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I gather from various posts that .12 is not that high.

Personally, I think he has other problems. He made a truly brilliant film in the Passion, but like any artist, he was simply doing what he did. That doesn't mean the rest of his life was great, or that one would agree with him on anything except his artistic vision for that one film. He's not a conservative, but more of a libertarian with a bent for conspiracy theories and occasional moments of religion.

His father was/is quite weird and is a Holocaust-denying US-hater and a bunch of other unattractive things. Mel Gibson himself seems to have some odd and somewhat extreme beliefs that probably come from his father's influence. In addition, I think he probably has some resentment because of the attacks he got from liberal Jewish organizations before the Passion was even released, not because they seriously thought it was anti-semitic (it wasn't at all, IMHO), but because they were under the mistaken impression that Gibson was a conservative and this was a way of getting at him. Put that together with alcohol and whatever else he may have been taking, and you have one really out of control, angry person.

I hope he gets help.

I think those attacks on him from the Passion are what drove him off the wagon. The guy literally looked like he aged 20 years from when he first started making that movie till he finished. And you know, if Hollywood wants to criticize him for being anti-semitic, maybe they should look in the mirror first. They blame Israel for everything under the sun yet totally ignore terrorism and terror states. Israel can do no good in the eyes of Hollywood, but psychos who blow themselves up in buses are ignored. You can`t get anymore anti-semitic than that.

"...but like any artist, he was simply doing what he did..."

Actually, these filmic just don't require the sort of intellectual stamina demanded of us by the greats.

Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, Keats, Eliot were intellectually colossal. Understanding them (crucial to enjoying them -in my judgment) requires enormous mental discipline and years of careful study.

As you might gather, I'm not keep on these filmic (thought admittedly young) arts and media. I'm patient, but skeptical.

Second, with collaborative dramatic arts, are you listening to writer or director or actor? In my judgment (again) this makes them second rate. I will never, ever view Gibson's film the way I view the last 5 lines of Paradise Lost, the best 5 lines in all artwork and in all Christendom.

In addition, I think he probably has some resentment because of the attacks he got from liberal Jewish organizations before the Passion was even released, not because they seriously thought it was anti-semitic (it wasn't at all, IMHO), but because they were under the mistaken impression that Gibson was a conservative and this was a way of getting at him. Put that together with alcohol and whatever else he may have been taking, and you have one really out of control, angry person.

The Jews in Australia, his home country, have said that he has made other anti-semitic comments long before he made "The Passion of Christ". The acorn here, hasn't fallen far from the tree.