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Posted on 03/10/2004 10:18:22 AM PST by Lost Highway

But, first, Mel Gibson keeps breaking box office records and Hollywood is not happy about it. It‘s time for tonight‘s “Real Deal.”

You know, Hollywood insiders are growing more enraged every day at the success Mel Gibson‘s movie “The Passion” is enjoying at the box office. Most troubling to the barons of Beverly Hills is the fact they can‘t do anything about it. You know, America has chosen sides. And the winner is clearly Mel Gibson in a rout.

Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight entered SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY and blasted the movie, saying it was a dangerous work that breeds hatred of Jews and borrows techniques from Adolf Hitler. But what makes Jon Voight‘s comment so remarkable is the fact that they reflect what many powerful people in Hollywood are saying right now about Mel Gibson‘s movie. But they‘re saying it behind the scenes.

Jon Voight, at least, has the guts to come out and shout out what his peers are only whispering behind Mel Gibson‘s back. Now, of course, “The Passion” has changed Hollywood forever. But the only question now is whether the left coast is going to respond to this new market or be caught flat-footed again when middle America rises up in the future to show the moviemakers who‘s really the boss.

And that‘s tonight‘s “Real Deal.”

Now, as I said, Mel Gibson keeps shattering box office records daily. But now Hollywood is striking back and doing it hard. Academy Award winner Jon Voight is now saying Hollywood insiders hate “The Passion” and has said that it has elements of Adolf Hitler in it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VOIGHT: Yes, I think it‘s anti-Semitic.

And many people have talked about this in many different ways. But you have to understand, that‘s a serious charge. And I have a little bit more understanding perhaps than most, not only because of my Catholic background, but because I‘m a—you know, I‘m a person who tells stories in cinema as well. He‘s a master. Mel Gibson is an acclaimed master of the cinema. He knows exactly what he‘s doing.

But let me just enter into this just a little bit to show you how he manipulates. There are these rapid moments throughout the film of people turning into devils. And they‘re always connected to the Jewish people in some way. And that reminded me of the way Hitler, in his films on the Jews, created this uproar against the Jews.

(CROSSTALK)

SCARBOROUGH: Wow. So you think Mel Gibson‘s actually using Nazi-style propaganda?

VOIGHT: Let me say, you know, I don‘t want to—it‘s clear in the film. It‘s a dangerous thing to do.

The—Hitler would use rats come into a neighborhood. Then he would intercut that with Jewish stereotypes. And he built the Holocaust on that stuff, turning the whole nation against the Jews. So I‘m saying that this film has ingredients. And then you have to question why he did it and is there an agenda here?

SCARBOROUGH: Well, it sounds like you think—very clearly believe that Mel Gibson is anti-Semitic.

VOIGHT: Well, I feel that there is—he‘s an interesting fellow, isn‘t he? I mean, he has—he has cut himself off from Vatican 2, left the church. It‘s very frightening. And I don‘t know what the agenda of Mel Gibson is.

SCARBOROUGH: What about all the Americans that are going to see this movie, does that disturb you? Does that scare you?

VOIGHT: Well, as I‘ve said, Joe—as I‘ve said, I think that there are the ingredients of a return to bigotry and anti-Semitism here. And they‘re planted very clearly.

And if I speak out against it and I call for—if I asked people to -

· all people to understand that—all people who understand the true meaning of Christ and love to reject this film, because it‘s certainly a new torch of anti-Semitism, I‘ll seem like a person who is, you know, trying to stop a train with a stick, but that‘s what I feel.

I wonder, you know, why Mel did this and what his agenda is. Listen, he‘s a talented guy. He is a talented guy as an actor and he‘s a talented guy as a director. And he has a great following. And I would have hoped that he would have done something uplifting and speaking in a—you know, and speaking of brotherhood and love for all people. This is what you would hope. And, instead, I believe that this is a new wave of anti-Semitism that is being stimulated by this film.

SCARBOROUGH: All right, Jon Voight, thank you so much.

VOIGHT: OK, Joe.

SCARBOROUGH: Some very, very tough words. But I know it‘s words that a lot of people agree with. So thank you so much for being with us.

VOIGHT: OK.

(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...

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