[To Bale] What attracted you to the role? Could you identify with the character?

Bale: Mainly, I was very surprised by the script. Mary had sent it to me, and I read it, and I hadn't read the book yet. And I found the script hilarious, when I really wasn't expecting it to be. It was so sort of opposite of anything I'd ever done before.

What was your favorite scene to act in?

Bale: The murder scene of Paul Allen [he hacks him to death with an ax] was one of the most enjoyable, but it also became one of the most crazy ones we were doing because I was on like 20 cappuccinos.

Were you secretly smiling about the irony of the despicable character being named "Paul Allen" -- the co-founder of Microsoft?

Harron: That was the worst thing that happened. They wouldn't let me use "Paul Owen."

Who is "they?"

Harron: The legal department of Lion's Gate. They said, "There's a Paul Owen in the New York phone book, and he won't give us permission to use his name." Which was ridiculous. So they gave me a list of names and I said, "Oh. Well, Allen sounds like Owen." I must have been the only person in the world who didn't know who Paul Allen was. And no one said, "Did you get permission to use that name?" And I was like, "It's too late, we already shot with it." That's horrible. I felt so bad.

What was it that made up your mind about using Christian?

Harron: What I was looking for was a complexity. When I met with Christian and I watched his face, it wasn't a difficult decision. He reminded me of Lili Taylor in the sense that there was a lot below the surface. He had a sense of mystery and depth in his face. And I hadn't sensed that with anyone else.

What kind of a film would it have been if you had worked with DiCaprio?

Harron: You know, I can't say, and it's not because he's not a good actor. It would have been a very, very huge budget film [DiCaprio was reportedly offered $20 million to star], and that would have been a mistake. You know, money matters, and if you go up in the stratosphere on your budget then you have no control over it.

What was your budget?

Harron: It was under $10 million.

How did you prepare for the role, Christian?

Bale: I would say that the best source for research was the book. There were so many great details in it. It was informative, but at the end of the day it sort of just confirmed that I didn't really need to go into any in-depth analysis. And also, the strange thing with this character is that because Bateman is performing the whole time -- there was, you know, with most characters, there's a great fear of showing, revealing that you're performing. You know, you want to be as naturalistic as possible. With this, I didn't have to hide that very much. Even when he's by himself, there is no Bateman there. At all. So, it was a strange sort of mental preparation.

Will this movie change your career? Catapult you into stardom?

Bale: That could well be true, but I have been involved in other films where we sort of had that anticipation. It really didn't sort of pay off.

What films?

Bale: "Velvet Goldmine." There was a lot of excitement previous to it being released, and then, you know, I think it was Miramax not putting their money where their mouth was. Nobody knew it was actually released.

What about "Empire of the Sun?"

Bale: Well, I went a little bit insane after that because I couldn't stand it so much and I wanted to get the hell away from it. I was just too young. So, obviously, I would love if, after "American Psycho," I wouldn't have to wait another year and a half to get to make another movie that I really want to make.

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