Hollywood make-up artists are genius they can transform a good looking man into a hideous monster or a plane-Jane into a sultry sex siren. But here is a list of actors who felt that it would be better to challenge their own bodies for the roles of their films instead of just depending on make-ups.

This list is just a glimpse to the dedication that some of the Hollywood artists have for their art. The list is of four actors who took up the challenge to gain and lose weight for their respective films.

Christian Bale ā€“ ā€˜The Machinistā€™ 2004 ā€“ the 36year old actor played the role of a man ravaged by insomnia. Bale lost one third of his body weight and weighed only 121 pounds for the role. He tells that his character of Trevor Reznik was a man who was on the brink of death and he didnā€™t know any better on how to attain that apart from starving himself. So he transformed himself into a walking skeleton.

Source: Entertainment and Showbiz

1. Christian Bale

I like to tell people about the first time I thought Christian Bale should play Bruce Wayne. It was 2000 and he just wowed me in American Psycho. There was something about his portrayal of Patrick Bateman that screamed Bruce Wayne to me. When he played Batman five years later, I was like a kid in a candy store. The guy was amazing.

There is only one thing wrong with Bale’s Batman, his voice. He is the playboy Val Kilmer was but remains dangerous even in his alter ego. He is a badass as Batman and easily matches Kilmer and Keaton’s performances. I am not going to talk about Christopher Nolan’s redesign of the franchise here but I am going to say that Christian Bale is the first actor to put the entire Batman/Bruce Wayne package together.

Source: 411 Mania

With Inception now firmly dominating the box office charts right across the planet, it’s inevitable that we’re looking firmly in the direction of Christopher Nolan now to get cracking on his third and final Batman adventure.

Nolan, who hasn’t officially signed up for The Dark Knight follow-up from what we can tell, is certain to direct the film, which is set to go before the cameras in March or April of next year.

Currently, the wise money is on Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play The Riddler in the film (Jackson Rathbone has said that he’d like to play the role, but we don’t see that happening), although recent rumours have suggested that Selina Kyle aka Catwoman might be making an appearance. Tilda Swinton remains our favoured choice for the role should that happen. Read the rest of this entry »

Christian Bale is considering a starring role in Zack Snyder’s new drama The Last Photograph.

The Batman star has read the script which “revolves around a photograph that becomes the catalyst for a journey two men undertake through war-torn Afghanistan”, Snyder’s rep tells movie blog Pajiba.com reports, with the option to take the lead part.

300 director Snyder is producing the film and has commissioned Kurt Johnstad to write the screenplay form his own original idea. Read the rest of this entry »

Actor Christian “Batman”Ā Bale is a hero to a 10-year old boy I’ll identify as “M.”

And it all happened under the radar, minus the Batmobile and without the cape.

ā€¢Ā The backshot: Several weeks ago, Bale, who is interested in child welfare and foster care, came to Chicago to visit SOS Children’s Village Chicago at 76th and Parnell.

ā€¢Ā The backstory: The mega-talented Brit actor didn’t want publicity; he arrived sporting a beard and wearing a cap. He was intent on a two-day visit “seeking information on developing a community in Los Angeles like SOS, which provides a home environment for siblings in foster care,” said a source.

ā€¢Ā The upshot: Bale, who spent a great deal of time in Chicago filming “The Dark Knight” Batman movie, encountered M when he quietly visited one of the SOS homes unannounced . . . and walked into the youngster’s room — which was decorated almost entirely in Batman paraphernalia.

ā€¢Ā Bale “had no idea [M] was a Batman fan . . . and [M] had no idea who this strange visitor was,” said civic leader Lynn Kiley, an SOS Village advocate.

“Imagine his surprise when he found out Batman was in his room! Even M’s teacher didn’t believe him, so he produced a picture and an autograph,” Kiley said.

ā€¢Ā The final shot: A letter dispatched by M to “Dear Mr. Chris/ Batman” read:

“Wow! I’m still in shock Batman was actually at my house. I was so scared to learn I was going to a foster home but when I was told that me and my sisters (3) would all be together. I felt a little better. Then once I got to SOS Children Village I thought to my self this is a nice home. I have my own room and my foster parent asked me what character did I want to do my room in. I didn’t know because I never had a room before.

