Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Effectively Friday

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  • Kracklite,

    You wouldn't hear that 220 second rant in any normal workplace. Any decent employer would be looking up employment law to find if they could skip warnings and just go straight to the firing stage.

    Clearly a "university" that I've worked for and isn't Victoria (though that has had its problems) is not a normal workplace. There was a certain individual who would routinely, compulsively indulge in such behaviour, likely due to Borderline Personality Disorder (as far as can be judged by their apparent conformity to the known pathology of the disorder).

    The "university" had to pay out tens of thousands over and over again in settlements in and out of court to a number of people persecuted by this individual (and who often suffered severe ill-health as a result), but they never changed their behaviour - and has never been sacked either. The weasels in (In)Human Resources just did their best to brush it under the carpet every time.

    I suspect that there are a lot of workplaces that are not "normal" (I don't mean to mock - I know that you mean "decent").

    Emotional and psychological abuse has been touched on in relation to the domestic violence debate, and I wish there were a campaign on this kind of bullying too, but no doubt the current political climate with its antipathy to "nannyism" would be against it.

    The Library of Babel • Since Nov 2007 • 982 posts Report

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Being a layman who doesn't have a a dog in the hunt on either side, I have to say Ant was less than endearing on Media7 when he got pissy at the mention of the Church of Scientology astroturfing You Tube with infringement claims. (The overwhelming majority of which, as far as I'm aware, are completely spurious but the targets don't have the resources to push back.)

    I certainly hope APRA's constituents would never act like an organisation with a long, well-documented and frankly contemptible history of using litigation to harass and intimidate its critics. But I'd rather they not have the opportunity, if you don't mind.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report

  • Stephen Judd,

    robbery, I tried to find where Mark turned up, and all I could find was this comment and the subsequent ones in that thread.

    Unless Russell removed an outbreak of rudeness, which he sometimes does, I don't see where Mark's comments were treated harshly - in fact people tried to engage with him, thanked him, and the phrase "fair comment" was said by him and other parties. I find your reports of his feelings mystifying.

    Was there another discussion I missed?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    Having not seen the show, are APRA supporting 92A and the disconnections, or are they proposing a scheme whereby the users downloading material, are billed by their ISPs for downloads so they can distribute the money to their artists?

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    Of youtube, I was appalled a month or so ago, when Youtube, started opening as youtube NZ. Never having registered an account or email address in New Zealand, never having accessed youtube in New Zealand, the nationalization of the corporate internet, is a huge concern. Sure I can understand when sites have the "this is not available in your region" kind of thing, but there seems to be a whole new level of government/IT corporate collusion in our midst, which bodes no good for anyone. Of course this is China, so...but that is Youtube. Seems to me the day will surely come to pass when people will just start getting billed, this 92a disconnection furor seems to be a gambit towards the implementation of a billing system. 92a on it's own makes no economic sense.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • Mark Harris,

    Having not seen the show, are APRA supporting 92A and the disconnections, or are they proposing a scheme whereby the users downloading material, are billed by their ISPs for downloads so they can distribute the money to their artists?

    APRA have publicly supported s92a and disconnections.

    Waikanae • Since Jul 2008 • 1343 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    Thanks Mark. It Seems to fly in the face of their brief to collect revenue for artists. I'll be very interested to watch this episode of Media7.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    Was there another discussion I missed?

    No, there wasn't. I think at one point I reminded people to respect the fact that Mark had come on to put his case, but I don't think it got unpleasant at all.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    Hey Russell, have you stopped putting episodes up on youtube, or is it just a holiday delay?

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • BenWilson,

    Kyle

    Oh what tosh. If you listen to the clip again, you can hear movement as he says that. Either Bale has moved in a threatening way, or the other guy has reacted. It certainly wasn't a "I'm going to kick your arse, haha!" line.

    Yeah, I could hear him moving, followed up with him saying something like "How would you like it if I fucked up your lights?", by which I assumed he was doing something of the sort.

    You wouldn't hear that 220 second rant in any normal workplace. Any decent employer would be looking up employment law to find if they could skip warnings and just go straight to the firing stage.

    I not only would hear such things, I have heard them. And a lot worse too.

    The reason he can get away with it is he's a big time movie star

    Agreed.

    All of which is fine, and people will go see his movies or not, but please don't pretend that it's normal behaviour in the workplace. It was unusual even for Hollywood, and it's something he's been known for before.

    I'm not "pretending", I'm telling you that I've seen it in workplaces where such behavior happening occasionally is normal. As for it being unusual in Hollywood, sorry man, not the way I've ever heard it told.

    Maybe if Hollywood started treating actors like people, rather than fragile glass, they'd start to behave more like it.

    No doubt it'd be very expensive once they get to Christian Bale type salaries, but if they started doing it with them before they made a million a movie, they might learn.

    Or maybe they're about the money. Hmmm, I wonder which is true.

    And its terminator IV. We're not talking oscar winning emotional acting here. They needed Bale because Arnie got elected, it's not exactly a franchise built on quality acting.

    So what? It's Christian Bale, and some nobody pissing him off. That's the bottom line. Again, just because you don't value it at all doesn't mean the lead actor doesn't, particularly as he's being paid a small fortune to do it. He wants to give it his best and he feels some jerk-off in the background is distracting him.

    I don't think it's cool, what he did. I just don't think it's that bad or outrageous either. To my mind, it's a whole lot more honest than saying nothing, and then having a quiet word to the production manager afterward that you'd like the DP fired. He was at least giving the guy a chance to say sorry, and letting other people know just how particular he is about his instructions on a set.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    totally agree with that post Ben.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    Kyle's obviously a McEnroe hater.

    They needed Bale because Arnie got elected, it's not exactly a franchise built on quality acting.

