UPDATED 19:20 CST: I've been informed that a comment I made about Mel Gibson's widely-reported anti-semetic remarks didn't come off the way I'd intended, and that many (including some of my coworkers here) were offended by what I'd said. I want to apologize to anyone I may have hurt or bothered: we at AICN are here to celebrate the things we love inclusively, not to single out any person of any color or creed as being better or worse than the rest. We're all monsters of Midian here, and it kills me to think that anyone who read the first version of my post thought that I was doing anything other than celebrating the legacy of an actor/filmmaker many of us deeply revere. On behalf of myself and the other editors and writers here at AICN, I'm deeply sorry.
As much as some folks itch for a Mel Gibson acting comeback, I think what filmgoers are really hoping for is for him to sit back in the director's chair. The guy has only directed four movies, but when two of those movies are BRAVEHEART and APOCALYPTO (not to mention the biggest indie movie of all time, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST), he's gone way beyond "What I really want to do is direct," and into auteur territory. Obviously, the troubles with his career and reputation have been as hindering as anything else in getting Mel behind a camera again, but it seems that producer Bill Mechanic (THE NEW WORLD, CORALINE) and his Pandemonium production label want the former Martin Riggs to helm their WWII flick, HACKSAW RIDGE.
Gibson's just in talks at this point, as is their proposed lead, Andrew Garfield. Garfield would play Desmond T. Doss, a conscientious objector in WWII that won the Medal of Honor for his efforts in the Battle of Okinawa.
Gibson's fascination with history is well-known, and even if it didn't set the world ablaze, FURY proved that there's still stuff we haven't seen in World War II epics yet.
As for Garfield, it'd be great to see him get back into something serious after improbably selling us the ridiculous Peter Parker/Spider-Man of the two ASMs. He kinda looks like Doss, and it's not even remotely hard to see him playing the Michael J. Fox in CASUALTIES OF WAR role of the "cherry" amidst the carnage. Working with Mel, who's used to beating up and torturing his leads (even the MAN WITHOUT A FACE was scarred to hell), would probably be tasking for the upstart movie star, but I bet he'd be game to wade in the muck alongside the man who won Best Director for BRAVEHEART.
Is there anyone out there who doesn't want a gritty, Mel Gibson-directed depiction of the Battle of Okinawa?
