So basically, Christian Bale is on the set of Terminator Salvation and goes absolutely ape-shit at DP Shane Hurlbut for distracting him during a scene. Such outbursts may not be uncommon for movie stars, but what marked this incident is that someone on the crew leaked the audio recording of the 4-minute long tantrum. Bale later acknowledged he went too far, but condemned the leak as a violation of trust.
While it may be the most entertaining (if inglorious) performance of Bale’s career, I completely see where he’s coming from. The film set is a sacred space – a highly fragile (and sometimes volatile) situation – that can only possibly work within a circle of trust. Performers work on a knife-edge of emotional and mental precision; it is their -job- to be acutely sensitive in all kinds of ways. With millions of dollars and a career riding on a mastery of elements which could be as fragile as smoke, it is natural for them to be demanding, emotional and even irrational about the conditions they work in. Bale may well have gone too far, but the privacy and security of that creative space, is sacred. Anyone working in the industry should understand this. I hope the people responsible for the Bale leak never work again, because it threatens to undermine the confidence of all performers, and damages film creation as a whole.
If anyone in the recording should be shame-faced, it should be director McG for totally losing control of the situation. If you’re scared of your performers, or can’t keep your crew in order, you shouldn’t be directing. Douche.