JAPAN: Christian Bale remains silent on assault allegations during "The Dark Knight" film premiere event in Japan

Record ID: 220315

  • Title: JAPAN: Christian Bale remains silent on assault allegations during "The Dark Knight" film premiere event in Japan
  • Date: 30th July 2008
  • Summary: MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL BEING SURROUND BY THE PRESS "THE DARK KNIGHT" POSTER (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTRESS MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL SAYING: "It was the same in London. We really got to sign and things and meet people and shake people's hands, the same way I felt here. And it's...just...so amazing to kind of see and you know, it's terribly sad that Heath isn't here. It's...it's not really the place to open your heart about it, but it's really sad and...it's just...it's horrible."
  • Embargoed: 14th August 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Reuters ID: LVA8O98ZOPBPG2OWU1JH9PBV09VJ
  • Story Text: Actor Christian Bale, star of the new Batman movie "The Dark Knight," on Monday (July 28) remained silent on allegations of assault at a film premiere event in Tokyo, Japan.
    "It's very private and you know, it's not a matter of talking about it on an occasion like this," said Bale when a reporter asked him a question related to the allegations.
    Over a hundred Japanese fans waited along the red carpet in hopes to get a glimpse of the record-breaking film directors and actors including Bale, Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
    "Well you know, the fans are, they ain't here for me. They're here for the movie," Bale told Reuters. "The movie speaks for itself and it deserve it itself. You know, it's a wonderful movie," he added.
    Bale signed autographs, shook hands with his fans and even delivered a short speech in Japanese.
    British media reports said Bale was arrested following allegations of assault made by his mother and sister in relation to an incident at his London hotel suite late Sunday (July 20).
    The Welsh-born performer, 34, riding high as Hollywood's latest blockbuster film star, spent several hours at a London police station before being released without charge, his Los Angeles-based spokeswoman, Jennifer Allen, said.
    When asked if Bale had been arrested and released on bail, a police spokeswoman said: "A 34-year-old man has been bailed to return to a police station on a date in September."
    Bale was in London for the European premiere of "The Dark Knight," which shattered box office records in North American theaters.
    A martial-arts enthusiast and environmental activist, Bale has often played troubled characters, first donning the cape and cowl of the brooding superhero Batman for the 2005 film "Batman Begins."
    Starting out as a child actor who appeared in Steven Spielberg's 1987 World War Two flop "Empire of the Sun," he went on to such adult roles as a psychotic investment banker in "American Psycho" and a rancher who faces down a dangerous outlaw in last year's western, "3:10 to Yuma."
    "The Dark Knight" also stars the late Australian actor Heath Ledger as Batman's maniacal arch-nemesis, the Joker. Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose shortly after completing the film.
    "It's terribly sad that Heath isn't here. It's not really the place to open your heart about it, but it's really sad and it's just, it's horrible," Gyllenhaal, who was also at the film premiere, told Reuters.
    The latest Batman buried his rivals at the North American box office for a second weekend on Sunday (July 27), racing past $300 million in a record 10 days.
    The film also sold an estimated $75.6 million worth of tickets during the three days beginning Friday, taking its total to $314.2 million, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said.
    A week after it scored a record-breaking $158 million opening, "The Dark Knight" added a new title to its impressive list of superlatives: the best second weekend, surpassing the holiday-boosted $72 million haul of 2004's "Shrek 2."
    The film hits theatres across Japan on August 9.
    ENDS.
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