Christian Bale

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q45772: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by the only person by that name on Wikidata.

Counted as actor. The films the hosts said they acted in, which the two lists below run through too: Empire of the Sun (1987); Velvet Goldmine (1998); American Psycho (2000); I'm Not There (2007); Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014); Vice (2018); Ford v Ferrari (2019); Amsterdam (2022); Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna; The Bride!; The New World; Untitled Al Davis / Madden film (David O. Russell).

Draws on

What the speakers say they, or a film of theirs, drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

Body Double (1984): 1 line

  1. lineage (satire lineage) · through American Psycho (2000), which they acted in: Body Double ⇒ American Psycho (the host's read). American Psycho is described as the Reductress version of Body Double.
    “it's almost like the, the, you know, reductress version of, um, body double in a way.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Star 80 with Julie Klausner · 1:07:36 · Julie Klausner (0.50 sure it was them)

David Lean: 1 line

  1. lineage (origin of project) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they acted in: David Lean ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Lean asked Spielberg to check on the rights, then lost interest and handed the novel to him.
    “He asks Spielberg to check in on the rights for him.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:57:53 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Gone with the Wind (1939): 1 line

  1. unmapped (scene reference) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they acted in: Gone with the Wind ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Jim stands before the Gone with the Wind poster, echoing Spielberg's remark to Alice Walker that it is one of his favorites.
    “I mean, you have that moment where he's standing in front of the giant gone with the wind poster, right?”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:31:05 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

J.G. Ballard: 1 line

  1. lineage (source) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they acted in: J.G. Ballard ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). The novel is darker than the film, which sanitized it and condensed characters.
    “There is definitely a lot of sanitizing happening and a lot of kind of condensing of characters and turning them into more of a more of a Hollywoody plot element.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:01:53 · Bilge Ebiri (0.75 sure it was them)

Jaws (1975): 1 line

  1. craft (shot design) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they acted in: Jaws ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Spielberg reveals Malkovich in pieces like Jaws and Indiana Jones, withholding the hero shot.
    “he introduces him both like he's Jaws and like he's Indiana Jones”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:38:17 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973): 1 line

  1. lineage (pastiche source) · through I'm Not There (2007), which they acted in: Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid ⇒ I'm Not There (the host's read). Haynes styles one segment after Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and another after Pennebaker, so the film is also different period filmmaking.
    “he styles one whole segment after, you know, Pat Garrett and Noie the Kid.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Elvis,’ ‘Walk Hard’ and Top Five Music Biopics · 1:13:32 · Adam Nayman (0.85 sure it was them)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): 1 line

  1. craft (shot design) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they acted in: Raiders of the Lost Ark ⇒ Empire of the Sun (the host's read). Same slow reveal as Indiana Jones in pieces before the hero shot.
    “which similarly has the like Spielberg taking 5 minutes to show you Indiana Jones in pieces before you really get the hero shot”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:38:17 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987): 1 line

  1. lineage (spiritual progenitor) · through I'm Not There (2007), which they acted in: Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story ⇒ I'm Not There (the host's read). Todd Haynes's first film, the Barbie-doll Karen Carpenter story, is the progenitor of I'm Not There's foregrounded cliches.
    “a movie that's kind of the spiritual progenitor if I'm not there, which is Superstar, which is the 1st thing Todd Haynes ever made”
    The Big Picture · ‘Elvis,’ ‘Walk Hard’ and Top Five Music Biopics · 1:11:55 · Adam Nayman (0.85 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

What the speakers say drew on them or a film of theirs, marked the same way.

Schindler's List (1993): 2 lines

  1. contrast (method contrast) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they acted in: Empire of the Sun ⇒ Schindler's List (the host's read). On Schindler Spielberg refused to storyboard, almost as a reaction to criticism of the puppet-show control in Empire.
    “Schindler, the infamous thing, is that he was like, I won't storyboard this.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:31:40 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. unmapped (dry run) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they acted in: Empire of the Sun ⇒ Schindler's List (the host's read). Schindler's List is the more successful grown-up film that erased Empire of the Sun from memory; it was seen as the dry run.
    “Look back as this was the dry run before he totally cracked it on Shell.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 0:30:35 · Griffin Newman (0.40 sure it was them)

Tropic Thunder (2008): 1 line

  1. lineage (inspiration) · through Empire of the Sun (1987), which they acted in: Empire of the Sun ⇒ Tropic Thunder (the host's read). Ben Stiller, on the Empire set as a young actor, was inspired by actors playing at suffering to make Tropic Thunder two decades later.
    “Which, of course, this is one of this movie's greatest, like, lasting legacies is that this, this is what inspires Tropic Thunder.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:49:05 · Griffin Newman (0.60 sure it was them)

