lame romantic comedy then I’d be harsher towards Bale. But this is Terminator. He’s in the mode of playing a guy struggling to save the human race from robo-austrians. You have to be fired up to believe in that scene so to see a guy in a plaid shirt strolling around then then you’re going to get distracted.

    2. well it says that he was doing an emotional scene w/ the actress that plays kate brewster , but you cant deny the fact that he obviously has some anger issues, b/c this isnt the first time he went into a rage at on the movie set.

  35. This may fall on deaf ears, but I would never let anyone speak to me that way, I don’t care how important or powerful. I understand that he is the man, and has a temper. I understand the the ast. Dir. of photo made a mistake and needs his job as well, but if that ass spoke to me like that, I would have hit him with a chair. When he wasn’t looking of course.

    1. So you would sink below his level and make it physical? I honestly do not know how anybody can take somebody serious in the first place that has a tantrum like that. Personally if it was happening to me I would just take it and try like hell not to laugh, because laughing will only make it go on longer.

    3. Yes, but the guys job was not to walk into scenes during filming more than once. That was disrespectful to the actors through action, rather than words.

    4. thats true jeremy, but the dude apologized and bale fuckin threatens him, truth is bale thinks just b/c he has a few great movies that makes him god or something, but hes not hes as human as anybody else and bleeds just as easily.

    5. Haha, I can’t say if he thinks of himself as a god or not, but I do highly doubt that is what he was thinking about when he when on that tantrum. Ever get ridiculously pissed off before? I have, and everything blurs out and the only think you think about is getting your words out straight and not doing something harsh. I bet his only focus was to cuss the guy out because he was pissed off with him for walking on the scene and not going over and kicking the guys ass. I would be surprised if he even heard/understood a word that came out of the guys mouth.

    6. i have gotten pissed off b/c, but not over something that rediculous, and not after the other person apologized there is this little concept called forgiveness read the bible and youll understand it.

    7. Well the guy had clearly done it before, and his apology accepted before probably. If a person keeps doing it, eventually somebody is going to snap. Bale may have been so focused on getting his words out that he did not comprehend the guys apology. Also, after all was said and done, Bale may have actually apologized to him for his outburst, but we were not provided the segment of the aftermath. We were only provided the audio needed to make some money off a stupid situation. If you want to bring the Bible into it, then “judge not, lest you be judged too.”

  36. I think Bale had every right to be pissed off guys trying to get his job down and somebody keeps messing up the scene after having to be told no too but i feel he made his point after 1 maybe 2 mins :P

    Strangley no one here thinks McG should have been running a tighter ship.

  38. Also, I totally agree with Grave. And the other Eric, how could you not like him anymore? See this is the kind of stuff that bugs me. “Oh hey that celebrity acted like a normal person in a frustrating situation, I dont like him anymore because he got mad and wasnt the most cordial person on the planet” I just dont get it. And honestly, I HATE some actors but i love their work and I’ll watch their movies as if I’d be their bff in person. Christian Bale is an amazing actor and undoubtedly he is going to bring gack the terminator franchise. This guy is gold. Batman and terminator? Friggin awesome.

  39. My opinion is yeah, we heard someone get really pissed and it was recorded and shown everywhere. Some job sites you can’t do this, some you can. On a movie set you can. My biggest thing is this, where was the director in all of this? Why in the world would the DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY be messing up a shot? Did you know that the DP is almost even second in command in scenes? He is in charge of the costumes and how they look and the lighting and he gets to have an opinion on when the shot is done after the director says yay or nay. I think it was totally called for on Bale’s part to get pissed. We don’t even know what shot it was. Maybe it was this ridiculously intense scene, maybe it was right in the middle of the most climactic part of the movie and Bale is in full control and doing his thing when bam! not the gaffer or some extra but someone as important as the DP screws up the scene. That had to have been extremely frustrating. yeah Bale went overboard but I would excuse him for the anger. I would have expected the director to get upset with the DP, pull him aside and say if he does that again he’s fired because his position in the film is so important.

  40. @ Rodney and Jeremy K.

    I take it that you guys understand what i said?

    anyways, i agree with J.K about he said!

