David was not pleased. Christian had commanded a six-figure quote for his first two Disney movies, and both of those productions had been filmed in 1991. Instead of being offered bigger and better parts, Christian was now being offered a small part in this Columbia Pictures film. As Christian’s manager, David grumbled that an agent should be negotiating big bucks and big roles. As Christian’s father, David worried that 1993 and 1994 would be very tight financially at Oak Avenue.
Christian would also learn how complicated things could be when you are a British citizen. Little Women was to be shot in Canada, so Christian would require a work visa to work in Canada. He would then need a visitor’s visa or work visa every time he wanted to reenter the U.S.
“That’s not fair,” Christian often complained. “I’m not a visitor! I own a home in the U.S.! I pay taxes here!”
Shot in picturesque Vancouver and Victoria, Canada, Christian enjoyed working with the female cast but confessed to having been irritated when Eric Stolz, who played Laurie’s tutor, showed up. Recalled Christian: “I was very possessive on the set of the film. I was experiencing an incredible male possessiveness.”
He was also experiencing his first bouts of insomnia. He told a reporter: “On Little Women, there was a time when I was having trouble sleeping, and so the producer gave me a bunch of, I think it was NyQuil, tablets. And I found they worked really well.
“And then one morning, I was feeling a little nervous, and I thought: ‘Well, I’ll just pop a few of these; they’ll just make me feel just nice and calm again.’ Wrong—on the set, just zzzzzzzzzzzzz, just trying to stay awake for every scene.”
Back in Los Angeles, David started to feel the financial pinch. Christian’s last big payday had been in 1991 for Swing Kids and the creditors were starting to harass the House of Bale. Amazingly, David started faxing out a letter to ask for forbearance and time.
The letter read:
I regret to inform you that Mr. David Bale, who has been diagnosed from serious cardiological problems for at least four years, possibly longer, caused in part by a previous lung disease, diagnosed in 1982, that would normally be terminal, has had severe setbacks in the past six months, and is seriously debilitated.
Regrettably, his situation is compounded by being uninsurable, due to the lung disease and he is thus unable to receive proper treatment. Ideally, he should return to Britain, where he is eligible for treatment under the National Heath; however it is not advisable for him to travel at this time.
Mr. Bale’s condition is caused and compounded by a number of extraordinarily stressful family and financial problems and he appears unable to relinquish them mentally. The result is that he exhibits extreme stress and nervousness, which literally places him in a constant danger of a severe physiological failure, probably cardiological. Mr. Bale’s records, remitted from Britain by his doctors, and the hospitals that regularly treated him over a period of 15 years, show that he has been advised throughout that time of being in real danger of cardiac failure, in additional to the seriousness of the lung disease, which, incidentally, is a permanent condition that appears at this time to be arrested.
Mr. Bale has requested that we notify a number of people of the situation, as he is overly concerned about legal and financial action being taken against him as a result of his being unable to address certain problems for some period of time now. He has also asked that we give assurances that he will take care of these matters as soon as possible.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Charles A. Crummer
Interestingly, Dr. Crummer, a former neighbor of the Bale family, is not actually a doctor of medicine. At the time he wrote the letter, he was a lecturer in physics at the University of Phoenix.
It was an odd tactic, something I had never heard of before. Would bill collectors give a damn about your being too sick to pay? I asked David why he would be so forthcoming with his medical details.
“I know, it’s not the best way of going about things,” he said. “But better than giving people no explanation at all, which would be most rude.”
“But, David, shouldn’t you tell Christian about your finances?” I asked. “He should take a role that makes better money. One big payday could take care of all your problems.”
“NO!” David barked back. “Christian must never know about our financial situation. He must remain focused on the work. The worst thing an actor can do is to choose a role just for the money! That’s when you become mediocre! That’s when your career is over! I will never allow the word ‘should’ to be dictated to my son!”