What the speakers said they did

Acting (15) everyone in acting

Other (2) everyone in other

What was said about them, by kind

career (2)

  1. career (career parallel): Christian Bale → Henry Thomas. Both were kid actors Spielberg discovered who had to escape that shadow before being safe as adult actors.
    “Christian Bale had a bit of a parallel Henry Thomas arc where for a while it was like he can't come out from the shadow of him being a kid that Spielberg discovered”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:12:23 · David Sims (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. career (career parallel): Christian Bale → Jeff Bridges. Like Bridges, Bale came to acting as a child by family expectation and had to find his own reason to take it seriously.
    “it sounds almost a bit like what Jeff Bridges went through.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:17:06 · Bilge Ebiri (0.85 sure it was them)

contrast (1)

  1. contrast (contrast): Christian Bale → Mary Poppins (the chimney sweep, per speakers). Bale's cheery speech was described as a chimney sweep from Mary Poppins, with a similar accent.
    “kind of like chimney sweep from Mary Poppins in a way.”
    The Big Picture · Instant Reactions to a Truly Ludicrous Golden Globes | The Oscars Show (Ep. 115) · 0:37:24 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)

industry (1)

  1. industry (industry): Christian Bale → James Franco. Last year's winner of the same award was James Franco, who was soon blown out of the frame, showing how frivolous the show is.
    “The answer is James Franco.”
    The Big Picture · Instant Reactions to a Truly Ludicrous Golden Globes | The Oscars Show (Ep. 115) · 0:38:46 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

people (4)

  1. people (loyal collaborator): Christian Bale → David O. Russell. Bale's Oscar nominations all come from Adam McKay or David O. Russell movies, and he is doing an Al Davis film for Russell.
    “All of his Oscar nominations are either for Adam McKay or David O. Russell movies.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · The Color of Money with Chris Ryan · 2:37:57 · unknown (0.30 sure it was them)
  2. people (actor comparison): Christian Bale → Adam Driver. Bale takes weird projects, even bad movies, a bit like Driver, but is more flexible.
    “He's almost like there's there's a bit of the Adam Driver thing going on with them.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:13:47 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. people (performance): Christian Bale → Ford v Ferrari. Kathleen Kennedy said his Ford v Ferrari performance is closest to the real Christian, tying to Indiana Jones casting.
    “she was like, that is the closest to his personality.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:19:32 · Bilge Ebiri (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. people (people): Empire of the Sun → Christian Bale. Bale and Malkovich deliver some of the best performances in any Spielberg movie.
    “And I think has some of the best performances in any Spielberg movie, Bail.”
    The Big Picture · Steven Spielberg's Top 5 Movies With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan | The Big Picture (Ep. 57) · 0:16:50 · Chris Ryan (0.85 sure it was them)

verdict (1)

  1. verdict (verdict): Vice → Christian Bale. Vice went one for six, and the performance is the one thing everyone likes.
    “Out of 6 nominations, I believe, the most of any film tonight.”
    The Big Picture · Instant Reactions to a Truly Ludicrous Golden Globes | The Oscars Show (Ep. 115) · 0:39:20 · Amanda Dobbins (0.45 sure it was them)

what-if (2)

  1. what-if (what-if): Ferrari → Christian Bale. Bale was the original Ferrari, identified by Pollack and Mann, but stepped aside rather than gain weight.
    “originally when the film was being conceived, Sidney Pollock and Michael Mann had identified Christian Bale as Ferrari.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Ferrari’ and Top Five Michael Mann Movies · 0:26:27 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. what-if (what-if): Christian Bale → Daniel Day-Lewis. With Day-Lewis out of the frame, Bale becomes the consensus best actor and a second Oscar would make that official.
    “Daniel DeLouis is out of the frame and now everybody's like, this is our best actor”
    The Big Picture · Instant Reactions to a Truly Ludicrous Golden Globes | The Oscars Show (Ep. 115) · 0:36:45 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Christian Bale: Spielberg auditioned 4000 kids; Bale, recommended by Amy Irving, was the one exception to Griffin's theory that Spielberg fails at breaking male stars.
    “oh, right, he fucking found Christian Bale.”
    Blank Check with Griffin & David · Empire of the Sun with Bilge Ebiri · 1:11:49 · Griffin Newman (0.80 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Christian Bale: He thanked Satan in his speech to big laughs.
    “I mean, him thanking Satan.”
    The Big Picture · Instant Reactions to a Truly Ludicrous Golden Globes | The Oscars Show (Ep. 115) · 0:37:21 · Sean Fennessey (0.45 sure it was them)