McG Takes Blame For Bale Rant

McG says he’s the one who made Christian Bale angry. Okay.  

Directors always want to take credit for everything when a film does well (or is expected to do well). Now McG is even trying to take credit for the infamous Christian Bale tirade on the set of “Terminator Salvation” that was leaked last winter.

Okay, that’s a little unfair. Over at MTV, McG is actually trying to take the blame and get some of the heat off Bale for his blowup. McG says its due to the atmosphere he created on the set.

“Effectively, we were making a war movie…So if I have a scene where I’m trying to ramp my actor up to be credible while in a foxhole, fighting for his life, I want everybody’s blood to be up.”

McG says Bale is “intense,” which we all know, but says he is too:

“I lead the way by having a big personality, having a strong opinion and being very vocal on the set. I’m trying to wind everybody up to a level of adrenaline that would correspond to a war situation — and if you take an element that’s out of context from that moment and share it in the world, it’s indeed misinterpreted. And that’s simply all that was.”

Now that’s a little close to “get over yourself” territory, but that’s a director’s personality for you. McG also said he should have taken better care of making sure that Bale’s rant wasn’t leaked, and now is worried that actors, fearing similar leaks and public censure may hold back on the set.

“That leak is indeed a black eye in the face of Hollywood,” he said. “Because you don’t want actors — or artists of any kind — thinking twice about the manner in which they choose to express themselves. You want them to feel free to go for it and succeed wildly or fail spectacularly and never have to worry about ‘If I do this nude scene, is there going to be an uncharitable picture of me online?’ “  

Here’s the way to avoid that–cast fearless actors. The good ones usually are.

Thanks for putting on the Hat of Responsibility, McG. But in the end, Bale’s an adult, he’s in control of himself and he knew what he was doing and saying. Maybe in past years video of such a thing wouldn’t have been leaked, but word would have gotten around anyway, especially amongst the crew people and tech staffs who work on films. They always know who’s easy to work with, who’s a pain, and who can’t get out of character, and they’ll talk about it. Bale’s just another one who can’t wind down, and in the end it’s no big deal. The rant was more amusing than horrifying, and I personally am glad it happened, as it gave me a few laughs on a dreary winter day.