http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/08/14/christian-bale-batman-50-million/
Christian Bale: About that $50 million offer to play Batman...
by Jeff Labrecque on Aug 14, 2013 at 6:12PM
Extra! Extra!! Christian Bale offered $50 million to play Batman again!
If you’ve scanned the superhero sites today, you’ve inevitably read reports that Bale is being lured back to the Batcave with a $50 meeellion offer to square off against Henry Cavill’s Superman in Warner Bros.’ Man of Steel sequel. Fans of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and Bale’s dark portrayal of the Caped Crusader immediately rejoiced, convincing themselves that Bale’s previous denials and his desire to pass the torch to another Batman could quickly be erased by cold hard cash. Perhaps that will eventually be the case. But not today.
The recent online buzz erupted after the London Sun reported that “Bale is facing extraordinary pressure” to return to the character for a huge payday. The Sun‘s sources, however, aren’t exactly Warner Bros. insiders or members of Bale’s inner circle. Instead, the tabloid was blindly relying on a new ebook titled Beyond Batman: The Unauthorized True Story of Christian Bale and His Dark Knight Dilemma. It’s a 27-page mini-book from an author named Vincent Russel, who’s also written an unauthorized biography of WWE superstar CM Punk.
In Beyond Batman, Russel writes about a New Year’s Eve 2012 conversation about a potential Justice League movie that he had with a friend who worked at Legendary Pictures during the making of the Dark Knight films:
“’Why would Christian Bale walk away from what is certainly going to be either the first or second highest grossing movie in the history of cinema,” he asked, when the subject of Justice League was raised. … ‘He could probably make $50 million for being in the movie 20 minutes,’ my friend observed. ‘And it would be worth every penny to the studio.’ … Sources close to Christian Bale have reportedly begun expressing their suspicions that Bale now views the Batman films in the same light that Robert Downey, Jr. views the Iron Man films. Although Downey has appeared as Tony Stark in four films in less than a decade, he’s hardly typecast as only Iron Man. Downey has balanced his action film escapades with other projects that have harnessed his talents and earned critical acclaim in the process. … Christian Bale’s future success as a Hollywood draw may need Batman every bit as much as the Batman franchise needs Bale for a few more rounds. … It goes without saying that Bale’s managers, friends, and representatives are all telling him the same. And as anyone who has ever worked with Bale will admit, the actor is incredibly sharp, business savvy, and perceptive. As a result, it seems highly unlikely that Christian Bale will bolt from Batman when the bat signal is still glimmering above the Hollywood sign with such tangible fervor.”
Got all that?
