Christian Bale too angry to be heroic

[mandalaya]

Sigh. Christian Bale flipped out non-ninjastyle (NSFW!) on a crew member on the set of Terminator: Salvation. I could maybe make an excuse for him if he shouted one or two sentences and then apologized and got back to work, but this goes on and on. I'm sad to have proof that he's a jerk and seems like an excellent candidate for anger management therapy.

But at least there's a sweet remix! (Also NSFW!)

Comments

[leggomylegolas.livejournal.com]

See, this is why I don't ever read interviews or gossip or anything about actors, ESPECIALLY when I "like" them. I'm way more likely to read that stuff if I don't like them (99% of all actors) but I'd just rather not know. I harbor a secret belief that every single person in the entirety of showbiz is a raging asshole. Like, I'm pretty sure that if they weren't, they wouldn't be there.

Meh. Damn you, Christian!

[mirabella]

Yeah, same here. The odds I'll hear something that will make me hate them are way higher than the odds I'll hear something that will make me like them more.

Having said that, however, that remix is made of gold and awesome. I hope someone sends it to him.

[mandalaya.livejournal.com]

Someone must send him the remix. It's muy fabuloso!

[mandalaya.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure most of them are dicks, and those that aren't are surrounded by agents and assistants who are dicks. But there's arrogant and there's mean, and Bale seems to be mean.

Doesn't mean I'll stop looking at photos of him scantily clad though.

[oohasparklie.livejournal.com]

I think this is one of the funniest things ever. I love it when douchebags get outed. Maybe now with this and the family drama a while back he'll get a clue and start acting like a human being.

...Maybe that's too much to hope for.

[mandalaya.livejournal.com]

It would be wonderful if this were a tipping point for him. I think people who get angry like this usually don't realize how utterly poisonous it is for everyone around them - they think they're "blowing off steam" or "teaching a useful lesson". I just hope Bale has the grace to be embarrassed by this, at least.

[clumsy-chord.livejournal.com]

Man, what a douche.

[mandalaya.livejournal.com]

*nods*

[gemsweater.livejournal.com]

I find this tape colossally entertaining. As someone on Gawker said, this was a very finely executed temper tantrum and I found it enjoyable. Then again, I've never really had the hots for the guy, so I can understand how disappointing it must be for those who have/do.

[leggomylegolas.livejournal.com]

Well, maybe I'm unusual but I couldn't care less, I still have the hots for him. But then, I never really had the hots for, like, his personality, whatever I might have imagined that was like!

[mandalaya.livejournal.com]

I don't find it entertaining, but I grew up with a father who had a bad temper, so it just sets me on edge. (My Dad has mellowed and even at 67 is actively working on not inflicting his anger on others, so there's hope for Bale too.)

[gemsweater.livejournal.com]

I didn't consider how real-life experience would affect one's perspective on the tape. Thinking about it now, I don't think I've ever experienced an outburst approaching that one in real life. There wasn't much yelling in my house growing up, and most of it was admittedly done by me.

[mandalaya.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm sure I'm more sensitive to it than others. If I were the target of that anger - well, I would have walked away, because it would be unbearable after the first minute or so, and logic has no effect on someone in the throes of that much anger. It's interesting that people are now springing to Bale's defense, saying it was a very raw scene and the end of a hard day and the guy really was screwing up, etc, and that explains some anger, but I still feel like Bale went on long after his point was made and his anger fully expressed. I don't know what character he's playing in the film, and if it's someone with a massive anger problem and Bale is playing it Method, then I can maybe understand, but eh, he had the presence of mind to say the guy was a nice guy BUT, so I don't think that was it. Bale should have been able to pull himself back from ranting, and he couldn't or chose not to, and apparently his temper has been noted on other film sets, so I think he has a problem.

[counsel.livejournal.com]

I find the whole thing terribly amusing. In the whole range of human behavior, yelling and swearing like that at someone who apparently screwed up not once but twice - eh, whatever. Especially given the circumstances under which it happened - according to one report it was after they had been working for hours and hours in the desert while he was also doing the publicity for Batman. For instance, I think it much less worse than Naomi Campbell repeatedly throwing cell phones, lamps, and purses at maids and assistants. Or La Lohan driving drunk. Or Robert Downey Jr.'s drug dependency which lead to multiple felony charges. Or that asshole who was bugging people's phones and lawyers' offices.

So he gets a pass from me. Plus, who has not wanted to completely lose their shit at co-workers?

[mandalaya.livejournal.com]

I think it's weird that NPR reported it, but I still feel like Bale went on long after his point was made and his anger fully expressed. I don't know what character he's playing in the film, and if it's someone with a massive anger problem and Bale is playing it Method, then I can maybe understand, but eh, he had the presence of mind to say the guy was a nice guy BUT, so I don't think that was it. Bale should have been able to pull himself back from ranting, and he couldn't or chose not to, and apparently his temper has been noted on other film sets, so I think he has a problem. That doesn't mean I think it's a bigger problem than the other examples you gave, but I can't give him (or the others) a pass.

I...don't want to lose my shit like that at co-workers, but it's because my father did lose his shit very much like that all through my childhood and adolescence, so I think people who do that are insecure bullies who poison the world for everyone around them. I have totally wanted to scream at co-workers succinctly and with devastating intellectual superiority though!

[counsel.livejournal.com]

I believe he is playing John Connor in the Terminator movies after the machines take over and start slaughtering people. So good times there.

It is really weird that NPR reported it. But, they spent a lot of time covering Geri Haliwell's departure from the Spice Girls a few years back.

There is an interesting series of follow-ups on Defamer. Both pro and con. One talks about what a complete ass the guy he is yelling at is - that people were happy he finally got bitched out. The other claims that Bale once told Gloria Steinheim to shut up - his father is/was married to her. I am sure the truth is somewhere in the middle and I don't care too much either way.

Both of my parents have/had pretty explosive tempers - though my Dad seems to have moderated a lot since my folks divorced. However, a parent yelling and acting out in front of or towards their child/children is very different than two grown-ups having a confrontation. Mr. C has actually experienced a manager type person have a petty tantrum at a meeting and no one felt intimidated or scared. Rather, they thought he was an idiot and laughed about it for years. Your personal background probably does play a role in how you view this incident, but I firmly believe that yelling and ranting sometimes is appropriate and justified and a way better solution than a physical manifestation of that anger.