Christian Bale goes ballistic on the set of Terminator: Salvation!

[Hanne]

maybe he appologized later, maybe not
maybe he had to be physically restraint, so not to attack the guy, maybe he did not.

Thats just speculation..

As for "No where else would Bale's behavior be acceptable, period."

That's simply not true.. try visiting the kitchens of michelin restaurants.. in some enviroments that's what's being dished out.. luckily it's not standard fare in most professions.. but it happens everyday.. because we're not dealing with robots here, we're dealing with humans as Mary-Anne pointed out.

 

[eternitygoddess]

No where else would Bale's behavior be acceptable, period.

Uh...in high-powered, tension-filled environments, this type of reaction/attitude is very common. Law firms, investment banks, restaurant kitchens...

I don't excuse Bale's behavior, but no one should sit on their high horse and look their nose down at him. When a person is extremely upset, he will flip out to this degree and say alot of nasty things and commit actions he'll later regret.

When I'm pissed, I could give Bale a run for his money.

 

[cestmagique]

^^I'm not saying he didn't apologize. And if you listen to the full clip, you can hear what I was talking about. I didn't just pull it out of the air.

Okay, sure, there are other professions where people can be primadonas and chew out whomever they like. In the vast majority of other work settings, this would be considered totally out of line. Bale is human, but come on, so is the guy he went off on! Should that guy be expected to consider this just part of his job? Hell if I'd tolerate it...

 

[mims]

Uh...in high-powered, tension-filled environments, this type of reaction/attitude is very common. Law firms, investment banks, restaurant kitchens...

I don't excuse Bale's behavior, but no one should sit on their high horse and look their nose down at him. When a person is extremely upset, he will flip out to this degree and say alot of nasty things and commit actions he'll later regret.

When I'm pissed, I could give Bale a run for his money.

i agree esp. with you first comment. People should visit workplaces in Japan. Even in pastry shops the head pastry chefs would literally throw things at a lesser worker for the smallest mistake. Maybe I am desensitized to this kind of reaction seeing what I've seen in a Japanese workplace.

 

[MulletProof]

well, no wonder why he's doing Terminator and Batman, and say, Gael Garcia or Daniel Day Lewis aren't... that kind of underage diva drama belongs to the non-professional, people who think their art is above others' and it's of such a high importance that it's only justified to humiliate others when they happen to interrupt it.
and yeah, I've witnessed worse in other kinds of business but it doesn't mean that it's okay to do it, not only it's ridiculous and childish and vulgar but like I said, it's poorly professional and in this case, shows his fantastic sense of teamwork... I mostly just hate it when people get carried away that badly, especially in front of strangers.

 

[Scott]

i agree he shouldn't have been so belligerent but i still feel his anger. they used to call it artistic temperament,non? it's quite normal to be frustrated and upset when your flow is being trampled upon by somebody.

 

[MyNameIs]

LOL, I love how people are defending Bale.

 

[Spiral1532]

Awww, I'm sorry to hear about this. Christian is my favorite actor. He and I are the same age, and I've watched him grow up over the years. It saddens me a bit to hear these stories about him and his fits of rage.

 

[eternitygoddess]

LOL, I love how people are defending Bale.

I'm trying to believe (or try to) in the positive, since he has a very good reputation in the acting industry and has never been regarded as a troublesome/psycho/diva. I'm willing to give him the benefit of doubt.

That and Bruce Wayne is smoking hottt...

 

[Bella24]

LOL, I love how people are defending Bale.

I'm with you. I'm a big fan of Bale, but that behavior is just inexcusable, embarrassing and disappointing.

 

[joshsimona]

always will defend christian bale, god this sounds so poetic but true...and it's the same with some actors that i love like olivier martinez, brad pitt, johnny depp, de niro, josh hartnett etc...just to name a few, i mean if they would do that one day...
and anyhow, this could've hapenned so many times on sets in the history of making movies, it's just this was taped so we got to hear it....
this can't undermine all of his great rolls, fact that i like what he has to say usually and that he is always so attractive and hot...and that's it!
and of course it was absolutely rude and over the top, but you can't judge him just for that, or you can, but it tells a lot of your character...i'm speaking generally, of course....

