You’ve probably heard the audio tape that gossip site TMZ released two days ago.  It’s Christian Bale, if you haven’t heard—the recording was apparently made during a shoot for Terminator Salvation, where he plays the lead.  There, he launches an expletive-laden tirade at the film’s director of photography, Shane Hurlbut, after the latter walked within his frame of view during a scene.  In the actor’s words, “I’m gonna f—ing kick your f—ing ass.”

The clip quickly made its rounds across the Internet—the funniest, perhaps, was the series of dance remixes incorporating samples of the rant—and, just as quickly, are people who have come to the defense of the actor.  Several celebrities have become vocal about the topic: Whoopi Goldberg, for instance, said in an episode of daytime talk show The View that the intensity of the tirade was in part because of their craft.

“[It’s] your art,” she told co-host Joy Behar, who thought the rant was out of line.  “If I have to jump out of character to tell you something you should know?  You’re in a zone and it’s crazy.”

One of Bale’s former co-stars, Terry Crews, also came to his defense.  “I’d get mad too if I was the number one star in the world and people started to mess with me,” he said.  “He is a class act.  He is one of the greatest actors ever.  You can catch anyone on a bad day … I know he’s a nice guy.  I know he’s all about his work.”

Speaking to TMZ, Salvation assistant director Bruce Franklin dismissed the rant as a “non-issue”.  “Christian is a method actor and was completely immersed in his scene ... his reaction was from the heat of the moment,” he said.  He added that Bale—who was, at the time, promoting The Dark Knight—was stressed over his schedule, and in the end, the entire crew ended up shooting for another seven hours.

And, he adds, Bale and Hurlbut eventually patched up, and nobody got fired.  Now, who made that tape?


-Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Sources: MSNBC, TMZ, MTV News
(Image courtesy of AP)