The amusement of listening to Christian Bale throwing his toys out of the pram wore off pretty fast yesterday. If you’re yet to hear it – listen here.

But it raises a few interesting questions. Certainly, it would appear that the key presence on the set is Bale himself rather than relatively inexperienced director "McG". As pointed out in this blog entry from the Guardian, it’s more embarrassing for the director, who feebly suggests that Bale "take a walk" to try and calm the situation. When Bale shouts "Let’s go again!" he sounds like an actor/director.

Certainly, if it had been a director shouting at a technician, there wouldn’t nearly be such a scandal – it might even be considered normal. It’s solely due to Bale’s star status that the audio recording has become such big news.

Furthermore, if it was such a key scene, Bale would have undoubtedly been in a hot-headed frame of mind. John Conner is concerned with saving humanity from Skynet and a good bit of shouting would be commonplace for the character. Remember that Bale is a method man – remember when he thinned down to a puny streak of flesh for The Machinist? He submerges himself in a character…

I don’t read much Harry Knowles to be honest, but he pointedly makes the case in favour of Bale here over on Ain’t It Cool, claiming to know a witness to the incident who confirms that DP Shane Hurlbut was completely out of line in adjusting the lights during such a key scene.

Finally, it’s worth remembering that this was shot not long after the incident in which Bale was arrested (and later released) over allegations of abuse made by his own family. He was perhaps feeling the pressure out of character as well as in it. Such an eruption might well be expected under the circumstances.

Hurlbut must have a side of the story to tell, and probably will. But for now it’s impossible to judge Bale (or Terminator Salvation) without the benefit of context.