Christian Bale and his wife at the premiere of The Dark Knight in Spain last night. Credit: WENN
A lot of you speculated that the assault charges against Christian Bale were brought by his mother and sister after he refused to give them money or otherwise snubbed their requests for assistance. You may be right - and they may have had a secondary reason for reporting the non-assault to the police and making the story bigger than it needed to be. TMZ reports that his mother and sister are planning on selling their side of the story to news outlets for a lot of money. Just because Bale won’t hand money over to them doesn’t mean they can’t cash in on their famous family member. All of this bad blood is said to stem from Bale choosing to live with his father after his parents divorced over 15 years ago:

Sources tell TMZ Christian Bale has had a long-standing difficult relationship with his mom and Bale’s camp believes the motivation for the whole assault charge may be $$$.

We’re told when Christian’s mom and dad divorced nearly two decades ago, his mom forced him to choose between the two. Christian picked his dad, and father and son moved out to L.A. in 1992, where his dad became his manager.

Somehow Bale’s relationship with the mom has been “bitter” ever since. Bale has told friends his mother was extremely jealous of both his and his dad’s success.

Last Sunday, Bale let his mom and sis into his hotel suite, though it was by no means an olive branch. As we first reported, there was physical contact, but somewhere in between a push and a brush. No one fell and no one was hurt.

Christian’s camp thinks this could be nothing more than a shakedown. We’re told some newspapers and mags have already been throwing around “insane” amounts of money for the story, so mom and sis could score big.

But our sources say the cops are starting to see the whole thing Christian’s way, and the charges could disappear faster than Batman.

[From TMZ]

That’s pretty deplorable if it’s all true. TMZ talks a lot of crap about people but they have solid information and they had exclusives in the Heath Ledger story ahead of the rest of the press. So it seems accurate and that would explain how Bale got arrested for what should have been a private family argument. We’ll have to see who has his mother and sister’s “exclusive!” story about Batman’s raging temper and what kind of lies they spin in their attempt to get some money and revenge on Bale for not paying them the boatload of cash they feel they’re owed.

Christian Bale at ShoWest on 3/13/08. Credit: Nikki Nelson/ WENN
Note: I wrote this article before realizing Helen had also covered the subject. I like her take on it too, and there are two additional stories here about Bale that I wanted to publish.

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Christian Bale was a relatively low-profile actor before hitting it big with Batman and making headlines with an alleged verbal assault on his mother and sister at a London hotel on Sunday. More details are emerging about the the confrontation and perhaps his state of mind at the time. Bale was brought in voluntarily for questioning at a London police station yesterday on allegations of a “Class 4″ verbal assault. He was released without charge after five hours talking to police and has released a statment that he did not assault his mother or sister. Bale will return for another round of questioning in September, but that seems relatively common in these type of cases.

Sources say that Bale may have pushed or shoved his mother, but that any physical contact was minor. TMZ reports that it was either a “push” or “brush” but that Bale’s mother didn’t fall and she wasn’t hurt. His mother and sister did not make a report to police at the time and waited until the next day to go to their local precint, which referred the matter to London police. To his family’s credit, they are saying it is a family matter and a sensitive situation and are refusing to comment further.

The Daily Mail says that Bale lashed out verbally at his mother after she insulted Bale’s wife of eight years, and that he’s been depressed due to Heath Ledger’s death. Given the source it’s hard to know if that’s based on anything more than their imagination.

TMZ has a story of Bale’s bad mood on set that may paint a picture of a worn out guy with little patience. They say he was shooting Terminator 4 “last Friday,” which to me means Friday July 19, at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico and that he yelled and screamed a the director for messing up a shot, saying “I will kick your ass” among other things.

Bale has been promoting Dark Knight all over the world and now that I hear he’s been spending long hours on a film set I can see where he might be frustrated and tired. That doesn’t excuse freaking out at his mom, but I’m not about to pass judgment on this guy for getting upset. We don’t know what relations are like between Bale and his family and there’s probably a lot of bad history there. He’s not doing drugs or driving drunk and he didn’t hit anyone or even break any furniture. In my mind this is a family issue and a minor incident. He needs to work on controlling his temper and taking breaks if he’s having trouble coping, but there’s no reason to vilify him based on this first negative report that’s come out about him.

