Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.

This news story caused a heated debate the other day in AICN chat, and I can understand why. It’s just such a strange notion, so completely without regard for commercial consideration, that it seems impossible.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ORIGINAL STORY!!

”Mel Gibson is set to direct a movie about Christ's last 12 hours played out entirely in two ancient tongues - Latin and Aramaic - with no subtitles.

The formula hardly sounds like the recipe for a hit movie but Gibson thinks language should be no barrier for the film, titled THE PASSION.

’For me that's more real and hopefully I'll be able to transcend language barriers with filmic storytelling,’ Gibson said.”

Since then, several other sources have picked up the story, which comes from a press conference Gibson held to talk about the film. He’s serious about this, folks. The script has already been translated, and he’s going to shoot this film in Aramaic and Latin and he’s going to try not to subtitle it.

A more detailed report has run, as I said, on VARIETY, for example. Their story details the source materials being used, mentions the possibility of Monica Belucci playing Mary Magdalene in the film as well as dropping the “wait a minute... did we know this?” bombshell about Belucci appearing in TEARS OF THE SUN with Bruce Willis for Antoine Fuqua. Isn’t that the film that was going to become DIE HARD 4? Is Willis making it now? Is it a DIE HARD film? Did they just go back to the old story?

Oh, wait... we were talking about Mel Gibson.

Right.

In all seriousness, this sounds like an intriguing and heartfelt project, and anytime anyone has the balls to make a serious film about faith, I have to give them respect up front. I hope he creates something really powerful here, something that shows what his life as a Catholic means to him, something that feels really... well... passionate.

It’ll be interesting to see how late in the process he can get before he has to break down and add subtitles. No one is going to let him release the film without. If that’s what he really wants, I hope he gets it, but I can’t imagine any major distributor in America agreeing to that.

Linguistic issues aside, I’m curious to see just what sort of dramatic approach the script takes. It’s certainly incredible material to draw from.