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.
The connection is obvious, people! It’s the opening move in Bale’s campaign for the presidency.
Nothing. I actually think it’s nice that he visited, if you read my post.
Well, that depends. Was he wearing his American flag lapel pin? Did he bow to any Saudis that may have been present?
Also, if he talked in the growly voice.
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.
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.
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.)
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?”
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.
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.
I love this imagery. 
Can’t stop laughing… cheeks hurting…
“Hey Christian Bale!” <SMASH> “Oh yeah!”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.