It appears Mel Gibson will be putting on his acting shoes once again. We get the following scoop from the fabled caves of Yahoo:
Mel Gibson, who has kept a low profile since his drunken anti-Semitic outburst in July 2006, is set to headline his first feature film since 2002, Daily Variety reported on Tuesday. The 52-year-old Hollywood actor has committed to play a police investigator in “Edge of Darkness,” a thriller based on a 1985 BBC miniseries, the trade publication said.
Gibson will find himself on the other side of the law in “Edge of Darkness,” playing a straitlaced cop who uncovers systemic corruption while investigating the death of his activist daughter, Daily Variety said. Mel Gibson made a titanic fuck up and really deserved all the negative attention that he got. If you are going to drive drunk and then start spitting racist venom at cops; you are going to pay.
I think part of the reason the outburst received so much attention, is because it was totally unexpected. Mel had a squeaky clean, good guy image and sold himself as a moral, upright man that makes films about Jesus. When the shit hit the fan, everyone was reeling from the comments; and the surprising source. If a known Hollywood badboy/girl made the comments they may have fizzled much sooner. But People felt duped because Mel Gibson was supposed to be a good guy.
I am not sure if people are ready to see a Mel Gibson film again, but there’s only one way to find out. The scandal hurt the box office earnings and reception of what I consider to be a masterwork in Apocalypto; will the curse live on to haunt this project too?
If the scandal continues to dog the star, I think it may be best for him to stay behind the directors chair and/or retire altogether. There is no shame in retirement, and this scandal may have been the push he needed to relax, unwind, stay out of the spotlight, and learn to live in peace with all.
International friends, what do you think? Should Gibson get back in the game? Will people welcome him anew; or continue to shun him?
