Gibson Fallout: ABC Cancels Holocaust Series, Disney Mum on Apocalypto
Filed under: Drama, Celebrities and Controversy, Newsstand
Amidst all the sh*t hitting the fan in the wake of Mel Gibson's arrest, ranting and apology, there have been mentions of his stated interest in producing a Holocaust miniseries (as a sign of either his true feelings or his cynicism, depending on the perspective of the person talking about it) "based on a memoir about a Dutch Jew during World War II." Well, according to a report in today's Wall Street Journal, that miniseries, which Gibson's Icon Entertainment production company had set up with ABC, has been pulled. While the unnamed ABC representative who spoke with the WSJ said the reason for their decision was simply that "it has been two years and the network still has not seen a script," the timing of the announcement makes that a little hard to believe.To this point, Disney -- the company releasing Apocalypto, Gibson's current project -- has refused to comment on the movie's status (it's currently scheduled for release in December). Given that the film was a marketing nightmare to begin with (no stars, foreign language and reportedly extremely violent), how Disney chooses to handle it in the current climate will be worth watching.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-01-2006 @ 10:45AM
Dan said...
It should be noted that the Gibson ABC Holocaust series barely existed at all. It was the kind of thing that a network announces early because the trades are always happy to report a pact between a big star and a TV network no matter how early it is in development. But as ABC sources told several publications yesterday, it wasn't like the movie was halfway through production or anything. There wasn't a script, much less a budget, director, stars, location, much or anything. Pulling the plug on this one would be nearly a passive act for ABC, as opposed to something active and angry...
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8-01-2006 @ 12:06PM
Gary Storm said...
My image of Mel Gibson has been bashed on the rocks. I have been a long time fan of Mel Gibson for many years. I feel very bad, like a little kid when he realises that there is no tooth fairy or that Santa Claus is not real. Or that somewhere over the rainbow is a lie.
Why did you do it Mel ?
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8-01-2006 @ 2:38PM
mel goodman said...
way to go mel. standing tall and true to your believes in the face of adversity
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8-01-2006 @ 4:59PM
James said...
Ok, Mel Gibson was wrong for saying what he said--let's be clear about that! He was drunk at the time, and he did issue an apology for saying the things he said (how many racists do you hear of doing that??? I'm still waiting to hear one from Louis Farrakhan). However, everyone is saying that Mel Gibson's carrer is over, calling him a horrible bigot, etc. Yet, back in 1997, Marilyn Manson spewed out his hate speech towards Christians at the MTV VMAs, and not only did no one shun him, but he was invited back the following year. FYI, he was sober at the time he said it. I bet if he said the same things towards Jews or any other group. he would have been banned for life from MTV. But because it was against Christians, it's perfectly ok. MTV's biased reporter Kurt Loder has also made snide remarks aimed at Christians, expressing his hatred towards them, and he wasn't punished for it. Lesson learned-tolerance for everyone, except Christians. Everyone makes a big deal when someone says a hateful thing about Jews--as well they should. But for some reason, hateful words towards Christians are perfectly acceptable.
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