AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Christian Bale

Artist:Christian Bale

Song:The World Will Know

Album:Newsies: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

British actor Christian Bale became famous as a teen when he appeared in the 1987 Steven Spielberg film Empire of the Sun. Subsequently he struggled until he reached adulthood. One of his early films was the 1992 film Newsies. This was Disney's attempt to revive the all singing all dancing musical that we loved from MGM in the 50s. The film was a box office failure. But it has developed a following through home video. As far as I can tell, Newsies was Bale's only appearance in a musical. I think he sings in one other film. Bale was born Jan. 30, 1974 in Haverfordwest, Wales but he grew up mostly in the resort town of Bournemouth, England. He appeared in TV commercials as a child. After appearing in the 1986 TV movie Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna, the film's star Amy Irving told her director husband Steven Spielberg about Bale. He was casting the lead in the 1987 film Empire of the Sun. It made Bale famous. He also appeared in Kenneth Branagh's 1989 film Henry V. Then Bale appeared in Newsies. This musical about the 1899 newsboys strike in New York City was written by the husband wife team of Bob Tzudiker and Noni White and directed by choreographer Kenny Ortega. The script was not a musical. Disney head Jeffrey Katzenberg made that decision and he brought in the songwriting team of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. They wrote the songs for The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. When Ashman got sick and died of AIDS, lyricist Jack Feldman was brought in to help Menken. J.A.C. Redford composed the score. Bale did his own singing in the film including on the call to strike song The World Will Know. Of course Newsies was supposed to be a Disney tentpole. But the film bombed at the box office and was a critical failure. It would gain a following on home video. And Disney revived Newsies as a Broadway musical in 2012. It did well and got eight Tony nominations. So I think Newsies is better thought of today than when it was first released. Bale's first commercial success was the 2000 film American Psycho. And of course his biggest role was as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the 2005 film Batman Begins. He continues to appear in films today. Has he ever sung in another film? Well, the films Swing Kids (1993) and Velvet Goldmine (1998) are about music. But Bale doesn't sing in them. But it looks like he does sing in the 2022 film Amsterdam. He appears on the soundtrack album. Here's Christian Bale performing The World Will Know in the 1992 film Newsies.