He didn't do this for publicity. He did it because he's a class act. And yes I remember his outburst on the set of the Terminator movie. Anyone who says this is publicity, is plain wrong. First of all the movie couldn't be more hyped and I think that the shooting is keeping it even more in the public eye, so this move is gracious and respectful and certainly a right thing to do - nothing else. Saying it's publicity is like saying a sparkler is going to get attention at a fireworks display on Independence Day. It's just not so.

I guess that's one person's point of view :) I believe he just wants to do this for some publicity, sure there's a small part of me that believes he is doing this because he's a good human being - but at the same time I believe that he wants to be on the news for this.

Re: Christian Bale visits Colorado Shooting victims.
 

People who think like that are cynical. Have a heart? People were killed and injured while they were at the movies. Why the hell wouldn't he go? Publicity? For christ sake he asked for no media attention while he was there.

What basis do you have to believe that? Isn't it, in fact, more likely that he just wanted to give some small comfort to the victims? It seems a stretch to me to conclude that Bale would seize an opportunity out of this tragedy to make himself look good. I don't see anything in his past behavior to suggest that is likely.

However, since none of know Bale's mind or his true intentions, how about just assuming the best of him and being glad that the people in the hospital were most likely happy to see him. I would have been.

Re: Christian Bale visits Colorado Shooting victims.
 

I saw where Bale didn't even want media to know he was there. I think he gets a bad rap for that rant. Seems like a decent enough dude. He certainly is a talented enough dude.

What grinds my gears are stupid lawsuits. One of the victims is suing Holmes doctors, the cinema and Warner Brothers. Yea money will make everything better won't it?

-Warner Bros. Karpel (guy's lawyer) says "Dark Knight Rises" was particularly violent and Holmes mimicked some of the action. The attorney says theater goers were helpless because they thought the shooter was part of the movie. Karpel tells TMZ, "Somebody has to be responsible for the rampant violence that is shown today.

ahh so it must have been a protest for him to even be there at midnight on Thursday the very first chance he could see it. Interesting protest tactics.

If it was another actor, I would likely agree with you, but not with Christian Bale. The man went through incredible weight loss for two extremely low low profile indie movies (that I know of anyway - maybe there's more): Rescue Dawn and The Machinist.

He doesn't have the history and his profile just doesn't fit for the type of actor that does a lot of publicity stunts, etc, etc.

Now on the other hand when Matthew McConoh... whatever goes on the Morning Shows or some such similar dreck to talk about how his weight loss is going "I want my fans to know I'm OK" for playing an AIDS patient, that IS nothing but a publicity stunt.

Again, this move by Bale, is not.

Well said. Yes, there has to be someone/something to blame other than the shooter.

I find the notion that Bale's visit to the hospital was just a publicity move to be rather ridiculous. Now, I'm no fan of Bale. He strikes me as being something of a jerk and I've never been overly impressed with his performances. However, it seems to me that if his intent was to gain publicity, he likely would've held a press conference and made a big deal out of what a hero he is. He didn't do that.

His ties to the movie meant that people were expecting him to respond in some way. He could've just issued a press release expressing his sadness over the events. Instead he decided to give the victims a little bit of happiness in an otherwise tragic situation. I commend him for that.

:rolleyes: The article also says he is suing the cinema for not being prepared. That someone was not guarding the exit doors. Never in my life going to a movie theater has there been someone guarding the emergency exit doors during a movie.

There is not much you can prepare for when a lunatic decides to snap. I get it the incident shook him up, hell I'd probably cry myself to sleep for a month. But the last thing i'd be thinking of is the headache of going to the trouble of getting a lawyer then going through the legal system. Doesn't it feel disrespectful to the victims too?

We need Petey the "Don't Sue People" Panda (if you get that reference I love you, which is ironic because it's in Colorado)

Re: Christian Bale visits Colorado Shooting victims.
 

The guy is blaming the movie for the violence in it, yet he's the one paying to see it at midnight. What an idiot.

I still can't believe people thought it was part of the show. When the hell does any of that happen unless your at an amusement park or a special screening event. It was just a midnight showing. Plus they would not do anything 30 minutes into the flick.

I can't see this guy winning his case against WB, at all. Who knows about the other two.

It was opening night, it was a really big movie....

Plus, their minds probably needed to think that it was all a joke. That they weren't really in danger and about to be killed. Being that it was a movie theater and nobody expects such a thing to happen there, their minds reached for what could only be the most logical, safest answer to them -- that it was a stunt. A mixture of denial and confusion.

