4 SEPTEMBER 2004.- "PAPARAZZI"
"Paparazzi" has been released. The film, that has been produced by Mel Gibson, tells the story of a film star who plots revenge against a photographer whose previous hounding of him almost ended in tragedy.
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7 SEPTEMBER 2004.- SO HOW COME MEL GIBSON DIDNīT RUSH TO THE RESCUE
Hollywood has a new activist hero, with a police record to show for his political convictions. The U.S. Secret Service hauled a handcuffed DANNY GLOVER away from the Sudanese embassy in Washington, where he had joined a crowd protesting conditions in Sudanīs Darfur region. "We want an end to the hostility," Glover had declaimed from the steps of the embassy, "we must continue to demand peace for the people of Darfur". The emotional performance left the authorities unmoved: he was charged with disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly. Good thing he wasnīt carrying a lethal weapon.
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1 OCTOBER 2004.-GIBSON TO GET HOLLYWOOD PRODUCER OF THE YEAR AWARD.
The Hollywood Film Festival's Board of Advisors announced that this year's festival will honor Academy Award-winning producer/director Mel Gibson with its "Hollywood Producer of the Year Award." The award will be bestowed upon Mr. Gibson as part of the Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony on Monday evening, Oct. 18, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Other industry professionals who will be honored for their achievements at the Awards Gala Ceremony are John Travolta for lifetime achievement and Michael Mann for directing.
"Mel Gibson's career exemplifies extraordinary ability, craftsmanship, and determination. He is an excellent example of a highly talented filmmaker whose work and creative vision are to be honored," festival founder Carlos de Abreu said.
Gibson has earned numerous honors for his work as a producer, director and actor, including winning Best Picture and Best Director Academy Awards and a Best Director Golden Globe Award for "Braveheart" (1995), among many other awards and nominations.
Mr. Gibson is also a producer of this year's "Paparazzi," from 20th Century Fox, directed by Paul Abascal. He was also a producer of "The Singing Detective" (2003), directed by Keith Gordon, which had a Gala Premiere screening at last year's festival.
CONGRATULATIONS!
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8 OCTOBER 2004.-MEL GIBSON'S GOT AN UNWANTED PRAYING PARTNER.
The Oscar-winning celeb, whose film, The Passion of the Christ, has sparked a spiritual fervor, has obtained a court order barring a homeless man looking to trade "amens" with Gibson.
In court papers filed on Sept. 21 and obtained Friday by Los Angeles' City News Service, Gibson claims that 34-year-old Zack Sinclair sent several "alarming, harassing and annoying" letters to the Lethal Weapon star.
Sinclair repeatedly turned up at Gibson's Malibu digs last month, beginning on Sept. 17, demanding to see the actor "saying that he wanted to pray with me," per the paperwork.
After being "told to leave and not return," Sinclair came back the following day, rang the bell at the gate, and repeated that he wanted "to pray" with the thespian.
On Sept. 19, Gibson said Sinclair wandered into Gibson's church, "approached me, interrupted my worship, stood extremely close (approximately six inches) from me and demanded that I pray with him."
When Sinclair trespassed again at chez Gibson, the actor's wife, Robyn, called the cops, who arrested Sinclair. According to the Malibu Sheriff's Department, Sinclair was charged with disorderly conduct and misdemeanor loitering on private property.
The visits followed several letters sent by Sinclair to Gibson over the past few months. In one letter, Sinclair praises The Passion for demonstrating "a deep love and understanding of the savior. But in another epistle, Sinclair suggests that he needs to save Gibson, telling the actor "you have been in direct opposition to Christ for a long time."
In another note, Sinclair writes, "My family thinks I am crazy. I have been comitted [sic] to the state mental hospital in Idaho twice. I have done over 2 1/2 years in jail, all this over the span of 5 years."
Gibson's temporary restraining order prohibits Sinclair, who remains jailed, from going anywhere near the actor or his family, which includes his seven children.
A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in Santa Monica to determine whether Gibson can extend the order.
When he's not dealing with overzealous fans, Gibson is busy lording over his production empire.
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14 OCTOBER 2004.- MEL GIBSON DONATES $10,000,000
Mel Gibson has donated $10,000,000 to Mattel Childrenīs Hospital and Cedars Sinai Medical Center (California).
This money will pay the treatment of sick children from the poorer countries of the world that lack appropriate medical technology.
<(H5>
A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSES, PLEASE.
