There are so many things Christian Bale won’t talk about these days.
Not because the movie star is a jerk. Far from it. Speaking with a mild Welsh accent from his childhood in Britain, the dark knight from “Batman Begins” is as gracious as they come.
But Bale’s new movie, “The Prestige,” opening Friday, is an epic battle of Victorian-era magicians, and the brooding film’s basic message is that the secret to a trick is the most valuable thing in the world.
And that applies to any trick–whether shuffling cards, acting or editing a special-effects scene, Bale argues.
“I wish secrecy was enforced a bit more with movies, to be honest,” said Bale, 32.
He has a particular bone to pick with DVDs and their behind-the-scenes look inside moviemaking’s bag of tricks.
“The information they give is too much,” he said. “And it destroys the mystery somewhat.”
Bale’s co-starring role with Hugh Jackman in writer-director Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige” is just the start of his busy winter. In coming weeks, he’ll be seen in “Harsh Times” and “Rescue Dawn.” Bale also has agreed to join Nolan for another Batman movie in 2008, tentatively titled “The Dark Knight.”
Bale had to go back to acting-school basics for “The Prestige.” Nolan demanded authenticity in every scene; the actors spent weeks practicing tricks that never made it into the film.
“I was particularly intrigued by the sleight-of-hand tricks,” Bale said. Illusions that rely on mechanical devices are unfulfilling, he argues, echoing the guiding spirit of “The Prestige” itself, because once people learn the trick, they are disappointed.
Movie editing is even less satisfying, because any effect can be produced after the fact.
Instead, Bale loved watching the film’s magic consultants, magicians and historians Ricky Jay and Michael Weber perform basic tricks that rely on repetition and faultless hand work.
“Ricky and Michael didn’t want any hacks on the set. They didn’t want to see packs of cards with strings dangling from them. They said, ‘If you’re going to do it, do it for real.’ The purity of the sleight-of-hand tricks, it’s just absolute ability,” Bale said.
The magician can show you exactly how it’s done, yet the magic doesn’t fade because the observer can’t duplicate the result without years of practice.
Did Bale get good at pulling rabbits from hats?
“I got to the point I could shuffle a deck of cards in one hand,” Bale laughed. “I know the beginnings of some tricks and the ends of some tricks, but Ricky and Michael weren’t really game to give away whole tricks. And I like that they maintain that. It’s the only thing that gives their profession value.”