Christian Bale and his wife Sibi Blazic at the US premiere of The Dark Knight on 7/14/08. Credit: L. Gallo/ WENN
Christian Bale’s mother Jenny and sister Sharon have been talking to the UK press about the incident that lead to Batman’s arrest, and the more I hear the more innocuous the whole situation seems.

Jenny Bale, 61, and daughter Sharon, 41, today said an “incident” had taken place but refused to give any details.

Sharon originally denied knowing anything about it but they said: “OK, there was an incident but the police are dealing with it.

“It is an extremely sensitive situation. There is nothing more I can say.”

The alleged assault was believed to have taken place on Sunday night at Park Lane’s Dorchester Hotel, where Bale was staying ahead of the screening of the new Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight in London’s West End on Monday night.

Mrs Bale said: “Yes I was there and yes there was a family situation but the police are handling it and I cannot say anymore at the moment.

“We didn’t call the police to the scene. I can’t say anymore but we didn’t call the police.”

Mrs Bale and her daughter are said to have gone to a police station in Hampshire to make the allegation, which was subsequently referred to the Metropolitan Police.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “A 34-year-old man attended a London Police Station on Tuesday by appointment and was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault.”

Sources said the argument was over a long-running family dispute.

Telegraph

I kind of get the impression here that the family was having a verbal argument and a complaint was made by another person in the hotel, which led to police being called. When they questioned the family it seems that his mother and sister made a statement that has led to further investigations.

While my family doesn’t yell at each other – you only know you’re in the bad books because suddenly no one will call you, and it takes you six months to realize you forgot the dog’s birthday or something – I know families who have terrible screaming matches that really seem to clear the air. As Celebitchy pointed out, many families have long standing feuds and we don’t know how this played out for them, but to me it seems like a loud, verbal fight.

The Telegraph article states that Christian has only returned to see his family in Wales once since he moved with his father to Los Angeles in 1995, so I think you could safely assume that they aren’t very close. I live away from my family and talking on the phone and emailing pictures isn’t the same as seeing them in their own environment. Christian’s family may have visited him in America but the tone of the article suggests this isn’t the case.

Christian is to return for questioning in September, but as yet no charges have been laid. Police are continuing to investigate.

More details have come out about the Christian Bale’s arrest, which wasn’t an arrest in the US sense in that’s what they always call it in Britain when they question someone. Bale voluntarily went in to talk to police today after his mother and sister reported an alleged assault almost a day after it happened.

The incident occurred at a London hotel on Sunday, Bale’s family reported it on Monday, and he went into the station today for what sounds like a scheduled appointment with officers there.

Bale denies that he assaulted anyone and says he fully cooperated with police and that no charges have been filed.

Christian Bale’s attorneys released a statement Tuesday denying assault allegations that led to the actor’s arrest in London:

“Christian Bale attended a London police station today, on a voluntary basis, in order to assist with an allegation that had been made against him to the police by his mother and sister,” the star’s lawyers said in the statement. “Mr. Bale who denies the allegation, co-operated throughout, gave his account in full of the events in question, and has left the station without any charge being made against him by the police. At this time, there will be no further comment by Mr. Bale.”

[From People.com]

TMZ reports that Bale wasn’t charged with a physical assault, he was charged with Class 4 Assault, which is “verbal intent to cause alarm” under English law. [thanks MSat]

There’s been a lot of speculation about what actually happened of course, but we can’t point the finger at his family or at Bale without having more information. Many families have long standing problems and feuds and it’s difficult to know how this played out or if it’s just a false report for whatever reason. There are comments online that claim that his sister and mother were drunk and/or on drugs and were looking for money and recognition from Bale since he was in town. [Thanks Blunted]

We have no way of verifying if that’s true or if someone just made that up. As it is, it sounds like a family fight and a verbal one at that. If someone was hurt at all you assume that Bale would have been charged or they would have reported it sooner - no matter who is to blame.

