One Last Post Before We Put This Christian Bale Thing Behind Us
We're just about finished here. The Christian Bale story has been squeezed dry. It's time to stop making mashups and start taking care of your children. Battle lines have been drawn between those who feel that Bale's rant was an egotistical melt down revealing him to be a narcissistic nightmare, and apologists, but none of this, in the end, will have any affect on how much money Terminator Salvation makes. Or Bale's future prospects as a millionaire action star. The only question now is how many diapers to keep stocked in his trailer at all times, and how absorbant those diapers should be.
But before we move on, there is one final update on the story from Radar (with an addendum from Defamer) that is stirring the pot anew, and which I figured we might as well address. It concerns Shane Halbut, the DP target of Bale's tirade, and what people think of him.
From Radar:
Bale became a hero to cast and crew after his tirade against Hurlbut, who was widely despised, sources tell RadarOnline.com exclusively. "Hurlbut was a condescending (bleep) to everyone," a source told us. His favorite line was "Why don't you go stab yourself in the head, you idiot."Maybe Bale's not such a bad guy after all.
And then this "corroboration" from Defamer:
I was on the crew of another film Shane was recently DP on and he was despised. Crew hated him - actors had hard time. He would tell his crew, if he was displeased with them, to "Stab themselves in the heart and die." or "Blow yourself up." On this film he would constantly re-light when actors got to set and tweak during takes - it was bad.
The problem with these reports is that contrary to their intentions, they don't actually make Christian Bale not an asshole. Sure, they cloud things by making it into a story about one major league asshole screaming at another major league asshole, but that doesn't then make the first major league asshole a major league nice, well-rounded person with a good sense of perspective about his actual place in the world. In this situation, Christian Bale is still a fucking jerk. And in the relationship between these two men, he's the more powerful jerk (by a matter of many degrees), so it is actually the exact same power relationship and inappropriately aggressive reprimand that everyone is degrading Halbut for. In Standard Aptitude Test terminology, Christian Bale is to Shane Halbut as Shane Halbut is to the browbeaten intern.
We all like to see jerks get dressed down because in our powerlessness to fight back against what we feel is inappropriate and unfair behavior on their part, there's an obvious and important desire for them to be treated to a taste of their own medicine. But, and I should stop soon because my armchair is getting totally worn out from all this psychology, do you guys not think that maybe someone abusive and monstrous like Shane Halbut takes his cues from the people who are a step above him on the Hollywood totem pole? That the reason he tells people to stab themselves in the face and die is because he himself is always a heartbeat away from getting thrown off the set by someone equally ridiculous but with more power? That the circle is unbroken?
Even more problematic to the apologists' argument that Shane Hurlbut "deserved" it because he was hated by the crew is the fact that THAT'S NOT WHAT CHRISTIAN BALE WAS YELLING ABOUT. There is no place in his self-involved rant in which he takes up the mantle of the poor crew members who have been so unfairly abused by Halbut. He doesn't say "I WANT YOU OFF THE FUCKING SET BECAUSE YOU TOLD PEOPLE TO GO BLOW THEMSELVES UP AND THAT'S MEAN." His rant is completely confined to his own inflated-ego. So, you know, no.
Admittedly, I wasn't there. And neither were you. But two jerks don't make one jerk. Math. The end.
Posted by Gabe at 9:30 AM in Behind The Scenes
Tags: Christian Bale | Shane Hurlbut | Terminator: Salvation
The "nobody likes him" excuse is my personal favorite high school bully defense.
Score = 12
I like how there hasn't been a peep from the Bale camp. Normally by now there would be announcements of Anger Management programs and/or admittance of a temporary stress-induced mental breakdown.
But Christian Bale is a Professional Asshole. He doesn't give an eff.
[Still, I wouldn't kick him out of bed for going bananas on Shane. Real talk.]
Score = 4
Why don't you go stab yourself in the head, you idiot!
Score = 1
So he did respond! Either I need to reread my "How to Use the Internets" manual, or this story broke after I looked it up this morning and made my sprawling announcement (complete with too-much-information.)
And take it easy, zfzahcah. I'm a little sensitive due to my monthlies, and I hope The Internet is not mean to me all day. (It's TMI Friday, I guess.)
Score = 3
I wasn't expecting it either. What I wrote below notwithstanding, I hereby declare his status upgraded from asshole to hotheaded Method weirdo, based on his seemingly sincere apology.
Score = 2
I understand and appreciate your point, but I think you are being a bit hard on Mr. Bale. Nothing that I have read has indicated that he has a reputation for being an asshole on set. This tirade appears to have been an aberration.
Assuming that reports about Hurlbut's attitude and professionalism are true, the fact that Bale went off on him doesn't make Bale an asshole. You are right that they don't make him NOT an asshole, but they do provide some explanation for why Bale might have been harder on him than seems reasonable.
Also, the difference between Bale going off on this guy this one time, and that guy going off on subordinates constantly is pretty huge. You may have heard differently, but the only response I've heard from others on set has been in Bale's defense, which suggests that he doesn't abuse his position of power as a general rule.
Nothing in the recording came off as easily excusable; it all seemed pretty abusive. But, as you said, we weren't there. It might not be a bad idea to take consideration of the opinions of those with more knowledge of the context before declaring this guy to be an asshole.
Score = 4
Except of course that this is not his first incident. Don't forget back in July when he went after his own mother and sister. If abusing your family doesn't make you an asshole, I honestly don't know what does.
Score = 3
I heard his mom kept telling him to stab himself in the head and die, and then she fucked with the lights while he was doing a scene.
Score = 19
I think you're using the word "abusing" to sensationalize something you read a snippet about a long time ago to make it sound like he aggressively beat his mother and sister, rather than shove them in self-defense for clinging to him and demanding that they give him money. Once a person makes a physical advance on another person, that victim has a right to push the aggressor back. I am obviously operating under the assumption that you were not in the room when the psychotic abuse took place. I apologize if you know more about it than I do.
Score = 4
i AM CHRISTIAN BALE.
Score = 1
I still consider him less of a dick than Russel Crowe
Score = 7
Yeah he hasn't graduated to throwing shit yet
Score = 1
As far as CB knew, Shane was "a nice guy." Asshole status unchanged, IMO.
Score = 1
Trying to figure out what type of person a celeb is by only taking into account the snippets of their life that the public is randomly exposed to is completely fruitless. This latest example gives me no more insight into whether or not Christian Bale is an asshole than it does as to whether or not Christian Bale fucks dogs.
I have a hard enough time figuring out if some of my friends that i'm around every day are assholes much less Batman.
Score = 5
i know Shane Hurlbut, I've worked with Shane Hurlbut. He is NOT a nice guy, and this type of rant is JUST the kind of thing he subjects his crew to on an almost daily basis.
We just don't have a tape of it, so it's all about prima donna movie star screaming at someone on set. No one has a tape of Shane Hurlbut screaming at his crew, because no one gives a f*#k.
Score = 2
I worked with Hurlbut on two commercials he directed and he was every bit the arrogant arse that others describe. While we can question the words Bale chose, he was and is a hero to many of us.
Score = 3
man i want to be a hero by yelling at somebody who yelled at somebody. it's like how batman is!
Score = 0