David was insistent on sheltering Christian about any “mundane” details like household finances. He didn’t want Christian to become a “paycheck” actor so early in his career. As it was early in my relationship with the family, I could only agree with David, though I had misgivings about the deception that was obviously going on between father and son.
Christian finished shooting his scenes for Little Women by mid-September and he was impressed at how quickly Columbia was preparing the film for a Christmas 1994 release. In Hollywood, movies released from fall through the end of December are considered top-notch Oscar-bait films (The Fighter, anyone?). Films dumped in January and February are titles that the studios don’t think have a chance of winning any awards.
The premiere of Little Women was on Sunday, December 11, 1994—my first weekend with the Bale family. A limo came up to the Bale house in Manhattan Beach to pick us up. “Is this your first time in a limo?” Christian asked me. I shook my head. But this was my first Hollywood premiere!
“It’s nice, eh?” Christian was slouched over—it often seemed he had the worst posture. David and I sat on one side of the car. Christian and Louise were on the other. I tried to act nonchalant, but as we got closer and closer, my mouth dried up and my heart started pounding. I was expecting the limo door to open and a flash of camera lights to start popping, aimed at the car, the eager line of reporters desperate for a view of those of us inside.
When we arrived, Christian insisted I get out first. He hid his face in my jacket. I could hear his funny wheezing laugh in my shoulder blades as he urged me on, “Go! Go! Go!” So Christian, Louise, and I quickly stepped onto the red carpet and raced to the box office, like a crazed conga line. David walked slowly behind, laughing at our antics. No one snapped our picture. They were waiting for Winona Ryder.
The premiere was at the Mann’s Theater in Culver City, California, conveniently across the street from the Sony Pictures lot. (Columbia Pictures was a subsidiary of Sony.) I remember very well that during the famous Little Women proposal scene, both David and I were in tears. Christian looked over at us and chuckled to Louise, “They’re crying!” After the movie, the after-party was held under a giant white circus tent on the studio lot. Inside, the tent was decorated as a winter wonderland to match the Christmas theme of the movie.
To my surprise, I wasn’t starstruck at all. I tried to make conversation with The Nanny star Fran Drescher, who sat at our table, but she ate her food quietly and seemed depressed. Christian and his costars were walking around the tent, enjoying the post-screening compliments thrown their way. It seemed as though the movie was very well received.
Heathers was actually one of my favorite movies but meeting Winona Ryder in person was a little disappointing. She was petite and porcelain-perfect but chain-smoked and had the mouth of a sailor. To my shock, she sat down beside me and began talking to an oddly familiar looking man at our table. He had a shaved head and was quietly eating French fries.
“Can I have one of your fries?” she sweetly asked the man.
“Sure.” He pushed his plate toward her.
Suddenly, Ryder’s voice dropped an octave, from sweet cooing to a Linda Blair Exorcist voice, as she turned to a woman standing patiently nearby. “Ketchup! Where’s some fucking ketchup?” The woman jumped to look for a bottle.
Ryder and the man then turned to look at me.
“Hi,” t
he man said. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Harrison,” I replied. “I’m a friend of Christian’s.”
“I’m Michael.”
“What do you do, Michael?” I figured I’d make some conversation.
Ryder laughed, and I felt uncomfortably out of place for the first time that evening.
“Well,” Michael began, “I’m a musician. I’m in a band called R.E.M.”
Shit, Michael Stipe. That’s why he looked familiar. Later, I’d find that Stipe was very interested in the movie industry. He had been good friends with River Phoenix and he and Christian would become friends, too. Stipe would later produce Christian’s glam rock movie, Velvet Goldmine.
David ran over to the table and interrupted: “Hello, Winona, I’m David, Christian’s father.” She smiled sweetly and shook hands.
Then David turned to me, excitedly. “Guess what, Harrison! Do you know who I was talking to?”
I had not noticed. My cheeks were still red with embarrassment for not recognizing Michael Stipe.
