It so happens during the production of almost every piece of art, technology and entertainment that tensions rise with time, and there comes the point when, inevitably, someone starts shouting at someone else. (Or the artist starts shouting at themselves, if they work on their own.) Everyone who follows the Hollywood buzz already knows of the recent famous case of Christian Bale and his anger during the filming of one Terminator Salvation scene. Here – sorry for linking to gossip-munching sensationalists – one can download the original audio recording of the incident. You can also find various videos of it on YouTube, and even one re-enactment with appropriate costume and prop.
My intent, however, is not to chew over that case once again. Enough people have used the event to fill up columns, to cheaply enhance the film’s popularity, or to speculate on the deeper issues in the lives and work of actors and various film workers. Things only become interesting when someone decides to use such incidents creatively in order to build something, often funny, out of the tensions that accompany all creative processes. So it’s good that I have my sister who regularly points me to exactly that kind of imaginative (ab)use.
To come to the gist: there are a bunch of people who took this event and transformed it into something useful. One video uses the recorded Bale explosion for an aggressive dance tune and also incorporates some similarly nice Barbra Streisand material. I find this clip very helpful for venting all sorts of frustration and anger, and I guess it would make for an excellent night-club hit – if someone took it up and gave it some rotation.
Another video jokingly points to said incident, but this time as something of a quotation: the first and, alas, currently only episode of Claptrap Web Series, a promo video for the upcoming sci-fi RPG-like madness Borderlands. In the clip, Claptrap gives you some info on the game, but then gets interrupted in a very familiar manner… and then some fun ensues. Borderlands is one of the games I anticipate with a mixture of eagerness, horror and curiosity, so let this be a statement of those motley feelings.
Finally, have fun, and if you find anything similar to the entertaining situation described here, give us a shout in the comments. Q. W3ary out.
