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Post by RhodoraO on Mar 8, 2017 23:09:23 GMT
In May 2000, Matt Wolf wrote an interesting piece on the warm welcome American audiences give to British talent that name-checks and talks with a number of the latest among the "Britpack". It's fun to read the article and to think how far the named ones have made till today. Mary Harron comments by using Bale's example. Britain Sends Out Wave After Wave Of Fresh Hunks
- The difference between this latest crop and previous ones lies not in quality but in numbers: instead of pairs, think clusters; no, better yet, packs. Britpacks. However invidious it may be to name names, it's hard to resist the temptation. Dominic West, Jason Isaacs, Dougray Scott, Ioan Gruffudd, Daniel Craig and Kevin McKidd as well as Mr. Frain. To which one could just as easily add Rupert Penry-Jones, Ben Chaplin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ed Stoppard, James Purefoy and Paul Bettany. Not to mention Christian Bale, although his revelatory performance in ''American Psycho'' sets him apart. For the moment, at least.
- So are the Brits just better? They're certainly better schooled in the craft, which in turn opens up broader career possibilities.
''That's why they're so used,'' said the director Mary Harron, who put Mr. Bale, 26, a Welshman, at the murderous center of ''American Psycho.'' ''These guys are really character actors, whether they're good-looking or not. I don't think you would ever go see a Christian Bale performance the way you would, say, a Ben Affleck performance.''
She elaborated on the point: ''I like Ben Affleck, but I wouldn't cast him in anything that involved total transformation. American acting is very, very personality-based.''
That's where training comes in, even if Mr. Bale is one of the few to have learned the acting trade on the job, not at a drama academy.
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Post by RhodoraO on Mar 9, 2017 6:26:09 GMT
A ticklishly delightful article from the Guardian on young Bale's legacy (then just reconfirmed for American Psycho) as a child star with a successful adult transformation: Few survive it, and fewer benefit from it: childhood stardom usually evaporates when the little cherub sinks into a protracted adolescence of drink, drugs and skin problems. Think River Phoenix, Drew Barrymore, and, er, Macaulay Culkin - the writing is on the wall as soon as that private tutor arrives on set.
But Christian Bale - the blond 11-year-old brat who goes through hell in Steven Spielberg's World War Two epic Empire of the Sun - has reversed the trend, making good on his childhood promise with just enough solid performances to distance himself from that lethal child-star phase.
Since we first saw him running around Spielberg's Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, dealing in soap and baseball cards, Bale has developed an impressively sturdy brow and a CV that encompasses everything from a boy-in-the-tavern role in Kenneth Branagh's Henry V to a lead role in the adaptation of Julian Barnes's novel Metroland.
Any remnants of his child-star era were clearly vanquished when, in the glam-flick Velvet Goldmine, he had the rare privilege of being taken from behind by Ewan McGregor. The bright, immediate future will bring us All the Little Animals, in which Bale plays a wayward child friend of a man who buries roadkill, and another Shakespeare plc epic, A Midsummer Night's Dream, where he's the wayward courtier, Demetrius, pursuing Anna Friel on a bicycle.
But the news that has had Hollywood's hierarchy fuming into its Hi-Bran is Bale's forthcoming lead role in American Psycho. The fuss in Tinseltown concerns more than the deranged acts of Brett Easton Ellis's Wall Street loon, Patrick Bateman.
The story, as it has circulated, runs like so. The production company Lions Gate initially offered the main part to some kid called Leonardo DiCaprio. Leonardo, tired of ninnying around in big, porous boats, is said to have agreed to appear, anxious to get his teeth into a grown-up nasty of a role. All this desire for artistic credibility did not, however, make him any less anxious to grasp a reported fee of $21 million. The film had a small budget, but nonetheless it was decided that DiCaprio's presence, though expensive, was worth the sacrifice of two minor contributors (Bale and director Mary Hannon). DiCaprio read this news in Daily Variety, and, shocked that such things could happen in the Land of the Free, withdrew his services in an act of solidarity with his fellow workers.*
A little less precious was Bale, who wasted little time in accepting the same lead, and hence saving the film's feasibility. Bale has spent his years adding 'smouldering', 'steely' and 'empathic' to an ever more impressive repertoire. And - to take the DiCaprio v Bale match a childish step further - Bale's films are kinder to beaches and he doesn't smoke or go porky if left alone for 10 minutes. Bale's fan base began and flourished on the Internet - he has the second highest number of web sites dedicated to him. Naturally, Leonardo has the most.
