From moviesonline, A few months back we heard that Christian Bale went absolutely bananas on the set of Terminator Salvation. Now the audio has hit the internet and frankly its not something that is even remotely PG13. It contains threats and lots of profanity.
Listen if you dare
10 comments:
Just heard this on Stern as I'm sure you did as well, hilarious!
What does he say, what does he say!? I can't listen at work...
He's a jerk!
The guy is passionate and pouring his self into a scene and the DP is walking around as a distraction from what I gleaned. Hard to judge when you don't know all the facts. Maybe the DP had it coming or maybe Bale is a princess.
Regardless of his passion for his work, that sort of behavior is disgraceful. I always suspected he was an asshole. He was a little too convincing in American Psycho...
He most likely is Johnny, I guess my point is we weren't there so I try to not draw conclusions. Can you imagine if someone had a mic on you everytime you blew up and then they posted it on the net? :p
I never blow up. But that does raise an interesting question - who's the biggest hothead on the blog? We're all pretty damn chill. Gotta be Miko, right?
I wonder if the Sound Mixer, who clearly had the access to the audio (through his wireless mic), saw any repercussions from posting this sort of shit publicly. Normally, on a film set, this sort of ridiculous behavior comes into play from time to time. It's not the normal state of affairs, but it's certainly not outside the realm of possibility. But it stays within the realm of the set.
As an Assistant Director, I've always treated actors like plutonium: a very volatile, unstable element that, if used properly, can make everything work brilliantly, and you can blow up the world if you use them correctly. If used improperly, you deal with Total Meltdown or Libyan terrorists showing up in a VW Bus.
The point is to tread carefully. If I've analyzed the audio correctly, the DP interrupted a scene in which Batman was clearly very emotionally invested. The DP was wrong to do this. Let the take go, and then tell the director (and maybe the AD and the actor) PRIVATELY and QUIETLY what went wrong, and what you need to readjust and make it better. A smart person would know how to do this, especially dealing with an emotional whackjob like Batman. But Batman was correct to say, "Why don't I tear down your lights?" A film is a collaboration of many different artisans in many different disciplines, all working together. One discipline shouldn't interrupt the other. The guy putting peanuts out on the snack table shouldn't interfere with the guy hanging the lights, which shouldn't interfere with the guy in the rubber suit shaped like a bat.
Batman was wrong to freak out, but in the context of his craziness and his "craft," (which I can't say without coughing sarcastically), I must say that the DP should have realized that what he was doing was going to lead to this sort of Meltdown, and shouldn't have strolled in with a light meter mid-take, or whatever he did to illicit such a response.
I can only speak from direct experience: the same exact thing happened on the set of Middle Men, where the director freaked out (incorrectly) on the 1st AD, publicly, and threw him off the set, fired him, and promoted me. His behavior was emotionally fueled, and had no basis in logic or common sense, but yet, the results stand. This freak-out style of behavior, in this industry, is not only tolerated, but treated as an eventuality.
I suppose it speaks to the relative levels of immaturity that come with never having had a real job or having to interact with people on a level even APPROACHING reality.
At least I know how to handle Batman now...great post!
Oh, and I'M the resident hothead, as JSP can attest from various racquetball matches and Anthrax concerts. I will vote for JPX as the potential "postal" candidate, though...
Hey Stan, good insights. That's the stuff I have read through the years and listened to in bio's, interviews etc. but it was very interesting listening to your fist hand accounts. Good insight into the whole thing.
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