Free Christian Bale by Harrison Cheung

Louise remembered. “I had so much fun all summer long. I got to dress in a different period costume every day I worked, and I got to hang out with all the cast, who were so much fun. Being an extra is not easy however. The day usually begins at 6 am, you sit around for 90 percent of the day, and then you’re the last to leave the set at around 9 pm.”
    Though she didn’t have any lines as an extra, Louise was thrilled to be very visible in a scene with Ann-Margret.
    She recalled: “I was absolutely terrified when I found out that I was in a scene with her, and then even more terrified when I found out how close the camera would be. She made me feel very comfortable, and she was extremely professional. Before we shot the scene where she is trying to get to the Newsie who is getting beaten by the police, she pulled me aside and told me that she was really going to go for it, and that I had better hold her back. Well, I didn’t have to act at all! She is a strong lady! I really had to work hard to hold her back, and then dragging her away was a real workout. In the chaos of it all, Ann-Margret accidentally kicked me in the same place in the knee take after take. By the end of the day I had a huge bruise on the side of my knee, and I took a photograph of it. I’m very proud to have a battle wound from Ann-Margret!”
    Kenny Ortega had trained under Hollywood legend Gene Kelly ( Singin’ in the Rain ), and he believed in being prepared. He set up a two-month Newsies camp for the cast to train and rehearse. As many of the cast members were not trained dancers, they had to learn the basics, including jumps and turns. During training camp, Gene Kelly made a set visit and complimented the boys on their work.
    Said Christian: “I don’t know what kind of dance you would call the Newsies’ training but we got very fit, jumped around a lot and I got very dizzy.”
    Ortega was thrilled with the comprehensive regimen: “This was very different for most of them, and obviously very hard work. They had to be in dance class every day, then have voice lessons, dialect and scene studies, gymnastics, and martial arts classes. All this in addition to their regular school studies!”
    By all accounts, the Newsies set was very boisterous. Managing a large cast of teenage boys would be a challenge. Ever the worrywart, David visited the set daily with a large bag of vitaminsand nutritional supplements to keep Christian’s energy up. He was always concerned about Christian’s health.
    It was that insurability issue again. Christian had told me, “Bloody Hollywood. If they think you’re sick all the time, you’ll never get work! The production companies won’t insure you! American actors dripping with syphilis and gonorrhea and they work. But let one English actor cough or wheeze and the producers will send you packing back to England!”
    Ele Keats recalled: “I have never worked with a cast that size before, so it was a challenge, but fun. I didn’t get too close to a lot of people because most of the boys had worked with each other for weeks already when I came in. But we all became friends. The crowd scenes were fun, but exhausting. Because there were thousands of kids all over the place, it could sometimes take an hour to get everyone in the right spot.”
    To help the main cast of newsboys bond, the producers arranged frequent social events like softball games or pizza parties. Robert Duvall came out one evening for a bowling party with the young cast. When David asked the Oscar-winning actor for career advice for Christian, Duvall recommended that Christian go to university. Duvall himself had graduated with a degree in drama and had a strong New York theater background when he was roommates in the 1950s with another struggling actor by the name of Dustin Hoffman. “School is a strong foundation for technique and there is nothing like the live