“That was Sid Ganis! Sid Ganis! Head of Columbia Marketing! He loved Christian! He thought Christian was tremendous in Little Women! Tremendous! He said he wants to build a project around him!”
“That’s great, David!”
We both noticed Christian hugging and kissing a woman wearing a black leather dress.
“Oh, that’s Christian’s agent,” David said, his voice darkening.
It was obvious that David didn’t like her. I was surprised, since they had only recently changed agents, but David had very high expectations for anyone working on his son’s career and David was eagerly waiting for Christian’s return to the six-figure paydays of his Disney projects.
But if David had worried about how small Christian’s role would be in Little Women, he was thrilled to see the reviews. Little Women was both a commercial and critical success, earning two Oscar nominations, including one for Best Actress for Winona Ryder. And Christian was getting lots of attention, especially for the famous proposal scene.
“The effect is magical. The handsome Christian Bale makes a dreamboat out of Laurie, the boy next door to the March family. (If viewers have trouble understanding why Jo wouldn’t marry him, Miss Alcott’s readers had the same problem.)”
—Janet Maslin, New York Times
“As the sensitive but blunt Laurie, Christian Bale turns in a career igniting performance.”
—Elizabeth Renzetti, The Globe & Mail
“Christian Bale is dashing.”
—Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
“Later, Laurie will tell Jo: ‘I have loved you since the moment I clapped eyes on you,’ and half the audience will swoon. Bale is excellent.”
—James Verniere, Boston Herald
Little Women was also the movie that helped to boost Christian’s Internet fan base. It was simple demographics. His fans from Newsies and Swing Kids were 90 percent female. Their ages ranged from high school kid to college student. And a big-screen adaptation of a popular classic young girl’s book like Little Women meant that the Internet was abuzz with new fans wondering who was that dreamy Laurie and why would Winona turn him down?
Little Women added so many new ways to promote chatter about Christian on the Web. We could track down audiences online and drive them to see the movie.
Louisa May Alcott fan? Check out the movie!
Little Women fan of the 1933 or 1949 movies? Check out the new movie!
Winona Ryder fan? See Little Women!
Who played Laurie in Little Women? Come to the Christian Bale Web site, Christian Bale AOL folders, or Christian Bale CompuServe discussion boards.
I made a conscious effort to promote Christian to serious movie buffs and to college and university students. When I was in university, I had been the music editor for the school paper. I had the opportunity to talk at length about marketing with a publicist from Capitol/EMI Records. She told me that record companies promoted artists to high school students if they were deemed to be teeny-bopper-teen-idol types. These artists would typically last no more than three records. For serious artists of substance, they would be promoted to college and university students because, she explained, that’s when people formulate their tastes for the rest of their lives. This strategy made perfect sense to me to get Christian out of any Disney pigeonholing that people might be doing after Swing Kids and Newsies.
Following David and Christian’s concern about being overlooked in an ensemble cast, I also started to run online contests to get Christian editorial coverage in the major entertainment magazines.
We devised an ingenious method of getting attention. After many publications ran their reviews of Little Women, I ran a promotion on Christian’s Web site with the Letters to the Editor address, snail mail or e-mail, so that the Baleheads could bombard them with letters asking for an article about Christian Bale. To encourage the letters, my promotion was simple. I announced that everyone who got a letter published would be entered into a drawing for an autographed photo of Christian and a Little Women soundtrack on CD. That guaranteed a maximum yield of letters directed at any particular publication.
The letters were orchestrated two ways. Articles that didn’t mention Christian—any article that talked about up-and-coming young actors, for example—were bombarded by outraged Bale-heads wondering why Christian had been omitted. And articles that did feature Christian would get an avalanche of letters thanking the journalist for having the smarts and good taste to cover him!
Of course, when I followed up with a call, every journalist brought up how impressed they were that a mere mention of Christian Bale got a tremendous response from their readers! The mainstream print magazines were beginning to notice Christian’s Web presence.
Capitalizing on the success of Little Women, I redid his press kit and created his demo reel. A demo reel is an actor’s video résumé with clips of his best scenes. These tapes are sent out to producers and casting agents in an effort to snag an audition. Christian was the first actor to have an Electronic Press Kit (EPK), trailers, and demo reels available on his Web site. Christian was thrilled to see a slick and professionally produced kit that was considerably nicer than the materials he had had before.
I made sure that each of Christian’s press kits was armed with information about Christian’s Internet fandom. The Net was still thought of as the domain of geekdom, so I needed to educate the press so that they would take this medium seriously. In Christian’s press kit, I noted:
“Christian Bale’s photos have been a very popular download since the release of Little Women. He’s right up there with Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves . . .”
—Margaret Ryan, spokesperson for America Online
Christian Bale, the talented young actor who first wowed audiences in Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun, and went on to appear in Henry V, Treasure Island, Newsies, Swing Kids, and the American classic, Little Women, is one of few actors to dominate the Internet thanks to a large and active international fan base that has made Bale the marvel of the cyber age. Word of mouth now has new meaning in this age of the Net! His fans are clearly looking for information in every medium they can!
How popular is Bale on the Net?
On America Online, Christian Bale’s “folders” have been in the Top Ten Most Talked About Actors for the past 2 years!
His WWW Site, which started last summer, has grown rapidly, recently drawing 23,116 visitors in a one week period! The site has been highlighted in various Internet Webzines and was cited in Pointcom’s Top Five Percent of all WWW Sites on the Internet. In May, the site was moved to a larger Internet provider because of the volume of traffic.
Bale’s WWW Site was chosen by Movie World as one of the Best Movie Sites on the Net and chosen as a Who’s Cool in America WWW Site.
Microsoft Cinemania has a Biography page dedicated to Christian Bale.
The Seattle Film Festival Site
m Festival Site!
Bale’s fan club receives 1,000 e-mails a month!
His fans successfully lobbied the Internet to get Bale his own “newsgroup”—a place for fans to discuss and exchange up-to-the-minute information about Christian and anything even vaguely related to him! This newsgroup, alt.movies.christian-bale, is the first of its kind for an actor and draws over 100 posts a day from fans in Australia, Canada, the U.S., the U.K, Japan, and Europe.
Christian at the Sideway Cafe in Venice, California.
And following Christian and David’s wishes, we made sure that the “Christian Bale” brand emphasized that Christian was a vegetarian and an animal rights activist. We debated about how accurate this was. What if a fan caught Christian eating meat? But David was insistent that being a vegetarian and environmentalist had been very good for River Phoenix and aligned with Hollywood sensibilities. It would also endear Christian to his fans as he would be more than an “actor.” He would be a good human being. So on Christian’s Web site, years before eBay existed, we began to auction off Newsies and Swing Kids memorabilia with proceeds going to specific charities. To support one of Christian’s charities, the Bale-heads raised money to adopt a gorilla named Nahimana through The Digit Fund that was founded by the late Dr. Dian Fossey.
While on location, when Christian heard that one of his Newsies bandanas sold for hundreds of dollars, he was impressed. He wrote me:
Thanks very much for all of your help. You know it is much needed and I appreciate it very much. Dad has kept me in touch with what you are doing and I think it was a brilliant idea you had to adopt the baby gorilla, Nahimana, through the Digit Fund. As you know, I am uneasy when thinking about fans and all that goes with it, but combining it with something like the adoption seems really sensible.
Since Newsies and Swing Kids had been discovered by most fans on video, my first major editorial success for Christian was a large article in Blockbuster magazine, a newsletter that the video rental chain used to print and distribute throughout their stores in the U.S. and Canada. Blockbuster not only ran an article about Christian’s Internet fandom but it smartly listed all of his titles that were available on video.
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