Mel Gibson Thinking About Hanging It Up

Could it be the end of the road for Mel Gibson? Certainly, he doesn't need to work. He had enough money (and islands) before The Passion of the Christ made him incredibly wealthy, and he still has enough even though he recently split from his wife of some 30 years. He recently spoke to The Los Angeles Times about an upcoming project and hinted rather strongly that the fire may be out after that. Of a new Viking epic he will direct with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role, Gibson said, “It was the first movie I ever thought about making. I saw it in my mind back when I was teenager. Seriously, it’s the first movie I wanted to make," adding, "And I think it will be the last film I direct. It’s the thing I have been going toward, in a way, since I was young, and I think when it’s done I may be finished.” Whether or not that's idle chatter is hard to gauge. After all, Gibson didn't make movies for a few years after his public image took a hit for a DUI arrest and comments that were allegedly made at that time. I don't think Mel handled the situation very well at all in press stops for Edge of Darkness, acting almost as if it never happened or that people shouldn't be allowed to change their minds about him because of his (words and) actions. More than that, though, was Gibson's admission that he really didn't feel much of a connection to the process when he stepped in front of cameras for the first time in nearly a decade. It probably won't help get Gibson back into acting full-time that Darkness lost money. He's got a couple other projects he's signed onto as an actor or an actor-director, but it wouldn't surprise me if he really bows out here. However, when you listen to how much he seems invested in this project, maybe he can keep finding projects that attract him this much:

"We're going hammer and tongs on the script right now. When I was 16, learning about the history of the English language I became fascinated with Vikings. And I imagined what they would sound like, how would they talk and that’s what I will be going for in this film. It’s a challenge though. There's never been a good Viking film, not that I've seen. I think I have found the right way to get into it, though, but I don’t want to say too much. The real problem is making those guys sympathetic. They were monsters."

Producer Graham King adds that the film, which will be written by William Monahan, "isn’t about superheroes,” a reference to the upcoming Thor. "This movie will be quite serious and very much for grown-ups.” But will it be the curtain call for Mad Mel?

Comments

[common]

Too bad if he leaves, he is a very underrated director in my opinion. Braveheart is fun and apocalypto was awsome.

[Get The Big Picture]

I completely agree. I think he's a very good director (if a little too bloodthirsty).

[ocean of Love]

MEL GIBSON DIDNT "RECENTLY" TALK TO THE LOS ANGELES TIME.. HE MADE THAT INTERVIEW BACK IN JANUARY, THE 23 OF JANUARY, AND THE PICTURES ARE FROM THAT DAY TOO.
WHAT HE SAID HE SAID IT IN JANUARY, AND NOBODY REACTED, SO I AM A BIT SURPRISED THAT ALL THE SUDDEN, AN OLD ARTICLE MAKE THE FRONT PAGE 2 MONTHS LATER, BY TAKING OUT HALF OF ONE SENTENCE AND SINGLEING IT OUT AS BEING A NEW STATEMENT MADE BY THE ACTOR DIRECTOR MEL GIBSON.

ITS A FKAE, SORRY GUYS BUT MEL GIBSON DIDNT GAVE ANY INTERVIEWS RECENTLY, WHERE HE STATED THAT HE WAS DONE WORKING.
THAT ARTICLE FROM LA IS TYPICAL OF WHAT WE USUALY SEE TABLOIDS DO: TAKE OLD ARTICLES FROM VARIOUS PLACES, CUT IT OFF IN PIECES, AND MAKE A COLLAGE OF THE PARTS, AND HAVE IT LOOK LIKE THEY GOT AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW, NEW, WITH NEW STUFF IN IT..

USUALY IT IS THE DAILY MAIL AND THE TELEGRAPH THAT DOES THAT KIND OF THINGS.
WHAT I RECALL HIM SAYING IN THAT INTERVIEW, AND IN MANY OTHERS PREVIOUS TO THAT ONE FROM JANUARY AND AFTER IT, IS THAT HE WAS BACK ON TRACK AND LIKE DIRECTING MORE THAN ACTING, AND WAS DEFINITLY BACK IN BOTH FIELDS.

ANYTHING ELSE IS BOGUS.

[Jeremy]

Well your caps lock appears to be in working order.

[wedding]

very good film