# Nice guy Christian Bale is visiting the shooting victims in the hospital. Warner Bros is quick to **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292 "2012-07-24T22:42:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/41 "2012-07-25T09:32:09Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > Wonder what those here who thought his visit was self serving thought of the President’s visit to the hospital and victims. I would have thought the President would have thought through the publicity side of it far more than Bale. Not that I think Obama is only doing it for the publicity, but of necessity everything he does has to be considered in that light. I doubt Bale considers he needs any more publicity than he already has. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/42 "2012-07-25T13:36:58Z")
The connection is _obvious_, people! It’s the opening move in Bale’s campaign for the presidency. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/43 "2012-07-25T13:47:45Z")
> [@D-bear](#): > > And what is wrong with that? Nothing. I actually think it’s nice that he visited, if you read my post. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/44 "2012-07-25T13:53:42Z")
> [@well\_he\_s\_back](#): > > Wonder what those here who thought his visit was self serving thought of the President’s visit to the hospital and victims. Well, that depends. Was he wearing his American flag lapel pin? Did he bow to any Saudis that may have been present? ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/45 "2012-07-25T14:08:35Z")
> [@simster](#): > > Will he be visiting in full costume? You know, Black mask, body armor, black cape? > > Cause that would be \_really\_cool. Also, if he talked in the growly voice. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/46 "2012-07-25T14:10:25Z")
I don’t even like Christian Bale and I thought it was a nice thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/47 "2012-07-25T14:19:21Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I don’t even like Christian Bale and I thought it was a nice thing to do. Its not often anyone gets to play Bruce Wayne and a hero both on-screen and off. Nicely done, sir. ---
**Author:** ![Aeris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Aeris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeris)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/48 "2012-07-25T14:20:53Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > Christian Bale didn’t even visit the victims in hospital. What an asshole. > > Christian Bale visited the victims in hospital but told the media he was going to be there and brought along a photographer. What an asshole. > > Christian Bale visited the victims in hospital without media fanfare, and the only photographs that were released came from the people he was visiting, but he knew word would get out and it would be good publicity for him. What an asshole. > > Christian Bale visited the victims in hospital without media fanfare, refused to have his picture taken even with his injured fans and tried to get everyone there to sign a confidentiality agreement banning them from publicly talking about his visit. What an asshole. Yes. THIS. I wonder how the people on this thread feel about Christian Bale trying to visit Chen Guangcheng back before he tried to escape from China. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/49 "2012-07-25T14:27:44Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > The connection is _obvious_, people! It’s the opening move in Bale’s campaign for the presidency. He’s the president we deserve, but not the one we need right now. (Chalk me up in the “it was the right thing for him to do, it shows a lot of class, and the good PR is just incidental” camp.) ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/50 "2012-07-25T14:32:04Z")
> [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](#): > > I agree with the sentiment, but with the movie already out I’m not sure his schedule is all that busy: most of the publicity appearances are over, he probably got paid enough that he doesn’t have to make any more movies for a month or two, this is Christian Bale time for him. Again, he still took the time away from lounging poolside or whatever he normally does with his free time, but it’s not like he doesn’t have the time to spare. Movies aren’t released on the same day all over the world. The USA isn’t the only country on the planet. There are release dates through the end of August. Today is opening day in Belgium, France, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. You don’t know what other projects he is working on and what other interests he has. The most successful people in the world are frequently the busiest. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/51 "2012-07-25T14:49:00Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > Movies aren’t released on the same day all over the world. The USA isn’t the only country on the planet. There are release dates through the end of August. Today is opening day in Belgium, France, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. > > You don’t know what other projects he is working on and what other interests he has. The most successful people in the world are frequently the busiest. I didn’t memorize it or anything, but the reason he went, IIRC, is that because of the shooting they cancelled a lot of the early release pressers and stuff in those other countries, he had the extra time on his hands and then decided to go out of his way and see the victims. Damn decent of him I say. Regardless of who you are as a person you are probably going to get a kick out of meeting a celebrity and I’ll stake my life on it that the people who saw him were probably tickled pink about it and can tell their grandchildren and cousins “Christian Bale came and saw us in the hospital! How cool was that?” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/52 "2012-07-25T14:58:19Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > You know if I was injured and in pain, I do not think I would very much like having some publicity grubbing celebrity coming around and bugging me, and being expected to be grateful, like he was Jesus come to heal me with his charisma or something. Maybe if I happened to be a huge Christian Bale fan, I might like it, but, hard as you might find it to believe, most people aren’t (even if they go to his movies sometimes). Most people care about, at most, a small handful of celebrities, and don’t give a rat’s ass about most of them. I assume Bale asked friends/family/the nurse if it would be all right for him to say “hello” to a patient. They could say “no, thank you.” It’s not as if the fellow was bursting through walls like the Kool-Aid Man. > [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Yes, he’s clearly a humanitarian of the highest order, with no ulterior motive (a wee bit of good publicity most certainly _never_ crossed his pure, noble mind) and I am sure is duly mortified to find that his kindheartedness is being lauded in the press, as befits a humble, modest Man Of Means. Who cares if Bale did this from saintly innocence, the desire to make a buck, or because the voices in his head told him to? He did a small thing, and it probably made someone’s day a little bit better. That’s a net win. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/53 "2012-07-25T15:00:12Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > It’s not as if the fellow was bursting through walls like the Kool-Aid Man. I love this imagery. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/54 "2012-07-25T15:08:27Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > bursting through walls like the Kool-Aid Man. Can’t stop laughing… cheeks hurting… “Hey Christian Bale!” \ “Oh yeah!” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/55 "2012-07-25T15:19:08Z")
I’ve heard the phrase “haters gotta hate” before, but until reading some of the ridiculous posts in this thread I never really understood it. Class move on Bale’s part. I don’t see any reason to ascribe ulterior motives to it, no one would have noticed if he didn’t do it, and the movie has already grossed millions. Losing his cool one time on a set doesn’t mean he can’t be a decent person. Better than a lot of bitter cynical dopers, that’s for certain. ---
**Author:** ![nogravity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9d8465/32.png) [@nogravity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nogravity)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/56 "2012-07-25T15:20:30Z")
He did something he didn’t have to do, didn’t get paid for and probably brightened up their days. It was a good thing. OH YEAH. ---
**Author:** ![HenryGale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b782af/32.png) [@HenryGale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HenryGale)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/57 "2012-07-25T15:40:33Z")
When I saw the Facebook campaign trying to make this happen, I was worried that it was a bad idea. Would the victims of a movie shooting want to see the face of the guy who was on screen when the gunman opened fire? I thought not. But, looks like I was wrong, he seems to have done some good by going, so my hat’s off to him. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/58 "2012-07-25T16:10:35Z")
> [@HenryGale](#): > > When I saw the Facebook campaign trying to make this happen, I was worried that it was a bad idea. Would the victims of a movie shooting want to see the face of the guy who was on screen when the gunman opened fire? I thought not. But, looks like I was wrong, he seems to have done some good by going, so my hat’s off to him. The facebook campaign (atleast the one I am aware of) wanted him there in costume to prove there were still real heros out there. that was/is a colossally bad idea on several levels - What he has apparently done appears to have a positive affect - and that is always a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/59 "2012-07-25T16:19:20Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Also, if he talked in the growly voice. **Christian Bale:** Heyy,mbraAAHWUhFEELuh. **Recovering Shooting Victim:** 😕 **Christian Bale:** CreaahHHMuiHoosshpAHH. **Recovering Shooting Victim:** I’d love to help, but I can’t understand you. **Christian Bale:** JUseemmSehhcUIOOA? **Recovering Shooting Victim:** Yes, the voice is sexy regardless. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292/60 "2012-07-25T16:36:24Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > I’ve heard the phrase “haters \*\*gotta \*\*hate” before, but until reading some of the ridiculous posts in this thread I never really understood it. My bolding. The phrase is haters _gonna_ hate. Gonna. Not ‘gotta’. Saying they _gotta_ hate removes the responsibility from the hater. It should be understood that ultimately they \*choose \*to hate. Shame on them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-guy-christian-bale-is-visiting-the-shooting-victims-in-the-hospital-warner-bros-is-quick-to/629292.md?page=4)