But the difference between their cyber-selves is all the more telling. Leonardo's sites are lame homage to his unblemished complexion and gaudy Hawaiian shirts. Bale's, however, are far less adulatory, hoping to tell the world that a cat-loving vegetarian can swing effortlessly from Shakespeare to serial-killing.
Five things you should know about Christian Bale
1 Christian's first appearance was in a Pac Man cereal commercial. He was nine.
2 He was the voice of Thomas in Disney's Pocahontas.
3 One of his favourite hobbies is painting castles.
4 He supports Greenpeace, WWF, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, the Redwings Sanctuary and the Happy Child Mission. God Bless.
5 He is an Aquarius born in the Year of the Tiger. Can't you tell?_______________________ About those DiCaprio / Bale comparisons: DiCaprio had yet to prove himself as a serious actor beyond being an international heartthrob; whereas Bale had been constantly impressing his talents on those following his career. DiCaprio subsequently proved himself quite adept at navigating the Hollywood production system. While Bale is still the same Bale that his fans fell in love with back then and that caught the critics' admiration.
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Post by RhodoraO on Mar 14, 2017 5:02:44 GMT
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Post by RhodoraO on Mar 14, 2017 9:10:16 GMT
This is the first proper career perspective of Bale written as the last piece on the genius of cult Christian Bale before the release of Batman Begins. Written by salon.com's culture columnist Cintra Wilson, in an endearing and earnest manner, the article explores what special genius Christian brings to several of his diverse but often humble pre-Batman roles. The magic Christian All bow before the young British actor with more going on than any American actor, ever -- Garland, Brando, Sinatra, you name it. And he's not even a major star (yet). CINTRA WILSON OCT 26, 2004 www.salon.com/2004/10/26/bale/
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Post by RhodoraO on Mar 23, 2017 4:46:48 GMT
Recently, I tweeted The Magic Christian article by Cintra Wilson (see above) and then wondered what she thought of Christian these days. You know what? Cintra just liked that tweet:
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Post by RhodoraO on May 21, 2017 13:43:51 GMT
Hello, you all!
Just found this Village Voice gem from 1998 in anticipation of Velvet Goldmine's release. Since the essay is more on Bale's career in general, hence I'm posting it as it is (picture and all) here. A valuable addition to our ream of essays-on-Bale!
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Post by ripley on Jul 2, 2017 21:33:22 GMT
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Post by Tuulia on Jul 2, 2017 23:03:15 GMT
oh wow.
