Comments on: Producer defends Christian Bale’s tirade on Terminator: Salvation set

By: Bruce

Bruce — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:39:21 +0000

‘For those who have never been on a movie set or in a rehearsal room or on a stage with actors while they are acting: your opinions on the matter, I’m afraid, do not matter.’

Are you insane? As the viewing public our opinions matter more than anyone’s, far more.

There is absolutely no excuse for what he did. Calling someone out for making mistakes even in anger is something we all do at times. But there is a big difference between snapping at someone and a four minute tirade.

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By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:51:47 +0000

Yea he got pissed off, and yea it was a dick move. But who hasn’t flipped out before? I mean, I hear a lot of people saying “my work is stressful and I deal with it” but you don’t really. Sure you may hold it in at the time, but eventually someone is going to pay. Anyone who claims to have never blown up at another person is either a saint or lying. This situation is only a big deal because he is famous. If he weren’t it would be just another dude going off on an angry tirade, which is a rather common occurrence.

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By: mimi

mimi — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:14:08 +0000

I just read this book by Malcolm somebody called “Blink,” basically about cognitive psychology, how we process information quickly and unconsciously. One chapter discusses the brutal behavior of police officers after a high speed chase when they catch the suspect. He suggested that this out-of-control behavior is almost inevitable because the fight or flight center of the brain is going crazy and overriding more rational responses. My guess is that something like this was going on with Bale too. He was in the middle of an emotional, maybe violent scene, his heart rate already revved up, his fight responses in overdrive, and his rational brain couldn’t recover in time to save him from making an arse of himself. I’ll bet he is bewildered and mortified when he hears this tape now, in a calmer context.

From what I’ve heard about the guy, he’s decent to reporters, likes to stay to himself, is crazy about his kid and has managed to hold his marriage together for a number of years. I say, leave him alone and move on.

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By: Lisa

Lisa — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:17:42 +0000

He probably started yelling at them to make them stick up for him. lol.

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By: Tag

Tag — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:01:30 +0000

“cinematographer was screwing with the lights”
Press agents often fabricate events in order to generate news about a movie, and there are some unrealities in this story that lead me to think this is a fake. First, on union movies, cinematographers don’t touch the lights. That could be a serious union issue, about as bad as touching the President’s daughter. You’d have to be completely crazy and never want to work again. So, I don’t believe it. Also, there is only one “cinematographer” or the Director of Photography, the rest all have specific titles, such as “clapper/loader.” “Cinematographers?” C’mon… Also, I find it totally unbelievable that the “cinematographer” would leave his camera to adjust a light during a take. If you’ve ever seen a movie crew in action, that’s about as believable as a machine developing awareness and deciding to exterminate humans.

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By: nony mouse

nony mouse — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 11:57:44 +0000

put this in context – someone gets upset with someone at work for messing up TWICE and has a go at them. It’s all over in a couple of minutes.

but oh no. it’s the end of the world as we know it.

the internet – a waste of good photons.

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By: FF

FF — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:29:19 +0000

Eponymous, it’s that kind of thinking that limits the genre. I want to see a good performance AND the robots. It’s why I wasn’t keen on McG being the directer. I’d feel safer in the hands of someone with an established form like Cameron. McG just is yet to break out of ‘the guy who did Charlie’s Angels’ in my mind – even if or maybe particularly given that he had a hand in Supernatural.

I don’t think it’s too much to ask to raise the bar on a sci-fi or horror film. Even Robert Pattinson had to be ‘talked down’ on set because he was so involved in playing Edward that he was getting tricky to direct.

It’s not themselves that actors take to seriously per se, it’s what they’re trying to achieve. I’m sure they know at the end of the day there’s more than an element of the ridiculous in their job but I’m still glad they take their work seriously enough to be bothered to put something true to the character on screen. After all, if they’ve been cast it’s not just them on the line. A lot of people end up out of jobs if a film tanks: directors, crew, writers. You’re as good as your last movie in Hollywood.

While I wish Bale had reigned it in, I do understand what could have made his response so overblown.

So in short, yes I’m all for taking *the part* seriously in a genre that requires seriousness – sorry, but he’s not doing comedy.

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By: santacruz

santacruz — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:06:38 +0000

…actors that take themselves too seriously are such a turn off…

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By: NotBlonde

NotBlonde — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:00:11 +0000

Sparkle the point is that your job is different than this one. You can have an opinion about it, it’s just that people will dismiss it if you don’t have any experience with whatever you have an opinion about.

I’d bet dollars to pesos you completely ignore anyone who has an opinion about your job that you think is incorrect.

Christian Bale has a lot to deal with and a lot of stress and he dealt with it probably not in the best way but there is no way you can tell me that you’ve never gone off on someone for any reason. People reach a breaking point and as we have virtually no context for why this happened, all outside opinions, including mine are kind of moot.

Anyway, I can understand why he would be pissed. I don’t particularly like acting, nor do I want to do it for a profession, but I’ve done plays and being in that acting zone takes massive amounts of concentration and someone messing about where they shouldn’t be would piss anyone off.

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By: carta

carta — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 04:30:26 +0000

Um, Mojo, when has Jessica Alba been known for behavior that disrupted the set? Define diva behavior – and please don’t pull out some story you heard that she was rude to someone in a store. I mean, actual disruption of work caused by her. Cause there isn’t one and your example makes no sense at all. I don’t understand how someone who’s never had a DUI, never gotten fired from a job, always works her ass off to promote her movies gets lumped in with Lindsay Lohan. Because she doesn’t smile in paparazzi pics sometimes? Whatever.

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