Aronofsky defends Bale after outburst

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LONDON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. director-producer Darren Aronofsky said this week he understands why Welsh-born actor Christian Bale lost his temper on a film set last summer.

A recording of Bale's 4-minute-long, expletive-ridden rant against Shane Hurlbut, the director of photography of "Terminator: Salvation," hit the Internet Monday. Bale apparently became furious when Hurlbut distracted him while he was shooting an intense scene.

Speaking at Wednesday night's London Film Critics' Circle Awards, Aronofsky, who has never worked with Bale before, defended Bale in the wake of his well-publicized outburst.

"I think he was right. I don't think he was out of line," the BBC quoted Aronofsky as saying. "It is a sacred time between action and cut. If it was the first time it was excusable, but a second time, that ruins it."

Aronofsky, whose movie "The Wrestler" was named film of the year at the Critics' Circle Awards, added that he didn't think the language Bale used had been "abusive beyond call," noting he has seen worse behavior on film sets.

"Sets are very, very high-powered places where things go awry all the time and emotions are high. People are out there working really hard and exposing themselves, especially actors, and they need to be protected," Aronofsky explained. "Although it's never good to lose your temper that bad for obvious reasons, we don't know what scene he was doing. He could have been doing a deeply, deeply intense emotional scene."

Bale's representatives haven't publicly commented on the "Terminator" incident, the BBC said.