    Heath was a great actor and unfortunatly that role might have caused his death! but at least the tried to get help and stuff…..i’m sure he must have been angry and all sometimes but that other dude Jon is kidn of rite too its okay to blow up but not for 3 min…

    and he is an actor and if u like it or not he does have an influence on fans especially young ones that loved him as batman and unfortunaly (or not) he is someone to look up too and that was a really bad thing for him and to happen now when he is on top?!

    i feel sorry and not sorry for him!

    1. Role models are found in strange places. My ex-wife used to watch that Girls Next Door show. Worse show ever by the way. The playboy bunnies go to a signing at some book store, and there are these little girls lined up to get their autographs. Little girls looking up to women that get naked for money as role models. I am not saying what they do is wrong, but just as it seems wrong to look up to a person that throws a four minute tantrum, it seems just as wrong to have a kid looking up to a playboy bunny. It is the world we live in, and very few actors out there are probably worthy of being a role model. It does not stop people from looking up to them, though.

  41. Well I heard the audio tape and it seemed to me that the guy didn’t just ruin one shot but did the same thing another time before. I understand Bale’s frustration because it happends to me and everyone else at one point or another. This news is very trival but because he is a celebrity its like he has to be a good person all the time. If someone blows a fuse and yells at me because i was being stupid I take it and hope fully smooth things over later. Was it right for Bale to blow up? Yep. Was the guy being stupid? Yea. Should Bale have yelled at him like he did? Maybe not. Dose it matter? Not really.

    1. Everybody’s an ass at least once in their life. A majority of those people are asses more than once. Not something to judge a person’s entire life over. To quote a move: “Why is it if you build a thousand bridges your a bridge builder, but if you suck one dick your a cocksucker for life?”

  43. Well the guy was having a rough time anyway. There was alot of shit with his family (who reportedly were trying to cash in on his success, and then made bogus claims when he closed his wallet), plus he had all the TDK press stuff to do at the same time. to say the least the man has been on a hectic schedule for sometime now, look at his imdb page, the guy hasn’t even stopped to take a dump over the last few years. considering this is a big budget movie, the DoP wouldd be on a big salary presumedly. The mistake was beyond stupid…………

    Just wondering, is this the way people wanted batman to sound?

    I prefer the grumble myself….

    apparently he became a vegetarian after reading charlottes web, total asshole…

    1. Four minutes is not really that long a time. I’ve been angry enough to hit shit before, usually a door or whatever I can find that is non-organic that I won’t breaks. I will be pissed the fuck off for a good ten minutes, then once I cool down I look back and wonder why I got pissed off while rubbing my sore hand. Admit to my mistakes, make an apology if need be, and life goes on. We don’t see the aftermath, so we don’t even know how the ending is.

    5. So who is worse? The guy wasting time walking into a scene multiple times, or the guy that wastes time to yell at the guy for walking onto the set? Yelling at the guy may actually save time, as it will make the guy walking onto sets think twice before doing it again. For all we know, had he not been yelled at he might have done it another ten times that day and wasted who knows how many more minutes.

  45. I am a fan of Christian Bale, but there is nothing I have ever seen that did not make me think he was probably a bit of cock in real life. I do not hold that against him. If anything it only strengthens his roles. I am a bit of a cock in real life too. Very few people are not. Sure it was a little unprofessional to explode to that magnitude, but it was a little unprofessional to fuck up a scene. If I remember right, it sounded like it was not the first time the guy walked into a scene. No offense, but to those that complain about how Christian Bale is able to get away with it while people in the /real/ world would get fired for such an action, it just makes you sound jealous. I sure as hell am jealous, there has been many a times I would loved to be able to do that. Last note, nobody really knows what was going on before or after the scenario took place. We get a piece of the action without knowing the whole story.

  46. Yeah but what if he is like that when he gets angry??

    like you are saying you know him well enought now to say that was just a moment of anger and nothing more??

    what if he is like that when he gets angry??
    i mean after that he did go to the police because there was a chance he assualted his mother and sister and i am sure he went ballistic with them too!

    In front of cameras and on red carpet he may appear sweet and gentle and carring but he is an actor after all guys! and i’m sure this wasnt the first time he acted like that!

    And if we follow the logic of comments and what people are saying wasn’t heath ledger suppose to act crazy too when playing the role of the joker!???

