The ABC television network has cancelled a mini-series about the Holocaust it was developing with Mel Gibson, after the actor launched into an anti-Semitic tirade during his arrest for drink-driving.
The series was to have been based on a memoir about a Dutch Jew during the Second World War and made by Gibson's Icon Productions company, the Wall Street Journal reported today, quoting an unnamed ABC spokesman.
A spokesperson for ABC, which is owned by Walt Disney, confirmed that the project was being pulled, telling the paper that it had been two years and the network still had not seen a script. The spokesman declined to say whether the decision was motivated by Gibson's rant.
Gibson was arrested on suspicion of drink driving on the Pacific Coast highway in the early hours Friday, allegedly doing 87mph with a part-drunk bottle of tequila in a brown paper bag on the back seat of his car.
According to the arresting officer's original report he tried to escape when invited to sit in the back of the patrol car, and was belligerent and maudlin by turns, banging his head against a seat and bemoaning that his life was "f*****d". He also called a female officer "sugar tits".
"Mr Gibson almost continually threatened me, saying he 'owned Malibu' and will 'get even' with me," wrote Deputy James Mee, of the LA County Sheriff's Department.
"He blurted out a barrage of anti-Semitic remarks about 'f***ing Jews'. He called out, 'the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world'. He then asked: 'Are you a Jew?'
"His conduct concerned and frightened me to a point, I called ahead to the station requesting a sergeant meet the arrival of my patrol car."
On Saturday Gibson issued a long apology, denouncing the things he said as untrue and despicable, and revealing that he had suffered from alcoholism all his adult life. He has since checked into a rehabilitation clinic.
The actor-director, whose film The Passion of Christ was criticised for blaming the Jews for killing Jesus, holds strong conservative Catholic religious and political views.
Yesterday Deputy Mee, who is 17, and Jewish, told the AP news agency that he had considered it a routine arrest and did not take any comments made by Gibson seriously.
"I don’t take pride in hurting Mr Gibson," said Deputy Mee. "What I had hoped out of this is that he would think twice before he gets behind the wheel of a car and was drinking. I don’t want to ruin his career. I don’t want to defame him in any way or hurt him."
He would not comment specifically on what Gibson said. "That stuff is booze talking," the deputy said in an interview outside his home.
"There’s two things that booze does. It amplifies your basic personality. If you are a laid-back kind of person, just an easy going kind of person, booze is going to amplify that and you’ll be just sitting around going how it’s a wonderful day. But, if you are high-strung person, it’s going to amplify that and all the bad things are going to come out."
The actor's early apology appears so far to have limited the damage to his Hollywood career, despite the ABC move.
Disney’s movie studio arm still plans to release Gibson’s self-financed Mayan-language film Apocalypto in December, Hollywood’s trade papers reported, and Slate.com, a movie industry website, quoted Oren Aviv, the Walt Disney Studios president, as saying that he accepted Gibson’s apology.
"The incident was a horrible, horrible blow to his public image," said Peter Montoya, a public image consultant. He remained optimistic, however, that Gibson can prevail.
"I don’t foresee that spinning out of control, like Tom Cruise, or Nick Nolte. I think it’s going to fade away. The basic rules when you’re a public figure and you make a mistake: you apologise, you apologise early. I think he did that, he apologised, himself. He did the right thing so far and I think he’s going to do more in the coming months."
I hope he doesn't get out of the dui punishment like all the other hollywood stars. As for his remarks - it is just the booze talking, but truths come out when you're drunk. I hate when people use that as an excuse. If you're drunk and act out in a ridiculous way, take some responsibility for it, don't just blame it on the booze.
I don't know why they keep using his movie TPOTC to prove he's anti-semitic if the movie is based on the bible BUT, that doesn't mean he's not. Based on things he has said in the past, he probably is. I'm sure people are going to remember all the horrendous things he said - even if this incident does fade away. He may not be done in hollywood but he's not going to be sweet ol' adorable mel gibson anymore, not that he ever was to me. The only good MG movie was Braveheart.
"I'm looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can't-live-without-each-other love." - Carrie Bradshaw
"The danger of an adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort" - Paulo Coehlo
Live your life like it's your last day on earth
Life is not how many breaths you take, but how many moments take your breath away.
Mel is in a pickle over this. I for one and very pleased that Disney backed out of this deal. Disney is for family entertainment, and doing a project with someone who has made such comments is not a good thing. Disney did the right thing.
TPOTC regardless of Mel's personal feelings told the story and was a groundbreaking film. That will stand alone.
Why was he doing a holocaust movie? That just doesn't make sense to me. But, yeah, I'm glad Disney was all PEACE!
"I'm looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can't-live-without-each-other love." - Carrie Bradshaw
"The danger of an adventure is worth a thousand days of ease and comfort" - Paulo Coehlo
Live your life like it's your last day on earth
Life is not how many breaths you take, but how many moments take your breath away.
He's screwed, for sure! Hope that he enjoys himself after this. I would be embarrassed, if I was in his shoes, and consider doing a Michael Jackson, and leaving the country.
:::>^..^<::: ~*~The Journey is more important than the end or the start~*~ :::>^..^<:::
Yeah, my favorite Disney film is 'Pulp Fiction' (Miramax is a division of Walt Disney, Inc.)
Anyway, Disney is doing a lot of damage control. You see, there are a lot of people in Hollywood that are of the Jewish faith. If Disney went ahead with any project with Mel Gibson at this point they could feel some backlash.
And speaking of The Passion, there are those that felt Jews were villified in the film. These comments by Gibson speak to that theory.
Regardless, Gibson will be back soon enough. O.J. killed people and still gets work.
I for one am still a fan and can't wait to see his next film.
I don't get why what an actor does in their personal life dictates why someone would see a movie they are involved with. Most people think they know an actor based on the crap they see on Entertainment Tonight or People Magazine. Which is to say, they know nothing.
So Mel Gibson in a drunken rant makes remarks about Jews. Does that mean Lethal Weapon sucks now? Does that mean I shouldn't watch Mad Max? Please. Gibson still rules and always will.
If we look hard enough we could find a reason to boycott any actor or director. Let's get all their political views on the table. I want to know how they stand on abortion. I want to know if they do drugs or ever have. I want to know if they had pre-marital sex... oh wait, I don't want to know any of that because it's none of my GD business. When you get down to it he can have any opinion he wants, that's his right, and that opinion doesn't trickle to the surface when he's playing make believe in La-La Land.
08-01-2006 04:58 PM
