Trooper Cooper
Well-Known Member
Okay, I had a brief discussion about this, and to be honest - I side with Bale on this one.
From what I can tell, the scene had Bale acting directly opposite Bryce Dallas Howard. At some stage, whether it was or was not at McG's discretion, the DoP Shane Hurlbut walks directly behind Bryce and starts tweaking lights, while the scene is being filmed. Now, when you're in the zone, trying to be John Connor, in a dystopian future, doing some kind of passionate and overwhelming scene with Kate Connor about how the world is screwed and there's something you need to do to save it (a little poetic licence there, granted), and you get a DoP walk right behind her with a light meter to screw with a light in the background (judging by the scenes I have seen of Bryce Dallas Howard, it would have been a night shoot or in the dark - even more noticeable) for not the first but the SECOND or THIRD time... that IS very distracting *and* very unprofessional. That sort of thing is something you do BEFORE you roll or AFTER you roll. Not during.
The next issue for me is whether McG told Hurlbut to mess with the light. You hear McG being told off by Bale over it, and to be honest McG should have been the one to chastise Hurlbut and not Bale - the fact Bale felt the need to shows that McG isn't keeping a very tight handle on the cast and crew. If McG told Hurlbut to, then that makes McG look like an ass. If Hurlbut did it of his own accord, both Hurlbut AND McG look like an ass.
This issue is not about whether or not actors get cranky or not - deep down, it's an issue about doing things right. If you were at work and your boss went off the handle because you were doing something unprofessional that distracted them from serious work that costs the company a hell of a lot of money per hour to do, you would either call him an ******* or think it was reasonable and apologise. Bale was doing his job. Hurlbut and possibly McG made a very unprofessional mistake.
From what I can tell, the scene had Bale acting directly opposite Bryce Dallas Howard. At some stage, whether it was or was not at McG's discretion, the DoP Shane Hurlbut walks directly behind Bryce and starts tweaking lights, while the scene is being filmed. Now, when you're in the zone, trying to be John Connor, in a dystopian future, doing some kind of passionate and overwhelming scene with Kate Connor about how the world is screwed and there's something you need to do to save it (a little poetic licence there, granted), and you get a DoP walk right behind her with a light meter to screw with a light in the background (judging by the scenes I have seen of Bryce Dallas Howard, it would have been a night shoot or in the dark - even more noticeable) for not the first but the SECOND or THIRD time... that IS very distracting *and* very unprofessional. That sort of thing is something you do BEFORE you roll or AFTER you roll. Not during.
The next issue for me is whether McG told Hurlbut to mess with the light. You hear McG being told off by Bale over it, and to be honest McG should have been the one to chastise Hurlbut and not Bale - the fact Bale felt the need to shows that McG isn't keeping a very tight handle on the cast and crew. If McG told Hurlbut to, then that makes McG look like an ass. If Hurlbut did it of his own accord, both Hurlbut AND McG look like an ass.
This issue is not about whether or not actors get cranky or not - deep down, it's an issue about doing things right. If you were at work and your boss went off the handle because you were doing something unprofessional that distracted them from serious work that costs the company a hell of a lot of money per hour to do, you would either call him an ******* or think it was reasonable and apologise. Bale was doing his job. Hurlbut and possibly McG made a very unprofessional mistake.
