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"What's human sacrifice if not sending guys off to Iraq for no reason?" - Mel Gibson
it looks like Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" is turning out to be another cultural event on par with "The Passion" or "Brokeback Mountain" because of what seems to be direct critiques of American society through the film, as well as Gibson's now outspoken opposition to the Iraq War:
[q]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."
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[q]I've learned that both Time and Newsweek want to put Mel Gibson's Apocalpto on their covers timed to its Dec. 8th opening. This happened with Gibson's The Passion of the Christ: Newsweek made it the cover before the film's release, and Time after the movie was in theaters. It's quite a coup for any Hollywood pic to make the covers of both newsmagazines. "There are a lot of media offers on the table competing for this movie," an insider told me. This may happen without any actual interview of Gibson, too. Any interview would be problematic for Mel's publicity push since it would necessarily dwell on Gibson's alcoholism relapse and drunken rantings against Jews. Because of that, it's still up in the air if there'll be a big network (or even cable) TV one-on-one. But the real issue, now that the Disney movie is starting to garner raves from its sneak screenings, is whether Oscar voters can, or will, judge Mel's film fairly. Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are known to hold grudges for a myriad reasons, and Gibson's anti-Semitic remarks over the summer provide ample fuel. Then again, the voters are supposed to judge the merits of the film and not the man behind it. The question is: can that be possible? I certainly don't have an answer yet since it's too early in the process -- most voters won't even start seeing the film until December -- but I can look to the past. After all, they ignored Gibson's Passion for the big noms (Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture) because of the anti-Semitic overtones some saw in its portrayal of the events surrounding the death of Jesus. And, last year, I reported that hetero Oscar voters were unwilling to screen Brokeback Mountain because of their own anti-gay prejudices. But Mel's film is becoming known as the 'Mexican Braveheart' -- and everyone knows Braveheart won a ton of Oscars. What is interesting, also, is how Gibson seems to be positioning Apocalypto: the Hollywood Reporter, which had a stringer in Austin, noted that at one weekend screening Gibson drew a parallel between the Mayan civilization on the brink of collapse and America. "What's human sacrifice," he asked, "if not sending guys off to Iraq for no reason?" (Gibson has been increasingly critical of the Bush administration over the war.) Meanwhile, I'm told that Gibson's alcoholism rehab is going well.
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.c...gs-in-oklahoma-both-time-newsweek-want-cover/
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it looks like Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto" is turning out to be another cultural event on par with "The Passion" or "Brokeback Mountain" because of what seems to be direct critiques of American society through the film, as well as Gibson's now outspoken opposition to the Iraq War:
[q]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."
[/q]
[q]I've learned that both Time and Newsweek want to put Mel Gibson's Apocalpto on their covers timed to its Dec. 8th opening. This happened with Gibson's The Passion of the Christ: Newsweek made it the cover before the film's release, and Time after the movie was in theaters. It's quite a coup for any Hollywood pic to make the covers of both newsmagazines. "There are a lot of media offers on the table competing for this movie," an insider told me. This may happen without any actual interview of Gibson, too. Any interview would be problematic for Mel's publicity push since it would necessarily dwell on Gibson's alcoholism relapse and drunken rantings against Jews. Because of that, it's still up in the air if there'll be a big network (or even cable) TV one-on-one. But the real issue, now that the Disney movie is starting to garner raves from its sneak screenings, is whether Oscar voters can, or will, judge Mel's film fairly. Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are known to hold grudges for a myriad reasons, and Gibson's anti-Semitic remarks over the summer provide ample fuel. Then again, the voters are supposed to judge the merits of the film and not the man behind it. The question is: can that be possible? I certainly don't have an answer yet since it's too early in the process -- most voters won't even start seeing the film until December -- but I can look to the past. After all, they ignored Gibson's Passion for the big noms (Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture) because of the anti-Semitic overtones some saw in its portrayal of the events surrounding the death of Jesus. And, last year, I reported that hetero Oscar voters were unwilling to screen Brokeback Mountain because of their own anti-gay prejudices. But Mel's film is becoming known as the 'Mexican Braveheart' -- and everyone knows Braveheart won a ton of Oscars. What is interesting, also, is how Gibson seems to be positioning Apocalypto: the Hollywood Reporter, which had a stringer in Austin, noted that at one weekend screening Gibson drew a parallel between the Mayan civilization on the brink of collapse and America. "What's human sacrifice," he asked, "if not sending guys off to Iraq for no reason?" (Gibson has been increasingly critical of the Bush administration over the war.) Meanwhile, I'm told that Gibson's alcoholism rehab is going well.
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.c...gs-in-oklahoma-both-time-newsweek-want-cover/
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