Mel campaigns for new movie, against war in Iraq

REUTERS ^ | 9/24/06 | REUTERS

[paltz]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Mel Gibson has returned to the spotlight to promote his upcoming movie "Apocalypto," and to criticize the war in Iraq, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Almost two months after he railed against Jews when he was arrested for driving drunk in Malibu, the actor made a surprise appearance Friday at Fantastic Fest, an event in Austin, Texas, devoted to new science fiction, horror and fantasy films, the trade paper said in its Monday edition.

He presented a work-in-progress screening of his Mayan adventure tale, and then took questions. About one-third of the full house gathered for the film gave him a standing ovation. The film is scheduled for a December 8 release via Disney.

In describing its portrait of a civilization in decline, Gibson said, "The precursors to a civilization that's going under are the same, time and time again," drawing parallels between the Mayan civilization on the brink of collapse and America's present situation. "What's human sacrifice," he asked, "if not sending guys off to Iraq for no reason?"

Appearing alongside Rudy Youngblood, one of the film's actors who hails from the Austin area, Gibson said he plans to make further trims in the film, which ran more than two hours. The print shown did not include sound effects and score, and some visual effects have not yet been added.

Gibson's appearance at the festival, co-founded by Harry Knowles, was reminiscent of a similar appearance he made at Knowles' Butt-Numb-a-Thon, which offered one of the first public previews of "The Passion of the Christ."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

[onyx]

Where's Hildy's thread?

We were nearing 100 posts and were engaged in conversations.

[HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath]

When a star runs out of fuel, it becomes a Red Giant. It loses its core density, and starts to become an overheated and bloated ball of gas.

[antceecee]

Reference: http://www.enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0503/0503conswar.htm

I guess this Catholic is an anomaly.... I support the war in Iraq, I support Israel and I am against the OBL.

Guess we traditional Catholics don't all (generally) fit the paleocon mold.

[Hildy]

Oh, forget it...the Mod locked the thread. There's something cruel about that, I think!

[onyx]

I do not understand that at all.

[Hildy]

Forget it, I'm going to sleep soon.

[woofie]

Hollywood encourages independent thinking as long as it is like everyone else

[F.J. Mitchell]

Go to hell, Mel, you are nothing more nor less than the rest of the liberal and greedy Hollywood opportunists.

You Suck!

[F.J. Mitchell]

The SOB is no longer entertaining.

[Senator Pardek]

"if not sending guys off to Iraq for no reason?"

For once, I agree with that drunk.

[Blind Eye Jones]

Mel and Danny Glover should do Lethal Weapon again where they go to Iraq and drink all day and night till they see the piss christ and then go camel riding with Bagdad Bob to Zarqwai's grave (to remove womans panties off the headstone) and then return for cocktails and fly to Syria for autographs with Clooney and then Spielberg and Sheehan in Palestine -- before getting really drunk again and seeing the piss christ follow them around and then getting real drunk again and locked up in Abu Graib for drunk driving and having to phone Mookie Sadr to bail them out. And then more drinking and driving around Bagdad with Mookies' car full of explosives...

[ChinaGotTheGoodsOnClinton]

I'd say this is a sell out.

Mel wants good publicity and now has Time and Newsweek both wanting to run a cover on him.

Stating this opinion about the war guarantees even not noteworthy people tons of news coverage (eg Cindy Sheehan)

It probably is his real feelings though.

[BillyBoy]

>> First the Jews, now Bush and Iraq. Has Mel been channeling Pat Buchanan? <<

I would venture to say Mel's political views are pretty close to Pat Buchanan.

[Jeff Chandler]

He's not sending them there for nothing. He's sending tham there for his Neocons (Joos).

[Al Simmons]

"Just because a guy makes a movie about Jesus Christ does not mean he embodies Christlike attitudes or doesn't have serious personality disorders or is not filled with hate."

The hands that nail Jesus in the film are actually Gibson's hands. So on some level he is quite aware of his own shortcomings.

Having said that, I think he is a troubled man and is anti-semitic (something he got from his father). Somehow I can't understand how a man who fought the Axis in WWII (Gibson's father) can be an anti-semite; but he was in the Pacific, not Europe...so his eyes didn't have a chance to override what must have been some earlier 'programming'...

[DoughtyOne]

At the present time there is a big push by George Clooney and others for the world to help out Darfur. Check out this thread.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701625/posts

What I find baffling, is that when the U.S. does enter a nation to help out, the left always turns on it if things go south.

When the U.S. was in Somalia, the left went bananas. Now we're in Iraq to help out. It went south and the left abandoned support of that, as if they ever did. If we went into Darfur, it wouldn't be six weeks until the left would call it a boy scout operation run by cowboy George Bush.

Here Gibson has joined in such a retribution. He's nuts to do so.

The Iraqi people needed to be freed from the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. That beast was responsible for millions of deaths.

Hussein attacked Iran which resulted in around 500,000 casualties on both sides. He gassed the Kurds in the northern part of Iraq. He invaded Kuwait and attacked Israel with a bombardment of scuds. Simultaneously, he attacked Saudi Arabia with scuds. Hussein was reportedly giving the families of suicide bombers in Israel, $25k. He bragged about it.

Are the Iraqi people dirt in Gibson's eyes? Are they in the eyes of the leftists in our nation? The war with Iraq has cost us nearly 3,000 men and women. That weighs heavily on my heart, but lets keep it in perspective. Hussein was responsible for the mass graves across his nation. His sons were torturing people at will. Shouldn't the humanitarian left, at least they claim to be, be concerned about this. Shouldn't they demand an end to it even as they do the problems in Darfur?

The left in this nation is suffering a total meltdown, a disconnect that has seldom been seen in the history of the planet. Here are people who profess to be intelligent, the most sensitive and creative people on the planet, and they can't add two and two.

Here Gibson goes over to the dark side. It's a shame, but we must call a spade a space. Mel, geez Louise, what the hell is wrong with you bud?

[Al Simmons]

He made noises about the time "Passion" was out about his doubts regarding the WOT and Dubya....so this is just the real Mel coming out....not quite the hero he was made out to be by the 'right' 3 years ago....

[Tzimisce]

It's Hollywood. What do you expect? Patriotism?

[Sprite518]

I am sure his movie will tank for sure now. No one will go see it. Oh well his lost. He made enough on the Passion that it will not matter. Oh well nice knowing you Mel. I will no longer attend your films.

[SoldierDad]

Hollywood warps even the most seemingly sensible of individuals after a while. Here is evidence of that.