Christian Bale Talks ‘The Big Short’ and Plays “Save or Kill"

It’s rare when a movie entertains and also informs, but that’s what director Adam McKay has managed to accomplish with The Big Short. One of my favorite films of the year, The Big Short is based on the best-selling nonfiction book from Moneyball and The Blindside author Michael Lewis, and investigates the housing and credit bubble of the 2000s. The story is told through four economic “outsiders”, played by Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt, who predicted the cataclysmic consequences of the major housing and bank fraud and used their inside knowledge to turn a profit of their own.
While we all know about the 2008 sub-prime mortgage crisis that led to the collapse of the world economy, most people wouldn’t be able to explain how and why it happened. That’s because the banking world is complicated and incestuous, where the powerful few control the majority and outsiders are left holding the bag when things go wrong.
And this is why I strongly suggest seeing The Big Short. Not only is it a great movie, it’s a searing indictment of the entire financial system. McKay deftly maneuvers the dense material with ease and his bits of levity were perfectly handled. Everyone should see this movie if only because we all need to be aware of what the banking system got away with; otherwise, we’re bound to repeat the same mistakes again.
At the recent Los Angeles press day, I landed an exclusive video interview with Christian Bale. He talked about memorable moments from filming and played “Save or Kill.” If you haven’t seen the game before, “Save or Kill” reveals which franchises, characters or bands someone would choose when pitted against another of equal value. Han Solo or Indiana Jones - if you were told you could only save one and the other would be erased from existence forever, who would you pick?
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[@TheSashaGreyExperience]

"Iron Man or Captain America?" "uhhh dont care" THIS IS WHY HE WILL ALWAYS BE MY BATMAN

[@AA-qb7ni]

"Captain America or Iron Man" "Uhmmm don't really care" He is our Batman forever😊

[@jojo8243]

He's the Villain in The next Thor movie :3

[@ABCD-ex5td]

@This Is What Awesome Looks Like not boring than aquaman, and wonder woman.

[@arsenal.618]

This alone made him my new favorite Batman😂

[@huylam7103]

@@jojo8243 For money, doesn't mean he care about Iron Man and Captain America 😂

[@vtchka6727]

bateman

[@GabrielBlight]

His answer to "Marvel or DC?" would have been "I've already saved DC."

[@Alpha-bt9bh]

That’s so true

[@ethanhank1174]

Now he is in marvel

[@AlFei_0]

​@@ethanhank1174 Funny thing is he saved that movie too. The only watchable thing is Christian's Gorr.

[@hoganholo99]

Anyone ever think Scorsese and Bale as a duo would be the greatest thing ever?

[@Darkclaw00700]

Having Scorsese direct a film with Bale and Dicaprio would be one of the greatest things to see

[@hoganholo99]

Franks Al Ghul I'd love to see Bale play a hot-head character, since Scorsese is so great at creating short-tempered time bomb type characters. Fuck, it would be great.

[@deerheart87]

Also Ryan gosling and Scorsese

[@rorywhelan_]

Scorsese and Jake Gyllenhaal

[@rorywhelan_]

Scorsese and literally any actor

[@road_king_dude]

Awesome performance. One of the greatest actors of our generation.

[@WeThePeople_FJB]

I agree

[@ds37]

+John Sanchez Loved every single one of his performances since the Machinist.

[@theclawyaww3740]

+John Sanchez 1.DDL ( when he comes out of his farm or whatever he does once every 5 years) 1.Leo Dicaprio 2.Bale 3. Russel Crowe

[@chloebrown1856]

+Theclaw Yaww can I say Ed Norton or is that like a terrible answer...

[@Alpha-bt9bh]

Theclaw Yaww Joaquin Phoenix as well

[@Wolfgangus_Theophilus]

"NSYNC or Backstreet Boys? " "Get rid of both of them." Brilliant.

[@YeahManMillionaire]

The moment he picked Lord Of The Rings, I knew in that moment, that I will love this man forever.

[@michelleboon7646]

That little smile when he said Mario.....

[@myfilms999]

really liked this! Christian Bale looks like he really enjoyed this

[@rayyerishnanrayyer5147]

I want Alfred on TOP of Yoda's head😂

[@bobkaneisafraud2065]

I can’t believe this guys gonna be in Thor 4

[@krutarthmankar]

He should care now if captain America or Iron man😂

[@charlottecase3093]

he literally gave the best possible answers. he gave the answer i was hoping he would give for every single one

[@keisi1574]

Yep.