    Back then they said that the role of the joker was consumming him and he needed to take pills and was stressed and stuff…but we didnt hear things like oh he went ballistic on the waitress at a restaurant or a possibility of hitting someone on the face! so that logic should stop you know…

    but anyways i’m just a kid who caress…..thats what i think!

    1. If he shows a repeated tendency to do this, it will hurt his career. No doubt. But he has been making films for a while now and this is the first outburst of its kind to get media attention? If he hadn’t had the police called on him over a domestic dispute, this never would have seen press.

      But one guy getting upset and losing his shit is not earth shattering news.

    2. Using Heath Ledger as an example to make your point kinda fails. If his role as the Joker is what caused him to start taking medication then it is no different that if Christian Bales role has caused him to be more aggressive. Instead of being all aggressive, Heath Ledger took a different route which may have lead to his death. Your right though, “we didnt hear things like oh he went ballistic on the waitress at a restaurant or a possibility of hitting someone on the face!” We got the death of a fairly decent actor who did an amazing job in his final role. I would not be at all surprised if Christian Bales outburst was partially related to the state his character was in during whatever scene they were doing. Actors do some pretty crazy stuff to get into their part, as you noted with Heath Ledger. If I remember right, Johnny Depp put himself physically through heat exhaustion to see how he would react if he was like a sailor back in the day subjected to heat day in and day out on board a ship to prepare for his role as Jack Sparrow. That’s my two cents, take it as you like.

  47. I can’t believe this blew up as much as it did on the net. Things like this happen ALL the time on movie sets, they just don’t always become public knowledge. Add to that, that we have no idea what had happened before the events in this video – AKA maybe Bale was super stressed about that guy doing it multiple times or something and this was the time he finally lost it.

  48. I agree. I don’t think its something that should ever have come out. So what, the guy went off on somebody, I’ve gone off on people before too. Was it not appropriate? Sure. But, it’s not the Watergate of 2009. I guess that guy will think twice before screwing up another shot, won’t he?

  49. While your article proves that you have an opinion, I disagree that it shows “celebrities are humans after all.”

    Why, you might ask?

    Let me ask you, Rodney… Do we allow other humans at work to ‘vent’ their frustations the same way? I suppose if one of your co workers accidently deleted a story you’d written you’d hurl F-bombs for over three minutes, and then try to get him fired. You may be a Movie Devo, but I doubt it. If Bale were anyone else with a different job he’d have been fired, not the other way around.

    But it’s forgivable becasue he was working and being an actor is so intense all outbursts are acceptable. It was a pivitol scene!

    Bullpoo.

    Can you imagine what the world would be iike if everyone did this?

    1. But you have to think of the environment. Most people cant openly cuss or swear at work…Bale is told to in lines that he reads… most people cant openly have sex or make out with someone at work….actors and actresses have seens like this all the time… i bet on a construction site where bad language is common a forman could go off on someone for screwing up just like this and nothing would happen…at Bank of America not so much…

    2. Well, in a “real world” situation, such a matter would first be handed over to HR, then after a few weeks or months of processing, the case would be handled. After a few interviews for HR to assess the situation, a punishment would have to be determined. If the same situation occured where one worker verbally abused another coworker based on the coworker’s error, it would seem fitting that most likely a slap on the wrist for both would be the appropriate punishment. The company must please the coworker who got verbally abused yet also not lose the talent (i’m translating skilled actor to skilled worker in this situation) by firing them thus having to dish out a severance package. So to answer your question, if what christian bale did happened in another profession, it would still result in nothing happening.

    3. So what happens when the drector of photography does something really wrong. Is it a lashing? Give me a break you can’t rationalize this down to being okay? I don’t buy it. Is it overblown, for sure. But IMO his behavior is unacceptable. And you know what he probably got ten million dollars for it and everyone will congratulate him for a job well done. Maybe the goverment can give him a bail out for bad behavior too.

    4. RonSalon, as you may have noticed I never defended him. I stated a few times that it was unprofessional to react at this level.

      He was justified in being upset. No one said he couldn’t be upset. That is normal. But for him to react like this is inexcusable.

      Just like ANYONE would be acting unprofessional and inexcusable doing the same thing in any environment.

      I never said it was forgivable, just not that big of a deal. People get angry all the time for all sorts of reasons. Should they launch on someone like this? No.