Bale has been released on, um, bail. People reports that he is scheduled to return for more questioning in September. It sounds like standard procedure in this type of case, but I have no way of knowing that.

Christian Bale is shown last night, and his car is shown leaving the station today. Credit: WENN

Christian Bale was arrested and brought in for questioning by London police today after his mother and sister reported that he assaulted them at a London hotel. The incident is alleged to have taken place on Sunday and was not reported to police by Bale’s family members until Monday. The police are said to have waited until after he attended the premiere of his blockbuster hit Batman: The Dark Knight in London last night before arresting him. There are very few details about this case and it’s interesting to say the least:

Batman star Christian Bale was arrested today by detectives investigating claims he assaulted two family members.

The Hollywood actor was being questioned by police at a central London police station, sources said.

Bale, 34, is alleged to have lashed out at his mother and sister in his suite at Park Lane’s Dorchester Hotel on Sunday.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: ‘A 34-year-old man attended a central London police station this morning by appointment.

‘He was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault. He currently remains in custody.”

Bale was arrested just hours after he attended the first European screening of the new Batman blockbuster, The Dark Knight…

The two women, who live in Dorset, went to a Hampshire police station yesterday to make a formal allegation.

[From The Daily Mail]

Bale is alleged to have assaulted his mother Jenny, 61, and his sister Sharon, 40. According to People, Bale has “not been formally charged” and suspects in England are put under arrest before their questioned. His name has not been released by police, and he is only being described as a “34 year old male.”

Bale has been married for eight years to Sibi Blazic and they live in LA with their three year old daughter, Emmeline. He has three older sisters and grew up in South Wales. His father was a businessman who was re-married to Gloria Steinem at the time of his death, and his mother is a former circus performer. He has been a vegetarian since the age of six. [Details from Wikipedia]

You don’t hear much about Christian Bale and kind of assume that he’s a family man who focuses on acting. He’s not someone you would think has a temper and I wonder what really happened with his mom and sister. Maybe they have a long standing feud and he lashed out verbally. Hopefully it wasn’t a physical assault.

Christian Bale is shown last night at the UK Premiere of The Dark Knight. Credit: WENN

The Dark Knight had ticket sales of $155.34 million in its opening weekend, which is the highest grossing weekend for a film in history. Spiderman 3 was the previous record holder with $151 million its opening weekend in 2007. Dark Knight set several other records at the box office including highest midnight opening at $18.5 million compared to Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith’s $16.9 million. It also made $67.85 million in one day to bring it to the top of the single day box office vs. Spiderman 3 at $59.8 million.

It was the best three day weekend in history at the box office thanks to The Dark Knight and second place Mama Mia, which earned a respectable $27.6 million to make it the top musical opening ever.

Advance buzz for the film coupled with Heath Ledger’s untimely death may have helped increase sales, but given the subject matter and what a great film it is it was likely to do incredibly well without the added tragedy. Critics have lauded the film’s dark plot, depth, and fast-paced action. Some reviewers say that it’s too frenetic and overlong, but they’re in the minority. The film has a 94% aggregate critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

[Details from The Huffington Post and Wikipedia]

Pictures from AllMoviePhoto

The New York City premiere of The Dark Knight was held at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square theatre last night. The film has gotten tremendously good reviews (with the exception of New York Magazine) and many theaters have already sold out tickets for the July 18th opening.

Heath Ledger has gotten such amazing reviews for his performance. Although his untimely death obviously created a lot of press for the film – his last full role – I think he would have gotten nearly as much had that tragic accident not occurred. From the looks of it, he gives an out-of-this-world performance. And I think that’s a great legacy to leave behind – Heath isn’t getting all this attention just for something heartbreaking, but because of his amazing talent.

