Authors: Harrison Cheung
For years it worked the same across the Atlantic in the U.S., with movie producers hiring Americans for their superhero roles, not for a second believing a stiff-upper lipped Brit could take on the role or physicality of their dynamic superheroesâuntil Christian turned that idea on its head and proved that super-heroes didn't have to be American.
Following the success of
The Dark Knight
, Andrew Garfield (who calls himself British after moving to the U.K. with his parents when he was just four) landed the lead in
The Amazing Spiderman
. Fellow Brit Aaron Johnson played the lead in the superb 2010 antisuperhero movie
Kick Ass
. And Henry Cavill, best known for his hit Showtime costume drama
The Tudors
, is none other than Superman, doing his bit for truth, justice, and the American way. Batman, Superman,
and
Spiderman? That's the Holy Trinity of American superhero movie franchises.
Now we're not talking advances in civil rights, but Christian's success with Batman demonstrated a change in the Hollywood mind-set. It was considered very risky for a studio to hire a relatively unknown British actor to play an American lead in a franchise movie. If
Batman Begins
had bombed at the box office, Christian would have been promptly replaced. Money talks! (
Hulk
, anyone?) Before Christian's successful run with the Dark Knight, British actors had been typically relegated to the roles of Nazis, Romans, or wise wizards. But these all-important franchise moviesâ“tent pole” blockbusters to carry a studio's summer seasonâdepend on worldwide appeal. Christian's worldwide fan base on the World Wide Web demonstrated that a British actor could carry the world on his shouldersâand take home an Oscar, too.
As his mum e-mailed on Oscar night, February 27, 2011, “Well done, son! Well done!”
Transcript of Christian Bale's rant on the set of
Terminator Salvation
BALE
: Kick your fucking ass!
HURLBUT
: Christian, Christian . . .
BALE
: I want you off the fucking set you prick!
HURLBUT
: Christian, I'm sorry.
BALE
: No, don't just be sorry, think for one fucking second. What the fuck are you doing? Are you professional or not?
HURLBUT
: Yes I am.
BALE
: Do I fucking walk around and . . .
BRUCE FRANKLIN
: Christian, Christian . . .
BALE
: No, shut the fuck up Bruce! Don't shut me up!
FRANKLIN
: I'm not shutting you up.
BALE
: Am I going to walk around and rip your fucking lights down, in the middle of a scene? Then why the fuck are you walking right through like this in the background. What the fuck is it with you? What don't you fucking understand? You got any fucking idea about, hey, it's fucking distracting having somebody walking up behind Bryce in the middle of the fucking scene? Give me a fucking answer! What don't you get about it?
HURLBUT
: I was looking at the light.
BALE
: Oh, good for you, and how was it? I hope it was fucking good, because it's useless now, isn't it? Fuck-sake man, you're amateur.
BALE
: McG, you got fucking something to say to this prick?
MCG
: I didn't see it happen.
BALE
: Well, somebody should be fucking watching and keeping an eye on him.
MCG
: Fair enough.
BALE
: It's the second time that he doesn't give a fuck about what is going on in front of the camera. I'm trying to fucking do a scene here, and I am going “Why the fuck is Shane walking in there? What is he doing there?” Do you understand my mind is not in the scene if you're doing that?
HURLBUT
: I absolutely apologize. I'm sorry, I did not mean anything by it.
BALE
: Stay off the fucking set man. For fuck-sake. Alright, let's go again.
MCG
: Let's just take a minute.
BALE
: Let's not take a fucking minute, let's go again. You're unbelievable, you're un-fucking-believable. Number of times you're strolling and fucking around in the background. I've never had a DP behave like this. You don't fucking understand what it's like working with actors, that's what that is. That's what that is man, I'm telling you. I'm not asking, I'm telling you. You wouldn't have done that otherwise.
HURLBUT
: No, what it is, is looking at the light and making sure, that you are . . .
BALE
: I'm going to fucking kick your fucking ass if you don't shut for a second! Alright?
BALE
: You do it one more fucking time and I ain't walking on this set if you're still hired. I'm fucking serious. You're a nice guy. You're a nice guy, but that don't fucking cut it when you're
bullshitting and fucking around like this on set. I ain't the one walking. Let's get Tom and put this back on and let's go again. Seriously man, you and me, we're fucking done professionally. Fucking ass.