      And I have seen people at work act like this. Sometimes people just get upset. Does it cost them their job? Sometimes. But in most cases if your employer has half a brain he would sit you down and make you see the fault in what you did. If it happened often, sure. Fire the guy.

      You make it sound like I endorsed his actions. I did not. Adamantly. But the reaction to cause such an internet sensation and buzz over something so mundane and commonplace is what I think is “no big deal”

    5. Rodney, you’re right, you never defended him. My biggest gripe is that some think this is, as you said, commonplace. Maybe that’s what’s wrong and why this irks me. All the money these people make you’d think they’d be euphoric–and we are so willing to let them act this way. I bet everyone poo pooed him too. I can hear it now. Mr. Bale we are so sorry. Can we get you anything, a gram of coke or a lemon water? How about a nice happy ending from the prop girl? Sally can you come over here, please… LOL!

    6. Its not an issue that some think this is commonplace… it simply IS.

      People are all different and are going to react differently to different situations. Conflicts arise. What happens after or how people deal with it is also different.

      There is clearly some etiquette, but people make it sound like he is a monster after one or two incidents of him getting upset and doing nothing more than yelling (which I am sure was discussed rationally with him and all parties involved at some point outside of the much publicized recording)

      Everytime you hear a prolonged honking, or a flipping of the bird at your fellow man someone is dealing with rage or conflict.

      Try working a customer service counter in retail sometime. Those people are fucking heroes. All day long they get a lineup of people that are ragers just waiting for a fight! lol

    7. Bales rant was nothing new to me. lol

      I used to work in a pillow factory years ago “blowing” feathers in casings. (horrible and tedious job, btw). Another worker two rows down blew a gasket because his machine clogged up. He dropped F-bombs left and right and even heaved a plastic chair across the room. The only thing that happened to him was a sit down with the supervisor. 30 minutes later he was back at his station pumping about pillows.

      Another situation quite similar took place at a cabinet company. The cutters screwed up an order and the floor manager went bonkers. He later called a meeting and apologized to his workers for the tantrum.

      I think Bale overreacted, sure, but I’ve been in businesses where at one point someone threw a fit similar to Bale.

    8. Methos and Rodney,

      Wow, I have never in my thirty seven years heard someone act like this and I have been a hairdreser for eighteen of them. Maybe it’s because evey one likes me or that I never do anything wrong. LOL! Just kidding. I don’t even know what I would say if some went on like Bale. Maybe I would offer them a phone number to an anger management class:)

    10. Oh please. Bale would not be fired for yelling at someone in another workplace. He is the star. Have you never worked with someone who is a star – a super performer – a golden boy at your place of work who is allowed to get away with any number of ridiculous things? Then you should never work in a law firm where partners routinely call associates or assistants or paralegals into their office and scream at them for an hour behind a closed door so the person feels good and trapped for a mistake that the partner himself made. Happens all the time. And other partners’ reaction if the lowly associate dares to complain? To ask the yeller to send an apology email. That’s it. He gets to go and yell at the person again the next day if he wants to.

    11. “Can you imagine what the world would be iike if everyone did this?”

      I swear I hate people like this. Everyone doesn’t have the same job and the very idea that some sort of global unity even exists is stupid. “What if everyone drove big red trucks with hoses and ladders…”, “What if everyone only ate broccoli for lunch…”, “What if everyone was a car salesmen…”.

      People with this closed minded view of how life works are the people who deserve to get Christian Baled at work.

    12. Urkel said: “and the very idea that some sort of global unity even exists is stupid”

      What?

      A great sage–Buddha said, “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.”

      I’m sorry words and concepts can cause rabid feelings such as ‘hate’ if you read them or hear them. Why are you so averse to unity?

      The path this country and for that matter, biosphere, is traversing shows just what we all collectively think– Take a look around, man. Mc Mansions and overly inflated egos to match tossed with wars against people for control of a planet polluting substance is not where we should be heading.

      Call me a dreamer, I don’t care.

      The very fact that this has blown up like it has only reinforces the point–IMO. People find this behaviour outrageous becasue we all have Bale’s same thoughts. Ego being allowed to act as it wishes, and then rewarded with a extraordinary life can only make for a hurtful society. I’m sorry, but I don’t think someone should be allowed to talk to a co worker like that and I don’t give a shit where you work. A geographical excuse doesn’t cut it.

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