“Working with Heath was fantastic,” said Christian Bale, 34, who reprises his role as the Caped Crusader. “He steals the movie and I’m quite happy to say that. He’s a hell of a talent and created a joker that’s very iconic and one that will become a classic portrayal of the ages.”

Michael Caine, 75, who plays butler Alfred Pennyworth in the film, which opens July 18, noted the “intensity and ferocity of the performance.”

“But when we were sitting down between takes, he was completely ordinary,” Caine added. “He wasn’t preparing himself or saying ‘Please leave me alone, I’ve gotta do this.’ Instead he was talking to me.

“We would sit and chat and have a cup of coffee, then suddenly they’d say, ‘We’re ready, Heath,’ and he’d go straight into The Joker,” Caine continued. “His energy was astonishing, especially when it came from this kind of calm. He’s certainly the best villain I’ve ever seen.”

[From People]

I’ve noticed that Christian Bale always speaks about Heath Ledger in the present tense. He did the same thing in an interview on The Today Show yesterday morning.

Heath’s family attended the premiere, but very quietly. Heath’s father, mother, stepmother, and older sister all avoided the red carpet (which was actually black) and sneaked into the theater quietly to watch the film. Upon exiting, Heath’s father Kim gave a thumbs-up to the press, and said the movie was “very good.” By pretty much everyone’s account, The Dark Knight is great – and a true example of Heath Ledger’s immense talent and dedication.

Here are Christian Bale and Sibi Blazic; Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard; Michael Caine and Shakira Caine, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Conrad, Ed Westwick, Gary Oldman, Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann, Nestor Carbonell, Robert Buckley, Edie Falco, Ethan Hawke, Aaron Eckhart, Karina Smirnoff, Chin Han, and Blake Lively at the premiere last night in New York City. Images thanks to WENN.

New York magazine film critic David Edelstein is public enemy number one after publishing the first negative review of the much-anticipated and lauded The Dark Knight. Batman fans and fellow critics are firing back, saying he just didn’t “get” the film. Edelstein gave the film a negative review due to violence and “morbid” factors that seem related to Ledger’s untimely death:

The momentum doesn’t carry through, though. The Dark Knight is all fits and starts—fitfully suspenseful, fitfully scary, one jerky episode after another with jolts of brutality to keep you revved up. When Burton’s Batman came out, some prominent critics griped that the film was too violent for kids. Wait’ll they get a load of this.

[NY Magazine]

Many of the latest superhero movies are not for kids. The films are a darker take on the masked hero genre and are aimed at an adult audience.

It is unfair of me to judge the sole negative review of the film based on the trailers I’ve seen. Of course it seems “dark” and “morbid,” but I think that’s the point.

Those who have seen The Dark Knight and feel differently about their beloved Batman 2.0 have answered the call with their support. Even fellow critics have called the review “complete bulls##t.”

The so-called critic chimes on the morbid elements of the film, calling it “noisy, jumbled, and sadistic.” This isn’t just a matter of complaining about a critic who didn’t like a film that I loved, this guy really doesn’t get the movie. It seems like he’s just attacking its more brilliant aspects just to spite its otherwise perfect rating.

[First Showing]

Time and Rolling Stone are just a few of the major outlets that heap praises on the film. It had a 100% aggregate rating on Rotten Tomatoes until Edelstein’s negative review pushed it down to a 94%.

Edelstein seems to think that the role was a negative outlet for Heath Ledger as the Joker and lef to the unstable mental state which contributed to his death. As Slash Film points out, that may have been what ruined the movie for Edelstein and should not be something you’re thinking about while watching it:

David found Heath Ledger’s performance “painful to watch”, calling it “rave and rage and purge acting”.

“Scarier than what the Joker does to anyone onscreen is what Ledger must have been doing to himself”.

Oh C’mon… Yes, Heath Ledger’s death was tragic, but if you are thinking about his tragic personal life while watching this performance - Trust me, you aren’t watching the movie right.

[Slash Film]

The film is sure to be a huge hit at the box office. It opens in the US on Friday and advance ticket sales have been massive. Given all the other rave reviews there probably won’t be many more contrarians like Edelstein.