GREAT GUY, BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO!
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18 OCTOBER 2004.-GIBSON DONATES 'PASSION' PROFITS TO HOSPITALS (imdb.com)
Movie star Mel Gibson has donated a staggering $5 million from the proceeds of hit film The Passion Of The Christ to help underprivileged children. Gibson split the sum between Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and UCLA's Mattel Children's Hospital. The money will specifically help pediatric patients from poor countries where the necessary medical care isn't available or affordable. A source close to the 48-year-old say he also donated in excess of $1.5 million to cover the 23-hour operation to separate conjoined twins Maria De Jesus and Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez at UCLA in 2002.
NO, NO, NO!....YOUīRE WRONG, $10 million
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18 OCTOBER 2004.-GIBSON DONATES $10 MILLION.
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - It's all about the children for Mel Gibson when he's not making movies or practicing his faith.
The "Passion of the Christ" filmmaker recently donated $10 million to be split between two Los Angeles children's medical facilities, reports the AP.
The lucky recipients are the Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA and the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which treats children from foreign countries who lack access to proper medical care.
Healing the Children will select the children to benefit from Gibson's donation.
"For the past several years, the Gibson family has quietly supported Healing the Children's efforts to help sick and injured children around the world," says the organization's founder, Cris Embleton said. "Not only have they given financial support, they also have given their time and hearts and as a result have seen first hand how people working together can give a child the future they deserve.
The Oscar-winning actor last appeared on the silver screen in "We Were Soldiers," "Signs" and "The Singing Detective." His "Passion of the Christ," which recounts the final hours in the life of Jesus, earned $370.3 at the domestic box office.
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Mel Gibson accepts the Producing award at the 8th Annual Hollywood Film Festival Awards in Beverly Hills, California October 18, 2004. Gibson directed, co-produced and co-wrote 'The Passion of the Christ.'
CONGRATULATIONS!
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19 OCTOBER 2004.- MEl GIBSON DOMINATES MAGAZINEīS POWER ISSUE
NEW YORK (AP) - Mel Gibson, the maker of the controversial "The Passion of the Christ," dominates Entertainment Weekly's annual power issue.
"What once seemed like a zealous bit of risky business (Gibson even said God was directing the movie through him) has proved to be one of the most successful power plays in Hollywood history," the magazine says, "with $610 million in global sales."
Though featured prominently, Gibson doesn't top Entertainment Weekly's 15th annual power rankings because the magazine replaced its traditional numerical list with a rundown on "the movers and shakers whose careers and lives changed dramatically in the last 12 months."
Now on newsstands, the issue offers a rundown of those who gained and lost power in films, music and television in the past year, with separate lists for creative figures and "suits."
"We were interested in the people who had the most interesting power stories to tell," Los Angeles bureau chief Ben Svetkey told The Associated Press by phone Thursday. Gibson is featured on the cover, and the magazine proclaims his next project as a "Must-Have."
"When you consider that he spent $25 million of his own money on a film in ancient Aramaic, it's incredible what he's done," Svetkey told the AP.
Besides Gibson, those who have the power, according to the magazine, include Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Michael Moore and Lindsay Lohan, with Harvey Weinstein, Janet Jackson, Larry and Andy Wachowski, Vin Diesel and the Olsen twins among those on the slide.
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24 OCTOBER 2004.- MEL GIBSON PUTS PASSION INTO TV SITCOM.
LOS ANGELES -- Mel Gibson leans forward, scrutinizing a monitor showing a rehearsal for his latest project. He's not directing a sweeping battle a la his Oscar-winning "Braveheart." It's not a scene with the transcendent suffering of his "The Passion of the Christ."
In this run-through for "Complete Savages," the conflict is between five brothers and the cantankerous neighbor (Betty White) who's holding hostage a prized family basketball.
They beg and plead. She assaults them with her cane.
"Comedy," Gibson murmurs with satisfaction.
Yes, it's comedy and small-screen comedy, to boot - "Complete Savages" is a freshman sitcom for ABC (8:30 p.m. EDT Friday). Keith Carradine stars as a single father trying to keep order among his teenage boys.
Gibson is giving the show everything he's got as executive producer and, for several episodes, as director.
He's even pulling triple duty in this week's episode with a cameo. When one of the boys decides to get a motorcycle, dad Nick Savage forces him to endure a highway-safety video with Gibson playing it tongue-in-cheek as Officer Cox.
