The Dark Knight Rises The TDKR General Discussion Thread - - - - - - - - Part 140

[SE7EN]

Furthermore, I'd like to point out verbally assaulting someone in the workplace seems pretty unprofessional to me no matter how much of a dumbass the DP is. Verbal assault is still assault all the same.

All I'm saying is there's really no reason for trying to justify the guys actions. I don't care if he had a bad day. I enjoyed the hell out of his movies but that doesn't mean I condone him for verbally being a dick to someone because they asked for money or were being unprofessional.

He's helping a kid with terminal cancer fulfill a dream. That is absolutlely outstanding and I respect the hell out of him for it. But if he stars in a crappy movie, it will still be a crappy movie starring a guy who did a pretty cool thing with his celebrity.

Heh... "verbally"...

 

[Reek]

I thought Bale and his mom/sis weren't on good terms, and they randomly started coming to him asking for money. I'd yell at my family for that (if its true).

If someone comes to my office, and makes a mess of my desk, over and over... I'd yell at him as well.

It is his job. Don't **** with what makes people money.

That being said, d***heads can also be nice people.

 

[Alex Logan]

...except for that thing where he yelled at people and beat up his family... haha... just kidding. I actually had someone tell me they hated TDK and Bale because of those incidents. Eh, can't please everyone. Regardless, good to see a celebrity doing actual good things with their celebrity. Keep it up Bale... that is until the next Terminator gets green lit!

He didn't beat anyone up...

Furthermore, I'd like to point out verbally assaulting someone in the workplace seems pretty unprofessional to me no matter how much of a dumbass the DP is. Verbal assault is still assault all the same.

All I'm saying is there's really no reason for trying to justify the guys actions. I don't care if he had a bad day. I enjoyed the hell out of his movies but that doesn't mean I condone him for verbally being a dick to someone because they asked for money or were being unprofessional.

You weren't there, you don't know the circumstances, so you shouldn't really be passing judgement on him.

 

[SE7EN]

I thought Bale and his mom/sis weren't on good terms, and they randomly started coming to him asking for money. I'd yell at my family for that (if its true).

If someone comes to my office, and makes a mess of my desk, over and over... I'd yell at him as well.

It is his job. Don't **** with what makes people money.

That being said, d***heads can also be nice people.

I've never ever yelled at anyone and I've never lost my temper. I also own ocean front property in Arizona and dine with the Queen of England on Tuesdays.

My handle is SE7EN and I like Batman!

 

[SE7EN]

He didn't beat anyone up...



You weren't there, you don't know the circumstances, so you shouldn't really be passing judgement on him.

Not passing judgement, quite the opposite sir. I'm trying to be completely neutral. That includes not justifying what may or may not be the real story. All I know is what was broadcast and all I am saying verbal assault is not cool regardless of the reason.

 

[Micromind]

Everybody has a bad day but I would be happy if Bale reconciles with his mother and sister, maybe they already have to some extent.

 

[JawZ270589]

Not passing judgement, quite the opposite sir. I'm trying to be completely neutral. That includes not justifying what may or may not be the real story. All I know is what was broadcast and all I am saying verbal assault is not cool regardless of the reason.

Yep, I understand your point.. But I guess we can't really say anything about Bale's relationship with his mom and sister or his action towards them because we don't know what the REAL case is (because, you know, media always exaggerate everything), the circumstances, etc...
Because for me, sometimes we need to get angry, being harsh a bit if something goes wrong too much.. hahahaha...

But from what I've seen so far from Bale (visiting the Aurora victims, and this poor kid), and he has not divorced with his wife (which so many celebrities have). He seems to be a nice guy..

 

[Carnotaur3]

If verbal assault is an arguement with yelling involved, we're all guilty of it

 

[spanky_jones]

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/spankyjones

I have a small radio show and were discussing if the League of Shadows would be DoHS or FBI's problem once they got here. 2:30 cali pacific time. Id love to hear anyones views.

and yes these are conversations i have in real life.

 

[Cassandra Cain]

I haven't been to these forums in quite a while, but what's all this I'm hearing about a director's cut? Do tell!

 

[ChrisB]

I haven't been to these forums in quite a while, but what's all this I'm hearing about a director's cut? Do tell!

It's not happening. It was just a rumor from a very unreliable website.

 

[EliteF50]

I thought Bale and his mom/sis weren't on good terms, and they randomly started coming to him asking for money. I'd yell at my family for that (if its true).

If someone comes to my office, and makes a mess of my desk, over and over... I'd yell at him as well.

It is his job. Don't **** with what makes people money.

That being said, d***heads can also be nice people.

This, exactly.

 

[The Guard]

I see your point, but one guy isn't enough to say he has temper.

It isn't one guy.

It's rather well known that Christian Bale can be difficult to work with, and has a temper that occassionally creates issues.

 

[EliteF50]

It isn't one guy.

