Posted on 11/29/2006 6:36:05 PM PST by LdSentinal
NEW YORK - Though he's lost many fans after being captured on video hurling racist epithets at a comedy club audience, Michael Richards has an ally: Mel Gibson.
"I felt like sending Michael Richards a note," Gibson says in an interview in Entertainment Weekly's Dec. 8 issue. "I feel really badly for the guy. He was obviously in a state of stress. You don't need to be inebriated to be bent out of shape. But my heart went out to the guy."
The 50-year-old actor-director added: "They'll probably torture him for a while and then let him go. I like him."
After his Nov. 17 tirade became known, Richards apologized on David Letterman's "Late Show" on CBS, saying his remarks were sparked by anger at being heckled, not bigotry. He also apologized to the Rev. Al Sharpton and on the Rev. Jesse Jackson's syndicated radio program.
Gibson, star of the "Lethal Weapon" movies and director of "The Passion of the Christ," was mired in a scandal of his own this summer for anti-Semitic comments he made to police in Malibu, Calif., during his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving. He publicly apologized.
Are people refusing to work with him?
"No, people aren't like that," Gibson tells the magazine. "Those are just the headlines: Mel ostracized by Hollywood! Hollywood is what you make it. There is no great pooh-bah up there saying, `Go! You are condemned!'"
Gibson says he's not anti-Semitic.
"I never have been and never would be," he says. "But (the incident) hit this fear thing in me. My god, I made people afraid. ... And it was a horrible feeling. That's when I said, `My god, I don't want to be that monster.'"
His new movie, "Apocalypto," from The Walt Disney Co.'s Touchstone Pictures, opens Dec. 8. It is a Mayan-language epic filmed in Mexico chronicling the decline of the native civilization.
He's confident his past remarks will not hurt the movie at the box office.
"It's primarily entertainment," he says of his production. "An 18-year-old college guy, out with his buddies, he's going to get into the chase. The movie will stand on its own, regardless of any unfortunate experience I may have stumbled upon."
I think Mel may be surprised by the lack of attention to his new film.
Still haven't figured out what he meant.
just a few minutes earlier, we had seen a black fellow really shove a white girl in Century 21. Then he stood there with the meanest, guiltiest look on his face.
It was a strange afternoon.
Good for Mel.
His new flick looks incredible as well. I like the fact that he's doing his own commercial voice-overs, and that his name is above the title. He made a mistake. He copped to it. That would, and should, be end-of-story but for the hysterical media.
In a world this dangerous and screwed-up, Gibson's and Richards' goofy rants are the least of our problems.
Whoa. Strange days, indeed.
I think you may be surprised by just HOW MUCH attention Mel's new film gets, and how much box office it does. Mel makes great films, and that is all MOST people care about.
Yeah, but they're manna from Heaven for Rev's Al and Jesse.
Ohhh yeah -- and that's probably a big reason why the media plays them up out of all proportion.
The previews look phenomenal. I have HUGE respect for a guy who somehow got the wild idea to make entertaining movies in "dead" languages. Originality is the rarest thing in entertainment these days. When Mel had his "incident" this past summer, I reflected on whether I would stand by a friend who drank too much, got a DUI, and unleashed a rant at the cops. It was a no-brainer. Of course I would. There but for the grace of God and all that.
I totally agree with you on all counts. And add to that, he immediatley apologized for what he did and went into rehab. I know people who know Mr. Gibson personally, and they believe he is truly sorry for what he did and is working hard to avoid it ever happening again.
With all the garbage the dems seem to get away with these days, what Mel did pales in comparison. He apologized, and moved on.
Mel will be fine.
Ping!
Exactly. All I care about is being in line on Dec. 8th, waiting to see his most recent work.
Mel has been around a long time, and for good reason. He didn't do that by making enemies all during his long, successful movie career. That alone stands tall against the blip on the screen, otherwise known as his recent indiscretions.
Yup. We all have indiscretions. It's just that most of ours don't make the international press.
LOL, thank goodness!
It will be a hit.:)I hate what he said.
I will await your (and others') reviews. That's as close as I'll get to this film.
"The previews look phenomenal."
No kidding. I am really interested in the Mayans and will see this when it hits DVD.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.