 

[McClaire]

i don't know CB and don't really care that deeply about him. he is good in batman and little women. i think what he did is immature and should have the guy fired but i think we've all had moments were we have said 'i could have handled that better' i hope he learns from this and if not, i think that is the testament of his real character.

 

[Mary-Anne]

people on the sets work about 12 hour days, and actors have to do many takes over and over from different angles and so on until they get them just right... that requires a lot of concentration and to have to put yourself into specific emotional or physical states for extended periods of time and that can alone take a lot out of someone, so i reckon overemotional reactions on movie sets are hardly anything uncommon… for any actors.

especially in big budget movies when there is so much money riding on them.. where at the end of the day if the movie doesn’t make the hoped profits and the investors don’t get what they expected… the finger is pointed at them and their reputation as actors suffers... it's not the director of photography or lights technicians that are going to have trouble finding work after that.

does Bale have a big ego and possibly in need of some anger management? probably... and does it excuse his reactions... no.

but it's easy to judge someone in a moment of anger through a 3 minute clip, completely out of context...yet you don't know the day that might have led to that or what came after.

i'm not excusing it by any means,... it's completely uncalled for and childish to go off that way.. but i'm saying he is human and this work context is not the same as any other so that should be taken into some consideration before labelling him an egomanic monster.

 

[LUXXX]

He sounds scary! I hope his wife can hold her own in a fight because wow!

I just wish these actors would realize that it's not that serious. They aren't curing cancer, he's being paid millions of dollars to entertain in a pop corn flick. He won't win an Oscar for Terminator, so I don't get why there is so much drama.

 

[McClaire]

i agree Luxx. he should also be grateful for the job he has. he makes loads of money doing a job that requires basic reading skills.

 

[LetThemEatCake]

Oh, Patrick Bateman, just fcuk it out.

 

[MyNameIs]

He sounds scary! I hope his wife can hold her own in a fight because wow!

I just wish these actors would realize that it's not that serious. They aren't curing cancer, he's being paid millions of dollars to entertain in a pop corn flick. He won't win an Oscar for Terminator, so I don't get why there is so much drama.

SERIOUSLY. It's like, yeah, but he's making ~art~.

First of all, it's a freaking Terminator movie.
Second of all, no matter what movie it is, nobody deserves to get that kind of abuse. Lets give Bale the benefit of the doubt and say this was at the end of a 12 hour work day. SO WHAT?! The rest of us work 12 hour days without getting paid millions for it. Doesn't give us the right to snap at those around us, especially those who aren't on equal footing. Bale didn't just "snap". He went on a 4 minute tirade. There was plenty of time there to stop, to calm down, to think twice. He didn't. There is just no excuse for that. NONE.

I'm not advocating that Bale should be banned from making movies, because we all make mistakes. I do, however, think that's it's important that behavior like this is not excused. Bale needs to get help, first of all. And second of all, this should serve as a lesson to other divas on the set who think they can walk all over crew. It's one thing to forgive someone who sees the wrongs in his ways and amends his ways. It's totally another to make excuses for someone's animal-like behavior because he's an actor making 'art'.

 

[eternitygoddess]

i agree Luxx. he should also be grateful for the job he has. he makes loads of money doing a job that requires basic reading skills.

Serious acting requires skill and commitment and hours of practice. Maybe you've been watching too many sub-par movies.

 

[Spike413]

Honestly, I'm not about to criticize him for being human.

Plenty of people who aren't a$$holes in their everyday life snap and have a volatile moment where their anger gets the best of them and they say things they wouldn't normally say. I don't think it makes him immature, I don't think it makes him a diva and I don't think it makes him a horrible person. He lost his temper, just like everyone else does at some point or another.

Was it the right thing to do? No, but since when do rightness and emotion have anything to do with each other?

 

[haute femme]

Oh, Patrick Bateman, just fcuk it out.

I'm not sure why, but I don't think it's that extreme. He's not insulting him in harsh ways, just saying what he did was disruptive.. Not that this is excusable, but maybe he has anger issues.. I've always seen him as troubled, like someone I'd be attracted to but want to stay away from