It's rather well known that Christian Bale can be difficult to work with, and has a temper that occassionally creates issues.

Before, maybe, but he has mellowed out quite a bit after the whole Terminator fiasco.

 

[Nave 'Torment']

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/spankyjones

I have a small radio show and were discussing if the League of Shadows would be DoHS or FBI's problem once they got here. 2:30 cali pacific time. Id love to hear anyones views.

and yes these are conversations i have in real life.

Wait wait this needs more attention - what?!

If the LoS ever got their way into one of the states they'd probably be both of their problems and then the president's when they realise these guys are unstoppable without ol' bat-head (i'm assuming superheroes exist because the supervillains do?) but more importantly, if the LoS are making a strike they'd probably go past both DoHS and the FBI. They're ninjas afterall. I saw view Ra's Al Ghul as a vigilante with a cult personally, which means they'd probably be the FBI's problem foremost, but since they're also terrorists and yes, very much like what Frank Miller portrays in Holy Terror, I'd say you can find equivalents in the way the government handles groups like the Al-Qaeda.

 

[Nave 'Torment']

It isn't one guy.

It's rather well known that Christian Bale can be difficult to work with, and has a temper that occassionally creates issues.

It's coz he's always hungry and dedicated. I'd have a piss-poor temper if I did what he does. Which makes him the perfect Batman in my book. But even so, he's also known to be the kind of actor who's committed fully to the role, to the point where he does let his co-workers take the spot when it's needed. The one big criticism I hear about him is that he's often overshadowed by the other actors in his films (it doesn't help that he's playing Batman since that's been a commentary for the character since, well, forever) but an actor of his caliber wouldn't be overshadowed by his colleagues if he didn't intend it. I'd say that makes him a malleable person to work with.

 

[Alex Logan]

It isn't one guy.

It's rather well known that Christian Bale can be difficult to work with, and has a temper that occassionally creates issues.

First off, I'm not to start an argument.

In my field if someone is difficult to work with than they don't get work. I've also done some work in the adult industry and the same is true there. If the "talent" is difficult to work with than he or she doesn't get work. I imagine it's the same in Hollywood.

Do you know him? Have you worked with him? Where is it well know? This is the first I've heard of it. Why would Nolan have made four films with him if he was hard to work with?

It's coz he's always hungry and dedicated. I'd have a piss-poor temper if I did what he does. Which makes him the perfect Batman in my book. But even so, he's also known to be the kind of actor who's committed fully to the role, to the point where he does let his co-workers take the spot when it's needed. The one big criticism I hear about him is that he's often overshadowed by the other actors in his films (it doesn't help that he's playing Batman since that's been a commentary for the character since, well, forever) but an actor of his caliber wouldn't be overshadowed by his colleagues if he didn't intend it. I'd say that makes him a malleable person to work with.

This.

 

[the last son]

Bale looks like he is difficult to work with. Just my opinion but he is dedicated and with that comes a huge ego. I don't care what his motives are for the good PR because at the end of the day he's doing a good thing, even though I think some of it is damage control. It will be intersting to see where Bale career goes on from here, because personally I think he's overrated as an actor outside of the Batman films. I've seen most of his early work as well.

AP, Machinist, Public Enemies, Salvation, Prestige, Shaft, Reign of Fire, Fighter, Yuma, I think he knows how to pick a script but overall I know a lot of people praise his work and that's fine but outside of the Fighter and Shaft I think he's been average in his roles. He overacts a lot of the time but it looks natural so he gets a pass. Some of his movies are just awful and he didn't help much such as Salvation, Machinist, The New World and Reign of Fire,

 

[BatLobster]

American Psycho remains my favorite role of Bale's to date. His deliveries in that are just sublime.

 

[The Shape]

It isn't one guy.

It's rather well known that Christian Bale can be difficult to work with, and has a temper that occassionally creates issues.

Please provide evidence of this, aside from the well-known Terminator rant. On what other films has Bale created issues? How else has he been difficult to work with?

 

[Anita18]

First off, I'm not to start an argument.

In my field if someone is difficult to work with than they don't get work. I've also done some work in the adult industry and the same is true there. If the "talent" is difficult to work with than he or she doesn't get work. I imagine it's the same in Hollywood.

Do you know him? Have you worked with him? Where is it well know? This is the first I've heard of it. Why would Nolan have made four films with him if he was hard to work with?

Exactly. Lindsay Lohan isn't getting work because she actually IS impossible to work with. The insurance companies won't cover her, because there's no telling if she'll even show up on set on a given day.

Bale is professional in that he shows up on set every day (and probably on time, given Nolan's style) and does his job when the cameras are rolling. As an actor, that's all you really need to do. And many actors, the ones known as divas, don't even do THAT.

But given Bale's reputation, I'd say that he's a bit of a tightwad and too much of a perfectionist and all-business. It works when the director is also a tightwad and a perfectionist and all-business, because that means they have control of their set. That is 100% Nolan, what we've read and heard. Given what we've heard of the T4 rant, McG did not have control of his set and Bale was frustrated because of that.

