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Bale Out
Colin Farrell was our first choice, but Christian Bale is swell, too.
By Fred Topel
Movie: The New World
Director: Terrence Malick
Starring: Christian Bale, Colin
Farrell, Q’Orianke Kilcher (as Pocahontas)
Studio: New Line Cinema
Christian Bale really wanted to talk about how great it was to work with Terrence
Malick in the film The New World. Even though this is only Malick’s
fourth movie, he has an artsy-fartsy following that thespian-types love. But you
don’t want to hear about how this dude inspired Batman to find his motivation,
so we had to keep Bale in line.
By now you’re thinking, “Isn’t Colin Farrell in The New
World?” Yes, he plays John Smith, and since he’s in rehab, he’s
not doing interviews. Christian Bale plays John Rolfe, the guy who marries Pocahontas
when Smith is presumed lost at sea. We have to explain this because most of the
film consists of actors looking at each other and dancing in fields while th ey
recite poetry in the voiceover. If that’s what the old days were really
like, it’s a miracle we actually became a country.
The Wave: With Colin Farrell out of commission,
is the pressure on you to be the star who sells this movie?
Christian Bale: No. That would be inappropriate. I mean, you’ve
seen the movie. I’m clearly not the front man of the story. I don’t
come into the movie until after something like two hours.
TW: Did you have to act this part twice: Once
on set and once as the narrator?
CB: Yeah. I think that was a product of Terry [Malick] being
required to bring the movie down to two-and-a-half hours. A number of the dialogue
scenes had to be taken out. So, many times, it was almost like a silent movie.
I mean, Terry would sometimes send me 30 pages of voiceover and it was fascinating.
He’s a wonderful writer. I stole a number of the pages because I thought
that they were just some wonderful comments on life, and love, and relationships,
and things. I like very much the way that he worked.
TW: Knowing that he tends to eliminate actors
from his films entirely, weren’t you worried you might not make the cut?
CB: I liked knowing that it was always going to be a surprise,
how much each and any of us would end up in the story. I mean, we all knew that
this was a linear story and so you have to keep some characters in it, but the
first one who said anything to me was Werner Herzog. He said, “Oh, that’s
wonderful. He’s a fantastic director, but just don’t get upset if
you’re not in the movie.” I think that most people have heard the
Adrien Brody story [he was cut from The Thin Red Line] as well, and
so you just say, “You know what, this is a highly unusual director, someone
that I very much want to work with, and so I’ll just enjoy the actual
working process and keep my fingers crossed that there’ll be something
of me in the finished product.” Everything with Terry just seems to slide,
kind of like sliding into warm water.
TW: Don’t take this the wrong way but do
you like wearing knickers?
CB: So often with costume dramas, that’s exactly what
they become. It becomes much more about the costume and the kind of etiquette
of the time and, frankly, that’s not very interesting. I liked that this
movie isn’t that. I would think that The Age of Innocence is
the exception to that because they were using all that etiquette, those ridiculous
barriers as a form [of] communication, but what I liked about this movie very
much is that I forgot about the period. I didn’t find myself looking at
the clothes like costumes. I absolutely related to the characters.
TW: Moving on, how much has your life changed
since [Batman] this summer?
CB: Not very much, I have to say. I went and made a movie in
Thailand with Werner Herzog and that was something great that I’ve been
involved in for a number of years. I have to say that doing Batman
made it easier to put the financing together for that. Other than that I really
don’t feel like there’s been much change at all.
TW: But publicly, does your wife have to share
you with all the Batman fans now?
CB: No, not really. I’ve never really put her in a position
where she has to share me with anyone. She’s my wife and that’s
it. Of course, I appreciate the fans and I appreciate anyone. I’m human.
I appreciate people telling me that they like my work, and telling me that they
think I’m good. We haven’t had any problems. I was concerned about
it before doing Batman that that might happen, but it just hasn’t.
TW: Do you know the story for the next Batman?
CB: Yeah, but I’d get a bullet in the head if I talked.
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