• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Christian Bale Loses it on Terminator set

This isn't the first time he's had a breakdown on the Terminator set. Shortly after The Dark Knight premired he had a similar breakdown and screamed at a production assistant - going so far as demanding that he be fired or he was leaving the set.
 
This isn't the first time he's had a breakdown on the Terminator set. Shortly after The Dark Knight premired he had a similar breakdown and screamed at a production assistant - going so far as demanding that he be fired or he was leaving the set.

Uh, that's what this incident is. That happened July 18th, the day TDK premiered. And then that Sunday was the mom/sister thing in the UK.
 
^ I didn't read the actual article - my opinion of Bale can't get much worse because I've heard more than just this from people I know who are working on Salvation - and just assumed it was another case of someone leaked it before McG could stop them.
 
Oh, phooey. Stuff like this happens all the time on sets. It just isn't usually recorded.

Indeedy. (though my favourite is the somewhat more restrained smackdown that Sean Connery gave Stephen Norrington on LXG's wrap day. "This is has been the best cast and crew and I've greatly enjoyed every moment of working with all of you. <points to Norrington> Except for that cunt over there.")

And Bale has actually always been somewhat open about the fact that he can be like this.
 
And how many scenes has Bale ruined in his career by fucking his lines or what-not? Do the lighting and camera guys get to cuss him out when that happens?

An honest mistake is not the same as repeated carelessness. A professional DP would know not to walk in the background of the scene while it's shooting.

Agree with Haytil.

When the camera is rolling, most people know know not move (or even breathe) during a take, let alone walk into the shot. Everyone does their best to get the shot done so they can quickly move on to the next set-up.

Um...no. What Bale has done here is be completely unprofessional...unless his profession is being an ass.

If he's got such a huge problem with the DP, he should take it up with McG, and McG will take it up with the DP. Not be the big bad movie star dressing the guy down in front of everybody. One thing that should never happen on a set...anyone yelling at anyone in front of anybody.
 
Does Bale have a right to be pissed? Yep.

Does he have a right to go off on the guy like that and demand he be fired? Nope.

Is the temper tantrum justified? Hell no.

I could understand why he's angry; and if thios is the second time the guy did it; why he might go off and curse; but going off like that for nearly four minutes straight...completely unprofessional. Personally, I think they should dock a sizeable portion of his salary once the film is in the can. Itr's not like the guy ruined a major scene with some large stunt; or live pyrotechnic effect; he probably busted up a simple dialog scene; and GIVEN past Terminator film dialogue, NO BIG DEAL.

Give the guy a warning; or IF he was warned by the Producer or Director (the guys FUNDING the thing); then pull the offending DC aside and fire him. But again, for an ego-centiric acor to go off like that for nearly four minutes...just plain unprofessional.
 
If you guys read the article from when it happened, this was the Friday before the incident with his Mother and Sister, which happened Sunday in the UK.

Which really paints an interesting picture...

What, I wonder, was happening in his life at this time? I mean, that both those incidents occurred back-to-back...

It's weird to listen to, because as an amateur psychology buff, the way certain things happen...

Like, while cursing the DP out, he at one point keeps saying "your a nice guy". Then other times, he goes from screaming bloody murder to pause, calm voice, "lets go again" (shoot the scene).

Something had to have been happening in his private life for these two incidents to have occurred. Especially when there has never been any other rumors or reports of issues like this with him over the entire course of his career.

It doesn't excuse the behavior, but it does explain it.

Personally, I still love the guy. He's a great actor. This really makes me concerned though. Something had to have set him off - what could it have been? That this happened Friday the 18th, day TDK opens, and then that following Sunday that incident with his mother and sister happens... something not right.

I think the better question is, just what kind of crappy childhood did he have to have such a nasty ass temper? People don't develop that kind of thing out of the blue.
 
Oh, phooey. Stuff like this happens all the time on sets. It just isn't usually recorded.

Indeedy. (though my favourite is the somewhat more restrained smackdown that Sean Connery gave Stephen Norrington on LXG's wrap day. "This is has been the best cast and crew and I've greatly enjoyed every moment of working with all of you. <points to Norrington> Except for that cunt over there.")
Seriously? Holy shit. :lol:
 
Perhaps Bale is unfulfilled, and bitter at the artistic failure his career has become? Screaming at much lower paid workers isn't the answer---Taking real acting jobs in good scripts is.

Since the call of the day is to engage in amateur psychological analysis, I'd say Bale works a job which requires long hours, perhaps 16-20 hour days during particularly strenuous shoots. Much of the time he's idle, waiting for various production crew to ready a particular shot, until suddenly he's called upon to begin channelling emotions of all kinds (of which there isn't even any continuity, since almost all films are shot horribly out of sequence) and in the case of an action movie like this, have a physical presence as well. That, in turn, probably requires him to commit to all kinds of hours in the gym during his day off (perhaps two, if they're shooting a generous 5-day schedule). And then some DP steps into a scene in the middle of a shoot, when, as a professional, he should be fully aware of when a scene is shooting and stand silent on the set.

Yes, the DP is probably suffering from all kinds of work-related stresses, too, and Bale's rant is off the hinge and entirely unprofessional. But do you really want to suggest that it has anything to do with a lack of fulfillment as an actor? For one thing, these big budget movies provide the money that allows Bale to make smaller movies (or in your terms, "real" movies with "real" scripts) with interesting scripts like The Machinist and Rescue Dawn in the first plac For e. another, he's become a big budget star, when less than ten years ago critics said Christian Bale could never star in big movie (see: Equilibrium). As far as his career goes, he's probably at his artistic high. Hopefully he manages to get his anger in check and keep it up for years to come.
 
That was one bad weekend for him. I love the guy, though, and in a perverse way this just makes me love him more. :lol:
 
Christian Bale is an overrated douche that constantly plays shades of the same angsty character, he's lucky to work with talented individuals.
 
I think it's madly entertaining but probably out of context. There's stuff in there to suggest the DP has a pattern of unprofessional behavior. This was probably the straw that broke the camel's back and Bale was mic'd for it. He took it too far but a DP that walks into a shot deserves a smackdown. The DP is the last person that should walk into a shot. And it sounds like he kept his job after that.
Regardless, the DPs don't answer to the actors.

Everyone works for the studio, who wouldn't hesitate to fire a DP if the star who brings in millions of dollars for the project demanded his replacement.

I don't get all the armchair psychology about his childhood or his level of fulfillment. I've talk to people who've met him and his wife around town in Santa Monica and he's reportedly a nice guy. This is the guy who went down to 120lbs. for a film role. He's intense and in character and the one guy who should know better screws up the shot. I'd be pissed too. I wouldn't yell bit if probably have him replaced.
 
Wow... he has always seemed like an ass, but dear god.

What a fucker, I hope this wrecks his career.
 
If this guy did ruin the shot several times I'd be pissed as well. Clearly it was a bad weekend for Bale so I'm not going to judge him on it.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top