1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,480 Speaker 1: This episode contains content that may be disturbing to some listeners. 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:08,200 Speaker 1: Please check the show notes for more information. Hollywood Land 3 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: is a production of double Elvis Ball. 4 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 2: All of My Day, all of My Dad, and taking 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:21,480 Speaker 2: Away and taking Away, and all of my Dad, all 6 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 2: of my Band, taking Away, taking Away, all of my 7 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:34,240 Speaker 2: Sand and taking Away, and Louia tell my gees name 8 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 2: all of my stand then taking Away, taking Away. 9 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: The stories about mel Gibson are insane. He grew up 10 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: surrounded by religious extremism and endured regular beatings at Catholic school. 11 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: He doled out equally punishing scenes as a film director, 12 00:00:55,040 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: recreating bone crushing torture and human sacrifice. His teenage habit 13 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: of sneaking beers from the local pub became a decade 14 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: long battle with alcoholism that would shape the course of 15 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: his extensive film career. His ability to fly off the 16 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 1: handle at a moment's notice made them Hollywood's most in 17 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: demand actor for playing wild cards and anti heroes. That 18 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,040 Speaker 1: is until he was caught spitting slurs and playing the 19 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:25,760 Speaker 1: supervillain in real life. But despite this, mel Gibson made 20 00:01:25,959 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: great films. Unlike that clip I played for you at 21 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: the top of the show. That wasn't from a great film. 22 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:35,200 Speaker 1: That was a fair youth sample from the Library of 23 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:39,160 Speaker 1: Congress of Francis and Arilla Horne singing All My Sins 24 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:43,160 Speaker 1: Been taken away in nineteen thirty nine. I played you 25 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 1: that clip because I can't afford the rights to Michael 26 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: Mann's Miami Vice. And why would I play you that 27 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: specific slice of Crockett and Tubs Reboot Cheese. Could I 28 00:01:53,080 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: afford it? Because that was the number one movie in 29 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 1: America on July twenty eighth, two thousand and six, And 30 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: that was the day that Mel Gibson recited a script 31 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,000 Speaker 1: that would divide the world about him forever. On this 32 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: episode Beating Bone, Crushing Torture, Crockett and Tubs Reboot Cheese 33 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:19,880 Speaker 1: and Mel Gibson, I'm Jake Brennan and this is Hollywood Land. 34 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: Mel Gibson winced as he shoved the pistol into his mouth. 35 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: His eyes scanned the trailer, searching for what he had. 36 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: No idea, a will to live, the reason to stick 37 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:07,720 Speaker 1: around this shithole. There was nothing, No hope, no options, 38 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: no salvation, just drool running onto his hand and his 39 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 1: finger on the trigger. No one on the set a 40 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: lethal weapon. Knew what Mel Gibson was doing. The scene 41 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: was supposed to be the audience's introduction to Mel's character, 42 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: Martin Riggs, the cop drowning in grief over the sudden 43 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: loss of his wife. Like any director worth assault, Richard 44 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: Donner gave clear directions, stared down the barrel of the gun, 45 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: then ran that sucker ren at your temple. Mel did 46 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: all that with mastery. He even flinched when the barrel 47 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: kissed his forehead, but then he took it one step further. 48 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: Now he was choking on his revolver. Tears were running 49 00:03:47,520 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 1: down his cheeks. This is not in the script. Richard 50 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:54,320 Speaker 1: Donner watched his actor on a video monitor outside the 51 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:58,000 Speaker 1: trailer and shuddered. That was a real gun, loaded with 52 00:03:58,040 --> 00:04:01,160 Speaker 1: a real blank. It wouldn't a hole in Mel's head, 53 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: but that didn't mean that a projectile launched into his 54 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,160 Speaker 1: skull wouldn't fuck him up for life. Mel Gibson was 55 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: engraved danger or was he. No one on the set 56 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 1: could tell if this was a real crisis or the 57 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,640 Speaker 1: most convincing improv they had ever witnessed. Intervening could either 58 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: save a life or ruin an oscar worth they take. 59 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: Mel squeezed the trigger a little harder, held his breath 60 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:27,080 Speaker 1: a little tighter, and the crew held their collective breath too. 61 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: What were they supposed to do? Someone began to cry, 62 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 1: and suddenly the tension broke. Mel spit the gun out. 63 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,479 Speaker 1: Jackpot thought everyone on the set that, and thank christ 64 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: Donner had seen enough cut. But Mel wasn't done. This 65 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: scene would end when he said it was over, and 66 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,160 Speaker 1: not a moment sooner. He rubbed his forehead with frustration. 