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Christian Bale as Bill O'Reilly


Marcus Joseph

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Not ALWAYS.

 

I'm sure you were generalizing and joking

 

Indeed I was joking, DP's and actors are artists alike, so it's certainly important that they maintain a good relationship...also another reason they can clash sometimes. I'm quite comfortable working with actors, wanting to originally Direct, but there are a lot of shooters out there who just don't get past techy geek mode.

 

And what I meant by the "ALWAYS" was I really never see a DP running around the set during an on set rehearsal or a take, checking lights and what not. I'm sure it does happen and perhaps has happened in your experience, but it probably shouldn't at a certain point.

 

I've found the best technique used by many is to motion to and give a whisper of direction to your gaffer if anything needs to be communicated in the middle of a scene...but causing a distraction like that for the actors while they're in the middle of a performance is just not a good idea in my opinion.

Edited by Jonathan Bowerbank
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At most Shane made a mistake. Period.

 

My wife heard it. She's an ER nurse. Her question " Is he going to get fired?"

 

I was shocked at my own response, "Who, Shane?"

 

In her world, the real world, the one with real grown ups and relatively stable people, if you speak to someone like that you loose your job and probably get a thumping in the parking lot.

In our world this pansy behavior will make him look 'colorful'.

 

McG doesn't exactly clank when he walks either. You can hear him in the bg pretty much cowering in vv.

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Hey Jonathan,

 

What you say is true.

 

But is it right for Bale to throw a tantrum in front of everyone and call a true professional an amateur?

He could've pulled him to the side.

 

 

Bale crossed the line......BIG time!! :angry:

Edited by Serge Teulon
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How can a cinematographer walk on the set of a scene?

 

It must be exhausting to do the scene in a loop then someone just walks into the scene. It was just a meltdown.

 

The odds are that Shane did not walk into the scene. Nobody does that. What more likely happened is that he slipped quietly behind camera to make a quick adjustment and the movement in the dark caught Bale's eye. Bale's angry description wasn't likely very geographically accurate as he was in the middle of the tirade.

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I've found the best technique used by many is to motion to and give a whisper of direction to your gaffer if anything needs to be communicated in the middle of a scene...but causing a distraction like that for the actors while they're in the middle of a performance is just not a good idea in my opinion.

 

Well you raise an interesting point....if it was the gaffer and not the DOP walking around back there would the gaffer have kept his job? No way.

 

The DOPs high rank on set saved his job. Any other "lower" crew member would have been fired on the spot by the director or the UPM, or both at the same time.

 

On the plus side Bale did call the DOP "a nice guy," while he was screaming at him.

 

Here's a similar story from my own experience, on my indie feature the sound guy would often call "cut" if he thought there was an issue with the recording. I supervised the transfer at Deluxe of all of the footage and the colourist and telecine synch operator heard a voice other than mine saying "cut" on set.

 

The colourist says to me, "who was that saying cut, that wasn't your voice." I said, "oh that was the sound guy." The colourist and telecine synch operator both turn and look at me with stunned curiosity, "and you didn't fire him on the spot?" says the colourist.

 

They where both quite shocked that a sound guy would say "cut" and even more shocked that I didn't fire him. And these are two guys that routinely work on 50 million plus Hollywood features.

 

R,

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There are actors who have problems with people unnecessarily in their eyeline. Actors just can't turn a character on and off, anything that breaks their concentration is apt to be taken rather poorly and chance the creation of an outburst.

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There are actors who have problems with people unnecessarily in their eyeline. Actors just can't turn a character on and off, anything that breaks their concentration is apt to be taken rather poorly and chance the creation of an outburst.

 

 

It always blows me away how little sensitivity a crew has for actors doing scenes. I see crew ALL the time just standing there out in the open staring at actors while the camera rolls. Noise is another major distraction to actors that I find crew not thinking about often enough. When you're literally surrounded by 30 or 40 people and you need to transport yourself to another place and time while being another person and crew are walking around the set, who could blame a guy for tweaking?

Edited by Christopher Santucci
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It always blows me away how little sensitivity a crew has for actors doing scenes. I see crew ALL the time just standing there out in the open staring at actors while the camera rolls. Noise is another major distraction to actors that I find crew not thinking about often enough. When you're literally surrounded by 30 or 40 people and you need to transport yourself to another place and time while being another person and crew are walking around the set, who could blame a guy for tweaking?

 

I'm not saying that walking through eyelines is a good thing, but let's not forget that it is an actors job to perform in front of people. It is what acting is all about. Theatre actors perform each night in front of hundreds of people, many of whom may be doing something distracting. Film actors have to be able to perform on an artificial set, under hot lamps, and in front of a crew.

 

People screw up. It happens. Done it myself. BUT, you never, ever ball someone out in front of the crew. You take them aside and speak to them, or you have someone else do it. Bale threatens him with physical violence, belittles him, insults him...all in front of the entire crew. Tell me, in what other industry would one employee get away with doing that to another?