    Respect Bale's dedication.
    or you'll get chopped up with an axe listening to Huey

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    Hey Russell, have you stopped putting episodes up on youtube, or is it just a holiday delay?

    Apparently there are technical issues: TVNZ haven't been able to upload to YouTube and don't seem to have had a fix from Google/YouTube. yet.

    TVNZ's strategic relationship with Google doesn't seem to help a lot. The reverse, by the look of it.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • robbery,

    Was there another discussion I missed?

    maybe he's just a sensitive artist type.
    at the time I thought he was treated aggressively, and there's nothing wrong with that if you're up for it. He apparently wasn't.

    russell says "Woah again. Let's not be "

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report

  • robbery,

    Was there another discussion I missed?

    maybe he's just a sensitive artist type.
    at the time I thought he was treated aggressively, and there's nothing wrong with that if you're up for it. He apparently wasn't.

    russell says "Woah again. Let's not be raggin' on Mark or the rest of IMNZ. They are actually the good guys "

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    TVNZ's strategic relationship with Google doesn't seem to help a lot. The reverse, by the look of it.

    sounds like they're__ tied up with a knotty problem__; D Looking forward to it.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • robbery,

    The 2004 remake of Dawn was far superior to his 1978 version, including in acting (which isn't saying very much).

    while I enjoyed the remake, the original has to be taken in context of the time it was produced.
    it was very shocking for its time, ground breaking.
    it also had a sense of threat about it, one that isn't in the remake, and is no longer in the original either, but at the time it was a genuinely scary ride.
    I like both movies but I like the memory of the original better. The music is somewhat cheesey and the acting looks pretty bad now too. A recent revisit to the evil dead produced similar reactions. I remember seeing the movie on release in theatres and getting serious bad vibes off the opening steadycam shots, now, not so much. definite kudos for their innovation at the time.

    dawn of the dead remake doesn't have that advantage though.

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report

  • robbery,

    The Christian Bale Flip Out According to the Other Guy
    not that PA is woman's weekly or anything.

    new zealand • Since May 2007 • 1882 posts Report

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Meanwhile, as hundreds of layoffs have been announced at NBC Universal (with the network's news division hardest hit), it turns out an unnamed vice president has been outed getting laid on a company credit card.

    Wall street lawyers, investment bankers, CEOs and media executives often used corporate credit cards to pay for $2,000 an hour prostitutes, according to the madam who ran one of New York's biggest and most expensive escort services until it was busted last year.

    But prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney's office chose not to pursue any of the corporate titans, says Kristin Davis, who pleaded guilty last year to charges of running a prostitution business that used more than a hundred women.

    Don't know about anyone else, but that gets my outrage-o-meter tingling a damn sight more than Christian Bale. Especially when, during the day, the employers of a good proportion of these executive welfare cheats were up in Washington begging for corporate welfare so they could cover their multi-million dollar bonuses.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    Don't know about anyone else, but that gets my outrage-o-meter tingling a damn sight more than Christian Bale.

    Yes, quite.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Danielle,

    Wall street lawyers, investment bankers, CEOs and media executives often used corporate credit cards to pay for $2,000 an hour prostitutes

    See, if you massively overcompensated executives don't want the plebs to think that big business is just a giant pyramid scheme, perhaps you could stop doing shit like that.

    Also, sheez. $2000 an hour? (I mean, I think a sex worker probably works way harder than your average investment banker, but... that's hugely above the going rate, right? What does she actually *do*?)

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report

  • Craig Ranapia,

    What does she actually *do*?

    I'm sure everyone is hoping I'm going to treat that as a rhetorical question. :) But I guess when you're laying down that amount of money at a high-class whorehouse with a Fortune 500 client list, iron-clad discretion would be high on the list. Kristin Davis obviously didn't get the memo. :)

    See, if you massively overcompensated executives don't want the plebs to think that big business is just a giant pyramid scheme, perhaps you could stop doing shit like that.

    My point was more that if you've really got to feed a two grand an hour whore habit, use your own damn money. Especially when, at the same time, you're slashing budgets and signing pink slips.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report

  • Steve Parks,

    When was the last time anyone buying a movie ticket gave a shit who the Director of Photography is?

    I care who the DP is.

    I wouldn't go to a film just because of the DP, but then I wouldn't go to a film just because of a particular actor either*. I'm more interested in who the writers/director and some crew are, than I am in the actors, generally.

    (*Well, like this guy, I might, if it was Zooey Deschanel.)

    Wellington • Since May 2007 • 1165 posts Report

  • Mark Harris,

    I also care about the DP. Some are masters of the art and have more influence on the film than the director. But a DP I dislike won't stop me going to a film, unless I really dislike the way they light stuff (some of them are so into noir you can't see wtf is going on).

    Having said that, as an actor and as a lighting designer/rigger/operator, you don't mess with gear during a take, or even a rehearsal. It's incredibly unprofessional.

    There are those who think that actors are merely oversized and overpaid meat-puppets parroting someone else's lines (and, admittedly, some are) but good acting (the sort you don't actually notice because it's so good) is bloody hard work. So, when you're out there sweating blood to get the nuances of the script across to the audience, or to the camera, the last thing you need is someone rattling their chip packet, having their cellphone ring or changing the lights, distracting you. Even the best of us are prone to notice things like that and, while you can use it to judge the impact you're actually having on an audience, you have to pull out even more effort to ignore it and carry on.

    From all that I've read, Hurlbut was a putz and deserved a good reaming. It should have come from the director, but I can understand why Bale did it.

    Waikanae • Since Jul 2008 • 1343 posts Report

  • Mark Harris,

    I meant to say that both film-making and theatre are team activities. And Hurlbut wasn't taking the team line.

    Waikanae • Since Jul 2008 • 1343 posts Report

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