"I would love to see a Fatima movie done by Mel, although he should be careful to not bring up too much conspiracy about the Third Secret as that would distract from the main message of Fatima."
At this juncture in history I am not sure if that is possible. Unless one simply does an exact remake of the 1952 movie......which while it was nice was far from cinematic excellance. It also carefully avoided......oh what is it called?........truth!
The Fatima apparitions & Miracle of the Sun occured in 1917. They warned of the imminant advance of Soviet Marxism - which would spread its influence over the world. Our lady predicted WWII would ensue, if her message were not heeded and acted upon.
Churchmen ignored it. WWII happened - millions and millions of souls perished, as Mary fortold. She fortold even worse subsequent disaster for the Church adn the world, lest Church men heed her.
They - by and large - ignored her, relagating the Fatima message & devotion as the province of little old ladies.
Once again - in 1960 - Mary was snubbed......her directions, and message from God ignored. Fatima was an either/or proposition. Pope John XXII chose "or". That is why the Church and the world are in the state it is in in 2005.
Our Lady's message at Fatima was not about bunnies and rainbows. Nor was it just another pretty devotion......or pious spiritual excercise.
It was about a warning to mankind from its Maker. Nearly a century has passed since Mary gave her messages & warnings. Because they were ignored, we have been through a century of unparalled evil and slaughter.
In essense Mary said "turn back, O man - forswear thy foolish ways". Priest and bishop alike ignored Fatima - even ridiculed it. As the world grew more secular, so did the hearts of the laity.
Fatima - at its heart - is both religious AND geopolitical. The two are hopelessly intertwined in it. there is no escaping this.
Based upon seeing the compleat, original version of The Passion of the Christ, I would find it hard to believe that Mel Gibson would go to the effort of making a film about Fatima which did not show it as it is - warts & all.
It would be my guess that he will lay open the facts - as known.......and indicate a "trail of breadcrumbs" regarding that which is controversial - at the very least.
The film will need a Malachi Martin character. Mel should offer a preview screening to Catholic freepers!
I have no doubts that Mel could bring Fatima into focus for a wide audience in a way none of us could anticipate. He is a master cinematographer. For instance, he could do a black-and-white reflection on the events of 1917, the cova and the muddy people, then the Miracle could depict the sun throwing off colors. That would be astounding. As for a remake of the excellent earlier version, he would have many options. He could obtain rights to incorporate some scenes from that film, perhaps remaking them, so as to show the continuity; but also to show that by today's point of view, we know things by the fact of history since that time that would never have made it into a film in those days.
Having met Sr. Lucy, he would be able to bring that knowledge into all her previous years, so he could do an anthology of all the events through the years when she was interviewed by people who contradicted themselves and others. He could show how the Vatican control over the release of the 3rd Secret has been the beginning of so much controversy. He could even touch on the fact that Vatican II, in fulfillment of Our Lady's warnings, specifically neglected to address the biggest threat to the Church in the world at that time: Soviet (and its offspring, Chinese) atheistic Communism.
The problem would be security. It would be extremely expensive for him to protect the lives of his crew while filming. There are powers in the world today that fear the exposure of this information to the world in no small way, and would fight a war over stopping it. Especially formidable would be the advent of a movie from someone with Mel's reputation.
Therefore, unless he films in secret somehow, I doubt he could make it happen safely. But I could be wrong...