Photos are stills from The Dark Knight, thanks to AllMoviePhoto.

I do my best not to fawn over male celebrities. But Christian Bale is my one weakness. Okay and John Krasinski. And Anderson Cooper. But that is absolutely it. Christian is on the cover of the August UK issue of GQ to promote The Dark Knight. Here are a few highlights:

On how his wife handles how he embodies the roles he plays:
“Well, she gets to sleep with a whole bunch of different men, so maybe it’s not so bad for my wife. And she does it without having to feel guilty!”

On being a father:
“The time I spend with my daughter is just incredible. She’s a little rascal. I’m not going to miss her growing up for anything, not even for Batman. I’m certainly not going to be one of those fathers who picks up a photo of his daughter and has regrets about not being around.”

On doing risky stunts even though he has a family to think about:
“People will say, Why is he still doing this crazy sh*t?’ But I’m OK with that. I’d like my daughter to see me do these things, as I saw my father do some crazy things and learnt to appreciate it. My philosophy isn’t so much, ‘Do what I do.’ It’s more, ‘Whatever you do, do it completely. Don’t do it half-arsed. Do it more than anybody else would.’”

On getting recognized:
“I used to think about it way more when I wasn’t being recognized. For ages I used to think people were staring at me and I’d think, ‘Oh no. I’ve been spotted by some deranged fan.’ But of course they hadn’t really recognized me at all, I just had something unsightly coming out of my nose. But anonymity back then was a lovely thing. Strangely enough, I was wandering around Rome recently, I think I was having insomnia issues or jet lag while filming, so I kept going for these late-night walks. I kept seeing this same guy wandering around some evenings, looking a little lost like me. I waved and said hello to him one night — it was f*cking Viggo Mortensen. So it seems the only people who spot me are fellow sleepless actors in Europe!”

On the possibility of winning an Oscar someday:
“Look, I’m human, and I guess I can’t help but like it when someone says they like my work. If someone wanted to jump up and down and go, ‘You nailed that part. You. Are. F*cking. Fantastic,’ of course I’d be riding high on that. But before that happens, I’ll just have a couple of drinks with my pals.”

[From PopSugar]

And just as importantly, here are the photos.

Batman: the Dark Knight hasn’t premiered yet and Heath Ledger’s performance is already garnering high praise. The word Oscar was thrown into the ring by Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers.

It’s typical of Ledger’s total commitment to films as diverse as Brokeback Mountain and I’m Not There that he does nothing out of vanity or the need to be liked. If there’s a movement to get him the first posthumous Oscar since Peter Finch won for 1976’s Network, sign me up. Ledger’s Joker has no gray areas — he’s all rampaging id.

[Rolling Stone]

In fact the entire movie review is about Ledger, not the main character Batman. Bale’s portrayal of the black masked hero has taken a back seat to the pure brilliance and flat out talent that Heath radiates in the new thriller. Former “Batman” movies were, in my opinion, cheesy at best. Gotham city was a playground for neon encrusted villains who turned a superhero thriller into a hokey dramedy. There is reportedly nothing funny about the darker and deeper version that Christopher Nolan has brought to life. The new addition to the superhero hype has fast become one of the most anticipated movies of the summer.

Christian Bale, who plays Batman, spoke with Parade about his work with Heath. He sang his co-star’s praises and hopes that Heath’s work as the Joker will be celebrated and be given the respect it deserves.

“I hope in a small way that The Dark Knight can be a celebration of his work,” he says. “Not like the hideous circus after he died, which I felt was an invasion of a private life. This movie is not a personal home video. This is what he did. I hope people will embrace that in the correct fashion.”

[From Parade Magazine via People.com]

Judging from the trailers and reviews for the film, his performance will speak for itself. When I first heard Heath was cast as the Joker, I immediately thought “Really? That scrawny pretty man is going to be the ham sandwich-crazy Joker?” I stand corrected.

The Dark Knight is out in the US on July 18.

Here are two trailers: