Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Say he's sorry? Christian Bale was in the right!

Good acting isn't "playing make believe." There is a process that stellar performers must go through in order to truly become the role of whomever they are playing. For some, staying in that mode takes heavy concentration, before and through the moment the scene is shot…when they are able to finally release the pent up energy of the character…this other person inhabiting their body. Some actors are more easy going and can snap into character as soon as the scene starts. They have a mechanism that enables their "other person" to inhabit their body with only a thought in their own mind.

Christian Bale is known as an actor who needs to be able to concentrate on being the character up until and into the scene being filmed. When someone breaks the "third wall" and invades the reality of the character, the result can be quite jarring. Keep in mind, the moment the "infraction" occurs, – the actor is NOT themselves. They are the character…and something has interrupted and disturbed THE CHARACTER. The reaction can be very emotional, anything from anger to fear, laughter to tears. The character Bale is playing in the movie would never see a DP taking light readings in the reality he inhabits. A "Terminator" perhaps, but not a camera man…seeing this guy broke the world that Christian Bale had created for this other person, who inhabits his body…the angry soldier fighting Terminators.

Writers are often intense and if one small distraction happens, and entire thread of a storyline we were "seeing" can suddenly disappear before we've had the chance to get it on paper. This is frustrating because sometimes, the exact feeling of, "AH-HA! I've got it!" is never quite the same, even if an alternative and fantastic storyline is created.

No, Christian Bale should NOT have to apologize for his outburst. The crew of the movie set (and all sets) needs to respect and understand that if they break an actor's concentration before a scene is filmed, it's just as bad as if they walked into a scene that is actually being filmed. The character inhabiting the body of the actor doesn't realize it's all a movie. If someone out of the ordinary shows up, or an action occurs that jars the actor's concentration… the character can freak out! Because in that moment, the actor is inhabiting the character… it's the other way around, you see? Perhaps, (not always) a character is the first to react…before the actor has the time to take over the body again.

I'm not saying it was the soldier character that yelled at the guy and not Christian Bale. He has a temper. He worked hard to create an alternative reality in his mind and someone had no respect for it.

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(If you don't scroll down far enough, you'll miss blogs with tips for Better Business Writing, news on Manchester United and some of the dining/food allergy experiences I've had!)

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