On Stage 41 at NBC Universal Studios, Gibson is a multitasker. He chuckles at punch lines, then jumps up to gently prod an actor into crisper delivery. He redesigns the props ("Could we have a cane that's smaller?"). And he sets an easygoing tone.
Chatting with a crew member between takes, Gibson jokingly describes his low-carb lunch entree: "I had the double bacon-and-amphetamine burger."
"Don't hurt each other," Gibson warns the young actors playing the Savage kids during a backyard scene in which they're slapping a ball around with garden rakes.
"OK, now you can hurt each other," he tells them when the rehearsal stops.
Carradine describes Gibson as a sitcom novice but a natural. While dark violence has imbued his dramatic films, Gibson has effectively played for laughs in "Maverick" and "What Women Want" and even on "Saturday Night Live."
"He has an incredible comedic sense. His brain for comedy seems to be wired halfway between the Three Stooges and Chuck Jones," Carradine said, referring to the late animator behind Bugs Bunny, Road Runner and other cartoon classics.
Julie Thacker-Scully and Mike Scully, who were producers on "The Simpsons," created "Complete Savages" and serve as executive producers with Gibson and his partner, Bruce Davey. The husband-and-wife team say Gibson is delighting in the work.
(Doing everything for his sitcom but drumming up publicity, Gibson has declined interviews, an ABC spokeswoman said.)
"I think this is a lot of fun for him. He comes here and he knows he's going to have some laughs, guaranteed laughs all week long," said Thacker-Scully.
After the intense debate over "The Passion of the Christ," the sitcom represents "a no-controversy zone," she said. "It's family here. We have a good time."
Adds Mike Scully: "He's a great collaborator. He doesn't walk around with a beret and riding crop and saying, 'Do it my way.'
A jeans and T-shirt are Gibson's garb on the set, similar to the outfit he wears as the cover boy for Entertainment Weekly's annual Hollywood power issue. No business suit is needed to advertise his clout.
Gibson, who scored an unexpected blockbuster with the self-financed "Passion," which some observers called anti-Semitic, reportedly earned $400 million-plus from its theatrical release and DVDs.
The film's success quashed speculation that Gibson was risking his career. He was honored as producer of the year this week at the Hollywood Film Awards and, as one studio executive told Entertainment Weekly: "He's an entity now - a (Steven) Spielberg, a (Jerry) Bruckheimer."
Gibson's focus for the moment is on television. His Icon Productions company is behind the new dramas "Clubhouse" on CBS and "Kevin Hill" on UPN as well as "Complete Savages."
Of the two major network series, neither is burning up the Nielsen ratings. "Complete Savages" drew 5.3 million viewers last week while "Clubhouse" had an audience of 8.4 million - compared to 18 million for top-ranked comedy "Everybody Loves Raymond" on CBS and 20.9 million for the new hit ABC drama "Desperate Housewives."
In the Scullys' view, the success of "Desperate Housewives" and another new ABC drama, "Lost," is part of the reason their show is struggling. The two hourlong shows received heavy promotion; "Complete Savages" got relatively little.
Asked how he feels about his sitcom's performance, Scully plays it droll: "Is it out? I've been so busy watching `Desperate Housewives' and `Lost' I didn't notice."
"The lack of focus on comedy right now for ABC has been disappointing to us," he continued, "but we understand their need to launch a hit drama this year. Now that they've done it so successfully we're ..."
"Ready to ride their coattails," said Thacker-Scully, finishing the sentence.
A better time slot and more compatible shows - "8 Simple Rules" and "Hope and Faith," which bracket "Complete Savages," are more female-oriented - would be ideal, said the Scullys.
"I feel like we're a thong in grandma's underwear drawer right now," is how Thacker-Scully puts it.
The couple became friendly with Gibson while working on a fund-raiser for Malibu High School (Scully and Gibson children were enrolled there). They share a familiarity with big broods like the one in "Complete Savages": The Scullys have five kids, Gibson and his wife, Robyn, have seven.
Whether Gibson's heavyweight status can help the series relocate, or survive, is unclear. Other Hollywood top dogs have seen their low-rated TV shows unceremoniously dumped, including "Titanic" director James Cameron ("Dark Angel") and Bruckheimer ("Skin").
Uncertainty aside, the project that was intended to be fun for all has lived up to the goal, the Scullys said. Gibson would seem to agree.
"I see blue skies," he croons during rehearsal, a smile on his face.
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