Posted on 09/24/2006 8:40:30 PM PDT by paltz
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Mel Gibson has returned to the spotlight to promote his upcoming movie "Apocalypto," and to criticize the war in Iraq, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Almost two months after he railed against Jews when he was arrested for driving drunk in Malibu, the actor made a surprise appearance Friday at Fantastic Fest, an event in Austin, Texas, devoted to new science fiction, horror and fantasy films, the trade paper said in its Monday edition.
He presented a work-in-progress screening of his Mayan adventure tale, and then took questions. About one-third of the full house gathered for the film gave him a standing ovation. The film is scheduled for a December 8 release via Disney.
In describing its portrait of a civilization in decline, Gibson said, "The precursors to a civilization that's going under are the same, time and time again," drawing parallels between the Mayan civilization on the brink of collapse and America's present situation. "What's human sacrifice," he asked, "if not sending guys off to Iraq for no reason?"
Appearing alongside Rudy Youngblood, one of the film's actors who hails from the Austin area, Gibson said he plans to make further trims in the film, which ran more than two hours. The print shown did not include sound effects and score, and some visual effects have not yet been added.
Gibson's appearance at the festival, co-founded by Harry Knowles, was reminiscent of a similar appearance he made at Knowles' Butt-Numb-a-Thon, which offered one of the first public previews of "The Passion of the Christ."
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
First the Jews, now Bush and Iraq. Has Mel been channeling Pat Buchanan?
He's really good at kicking around the few friends he has left.
I wonder how quickly those FReepers who urged forgiveness for Mel's anti-Semetic remarks will abandon him now that he's come out against the Iraq War.
No surprises here. He's expressed this view before, though some chose to look the other way because they liked his last movie.
He's gone down at least two levels in my estimation. But this time he wasn't even drunk.
Will he ask for forgiveness this time?
I was wondering how he was going to get back into the good graces of the Hollywood crowd. A good career move, but I thought he was made of better stuff.
Surprise surprise
Just because a guy makes a movie about Jesus Christ does not mean he embodies Christlike attitudes or doesn't have serious personality disorders or is not filled with hate.
I have never admired this angry, narcissistic, intolerant and greedy man. ( I also don't like him). Most of his movies show his rage. It is possible to make a movie about the passion and death of Christ without the gratutious violence that puts it on the level of a snuff film.
The Mel Gibson themes just keep on...the narcissism, the greediness, and of course the rage. Note his bizzare comment re similarity of Mayan and American societies..." HUMAN SACRIFICE ".
The guy is sick, sick, sick~!
(later, I will tell you what I really think of him!)
I think he was looking for an easy way out of the kess he originally created w/o having to have to visit every rabbi in the world and beg forgiveness
Wait until the figures come in on this movie.
I posted on another Mel site and give Mel the benefit of being human, living in California and in the Hollywood venue but as to his human sacrifice reference, I have not heard him complain about abortion and if that isn't a human sacrifice then I don't know what is.
This is always the problem with speaking out loud; You have to be without conflicting logic.
Mel Gibson is an entertainer. Let's not expect too much from him regarding politics.
Right. But you would've thought he had learned something from Braveheart.
No really, don't hold back, just let it flow....
however, I'm done with Mel
This shouldn't be surprising to anybody. Traditionalist catholics are (generally) paleocons.
Did Mel hire Dixie Chick Fat Nat to be his new P.R. person?
Likewise.
And I'm not into watching human sacrifice.
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