Bill for David Bale to get a green card
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2945
For the relief of David Bale.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 27, 2000
Mrs. FEINSTEIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
For the relief of David Bale.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1.
PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS FOR DAVID BALE.
(a) IN GENERALâNotwithstanding subsections (a) and (b) of section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, David
Bale shall be eligible for issuance of an immigrant visa or for adjustment of status to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence upon filing an application for issuance of an immigrant visa under section 204 of such Act or for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident.
(b) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUSâIf David Bale entered the United States before the filing deadline specified in subsection (c), he shall be considered to have entered and remained lawfully and shall, if otherwise eligible, be eligible for adjustment of status under section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION AND PAYMENT OF FEESâSubsections (a) and (b) shall apply only if the application for issuance of an immigrant visa or the application for adjustment of status are filed with appropriate fees within 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) REDUCTION OF IMMIGRANT VISA NUMBERâUpon the granting of an immigrant visa or permanent residence to David Bale, the Secretary of State shall instruct the proper officer to reduce by one, during the current or next following fiscal year, the total number of immigrant visas that are made available to natives of the country of the alien's birth under section 203(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act or, if applicable, the total number of immigrant visas that are made available to natives of the country of the alien's birth under section 202(e) of such Act.
Harrison would like to thank:
Harry, Lillian, Leslie, and Laurie Cheungâmy family, for their unwavering love and support, even after I ran away from home
.
Nicola “Nickels” Pittamâmy co-author and dear friend. You are the only true superhero in Los Angeles. Thank you so much for sticking with me on a project that was literally years in the making
!
Jennifer De Chiaraâmy agent, for your persistence and belief in my writing all these years
.
Linda Gamstâfor years of preparation and fortification, without which, this book might not have happened
.
Jean McKayâfor your guidance and support since day oneâwith love and affection
.
Jennifer Lac Kampâje suis mon coeur aussi
.
Laurie Reidâthe very first Baleheadâand John McFetridge. You know, Bea, we could have saved Rupert Graves instead
!
Dodger and Odessaâthe home guard! Greenies all around
!
Harrison and Nicola would like to thank:
Glenn Yeffeth, Jennifer Canzoneri, Erin Kelley, Lindsay Marshall, and the great team at BenBella Books
.
Angelica Jopsonâwe were so lucky to have you on our team. Thank you for your drive, initiative, and perseverance
.
Henrick Vartanianâthank you so much for literally going the extra thousand miles for marketing support
.
Ryan Dohertyâthe Big R for Big Web help
!
Zac Witteâfor marketing support and brainstorming
Dan Hogan, Bournemouth University
Michael Stead, Bournemouth Library
Scott Harrison, Bournemouth Daily Echoâthanks for letting us harass you
.
Mark Passera, Edinburgh Napier Universityâfor rolling the ball
.
Jay Lenoâa true gentleman; we hope this explains all
!
Patrick Antoshâthe cock-sock inventor
!
More acknowledgments: * | ||
African National Congress | Â | Bournemouth County Court |
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema | Â | Bournemouth Daily Echo |
Austin School of Film | Â | Bournemouth School for Boys |
Avonbourne Girls School | Â | Bournemouth Public Library |
*
Production budgets and box office figures are estimates sourced from
IMDb.com
and
Boxofficemojo.com
.
Bournemouth University | Â | Palm Springs Film Festival |
 | Paramount Pictures Publicity | |
Brian Boeckman | Â | Peter Jeffrey |
British Midland | Â | PR by the Book |
British Airways | Â | Q |
British National Archives | Â | Screen Actors Guild |
City of Los Angeles | Â | State of California |
Hallmark Publicity | Â | Sundance Film Festival |
Haverfordwest, Wales | Â | Ted Fay |
I.B.M | Â | Toronto International Film Festival |
London Metropolitan Archives | Â | Â |
Mark Lynch | Â | United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority |
Middlesex Crown Court, U.K | Â | Â |
NBC Publicity | Â | U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services |
N.F. Mendoza | Â | Westlaw |