[@jennifernilsson3747]

He's so serious all the time but it was so funny seing him actually enjoying that game a lot =)

[@tuuliamoors4134]

+Jennifer Nilsson Eh, "serious all the time"? Not at all, far from it.

[@strider9184]

Love him! If Bale doesn't give a shit then he will tell you that he doesn't give a shit. He does so well to let his acting speak for itself and I love that he stays away from dumb hollywood drama and bullshit

[@omgiitzfifi]

His face when he has to choose Michael Jackson or Prince 😂😂 (R.I.P to both of them 😭💔)

[@_ProTrax]

His tastes are as god-tier as his acting

[@thatbrokevin7940]

The answer to Iron Man or Captain America is obviously Batman, what a silly question.

[@WeThePeople_FJB]

Bale is awesome he's definitely one of the best actors ever in my opinion.

[@kylelucien7632]

"Ironman or Cap?" "Don't really care." Drop the mic

[@ISCREAMFORSCREAMO1]

I ALWAYS forget he's english.

[@jimmyngman6381]

Just to be that guy.. He's actually Welsh, but his accent definitely isn't Welsh

[@tuuliamoors4134]

+JimmyNGman He was only born in Wales, didn't grow up there and the family isn't Welsh, so no reason he'd have a Welsh accent. (And he considers himself English.)

[@jimmyngman6381]

+Tuulia Moors Then I stand corrected... Thank you 👍🏻

[@tuuliamoors4134]

JimmyNGman You're welcome. He gets called Welsh in articles and such all the time, so it's an easy mistake to make. He keeps correcting it when given a chance (when it's mentioned to him in interview context), but... Not that it's all that important, of course.

[@jimmyngman6381]

+Tuulia Moors Yeah I only had a brief understanding of his Welsh/English origins anyway. Regardless of that... The Brits are killing it in Hollywood; from movies to TV

[@bruceelliot9856]

lol Chris Bale is SAVAGE

[@ESHADOW111]

I want Alfred with Yoda sitting on his head. Best answer ever.

[@ARBLACKx]

should've asked him batman or superman haha

[@aditisk99]

Batman obviously 😂

[@ABCD-ex5td]

Superman is boring

[@know-nothingmillennial3043]

He's my favorite actor. This was great.

[@anggun8348]

he seems to enjoy the save or kill game 😂

[@VoiceNerd]

WOW!! He answered most of those questions very quickly. Loved his responses too. Especially with Alfred or Yoda.

[@goblue122177]

I got say I thought Christian was really cool in the interview

[@byWalyko]

My favorite part is when he said "uh/um"

[@beyazdublaj9694]

"dont really care" lol that was a pretty good answer Batman :D btw im happy because he chose Lord of the Rings :D

[@beyazdublaj9694]

and also "alfred or yoda?" was a good dilemma

[@Leg0456]

Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings is a tough question for me since HP was my childhood and still remains my favorite franchise but Ik LOTR is better

[@ABCD-ex5td]

@@Leg0456 LOTR movies are better than HP movies.

[@Leg0456]

@@ABCD-ex5td bruh did you not see my last sentence...

[@Leg0456]

@@ABCD-ex5td Harry Potter is still great

[@natasharomanoff0078]

Christian Bale and his fabulous beard...

[@bobovieri1985]

Lol, Yoda sitting on top of alfreds head. I miss this batman😂

[@aaronsanders6162]

The Big Short was great and Bale was great in it

[@odistabettor]

He's so good in this film....and in most films really.

[@bestkept1135]

I can imagine Yoda sitting on Alfred's head. lol

[@chanceiracer]

He has one of the best personalities just based on his answers there 😂

[@spiros11386]

"Uuuuhhh umm umm but aaahhhh"- Christian Bale

[@lukefera7840]

His face at @3:26 is so hilarious to me.

[@travisdreese]

Probably my favorite Save or Kill I've seen yet!

[@rayyerishnanrayyer5147]

He is so precise 😂

[@davesung]

Best 'Save or Kill'!

