METAL IN THE MOVIES: In "The Big Short", Christian Bale rocks out to Mastodon, Metallica and Pantera!

Last night, I saw the movie "The Big Short" with my family. Starring Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Brad Pitt and Chistian Bale - the movie tells the true story of a group of individuals who predicted the 2008 financial crisis in the United States and managed to profit greatly from its downfall. Christian Bale plays American hedge fund manager Michael Burry, an awkward and introverted odd ball who has a knack for reading numbers and predicting outcomes.

I was pleasantly surprised when in one of the first scenes of the film, while reading the mortgage data from a litany of banks, Burry cranks up the song "Blood and Thunder" into his earphones while tapping his desk with a drumstick. As the movie continues, it becomes clear that Burry's method for focusing on crunching numbers is to listen to metal hits such as "Eye of the Beholder" and "Master of Puppets" by Metallica and "District Divided" by Darkest Hour. Further on in the movie, while expressing some frustration on his drums, Burry plays an angry percussion rendition of Pantera's "By Demons Be Driven" - complete with screaming, Vinnie Paul double kicks and inflicting an overall beating on to his kit.

Upon further research, I discovered an interview where Bale claims to have learned to play metal style drums in only two weeks for the role.

EDIT: Skip to 2:45

An impressive feat when you take in that right before the lessons began, Bale tore out his knee while on a trampoline with his kids. When director Adam McKay suggested that he use a double for the double kicks (Tales from the Puns), Bale reportedly told him, “No, no, it’s gonna be all right, let me just do it”. In the end, he accomplished the task with two doctors standing by "waiting for his leg to fall off". Pretty friggin' metal!

Furthermore, in the Screenrant interview above, Bale confirms that this aspect of Michael Burry's character was realistic. After sitting with the real Burry for over 9 hours during character study, Bale is quoted as saying:

This is how Mike Burry unwound. This is actually how he calmed down. He would listen to it all day long in his headphones – and not just that, Mastodon as well – but his brain is on fire so much that death metal calms him. He’s a very different individual to most of us.

Even though many metal fans (including myself) would disagree that Metallica, Pantera and Mastodon are "death metal" (Darkest Hour is debatable), it's cool to know that metal music fueled the minds of those smart enough to notice major fraudulent activity in the American financial system.

Us, disagreeing

It was a delight to see Christian Bale play an investment banker for the first time since American Psycho and trade cheesy 80s hits for some thrash and sludge. 

Just picture him holding up Vulgar Display of Power

I unforutnately could not locate any videos of the metal movie moments (MMMs) but enjoy this Studio 360 interview with director Adam McKay about the drumming scene as well as a sound clip from the scene.



Also, go see The Big Short! I give the film an 7.5/10 with bonus points for a kickass soundtrack. You can listen to the hard rock/metal selections from the soundtrack below:



(I know Run the Jewels aren't metal but the song is still kickass!)