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Post by RhodoraO on Dec 22, 2020 13:40:02 GMT
A fun write-up by an obvious fan in 2008 after, well... he was snubbed for the Oscars again! Yep, there was that time too, haha. ew.com/article/2008/01/24/christian-bale-4/After reading over the Oscar nominations Tuesday, I think I found a glaring mistake. Christian Bale is not mentioned amongst the nominees. Surely this was an oversight. I mean, how many times can the guy get overlooked by the Academy? It simply defies logic. He was in two excellent films this year, 3:10 to Yuma (pictured) and Rescue Dawn, and yet again, he’s received no Oscar nods. Did the Academy just not happen to catch either of those flicks? Or do they have some sort of unwritten agreement that he is to get dissed every single year? That’s the only explanation I’ve come up with. Granted, I’m a little biased. Confession time: I’ve been smitten with Christian Bale since watching that amusing little Disney flick Newsies back in high school. Don’t lie, you loved it too — all that singing and dancing, not to mention Jack Kelly’s ridiculous Noo Yawk accent. I’m onto you. My love for Christian (after 16 years, I figure we’re on a first-name basis) has lasted longer than most Hollywood marriages. Throughout his roles, whether fantastic (American Psycho) or unbelievably bad (ahem, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and Velvet Goldmine), my loyalty has never wavered. Sure, watching him shrink to 120 pounds in The Machinist or wither away in Rescue Dawn made me a little nauseated, but nothing has been able to shake my admiration for the guy. It’s not just that I think he is Hottie McYummy. That goes without saying. But the man is talent personified. He transforms himself with every single role. And it’s about time he got the recognition he deserved. Are you listening, Academy members? My indignation at this blatant snub got me thinking — I’ve had acrush on him since I was a teenager. How often do your celeb crushesfrom childhood continue as an adult? I’m certainly not jonesing forKirk Cameron, Ralph Macchio or Mark-Paul Gosselaar anymore. And I’mmore than a little embarrassed by some celeb crushes (who shall remainnameless to protect my dignity) that I had as a kid. And yet, ChristianBale has remained atop my list for more than 16 years. Unabashedly so. So PopWatchers, I ask you — are you still harboring any celeb crushes left over from childhood… or am I the only one? Fess up
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Post by sidveryvic on Jan 18, 2021 5:11:40 GMT
Little known fact:
From bale's disgruntled ex-agent cheng's book. In it he says that during late 90s and early 2000s, bale was considered box office poison. Studio executives and producers were not interested in hiring him for any of their projects. Even for reign of fire. Studio okayed matt mcconaughey and gerard butler but not bale. It was the director who wanted him in. Apparently there was a journalist or someone who wrote a book about hollywood or something around this time and in which he described bale as kind of a bad omen to be hired. As his track record was not great commercially. I mean bale's career prospects were looking pretty dim in early 2000s. Batman saved him as much as he saved batman.
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Post by RhodoraO on Jan 19, 2021 23:38:59 GMT
Little known fact: From bale's disgruntled ex-agent cheng's book. In it he says that during late 90s and early 2000s, bale was considered box office poison. Studio executives and producers were not interested in hiring him for any of their projects. Even for reign of fire. Studio okayed matt mcconaughey and gerard butler but not bale. It was the director who wanted him in. Apparently there was a journalist or someone who wrote a book about hollywood or something around this time and in which he described bale as kind of a bad omen to be hired. As his track record was not great commercially. I mean bale's career prospects were looking pretty dim in early 2000s. Batman saved him as much as he saved batman. Actually, it's a well-known fact for the followers of Bale for long He himself has described all of this in plenty of early interviews. He was terrible at auditions, never could get them right, so that had a big role to play It's all in his early interviews
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Post by sidveryvic on Jan 20, 2021 1:08:27 GMT
Little known fact: From bale's disgruntled ex-agent cheng's book. In it he says that during late 90s and early 2000s, bale was considered box office poison. Studio executives and producers were not interested in hiring him for any of their projects. Even for reign of fire. Studio okayed matt mcconaughey and gerard butler but not bale. It was the director who wanted him in. Apparently there was a journalist or someone who wrote a book about hollywood or something around this time and in which he described bale as kind of a bad omen to be hired. As his track record was not great commercially. I mean bale's career prospects were looking pretty dim in early 2000s. Batman saved him as much as he saved batman. Actually, it's a well-known fact for the followers of Bale for long He himself has described all of this in plenty of early interviews. He was terrible at auditions, never could get them right, so that had a big role to play It's all in his early interviews You are missing my point...its not just terrible auditions...he was not bankable.
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Post by RhodoraO on Jan 20, 2021 18:01:26 GMT
True.
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Post by RhodoraO on Feb 26, 2021 4:15:13 GMT
From Sassy, May 1992
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Post by thedarkknight on Feb 26, 2021 12:51:15 GMT
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