Hugh Humphreys
This is going to be huge.
Mel Gibson has signed a deal with Warner Bros to tell the story of Jewish hero Judah Maccabee- collaborating with Joe Eszterhas as main scriptwriter.
It’s bound to be a pretty controversial project, after Gibson copped a lot of heat for an anti-Semitic tirade while he was being arrested while drunk back in 2006 (gee, was it that long ago?) – but Deadline says it’s definitely a goer.
Judah Maccabee’s story is a great one- he led the Jewish revolt against the Greek-Syrian armies back in the second century, and is considered one of the great Jewish heroes. And of course, his victory is celebrated through Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights.
Mel Gibson’s slowly been getting himself back into the movie world after taking some time off to deal with a lot of personal issues (eg, court battle with the ex-wife)- and has recently made “The Beaver” and 2010’s “Edge of Darkness”.
While Joe Eszterhas has also got some incredible film credits to his name- “Flashdance” and “Basic Instinct”, anyone? – and has previously made a controversial film about Jews- 1989’s holocaust story “Music Box”.
It’s not Gibson’s first foray into religious territory too, after 2004’s controversial “The Passion of the Christ”.
What do you think? Is it a good move for Gibson, and Warner Bros for signing him on to make it?