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It always blows me away how little sensitivity a crew has for actors doing scenes. I see crew ALL the time just standing there out in the open staring at actors while the camera rolls. Noise is another major distraction to actors that I find crew not thinking about often enough. When you're literally surrounded by 30 or 40 people and you need to transport yourself to another place and time while being another person and crew are walking around the set, who could blame a guy for tweaking?

 

Though its totally fair for actors to expect sensitivity and professionalism from crew members so they can do their job, shouting at and berating someone is hardly tweaking.

 

Its ironic that we can except this behaviour as just about acceptable in an industry which in realistic terms is non-essential, an industry which though I hate to admit detracts from society as much as it gives to, when by comparison surgeons, fire-fighters, paramedics, pilots and all those other professions of high responsibility and importance to life would be severely penalised if they behaved in such a way.

 

And thank-goodness; would you want a surgeon screaming at the SHO or anethatist just as he's about to cut you open?

 

Though I personally do not want to judge Bale for it, i know i've done as equally bad things, and I do not know his circumstances, maybe he's stressed or lacking sleep etc... generally that sort of behaviour can't be seen as acceptable, when simply making entertainment.

 

After all they were filming Terminator 4 not performing brain surgery on the Pope!

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Wow! I'm really surprised at the amount of people here defending Bale. And I'm just as surprised at the amount of people making assumptions about what Shane Hurlbut did or didn't do. We don't know the context of what happened, so I don't think assumptions are in order. Bale was very obviously out of line. I don't care if Hurlbut ran through the set naked and screaming, Bale's reaction was WAY too much. He threatened physical violence to a co-worker. I don't see how anyone could think that this behavior is acceptable. Being an "artist" is no excuse.

 

"assault:

 

A crime that occurs when one person tries to physically harm another in a way that makes the person under attack feel immediately threatened. Actual physical contact is not necessary; threatening gestures that would alarm any reasonable person can constitute an assault. Compare battery."

 

Judging by the sound only, this situation may fit the definition of assault. I'm not saying the police should be sent to pick up Bale, I'm just making a point.

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What gets me is the mixed accent. There's nothing wrong with swearing like an American - as long as you are actually an American. There's nothing quite so redolent of insecurity, in that context. Gotta be one of the gang.

 

Quite a while back I heard Bale doing an interview on 'Fresh Air', probably for 'Batman Begins'.

He was doing it with an American accent. When Terri Gross asked him about the accent, he said he keeps using the accent during the press tour.

 

Sorta like Kirk Lazarus in 'Tropic Thunder'; "Man, I don't drop character 'till I done the DVD commentary."

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The DOPs high rank on set saved his job. Any other "lower" crew member would have been fired on the spot by the director or the UPM, or both at the same time.

 

R,

I seriously doubt that. If they did, that crew member could file a lawsuit and win.

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As I understand it from talking to some people out here the release of the tape came through the insurance/completion bond company, not any crew member involved in TERMINATOR: SALVATION. The tape was delivered to the bonding company for two reasons, both of them related to the very real possibility that SALVATION would need to file a claim:

 

1. The actor walks off the set and they can't continue and have to file a stoppage claim.

2. 'Mental health issues' in one of the leads causes them to shut down and either:

A. Hold production until the issues are resolved. ($$, but not insurmountable)

B. If the issues can not be resolved, reboot with a new principal actor. (A mighty $$$ claim)

C. Shut down production. ($$$$$$$ and almost impossible)

 

The audio would be used as part of discovery in any litigation. I have worked on several films where specific actors required special 'riders' in the bond to cover drug and alcohol use, mental health issues, etc. I doubt very strongly any crew member would ever release a tape like this to the public.

 

Alan Lasky

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a little light relief:

 

 

amazing how quick these things appear.....

 

Well that had me on the floor with laughter. The guy who made it is obviously very good at what he does.

 

 

I have worked on several films where specific actors required special 'riders' in the bond to cover drug and alcohol use, mental health issues, etc.

 

A great example of the special status actors have vs crew. Can any one imagine a special rider on a film bond to cover a gaffer, camera operator, 1st AC, set dresser, or props guy, to protect the film from their drug and alcohol abuse?

 

No, they just wouldn't be hired, period end of story.

 

They put Jim Carrey under some unique conditions for the shooting of Yes Man, as he has been known to shut sets down.

 

R,

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I have a ton of admiration for Shane Hurlbut for being the better man, and letting Bale make a fool of himself. Others wouldn't have been so patient, and gotten into a shouting match, or worse. As is, Bale comes out looking far worse. I actually wouldn't be surprised if this gets the DP a little more work. A pleasant disposition will get you a long way. I can't imagine what I'd have done. Prolly cried!

 

It makes me recall a quote by Lincoln: "Those who aspire to greatness have no time for petty arguments."

 

BR

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