Throwback Thursday time.
Last week, for a little recap, we focused on one of South Africa’s most iconic on-set showdowns, involving the phrase ‘don’t touch me on my studio’ being repeated over and over.
This video, or audio if you want to be pedantic, also involves a heated exchange, although it’s far more one-sided than that between Chris Maroleng and André Visagie.
That’s because one of the people involved is Hollywood leading man Christian Bale, and the other is the somewhat lesser-known director of photography, Shane Hurlbut, on 2009’s Terminator Salvation.
Before we deep dive into what transpired, here are the basics via the Telegraph:
It was the midpoint of another exhausting day at Kirkland Airforce Base in New Mexico, where the once and future Batman was filming Terminator Salvation. The 32 year-old former child actor had been cast as the saga’s messiah figure, John Connor. However, at that moment it Hurlbut who was being crucified. He’d walked into Bale’s sightline during a fraught scene with the star’s onscreen wife, Bryce Dallas Howard. Things went downhill from there.
I believe the word ‘downhill’ is putting it mildly.
Let’s relive one of the industry’s most famous tantrums:
It’s deeply ironic that Bale wasted at least four minutes on this rant, which could have been used for the actual filming.
At the time of his outburst, Bale was clearly going through a period of turmoil:
He was coming off Christopher Nolan’s brooding The Dark Knight and the death of its co-star, Heath Ledger. Meanwhile his relationship with his family back in England was said to be strained. Bale was reportedly unhappy at his mother and sister’s standoffish attitude towards his wife, Sibi.
To this could be added a jot of ghoulish absurdity. Weeks previously the victim of a gang hit was discovered buried in the garden of the actor’s rented house. It was the perfect recipe for a Bale-pocalypse.
The above rant did at least take place behind closed doors, and didn’t come out until around seven months later, but it wasn’t long before Bale’s behaviour attracted the attention of authorities:
Just how much pressure the star was under during the making of Terminator had became frighteningly clear days after the original rant, when he left New Mexico for the London premiere of The Dark Knight.
Hours before he was due on the red-carpet he had a heated altercation with mother Jenny and sister Sharon at the Dorchester hotel. He is said to have confronted them over Sibi.
Tempers frayed and things got out of hand. His mother and sister never made it to Batman. But they did report Bale to the police for assault. On July 22 he was arrested and held for four hours. No charges were pressed, though the family did not immediately reconcile.
When his outburst leaked, Bale was quick to apologise, although some doubted his sincerity. To this day, he is still asked about the incident, and has become increasingly contrite:
“I want to make it clear, I am embarrassed by it,” Bale had said. “I regret it. I ask everybody to sit down and ask themselves if they have ever had a bad day and lost their temper and really regretted it immensely.”
Yes, we have all had a bad day.
It’s 10 years later now, so if it’s any consolation, Christian, we forgive you.
We can’t speak for Shane Hurlbut, though.
[source:telegraph]