That said, yes, blowing up was still a dickwad move. But it doesn't mean he's a dickwad 100% of the time. There's always that one coworker who has too-high standards and is insufferable to be around at work, but is actually a stand-up guy when you need him. People really aren't that black and white.

 

[Travesty]

I just like how "dickwad" isn't a censored word here.

 

[kvz5]

The one big criticism I hear about him is that he's often overshadowed by the other actors in his films

TBH, I always thought that "overshadowed" criticism was a bit exagerrated and in a way a product of the backlash he got in 2009 (because of the rant). The only movie where he obviously got overshadowed was in TDK. I guess a case can be made for Terminator Salvation but that movie was **** to begin with anyway. I guess I can see why some think of that though because he tends to pick the roles which require a quiet performance even though we know he's fully capable of loud performances (American Psycho, The Prestige, The Fighter). I always go back to his speech at the Golden Globes where he gave mad props to Mark Whalberg because he said he knows how it feels to have the quiet performance in the movie or something like that.

but an actor of his caliber wouldn't be overshadowed by his colleagues if he didn't intend it. I'd say that makes him a malleable person to work with.

Nolan said it best (Tom Hardy said something very similar to this too in a TDKR interview):

“One of the great things about Christian is his refreshing lack of ego,” Mr. Nolan said. “He figures out how he can be useful to the storytelling. That often means he’s a very generous performer, somebody who’s playing the part with integrity, not to show what he can do.”

IMO this is both good and bad for Bale. It's good because it endears him to directors and co-actors since he's not hogging the spotlight but at the same time, it limits him and gives people the impression that others often steal the show from him.

Bale is professional in that he shows up on set every day (and probably on time, given Nolan's style) and does his job when the cameras are rolling. As an actor, that's all you really need to do. And many actors, the ones known as divas, don't even do THAT.

But given Bale's reputation, I'd say that he's a bit of a tightwad and too much of a perfectionist and all-business. It works when the director is also a tightwad and a perfectionist and all-business, because that means they have control of their set. That is 100% Nolan, what we've read and heard. Given what we've heard of the T4 rant, McG did not have control of his set and Bale was frustrated because of that.

That's always how I saw it. Can you imagine Bale and Fincher working together? They would drive everyone on set crazy! The end product will be glorious though.

That said, yes, blowing up was still a dickwad move. But it doesn't mean he's a dickwad 100% of the time. There's always that one coworker who has too-high standards and is insufferable to be around at work, but is actually a stand-up guy when you need him. People really aren't that black and white.

I agree. What Bale did (TS rant) was understandable but still wrong. He apologized for it (privately and publicly) and admitted that he was a jerk about it and he suffered the backlash for it already. That rant doesn't mean though that he's a bad person all around either. It doesn't mean the opposite either that he's a complete saint.

 

[Carnotaur3]

So are you saying it's OK to verbally assault someone if they ask for money? Is that part of British law too? If the acting gig ever gets old for Bale, he might enjoy being a loan officer! Lol.

What is verbal assault if not an oxymoron. What is it to you?

 

[The Guard]

In my field if someone is difficult to work with than they don't get work. I've also done some work in the adult industry and the same is true there. If the "talent" is difficult to work with than he or she doesn't get work. I imagine it's the same in Hollywood.

I wish that was true for most of the business and professional world. It's not, in my experience.

Do you know him? Have you worked with him? Where is it well know? This is the first I've heard of it. Why would Nolan have made four films with him if he was hard to work with?

No, but I've read a lot of stuff over the years, both from him and from people who have worked with him. Early career and on. I also know several people who had encounters with him while filming BATMAN BEGINS or THE DARK KNIGHT.

Why would Nolan make three films? Because Bale signed a multi picture deal. He was WB's Batman. Obviously they got along well enough that it didn't cause huge issues. Nolan's worked with other actors, too, and I'm sure things haven't always been perfect.

As for the rest of you, I'm not going to waste time digging up evidence to prove something that this this well known just because this is the first you've heard of it. I simply don't have the time to do so. Several directors, actors, and fans have described "encounters" with Christian Bale over the years. The fact that he "only" went off during TERMINATOR SALVATION is meaningless when discussing whether he has some temper issues. The guy obviously has some temper issues if he can't control himself better than that, whether it was a one time occurrence or not.

Dating back to his days as a child actor, Bale has often been indicated to be somewhat difficult to work with/interview/approach, etc. He doesn't seem to do things the same way as most actors, and this can create tension and friction.

That's not a value judgement on my part. I don't really care. I don't care what he's like on set unless I'm working with him personally or it disrupts a production to some real degree. I don't care who is "worse" than him, or who he's "better" than when it comes to this stuff, and I don't think he's a horrible person because of a few awful actions, nor do I care. I care whether the guy is good in his films, and his private life is his private life to me.