"Terminator 4 set incident
In July 2008, it was reported that Bale had an angry tirade on the set of Terminator: Salvation. In February 2009, audio of the incident was released. The tirade was directed at Shane Hurlbut, director of photography for Terminator: Salvation and was triggered by Hurlbut stepping onto the set during filming.The recording is of a highly agitated Bale screaming profanities at Hurlbut, threatening him, and finally threatening to quit the film if Hurlbut walked on set again and was not fired. It was reported that Warner film executives sent the tape to the insurer of the film in case Bale decided to quit the movie.
In an interview with E! Online, assistant director and producer of Terminator: Salvation Bruce Franklin said it was an isolated incident. In the interview, Franklin said:
"If you are working in a very intense scene and someone takes you out of your groove...It was the most emotional scene in the movie," said Franklin. "And for him to get stopped in the middle of it. He is very intensely involved in his character. He didn't walk around like that all day long. It was just a moment and it passed."
Also the key thing to realize, these people are there to support him, the other actors, and the producers and director, and make sure hes able to do his job smoothly, not harder. To a extent,its a group effort,sure, but the actors are key, and you don't f*ck with them while they work. In many ways,they are partially the boss, they run the films creative direction in some cases. Bale has put alot of effort into this movie also, with the script/plot, direction its headed, ect. Its just as much his baby as it is the directors and producers, and you don't f*ck with a co-boss of a multi-million dollar project, esp multiple times on important scenes. It would be like a band in a recording studio constantly having the sound guys cut in on every take saying "boo", or having a guy come around and spit on your mock artwork every 5 mins as you create it for a million dollar ad going into production, forcing you to start over. Was his reaction harsh, sure, but to me, def justified.
As for the "mom-puncher" remark, I never read anywhere that his mom actually claimed he hit her or anything specific, and the charges were dropped by the police themselves, after finding no evidence of battery, ect and a admittedly vague complaint according to them themselves. Its been long said he is estranged from his mother and sister, evidently after his father and mother split, and that the mother and sister tend to be money hungry. Rumor around from supposed Bale friends was that his mother and sister were there hitting him up for cash,and talking shit about his wife, and refused to leave when he repeatedly asked them to do so. After he forced them to leave they supposedly filed the false report to spite him. Just rumors though passed about the press, but I can only imagine they have some fact based foundations. His family issues are not ones I would want to experience in any case.