I'm surprised that it hasn't occurred to anyone in this thread yet that this may have been preplanned.
Mel's a savvy guy -- what if he made his first drafts intentionally over-inflammatory, which would guarantee whipping up controversy.
Then, after the free publicity was milked for all it was worth, he could recut the film to be the way he intended it originally.
Are you suggesting that someone who puts-up $25M of his own money might be aware of the intricacies of sales and marketing? [smirk]