67 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: Using the hand that was still clutching the revolver, he 68 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 1: picked up his character's soul consolation, a framed photo of 69 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,479 Speaker 1: his recently deceased wife. He pressed the glass to cheek 70 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:05,520 Speaker 1: and sobbed a sea Later, much later, he said, he 71 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: tossed the frame onto the floor with a clink. But 72 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,720 Speaker 1: Mel wouldn't see that photo again because he wouldn't need 73 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,200 Speaker 1: to do that scene again. One take was enough, one 74 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 1: extreme take. That's what Mel Gibson did. The extreme. He 75 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:25,279 Speaker 1: played wildcard characters because he was a wildcard characters, like 76 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: a sprinter turned World War One soldier in Gallipoli, a 77 00:05:28,880 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 1: tyrannical ship captain in the bounty. He suited up as 78 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:35,800 Speaker 1: the post apocalyptic road warrior Matt Max in nineteen seventy 79 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,880 Speaker 1: nine and in nineteen eighty one, and again in nineteen 80 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:43,279 Speaker 1: eighty five. Now he was playing Martin Riggs, a Devil 81 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:46,000 Speaker 1: maycare cop hunting down the man responsible for the death 82 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 1: of his wife who was killed or be killed. Bring 83 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: on the bloodshed, show him the shootouts. In the Electric 84 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:55,960 Speaker 1: Shock Torture, and one scene, Mel's character even handcuffs himself 85 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: to a suicidal man and jumps off a rooftop, taking 86 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: the other guy with him. Martin Riggs did not give 87 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: a fuck that. Neither did mel Gibson, not when it 88 00:06:06,720 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: came to getting a scene done on his own terms. 89 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: His reputation ranged from explosive action star to throw a 90 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:16,720 Speaker 1: hungry lunatic depending on who you asked. His films were polarizing, 91 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: boundary pushing, but they weren't boring. Starting with Mad Max, 92 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: Mel plunged straight into the wasteland and straight into insanity. 93 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,000 Speaker 1: He went straight to the bank too. Mel Gibson was 94 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: the breakout blockbuster star of the nineteen eighties. At Home 95 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 1: in Australia, Mad Max raked in over five point three 96 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,560 Speaker 1: million dollars. That might not sound like much in twenty 97 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: twenty two, but it was a remarkable performance for nineteen 98 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,520 Speaker 1: seventy nine. Put it this way, that's over twenty five 99 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: times the film's original budget of two hundred thousand dollars. 100 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: The sequel did even better. It broke two different Australian 101 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: records when it netted eight hundred and two grand across 102 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,800 Speaker 1: fifty eight theaters in just five days. Soon it would 103 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: be leath. The weapons turned to blow away the box office. Worldwide. 104 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: Ticket sales were expected to be as explosive as Mel's stunts, 105 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:06,480 Speaker 1: but in one location Leave the weapon would blow up 106 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:14,560 Speaker 1: right in Mel Gibson's face. Police Constable Roger Brereton didn't 107 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 1: know what he was looking for or who he was 108 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: looking for. The details from dispatch were limited. According to 109 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:22,679 Speaker 1: a barrage of nine to ninety nine calls, a gunman 110 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:25,320 Speaker 1: was on the loose in Hungerford, this little market town 111 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: in Berkshire, England. The body count was unconfirmed, but rising. 112 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 1: There was only one thing the Hungerford Police Force knew 113 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: for sure. There was a trail of carnage spotted across 114 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: their quiet little hamlet. August nineteenth, nineteen eighty seven, