Christian Bale has always seemed like a fairly decent guy to me. Sure, he’s got a demonstrated temper and can be a bit of a jagoff to journalists, but he knows when to rein it in and has seemed to calm down over the past few years. Maybe it was because he got paid to beat up Mark Wahlberg and, in the process, got the fighting tendencies out of his system? Speaking of which, I’d love to know how Mark Wahlberg would have truly reacted to this situation described in this story since, you know, he’s such a badass to think he could singlehandedly kill all of the terrorists.

Apparently, Bale (perhaps taking a cue from a recent similar action from Ryan Gosling) stepped in and broke up a violent altercation in a shopping center. According to eyewitnesses who spoke to The Enquirer, Bale did so primarily because there were many families and children present, and it only took a few moments before he had the situation under control:

The Dark Knight Rises star Christian Bale is a real-life superhero!

The actor, who plays Batman in the film, saved the day recently when he swooped in to break up a fight between two homeless people in his California neighborhood.

The British-born actor, who lives in the affluent Brentwood section of Los Angeles — where celebrities such as Jim Carrey and Arnold Schwarzenegger also reside — spotted the heated exhange in a busy shopping area over the holiday period. And as soon as the 38-year-old saw fists flying, he raced to the rescue.

“I could not believe what I was seeing,” said a nearby store owner, who witnessed the event. “It wasn’t clear what the people were arguing about — but it soon became apparent that their conversation was heading toward a violent incident. One of the homeless guys cocked back his fist and was just about to strike the other man — but out of nowhere Christian Bale appeared and got in the middle of them! Christian acted like a referee and told the homeless men to take it elsewhere — and away from all the families that were enjoying the peaceful surroundings.”

According to eyewitnesses, as soon as the action star said he was calling the police, both men quickly ran off.

“Christian then got a standing ovation from the passers-by,” added the source. “He smiled, saved his hand in the air to thank those clapping, and went into Starbucks to grab a coffee. Christian swooped in like a bat to save the day — just like the caped crusader does in the movies!”

[From Enquirer, print edition, January 30, 2012]

So Christian Bale decided to step in the middle of a street fight and tell the guys to “take it elsewhere,” but, uh, exactly where would homeless guys decide to take the matter? I know, it’s just an expression, but I have to wonder if either of these dudes realized that the man coming between them was actually Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. Now that would be a much better tale to tell than admitting the guy from The Notebook told you to cool it.

Meanwhile, here are a few photos of Bale on December 8 of last year, when he departed from the Four Seasons in Beverly Hill and delivered “a friendly hug” into the arms of his waiting assistant. Maybe he’s just a much friendlier guy than we ever imagined?

And of course, here is Bale in costume while filming The Dark Knight Rises on Wall Street on 11/6.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet

Here’s the first teaser trailer for The Dark Knight Rises. It looks… um…er… is this a movie about prison gangs? Because the prison scenes in the first Nolan-Batman movie were the lowest, most boring parts of the whole series, in my opinion. Anyway, I’m getting a whole “this is an allegory of the American Prison State” vibe. Just like The Dark Knight was an allegory of the murky Iraq War and its post-Saddam descent into hell, with the Joker as the living embodiment of anarchistic chaos and the faceless insurgency. Maybe Bane is a living embodiment of the violent rejection of America’s white, elitist, entitled ruling class and the physical, emotional and economical imprisonment of the working and middle classes? So what’s Catwoman then? The Robin Hood figure? I don’t know.

I don’t mean to get so down on it – I’ll definitely be seeing it, and it totally looks good. Judging solely by who gets the screen time, I’m saying that Michael Caine is really doing some “proper acting” and that I’m not really afraid of Anne Hathaway’s portrayal of Selina Kyle/Catwoman. I’m a little bit afraid that they’re styling Selina to look like Audrey Hepburn, though.

As for Bane and his mask and how you can’t really understand him… maybe you get used to translating him after his first scenes. Or maybe Nolan will hear our bitching and redub Bane’s scenes.

On last thing – OMG, Matthew Modine! Who did he blow to get a part in this movie?

Photos courtesy of Fame, WENN, screen caps from the trailer.

I don’t really know why any of this is such huge news, but everybody is running with it like it’s something huge. Christian Bale has given an interview where he claims (not for the first time, mind you) that this third Christopher Nolan-directed Batman film is his final one. He’s said this several times – he only wanted to do three, Nolan only wanted to do three, and Batman geeks knew – as soon as they heard that Tom Hardy was cast as Bane – that Batman didn’t have many places to go past this third installment. First, Bale’s comments – which include some nice words about Anne Hathaway (insert conspiratorial side-eye here):

Christian Bale’s days as a superhero are over. “I wrapped a few days ago so that will be the last time I’m taking that [Batman hood] off,” The Dark Knight Rises star tells the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “I believe that the whole production wrapped yesterday, so it’s all done. Everything’s finished. It’s me and [director Christopher Nolan] — that will be the end of that Batman era.”

The era began in 2005, when Bale joined forces with Nolan to reinvigorate the flailing franchise, based on a series of graphic novels. (Previous actors who played Batman include Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney.) The first film, Batman Begins, earned $372 million worldwide, though its sequel The Dark Knight (costarring the late Heath Ledger) fared much better, earning $1 billion globally.

The Dark Knight Rises features some old characters — Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) and James Gordon (Gary Oldman) — and introduces some new faces: Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Bane (Tom Hardy).

“In many ways, [Hathaway] has the hardest job,” Bale, 37, says. “There are a number of people who feel that the Catwoman role has been defined previously. So, I always saw Anne’s role as being the toughest job of any of us.”

As for Gordon-Levitt, 30? “Joseph is a very intriguing guy,” Bale says. “He’s somebody who truly seems to love acting. He’s a good, smart guy.”

The Dark Knight Rises hits theaters July 20, 2012.

[From Us Weekly]

So, it’s done. And much like the Jason Bourne films, I think that Nolan and Bale will stick to their guns and refuse to do another film, no matter how much they’re offered (Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon said no to the money as well for a fourth Bourne film). But much like Bourne, the franchise has simply made too much money for too many people, and producers aren’t going to let some artist-types have the final say – not without disinterring the corpse and slapping it around a few times. So even though Bale and Nolan are done and The Dark Knight Rises will probably make a billion dollars easy and everyone will be happy with the Nolan trilogy, somebody will say, “Hey, we should get another director in here and start all over again with a new Batman!” It’s inevitable. So HuffPo asked – Who should the next Batman be? You can see HuffPo’s list here – they have some decent names on the list. But I just have one word for you good bitches: FASSDONG. Michael Fassbender as Batman? OH DEAR GOD YEEEEEEEESSSS. I should mention this too – if Daniel Craig is ever done with James Bond, lots of people want Fassbender for Bond too. I think he might be better as Batman though?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Over the weekend, The Dark Knight Rises was filming exterior scenes in New York City. The only major actors who were spotted were Christian Bale and Joseph Gordon Levitt. We know who Bale is, obviously, and he’s in his Bruce Wayne gear in these photos – oddly enough, he’s looking rather douchey and Patrick Bateman-ish, which is uncomfortable because Bruce Wayne should never remind us of one of Bale’s old characters, especially one that was a chainsaw-wielding serial killer (spoiler?).

The fan-boys and girls are still trying to figure out JGL’s cop character, though. Is he a good cop or a dirty cop? Is he going to help Batman or not? The Hollywood Reporter identified JGL’s character as “young special assignment cop John Blake”. JGL looks cute as a cop, right? But he still has such a baby face. Adorable.

Interestingly enough, there are rumors that director Christopher Nolan wants to use the Occupy Wall Street protests within the film – although in these photos, the scenes seemed to be filming around Trump Tower, which is apparently standing in for Wayne Enterprises. The film is now going to move to New Jersey.

Photos courtesy of Fame & WENN.

****SPOILERS (I think?)****

Here are some photos from the Pittsburgh set of The Dark Knight Also Thinks About Rising Sometimes, the third installment from Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise. We don’t have access to the pics of Christian Bale in his Batman gear, but hey, you’ve seen that junk before, so it’s not biggie. What I will say is that Bale doesn’t look like he really did the work to bulk up for this third film. His body says to me, “Eh, I’ll let the suit do the work, damn it.”

I guess this Bale working on a fight sequence with Bane, played by Tom Hardy, only I’m pretty sure the meaty bald guy that you see in these pics is actually Tom Hardy’s stunt guy/body double. But I do think that’s actually Tom Hardy in the Bane costume, with the ventilator on or whatever. I wish I could do a SPOILER for the ventilator, but I have no idea what it’s for or anything. Is the film keeping it real?

Other thoughts: I still don’t like Tom Hardy bald and meaty. He looks so gross. I hope Bane is worth it, and maybe it will be different once we see the film. Also, I’m really starting to worry about Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. We haven’t seen any photos of her, and there’s been barely any talk about how she’s doing. I’m worried.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

The Best Supporting Actor statue has gone to Christian Bale for his role as drug addicted former professional boxer Dicky Ecklund in The Fighter. Bale was widely considered the front-runner in this category, having swept the awards this season. There was some speculation that Geoffrey Rush might win, but it went to the ultimate method actor, who was somewhat defensive about his preparation for the role when Ryan Seacrest asked him about it on the red carpet. Bale told Seacrest: “When you get a right role… you want to be obsessive, you want to immerse yourself as much as you can… People deserve, people are paying money for it. You want to bust your ass.” And that ass busting was recognized by the Academy tonight.

In Bale’s acceptance speech he said “Bloody hell. What a room full of talented and inspirational people, and what the hell am I doing here, in the midst of you? Such an honor.” He thanked director David O. Russell for “making [our work] mean something.” He joked that he’s “not going to drop the F bomb” like Melissa Leo as he’s done in the past. Then he thanked his co-stars and gave a shout out to the guy he played, Dicky Ecklund, and even plugged Dicky’s website and personal training service. He thanked Mark Wahlberg, his team, and got choked up when he thanked his wife, calling her his “mast to the storms of life” and his daughter, saying “Our little girl, who’s taught me so much more than I’ll ever be able to teach her.”

It was really sweet, you could tell he was trying to be professional, and he was. Bale was thoughtful, funny, emotional and struck just the right notes in his speech. It’s his time and he wanted to show that he deserved this. He surely did.

Photos updated! Credit: WENN.com

These are photos from Christian Bale’s recent appearance at the SAG Awards, where he looked freshly shorn – sort of. I’m assuming that Bale is getting back to his Batman/Bruce Wayne body, and that he will soon be shaving most of this crap off. Speaking of Christian’s yo-yo dieting and bulking up, Christian would like to piss on my shoes. Your shoes too. And mostly he’d like to piss on one critic’s shoes, because that critic had the audacity to mention, in his review of The Fighter, that Christian Bale is somewhat known for his repeated body transformations for various films. The critic’s words were “trademark weight loss”. Which… is honestly one of the nicer ways it has been referenced. Some would call it Bale’s “gimmick in lieu of a true Method” or “an eating disorder that causes Bale to binge and purge for a paycheck.” Anyway, Christian spoke about the criticism and he lost his temper a little bit. Not as bad as the infamous, taped obscene rant, but it has its moments:

Christian Bale has received both praise and awards for his role in The Fighter, but it seems he doesn’t take criticism quite so well. He wants to ‘piss on the shoes’ of a critic who wrote about his ‘trademark weight loss’ acting.

The actor, who famously had an on-set meltdown filming Terminator: Salvation and also a real-life falling out with his mother and sister, was speaking to the Australian edition of Empire magazine.

The star has previously lost weight for roles in the movies The Machinist and Rescue Dawn. Discussing his role as crack-addicted welterweight fight Dicky Eklund in The Fighter, for which he also lost weight, he said: ‘To be honest, I find it laughable that it’s considered to be some f-cking gimmick – it’s so patronizing. For God’s sake, do people not understand what a pain it is to do? It’s as though it’s some comment about, ‘Oh it’s easy for him, because he’s done it a bunch of times’. It’s not easy, it’s not fun – it’s horrible. I would never pick to do that, but it’s a part that I like and he’s a welterweight and he’s a crackhead. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never seen a welterweight with any fat on him – or a crackhead. So it’s just what you end up having to do. Somebody told me that somebody wrote something about my “trademark weight loss”. I’d just like to piss on that guy’s shoes.’

[From The Daily Mail]

Matt Damon lost a ton of weight for Courage Under Fire, and then he thinned up for The Talented Mr. Ripley, and then he bulked up for The Informant. Tom Hanks memorably did weight gain and then weight loss for Castaway. There is method to it, and I don’t doubt that it is difficult for Christian to lose and gain so much weight for the roles that he takes. But after a while, it does seem like a gimmick, you know? Doesn’t it seem like every other film he does has him doing some extreme diet? So should we just say “Oh, that’s His Process” or should we begin to question it just a little – “Hey, why do you only take roles that have you doing some radical transformation to your body? Do you have issues? Do you think if you had a healthier relationship with food you wouldn’t be such a surly jag all of the time?”

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I don’t mean to be a bitch, but I don’t buy that Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg posed for this Sports Illustrated cover. I’ll buy that Mark Wahlberg – star and producer of The Fighter – will do anything to promote his movie, and that he’s not afraid of doing some old-school shirtless photos (Marky Mark!!!). But I think the two bodies on this cover are models, and SI just ‘Shopped Mark and Christian’s heads in. Because if they actually posed for it, it would be tragic on many different levels.

Meanwhile, both Christian and Mark (and the film, and Amy Adams, and the director) got Golden Globe nominations this morning. Good for them – except for David O. Russell, who is supposed to be one of the biggest bastards in the industry. Seriously, Russell allegedly makes Michael Bay look like a fluffy bunny. Anyway, Mark spoke to USA Today this morning right after the nominations came out:

“I’m just so excited. We just wanted to make this movie, we didn’t think anyone would see it, never mind have all this stuff happen. For everyone to be recognized for their hard work and commitment to portraying these people, who I’ve become close to, it’s thrilling.”

That’s Mark Wahlberg talking to USA TODAY’s Maria Puente.

He said one of his first calls was to Micky Ward, whom he plays in The Fighter, a true story about a pair of brothers and their effort to win a welterweight championship. “He’s thrilled. I told him to make sure his mother and family know about it.”

Wahlberg was at home in L.A. with his family when his agent called at 5 a.m. with the news, which woke up his 11-month-old baby. “It was the best possible wake-up call.”

[From USA Today]

LMAO, he actually said “Tell your motha.” Andy Samberg is probably having a good day. Good for Mark – I know many of you think he’s a douche, but I like the man he’s becoming, and I think he’s making some really smart decisions for his career. I have a lot of respect for him in a professional sense.

Cover courtesy of HuffPo.

There was a big screening of The Fighter over the weekend in NYC, and all of the leads came out to support the film. Mark Wahlberg (lead and producer) wore an extremely shiny suit, Christian Bale actually showed up (shocking) and everybody’s favorite princess Amy Adams worked this black batwing Roland Mouret dress. I find it particularly hideous, honestly, but it does crack me up a little how Amy is trying to be all “high fashion, street” with this look. It’s like she doesn’t even realize that to so many people, she’s just a redheaded Disney princessy sweetheart. People like my mother. Have I ever told you how much my mother LOVES Amy Adams? Like, my mother is loony for her, obsessed with her. I had to promise to take my mom to see The Fighter, and all she really knows about it is that Amy is in it. This is some sample dialogue from my mother: “She’s the prettiest princess, ever!” Me: “Mom, the film isn’t even about her – she’s playing second fiddle to Mark and Christian.” Mom: “I don’t care. She’s always going to be my pretty princess.” Hand to God.

Here’s Mark and Christian…

Can I just say something? I’m really, really shocked at how “up for it” Christian Bale seems – like he’s making the effort to not be a surly, grumpy “artist” for the promotion of this film. Is it because of a potential Oscar campaign…? Well, The Fighter has a pretty good chance at some Oscars this year, and everyone involved is doing a pretty good job at selling this movie, I have to say. It helps that Mark Wahlberg is not only the lead, but a producer, and Hollywood movers and shakers seem to really like Mark – remember, he was the only actor in the cast of The Departed to get an Oscar nomination. And he’s a solid producer too – did you know that in addition to his success with Entourage, he’s also executive producing In Treatment and episodes of Boardwalk Empire, both highly acclaimed shows? So is Mark ordering Christian to just suck it up and campaign for an Oscar? I would love to know their dynamic, I really would.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Last night was also the big premiere for The Fighter, that “based on a true story” film about “Irish” Mickey Ward and his crackhead brother Dicky Eklund. Mark Wahlberg plays the boxer, and Christian Bale is crack-tinged Oscar-bait as Dicky Eklund. These are photos from the premiere – Christian brought his wife Sybil and Mark brought his wife Rhea (who is gorgeous, and really, really tall). Also there: Amy Adams, who plays Mark’s love interest in the film, and this was one of her first red carpets since having a baby – she looks gorgeous too.

Anyway, out of the whole cast, Bale is the one likely to be the centerpiece of a big Oscar campaign. That means he’s got to dial down the surly jagoff and talk more about his process, including his stunning physical transformation to play Dicky:

It takes a lot of training to be a boxer, and sometimes, even more to train one. Christian Bale, no stranger to epic weight loss, shed major pounds again for his role in the upcoming film, ‘The Fighter.’

Speaking to Latino Review, Bale said that to play the gaunt trainer Dicky Eklund, he, “was just running like crazy. I could just run for hours on end and I felt really healthy.” But did he get a little extra boost? “Oh I do a lot of coke whenever I lose weight,” he joked, clarifying, “I’m not sure if it’s so funny for this movie, to say that.”

While Bale slimmed down, his co-stars had to bulk up. Leading man Mark Wahlberg, who plays boxer “Irish” Mickey Ward, did a lot of boxing – for quite a long time.

“The movie was a go then it fell apart and I just continued to train” he said. “So after four and a half, well, three and a half years, I felt confident enough to go in there and be believable as a boxer who could possibly win the welterweight title.”

Though he still has the boxing ring he trained with in his home, it isn’t getting much use.

“As far as the regimen, my new regimen consists of a bottle of red wine and a lot of food,” Wahlberg told the site. “And I’m enjoying myself, but my wife is like, you know, ‘You – you’re starting to look really bad.’”

And as for his onscreen wife, played by Amy Adams? She was ready to rumble.

“I looked like a girl who couldn’t punch, which made me want to punch him,” she said of director, David O. Russell. “So I actually took just a couple boxing lessons, and that was fun, with Mark’s trainer, who was fantastic. And then we just did some fight choreography. That was my biggest concern. I didn’t want to hurt the girl that I was fighting.”

[From Huffington Post]

Bale has done this whole “radical physical transformation” too many times, in my opinion. I mean, I get it, he’ll do anything for the craft, he’ll do anything to make the character authentic. But I also kind of wonder if Bale has issues, I guess. We’ll see – my guess is that Bale screws up his Oscar chances somehow. Granted, I think he’ll get the nomination (for Best Supporting Actor), but I think he’ll mouth off to the wrong journalist or he’ll just pitch a fit at the glad-handing needed to campaign for an Oscar.

Photos courtesy of WENN.