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Edward Furlong must be excited to find out he grows up to be Christian Bale. Terminator Salvation centers on John Connor taking the lead in the human resistance in the future where Skynet has nuked the world. It’ll be a big summer for him too with Public Enemies coming out a little over a month later.
Crave Online: Do you remember seeing The Terminator as a teenager?
Christian Bale: The first time I saw the first movie, which would have been a number of years after it got released, it was fun. Not something that had a strong impact, but when I was 17 and I just came out to the States, I went to see T2 and that was very memorable. It was opening weekend. I couldn't hear a damn thing that was said on the movie because everybody was screaming so much throughout it. So it was an introduction to American audiences but also to a movie that just seemed to make everybody crazy in that way, and I really enjoyed that. There was that real basic recognition of a nightmare that so many people have and just that relentless pursuit by something that is so unstoppable and then the very cool images, the fantasy and the escapism of those movies. Then the inevitable happens. It’s so rare that you get a third movie that is worth watching and it became a little bit of a spoof. I mean, look, it’s just a movie. I’m not here to have a go at anybody, but it just wasn’t up to the others at all and I thought that was a great shame. I think there’s a real nice mythology to it, but it needed re-invention and I liked that idea. When I was first approached with this, I didn’t feel like it was really being re-invented in a good enough fashion, so I said no to it a number of times. But then with the conversations about what could happen with the script and the potential of what we could do, I came around to thinking that it was something I wanted to be involved with. We were also up against the writer’s strike which went on far longer than I anticipated. We were slowly approaching the beginning of principal photography and in my very naïve mind, I said, “So guys, when are we going to actually start filming?” And the answer is no, there’s no pushing it back, because what I dumbly hadn’t realized that with movies like these, it’s much like the country, with companies that keep the country afloat, these kinds of movies keep the company afloat so they need them. So we had to come up with something fast. So that’s when I called up Jonathan Nolan. He came up with something which was a very different concept to the other movies, but respectful to the continuation of that mythology.
Crave Online: Do you have any interest in doing a lighter movie at some point?
Christian Bale: Look, Terminator's a lighter movie, don't you think? It's not Apocalypse Now. We intend people to have good fun. It's a good summer movie, watch it with a crowd. I call that light. No matter how gritty and dark you want to make it, it's essentially a movie to have fun to.
Crave Online: Is that true of The Dark Knight as well?
Christian Bale: Dark Knight, Chris managed to delve into uncomfortable ethical questions, but his talent with that is that there was a duality to the movie. You could question that and you could actually come away with some really substantial questions there, but you can also just see it for the pure entertainment spectacle as well. That's Chris’s talent, to be able to balance, juggle the two.
Crave Online: You’ve met Schwarzenegger, right?
Christian Bale: Well, obviously I didn't meet him on the set. He didn't have to expend one second of time. Strangely I've just bumped into him a few times, and I've worked with some of his family members in the past, so there's a kind of a recognition.
Crave Online: Are you an Arnold fan?
Christian Bale: I think that it's always admirable when you're the originator. Of course, he's had many imitators. We've sort of moved on now from the Eighties and the big, beefy guys, but he was the first, so hats off to him. And you look at what the guy's achieved. It's phenomenal. So yeah, absolutely, I get a thrill out of seeing the scene where Conner faces off against the original T-800.
Crave Online: How did Terminator push you further physically than other action movies?
Christian Bale: Physically, not at all. I was actually surprised at how easy this one was compared to some of the other movies that I’ve made. It was far less physical exertion. By the time a Terminator comes to physically grapple with a human, you’re done. So it was primarily about weapons, which was a whole lot less exerting than the physical aspect of it. There are just elements of it naturally being futuristic and there had to be CGI and it was the most CGI that I have ever worked with, probably far less than many other actors have. There were certainly no days when we were just standing in front of the green screen, but more so than anything I’ve done before. And very much now through seeing the gradual creation of the movie through the editing process, just how stunning that side of the movie is. When we were filming we thought we were the leads in the movie! It ain’t so. Once you get the CGI, the Terminators and everybody in there, of course you have to have a solid story because special effects and CGI don’t mean crap if you don’t have a good story in there as well. But the fact is, those guys are the stars of the movie, not us.
Crave Online: What was your experience with Public Enemies?
Christian Bale: Absolutely fantastic. Michael Mann I think to be one of the finest filmmakers around. His ability for all aspects of filming is stunning. His thoroughness. I just loved the research, the attention to detail, his perception of exactly what each actor is doing at any given moment. It's truly stunning. I liked my experience working with him as much as any that I've ever been through. I would certainly hope to repeat that because you don't get people with his kind of talent very often.