“I said ok let’s do Batman and Spiderman. Ms. Robyn said that didn’t go together. I thought it did until Monday when I met you. Spiderman never came to my house. Batman actually stood in my room. So guess what — the room is now yours (Batman all the way.)

“You going to my house make me believe a lot of things can come true and now you made my foster home the best thing that ever happened to me. If you do another ‘Dark Knight’ movie in Chicago can I come watch you do the stunts to see how you make it happen. Thank you for coming to SOS Children Village and my house it really is a good place to come hang out at.”

ā€¢Ā P.S. In case you are wondering, SOS focuses on family-based, long-term care for children and their siblings — where they can grow up in a stable family environment in a village setting.

Batman is beautiful.

Source: SunTimes

Ed Westwick has said he would do anything to be Batman.

The Gossip Girl bad boy reckons he has the acting chops to follow Christian Bale in playing the Caped Crusader on the big screen.

“I would kill to be Batman, simple as that!” he said.

Ed, who plays Chuck Bass in the ITV2 series, wants to follow in Christian’s footsteps if there is a remake of American Psycho. Read the rest of this entry »

50 Cent has revealed that he was inspired by Christian Bale whilst losing the weight for his new movie.

The rapper turned actor has dropped four stone for his movie Things Fall Apart, in which he takes on the role of an American footballer who is diagnosed with cancer.

Speaking to Rap-Up.com he said: “Yeah, it was a lot for me to actually get there. After the second week, it was crazy.

“They say it takes 30 days to make a habit, but man. I was on the Internet and I was looking at Christian Bale, while The Machinist was out, he almost killed himself.

“I was feeling like maybe I’m overdoing it and I’m dropping 54 pounds, but I was in such a good physical state prior to me deciding to go down on the weight.” Read the rest of this entry »

Last year I told you about a movie called The Revenant – a film that would never happen but that at one time was going to star Samuel L Jackson and be directed by Park Chan-Wook.

Now The Revenant is back (at least I’m almost certain this is the same project), and instead of Sam, Christian Bale will be the lead. And instead of Park, John (The Proposition, The Road) Hillcoat will be directing.

This could be the most grim and joyless movie ever made!

Bloody Disgusting reports that Vacancy writer Mark L Smith is working on the script, which he describes as ‘a period action/revenge piece.’ The revenge comes when frontiersman Bale (this is the late 1800s) gets left for dead by his buddies after a savage bear mauling. Despite taking wounds that should have killed him, Bale’s character – Hugh Glass – struggles through the wilderness to hunt down the men who left him to die.

Smith is also writing a remake of the French horror film Martyrs; that feels like a waste of time, as there’s no way an American mainstream movie will go where Marytrs did, or risk alienating audiences wholesale like that film seemed to enjoy doing.

Source: CHUD

The release of Red Dead Redemption for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 last week has finally given the Western genre the epic video game that it deserves, and although there wasnā€™t a ton of hype leading up to it, Rockstar has been doing some interesting stuff to promote it after the fact. For one, theyā€™ve recruited The Proposition director John Hillcoat to direct a short film using the in-game engine that will air on TV this weekend. You can see the half-hour animated machinima film this Saturday, May 29th at midnight on FOX, although I imagine it will turn up online soon afterward.

Iā€™m still not sure if this is actually something worth getting excited about, as it looks like every other cinematic in the game, but I suppose itā€™s impressive that they got him involved. At the very least, it shows their dedication to capturing an authentic and gritty Western vibe.

In other John Hillcoat news, it was recently announced that his next project might be a ā€œperiod action/revenge pieceā€ called The Revenant. Christian Bale is supposedly in talks to star, and while itā€™s not clear if itā€™s actually a Western, Iā€™m already reminiscing about his solid performance in 3:10 to Yuma. This news comes courtesy of Bloody Disgusting, who talked to writer Mark L. Smith (the same guy doing the Martyrs remake).

Source: Film Junk

Warner Bros. has set July 20, 2012 as the official release date for the follow-up to Christopher Nolan’s wildly successful Batman film,Ā The Dark Knight.

While there have been many rumours since the last film – casting, villians, etc – none of the above has been confirmed, including whether Christian Bale will reprise his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman.

The screenplay is currently being written by Nolan’s brother, Jonah and David Goyen.

Source: National Post