Editing Empire of the Sun (film) (section)

===Casting===
J.G. Ballard felt Bale had a physical resemblance to himself at the same age.<ref name="Sheen">[[Martin Sheen|Sheen, Martin]] (narrator), Steven Spielberg, J.G. Ballard, and Christian Bale. ''The China Odyssey: Empire of the Sun'' [[American Broadcasting Company]], 1987.</ref> The actor was 12 years old when he was cast. [[Amy Irving]], Bale's co-star in the [[television movie]] ''[[Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna]]'', recommended Bale to her then-husband, Steven Spielberg, for the role. More than 4,000 child actors auditioned.<ref>Wills, Dominic. [http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/christian_bale_biog.html "Christian Bale Biography"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080913060828/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/christian_bale_biog.html |date=2008-09-13 }}. ''[[Tiscali]]''. Retrieved: September 16, 2008.</ref> Jim's singing voice was provided by English performer James Rainbird.<ref>Bullock, Paul. [http://fromdirectorstevenspielberg.tumblr.com/post/140508311575/steven-spielberg-questions-4-did-christian-bale-sing-in "Spielberg Questions #4: Did Christian Bale sing in Empire of the Sun?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310171948/http://fromdirectorstevenspielberg.tumblr.com/post/140508311575/steven-spielberg-questions-4-did-christian-bale-sing-in |date=March 10, 2016 }}. ''From Director Steven Spielberg''. Retrieved: March 5th 2016.</ref>