[@hereiskinder]

the way he says "save Prince.." hahaha

[@martymginnis8007]

If Bale was in a Star Wars movie would even more seats be filled? I absolutely loved the force awakens but if Bale is cast in the storyline of Rey and Fin, I'm all in!

[@pescigotpepsi129]

Bale had SW figures? thats awesome lol

[@Darkclaw00700]

This is awesome! I've always wanted to see Bale play save or kill and his answers are pretty much the same as mine. Star Wars all the way!

[@SpawnRevenge92]

This was awesome.

[@sickflopz1]

Huey Lewis and the News or Phil Collins?

[@allybuncalan9326]

ooo that’s a good one

[@olivierlanglet1932]

"I'll answer to that one later, I've got to return some videotapes"

[@randombrokeperson]

I want to see him play more games

[@CaptainCritical]

Why was this man never James Bond?

[@ciao63097]

It's like, he already is James Bond.

[@THEDOORIZCLOSED]

Cuz hes too gritty and dark and brooding to be bond...

[@ReverendBenzo]

3:18 Hey! Me too!

[@kasunsilva487]

I can feel the heat between DC and Marvel every where i go!

[@kavitakumar76]

best save or kill ever

[@lordvoldemort5543]

Which is kind of ironic given his reputation of being so closed off during interviews.

[@Sheherazade516]

He enjoyed this, I wish it would've lasted a ittle longer

[@DonVal86]

Having Christian Bale on Curb Your Enthusiasm would be all kinds of great.

[@mercyluna7899]

He Knies who he is what he wants, not caring for what others might think. Impressive. Would like have known the answer for Scorcese or Spielberg.

[@commodoreclarksonio6035]

+Mercy Luna He probably would've said Spielberg since he's worked with him on Empire of the Sun.

[@TheBorkka]

Love Bale because he's a damn professional. He might be an asshole sometimes but he's a damn professional. Nobody is better at what he does.

[@zibtihaj3213]

Big short was a great money ... plus it was socially responsible. Need more movies like this on various current subjects .

[@Psi.jenifferegas]

Nsync or Backstreet Boys: “get rid of both” 🤣Love this guy ❤️

[@catlady4097]

Bale... I love you 😻

[@cinemike8207]

Lol that was a fun interview.

[@jehsousa3256]

haha O povo fala que ele é sério e tals! Mas ele deve ser totalmente o oposto disso♥♥♥ Definitivamente um dos melhores atores dessa geração!

[@EDHX2]

he loved it, great job

[@jaymoneyhector5992]

He's awesome!

[@faze_x-pulse5752]

How do this actors do it with such a strong accent? I never even knew he had one. Same with superman.

[@flyersruleJC24]

hes great man

[@system0fadowner251]

lmao why does it always throw me for a loop to hear his english accent?

[@pdl2116]

+David Hudson Welsh*

[@Alan1701b]

+David Hudson I'm British and I have to agree. That is the most english I've heard Christian Bale in so long I can't even remember the last time I heard him using his natural accent.

[@system0fadowner251]

Santi Ponce I'm stupid American so I don't know those distinctions lol.

[@Alan1701b]

David Hudson Well we have a lot of accents here so I can imagine its hard to make distinctions unless your living here. Although one American I know said they knew the Liverpudlian accent really well just because they'd watched The Beatles' movie A Hard Day's Night enough times. Lol Just remember that the whole island isn't England. Its the UK and it is made up of England, Wales, and Scotland. We non-Englanders get a bit cranky when we get referred to as "English". We need our distinction. :) ;) Lol

[@system0fadowner251]

I perfectly understand:) and nice to learn a little more

[@tajukaju1]

Whenever I watch this video I always pause it at 2:29 and just look at Bale for a couple moments lol

[@tchen6605]

He's really humble

[@georgebryant7721]

Good answer in the end

[@nivekian]

Hmm, you think Bale would be up for a Star Wars film? He and Gerard Butler already referenced their fanboys in that reenactment in Reign of Fire.

[@martymginnis8007]

+Linerunner99 agreed he would be soooo amazing as a Jedi or a sith.. I would love to see him as a sith but a Jedi is great too.... Oh man I'm conflicted. He can pull off the Jedi beard lol

[@tuuliamoors4134]

+Linerunner99 Well, he auditioned once, long ago, he was told he was too old for the part...