Not all of them probably sat there totally convinced that it was a stunt. Some percentage of their brain was probably screaming, "This is a stunt!" while another part was going, "Get up and run!" But then another part of themselves might have been responding to the "Run!" message with, "If I get up and run and it's all a joke, I'll look stupid. I'll look like a wimp."

You don't always know how you'll react in new situations.

I was going to say the same thing, Sexy. If anyone's ever been in a car accident or something else that comes on fast and is unexpected, you'll know your mind can come up with some crazy things. I think it's just your brain trying to catch up and make sense of things.

I knew there would be tons of lawsuits. Ridiculous. That man was going to snap somewhere, sometime, regardless of what movies he ever saw.

Re: Christian Bale visits Colorado Shooting victims.
 

Random observation, but that photo of Bale posing with the victim reminded me of the scene in TDKR where [semi spoiler] he visits Jim Gordon in the hospital.

Yeah, it will. Sue 'em, I say. I can especially see a reason to sue Warner Brothers for a couple of reasons -- for the hype of this movie; for the midnight showings; and for the Joker character. Maybe you'll think it's stupid, but this movie created such a big sensation around the world and put people together in big groups everywhere. Though everyone's responsible for their actions, I do think there's something kind of disgusting about this level of fandom when suddenly people are getting gunned down by someone calling himself a villain from the movie series. There is a sense of the movie growing out of control and inviting danger. I think the movie attracted this psycho. I think that in some sense the movie does deserve some blame.

There is a religious vibe to everyone dragging themselves to this movie, as if it were church. I doubt everyone went just to see the movie -- I bet there were people who went because it was THE movie to see. A form of being among the in crowd. And I can see reasons to blame Warner Brothers for putting people in that theater. I do see a darkness about it that warrants compensation. I don't think the movie is at fault, but I think the fanfare of this violent film is.

Re: Christian Bale visits Colorado Shooting victims.
 

^^Drivel. Absolute drivel.^^

Re: Christian Bale visits Colorado Shooting victims.
 

You need to be bitchslapped for suggesting fans brought that bloody murder on themselves.

Re: Christian Bale visits Colorado Shooting victims.
 

Well, something's not right and these people deserve something for the hell that happened to them in that theater. You don't go to a big Batman movie and get yourself shot or your family member killed by some man who snaps and calls himself The Joker and apparently has been planning it for months in advance and then you don't even get a dime from what happened. This movie, this EVENT, had become a very big deal. Someone used the stage for this movie's premiere as a place to kill others. An American citizen turned on others using a character from the movie series these people were watching. There is something wrong here. There is something very wicked about it and I do feel the people responsible for this movie should be at least a little responsible for what happened. There should be a percentage of responsibility on their hands. A percentage - not a large percentage and certainly not total responsibility - but some responsibility. Even if the responsibility is something silly like maybe the film should have been released in the winter instead of summer. I think they deserve to take some responsibility. Just because their movie got all of these people there, got everyone out of their homes and into these theaters and made a HUGE, HUGE big deal out of the whole thing. This event attracted that psycho, I'm pretty sure. And there are certainly other levels of responsibility, including that particular theater.

The fact of the matter is that movie theater became a hazard area. That movie theater was not safe! And it's not just because of James Holmes. It's largely because of him, yes, but not totally.

I did not say that.

Re: Christian Bale visits Colorado Shooting victims.
 

And what if they had only shown The Dark Knight Rises in only one screening room instead of ... 12 or the whole theater in some cases? My local theater was showing it in 12 screening rooms that night and they were ALL. SOLD. OUT. That was insanity! Even before this massacre happened, I knew about what was happening at my theater and I was screaming, "INSANITY! INSANITY!"

Maybe precautions and limits and measures need to be taken from now on. Maybe there shouldn't be that many screening rooms playing that movie and bringing in these big crowds of people. Maybe they really do need to start thinking about people's safety in these theaters. Maybe they need to realize they're catering to a violent film series and suddenly HOARDS of people are in one building -- and at other buildings, too. Maybe they should have thought, "Well, what if one of the people coming out on that night happens to be a lunatic who starts killing people?"

Hello! This is the human race. People are capable of being wild animals.

I'll tell you one thing -- they'll be thinking about this stuff from now on. They have learned a lesson.

Re: Christian Bale visits Colorado Shooting victims.
 

And if all of the parties involved can be so money crazed to allow so many theaters/screening rooms to be playing this movie, and if Warner Brothers wants The Dark Knight Rises to be a BIG, BIG success -- well, they can afford to think about the finances of those twelve people who died, and the other people who were shot, because they came to see that movie.