Nordling here.
Interesting people make interesting films, and boring people make boring ones. Mel Gibson is interesting. As a film enthusiast, therefore, I'm going to probably want to see whatever he makes next, regardless of subject matter. Now, his next film may give many people pause, considering his history, but it looks like Gibson will be making his long-in-the-works Maccabees project for Warner Brothers with Joe Eszterhas.
For those unfamiliar with the Maccabees story, the Maccabee family, led by father Judah, led the Jewish people against the Selucid Empire occupying Judea. Using guerrila warfare, the Maccabees defeated the Syrian army, and succeeded in taking back Jerusalem. The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah comes from the Maccabees story. It would be a fairly epic tale, and Gibson's talked about making it for years. Now Joe Eszterhas will be writing the script, having himself taken a sabbatical from Hollywood for several years. It's unclear how much budget Gibson will have, but since he self-financed THE PASSION to great monetary success, I'd bet that some of his own funds may be going into this project.
As far as any possible controversy rising from this, I'm sure in the coming months we'll hear from many people about whether or not Gibson should even attempt this film. Personally, I think he deserves a second chance, and with this story, maybe he can find some redemption in the project. And maybe he can do this epic story justice in a way that no other filmmaker can. We won't know until the film comes out, of course.
Nordling, out.