[@K-One582]

+Kevin Murphy I can imagine him as being one of the knights of ren.

[@isabelbale6897]

He is the best..

[@Manofactiion]

2:42

[@issakaismaila5567]

The bat is still savage

[@Mukation]

Alfred or Yoda hahahaha

[@alone6302]

Such a great actor

[@AlFei_0]

Can you imagine that Yoda and Alfred duo? "Master Bruce, dinner's ready." "I'm not hungry alfred." *Yoda shows up behind Alfred's shoulder* "Hmmmm, skipping meals are we? Needs strength the body, of a warrior, Young Bruce."

[@linajurgensen4698]

2:20 when you look at your exam tasks.

[@JStankXPlays]

Was it good? #TheBigShort ANSWER: To Big To Fail! Going into this movie, I was very skeptical. I was a fan of the book, which I remember little about because I read it when it came out a few years back. The book, as I remember it, dealt with very real investment bankers, CEO's and hedge fund executives, and had a very concise plot. There was one man who, gaining a job on Wall Street, quickly learned what a CDO was and how people were getting fucked over by it. It includes a lot of investment bankers who are identified very specifically by their name and the financial institution they represent. The plot unraveled as the main character talked to these very real people in very real locations about very serious business. The book goes into their backstories, how they got into the business, and what they were doing at the time during events between 2000 and 2008. At the time I thought this book, would make a great tense Wall Street thriller about investment bankers and power brokers. When I watched the preview to this movie however, I knew that there was something that smelt fishy about this stew. The smell, as it turns out is poor editing, poor plot design, and poor writing. What we got however, was a quasi-documentary/comedy/drama hybrid which was poorly written, edited, and executed. The ‘bad guys’ in the movie are generic wall street bankers from xyz corporation. You never really get a sense for who these guys are. Instead the movie focuses on a half dozen ‘odd balls’ trying to explain complicated financial terms and oh yeah, a little bit of plot. This book has a great theme, its plot is deep and filled with intrigue, and there are very interesting characters with deep plots and backstories, but the plot that the viewer sees is a film is drowned out by its stereotyping, poor design choices, and shitty execution. First off, the movie suffers from attention deficit disorder, switching between all of the books sub characters, turning them into cartoon characters with an agenda. Steve Carrel is pitted as an overly anxious and eccentric hedge fund manager, Michael Burry (Christian Bale) is an ex establishment born again hippy, and Ryan Gosling, is well he is Ryan Gosling. The plot jumps between these characters every few minutes for the first 45 minutes of this film leaving the viewer to figure out what the hell they are watching. There is no effort given to fleshing out the characters stories, because there are literally a half dozen of them and the movie spends equal time on each character, which dilutes the plot. If you were expecting something like The boiler Room, this isn’t your movie. I didn’t feel at any point during this film that I cared about the characters and their little under developed back stories. The script does a poor job of fleshing out the characters properly. For instance Steve Carrel’s character is dealing with the suicide death of his brother; however we never learn anything beyond that he jumped off a building. The scene where he is talking to his wife over the loss doesn’t fit well with the rest of the goofy film. This is in part because, they tried to cram that heavy emotional plot element in between Selena Gomez explaining synthetic credit default swaps and Anthony Bourdon likening cooking a left over seafood stew to subprime mortgage derivatives. I was left questioning whether or not the film was trying to be serious or not. There were times in the movie where the actors would literally look at the camera, break the fourth wall to deliver a monolog. The whole movie is bazar to say the least. The movie continually insults the viewer’s intelligence. Instead of getting an edgy corporate thriller filled with power, passion, money, sex, and women, we get a goofy quasi documentary about power, money, and strippers. This film is filled with stereotypical flat main characters that don’t put a ton of effort in how they present their message. There are times in the movie where you can see Ryan Golsing’s brain exploding as he tries to explain what a mortgage backed security is. All the characters, lack the intensity required to pull the story forward. Although the plot picks up in the second half of the film, it continues to waiver from the beaten path as it tries to give all the hot shot actors equal face time. Usually, I don’t have to talk about editing or sound design when I talk about a major motion film. However in this case I will, being how poorly the movie was executed on a technical level. There are times for example, when Christian Bale is in his office jamming out to his rock and roll music, and the music is very overly loud. It is in fact so loud that it literally drowns the plot. There are countless other examples of sound balance issues that it would be silly to name them all here, but trust me, they are in there and they are distracting to the movie. Sound balance is something that should never be mentioned in a major film, and shows a lack of care put into presenting the movie goer with a finished product. The last thing I have to point out is the presentation of the plot is littered with un-necessary interruptions, like one minor character whose only line in the movie is a monologue explaining that he does in fact speak English, regardless of what his boss said. To that I say, why? Was this relevant to the plot? Did I learn something that I didn’t know before? Is this even necessary? I just shook my head in embarrassment as I hid behind my popcorn bag. There is no reason why a character should break the fourth wall in the middle of an important piece to tell the viewer “that is not what actually happened, in fact I discovered this important information by…” This happens a lot! Also, Selena Gomez has no business explaining complicated financial terms like synthetic credit default swaps. It is shocking, it pulls you out of the scene, it insults your intelligence as a human being, and it lends to a style that feels like a cheap, internet meme that pummels you with its message and has no substance, a weak plot, and no style. I was really hoping for an edgy Wall Street thriller, but I got this! All of these inadequacies try their hardest to mask Michael Lewis, who wrote a brilliant book about a guy being corrupted by Wall Street; however the film fails to trump the original author. The themes presented in this film are very strong and the message is well received. Wall Street is bad, big banks are bad, Goldman Sacs is a greedy no good bank that needs to be destroyed but isn’t because the establishment. I understand movie, we get it, but are you a good movie?. NO YOU ARE NOT! This movie does the job of getting the point across that Wall Street is filled with greed and corruption and irresponsibility, but it does it in an obnoxious way that doesn’t pay tribute to the original book. I’m very surprised how poorly this movie was put together, considering how Lewis’s other adaptations, Money Ball, and the Blind Side were brilliant. This third film falls short due to a blight of too many big names, a poorly written plot, and uninteresting characters. For those reasons I’m downgrading the rating on this movie from AAA to a BBB. Take that establishment default backed Rotten Tomatoes reviewers!

