By now, the furor surrounding Christian Bale's long-ago profane outburst (aimed at cinematographer Shane Hurlbut) on the set of TERMINATOR: SALVATION has subsided (much to the relief of the fanboy sites, who are probably scared to keep mentioning it lest Warner Brothers get mad and deny them access to scoops).
Awhile back, I was an extra and stand-in, and there are stories I could tell about actors, directors, assistant directors and one particular cinematographer in various states of apoplectic rage (a couple of times that rage was aimed at me).
One anecdote I can mention is: On the Malibu set of a TV-movie starring Jackee Harry (227, SISTER SISTER), an extra (thankfully, not me) missed a cue. The director (probably best known for the original PROM NIGHT with Jamie Lee Curtis) ran out onto the set after "cut" was called. He screamed at the extra: YOU BLEW THE SHOT!!!!!!! I could see crew members looking at each other, aware that the shoot (in its early days) was going to be an endurance test.
Needless to say, the extra didn't care for that kind of treatment, walked off the set--and presumably he got his pay voucher, was taken back to his car and drove away from the whole megillah. I don't remember ever seeing him again on a set in the remaining seven years I worked in the business.
Sometimes, people working on film/TV projects will blow up at someone they perceive as inept and/or unattentive and then apologize afterwards. Other times, they opt for cruel insults (usually in front of the crew) in a normal tone of voice--perhaps along with firing on the spot or a "you won't work with me again" taunt (another Bale tactic).
Regarding the Bale situation, numerous people have argued that we don't know the full context of what happened before and after the outburst. And, now that Bale has offered a public apology regarding the incident, any further questions are likely to be put to rest.
Finally, an irony that went unmentioned during the past week's media tempest: Bale, when filming the 3:10 TO YUMA remake over two years ago, was apparently an even-tempered good guy in his dealings with the crew. And this was over the course of a shoot that involved Russell Crowe, whose past tantrums will go unmentioned here.
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