Judgement Day

Get the title? It's a Terminator reference.

Here at the Free-Lancer, we are big supporters of Christian Bale, and not just because he brought Batman to life with such explosive awesomeness. No, we like Bale because he is a fine actor who, since childhood, has expertly honed his craft to the point where he is the go-to guy for solid performances in any genre. That, and he's Welsh.

As such a big fan of Bale, you might be wondering why I personally did not comment on the now legendary audio sound-byte of Bale ripping DP Shane Hurlbut a new one on the set of Terminator Salvation. You might also be wondering why last week's Friday Batman did not predictably include the "Bale Out" remix of said tirade (which is admittedly hilarious.) The reason for my silence was due to the fact that I knew more would out on this situation. I knew that, without being on set and having the proper context, the audio made Bale look like a total jerk and that he would inevitably apologize publicly. He does, and he did. But finally the context of the situation is beginning to come into focus as Radar Online reports this tidbit that I have suspected from the beginning:

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."

Having worked on sets and met a lot of "industry" people, none of any of this situation surprised me. Many of the DP's and Directors in Hollywood are privileged morons who happen to have connections (how else could you explain a man who is responsible for the Charlie's Angel movies and actually calls himself McG professionally?) and therefore the ego quotient on set is astronomical. Bale can't be excused for his outburst, but he shouldn't be judged by it (and he apologized.) Hurlburt does not deserve to look like a victim and I'm glad people will now have a chance to get both sides of the story. Although, DOB already tackled this last week.