Christian Bale Reacts to ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Massacre
Christian Bale, who starred in the summer blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises, has been placed in the awkward position of seeing the film he worked so hard on overshadowed by a horrific tragedy in Aurora, Colorado during which 12 fans lost their lives and scores more were wounded.
The situation in which Christian Bale and fellow stars Anne Hathaway and Gary Oldman find themselves is unusual and sad, and the cast and crew are reportedly moved and saddened by the bizarre killings.
Christian Bale and co-stars have been struggling to cope with the situation, and several opening weekend events were cancelled in the wake of the tragedy. People reports that much of the cast was overwhelmed with grief after learning of the incident in Aurora, and the mag reports:
“The cast was completely shocked and several – Anne and Marion [Cotillard], a couple of the men – were in tears,” a source tells PEOPLE. “There was enormous, enormous sadness.”
Bale released a statement directly earlier today, expressing sadness following the tragedy:
“Words cannot express the horror that I feel. I cannot begin to truly understand the pain and grief of the victims and their loved ones, but my heart goes out to them.”
Bale’s statement on the Aurora shootings came after one from The Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan, who had said earlier:
“I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community. I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting, but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime.” “
Nolan continued:
“The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me. Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families.”
Due to the shootings, Warner Bros. has not released any box office information about The Dark Knight Rises.
