Future of Mel Gibson's ABC TV Holocaust Miniseries In Doubt

Yeahhhh... I'd imagine so.

Gibson, who apologized Saturday for making "despicable" remarks in what was described as an anti-Semitic tirade after a drunk-driving arrest, in some ways now finds himself at the mercy of a Hollywood establishment that may or may not be inclined to extend forgiveness.

His most immediate issue is with Walt Disney, which is distributing Apocalypto and that also, through its ABC television network, has a development deal with his company to make a miniseries about the Holocaust.

Several prominent critics of The Passion already have stepped forward to suggest that Gibson, who denied there was an anti-Semitic undercurrent in his movie about the last hours in the life of Christ, has now shown his true colors.

"Mel Gibson's apology is unremorseful and insufficient," said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, who added: "His tirade finally reveals his true self and shows that his protestations during the debate over his film The Passion of the Christ that he is such a tolerant, loving person, were a sham."

Foxman called on Hollywood executives to "realize the bigot in their midst" and "distance themselves from this anti-Semite."

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, urged Gibson to drop the Holocaust project, saying it would be "inappropriate."

Particularly inappropriate, executives feel, is Gibson's proposed marketing campaign, which promises "the feel-good roller-coaster thrill-ride of the autumn!"

Yes, I kick men when they're down. That always seemed to me to be the best time to kick them. If you kick a man who's on his feet, you stand a very good chance of getting beaten senseless.

In all seriousness, though, the Gibson Holocaust minseries always seemed to be a bit of an attempt to molify Hollywood's Jewish community for perceived antisemitism in The Passion. Given Gibson's latest outburst, he can't mollify with such a project anymore.

You can't have a miniseries depicting the horrors of the Holocaust where you're wondering if the producer intends it as a cautionary tale for humanity, or a cautionary tale specifically for the Jews, "who start all the wars."

BTW, I've always been a huge fan of Gibson's -- I can quote just about all twenty of the spoken lines in Road Warrior -- and I defended him through what i believed was an unfair smear campaign during the days of The Passion, so I really take no special joy in running down a man I once thought was pretty damn cool and had a pretty good bead on things.

But the guy hates Jews. It's just the way it is.

posted by Ace at 01:32 AM

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