When Jim returns home after losing his parents, his nanny slaps him. The actors had practiced a fake slap and fake reaction, but Spielberg and the actress playing the nanny conspired to make the slap real when the cameras were rolling, so Christian Bale's reaction would be genuine. Therefore, Bale is really being slapped, and his shocked reaction is no act.
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As the family is piling into their car to go to the costume party, Jim, who is carrying a large, balsa sailplane, accidentally snaps the tail and it falls sideways. In subsequent shots the tail is upright. See more...
Empire of the Sun (1987) - 1 trivia entry
Directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Christian Bale, Joe Pantoliano, John Malkovich, Leslie Phillips, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers (add more)
When Jim returns home after losing his parents, his nanny slaps him. The actors had practiced a fake slap and fake reaction, but Spielberg and the actress playing the nanny conspired to make the slap real when the cameras were rolling, so Christian Bale's reaction would be genuine. Therefore, Bale is really being slapped, and his shocked reaction is no act.
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