TDKR Interview: Christopher Nolan & Scott Foundas

Source: film comment

這篇是最近可能是為了 BD/DVD 發行而出現的訪談，裡面是導演 Christopher Nolan 的想法。我只挑出了兩段與 Bale 相關的部份翻譯囉。

翻譯開始！

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是哪些關鍵時刻讓你覺得 Christian Bale 就是你要的演員。

其實 Christian 是我第一個面試的演員，但以金主電影公司的立場來說，他們通常都希望可以把一堆人找來做試鏡。所以我們就拿了以前的蝙蝠俠服裝，也拍攝了試鏡的畫面。Christian 以最接近劇本中的概念演出，因而他贏得了這個角色。因為這個角色有著憤怒的情緒，那是這個角色潛藏的一個性格，Christian 在試鏡時將那樣的個性投射地非常恰當。這些不只是蝙蝠俠的本質，這也是花花公子 Bruce Wayne 的本質。因為幼年悲慘的過去，這個人物被注入了一股黑暗的味道，那也是促使他有今天作為的動力。

你似乎真的很喜歡那些以強烈表現方式演出的演員，我們根本不期待大型的動作片需要看到動人的演技。但是，你就是能夠聘請到很多好演員，然後你也給他們有趣的部分去發揮，他們並不非只是去掛名而已。

我確實很喜歡演員，我覺得好的演員可以豐富電影人物的深度。當初我的想法是，我要讓演技擴大 Batman Begins 的規模，所以我再次複習了 Richard Donner 的超人電影，因為他找了馬龍白蘭度、Glenn Ford 還有 Ned Beatty，他們都是非常大牌的電影明星。於是，我們也用了同樣的想法選角。後來，當我們開始探索高譚市這個世界，重新審視這個地方，在 The Dark Knight Rises 再次造訪高譚。因為我們已經擁有一群演技高超的明星，我們於是得以讓這個故事中的各個角色去面對各式各樣極端的情況，可以用他們來編織劇情並總和所有，那些是很難在這樣的電影中看得到的。Christian 提到的一點非常的切題，他說 The Dark Knight Rises 是最後的總結。而我所做的事就是「好，我有 Christian Bale 我也有 Michael Caine，他們兩個要一起拍這一幕，他們要去面對的是，若在 The Dark Knight 中的設定已經成真，那到底會怎樣？如果他們確實撒了謊，只是因為他們想以更簡單的方式拯救這個城市，或者是成就一個更偉大的真實。但一旦時效過後，事情會變得怎樣？而 Bruce 與這位在 Wayne 家中服侍多年、代為撫養這個男孩的僕人之間的關係是什麼？他們兩個最珍惜的事物，卻因為槍殺的關係而消逝在他面前。而這個男孩又經歷了怎樣的種種？」我看著這些演員，然後說「我要寫一幕，一幕說明事實是怎樣被承受了下來，而結論怎樣浮上檯面。」我知道他們會發現到事實，事實有時就是會崩壞，事實有時就是會被破壞。而這也會把整個戲劇張力提到最高，情緒也會因為我們真實感覺到真相而昇溫到極高點。我們會經歷一段非常高漲的、有如歌劇般的感情。

原文如下：

Was there some key moment during the casting where you knew that Christian Bale was right for the role?

Christian was actually the first actor I met for the role. But given the stakes, the studio was always going to need me to put together a group of actors to be screen-tested. And we got the old costume out and shot the tests and Christian just owned it in a way that was very close to the conception that we were putting together in the script. In terms of the potential for rage that this character has, the axe that this character is carrying with him, he was able to project that very well in his test and have that underlie not only Batman but also Bruce Wayne the playboy. There’s a darkness that the character has been infused with by tragedy at an early age, and it’s the engine that drives everything that he does.


You seem to really love actors, and that comes through in these films in a very strong way, even if we tend not to think about large-scale action movies as showcases for great acting. But you cast great actors and then you give them interesting things to do. They’re not just there for their name value.

I do love actors and I feel great actors can find the depth of a characterization that adds to the richness of the film. I felt a lot of the scale of Batman Begins should come through the casting, and once again I looked back to Richard Donner’s Superman for that because he cast Marlon Brando and Glenn Ford and Ned Beatty, all the characters were played by these terrific stars. So we went after that kind of depth of casting. And then as you come to explore the world of Gotham, and revisit it, and revisit it again in The Dark Knight Rises, because you’ve got this set of massively talented stars there, you’re able to deal with the truth of some of these extraordinary situations that the mythology of the character and your spin on it has put together. That’s something that you rarely see in films of this nature. Christian said it very well when he said The Dark Knight Rises is about consequences. What I was doing was saying, “Okay, I know I’ve got Christian Bale and Michael Caine playing this scene together, and they are able to take on the truth of what if the things that happened in The Dark Knight actually happened? What if they actually did tell the lies they told in order to get at a greater truth or get at the expediency of saving a city? What’s that going to do to them over time? What is the reality of the relationship between Bruce and this servant of the Wayne family who’s been tasked with raising their only child, their most precious thing in the world because they have been gunned down in front of him? And what must this kid have gone through?” I am looking at these actors and saying, “I’ll write you a scene where these things are coming to bear, these consequences are coming to the surface.” And I know that they’re going to find the truth in that, and that is going to be devastating at times and invigorating at times, and it’s going to take the drama to operatic heights, and extremes of emotion where you really feel something because they found the truth of a situation. You’re experiencing emotions in a very intense operatic way.