[@makunamakuna6573]

christian bale you are the best........

[@spencecity99]

Where can I find the interviewer on social media, he seems really cool

[@jesabr12]

@colliderfrosty

[@33hegemon]

Bale looks like a young Brian Blessed.

[@HoangLongNhan-pi9tj]

Thank you and alfredo very much about ginger ice tea😊❤

[@joshuadonoghue9377]

I love how he doesn't care at all 😂

[@SWIFTzTrigger]

Super impressive beard and moustache, wish I could grow one like that.

[@SarcasmOpenWorld]

BB > Got LOTR > HP 😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@riveravaldez]

In this interview... Christian Bale as Robert Duvall.

[@fiordalinarodriguez5677]

very good actor Christian god bless you

[@JacobOman-qb1lm]

Death stare when he asked mj or prince lol

[@pedrohenriquelima8364]

Christian Bale is the GOAT. Loved his choices 😂😂

[@hallio111]

he should play Travis Walton, in the upcoming Remake of Fire in the sky.

[@SuperRedux]

Who is the girl at the end ?

[@timothyfreeman97]

just clicked on this to hear his voice. as of five minutes ago I had only just discovered that Christian is an Englishman and not a yank.

[@jeanlawley6483]

Outstanding English actor who had the mis fortune to be born in Wales while his English parents were travelling ... but his roots are all English as is his up bringing and accent

[@aniekanabasi]

Breaking Bad over GOT

[@Johnnysmithy24]

Obviously

[@rws531]

These videos are too short. I know these people are busy, but damn.

[@ArmandE]

Batman watches Curb Your Enthusiasm. That's logical.

[@simbamasaku1]

Michael Jackson or Prince? hahaha his face amazing

[@nivekian]

Bat dance. No wonder he picked Prince

[@MFahad-hn8fe]

He wants Alfred to sit on 2 feet sized Yoda's head.

[@bladersedge6874]

If they ever decide to cast Christian bale as the iron man also I will be really happy.

[@aryankaushik93]

How does he maintain his beard?

[@alvarado427]

cool to hear he likes curb your enthusiasm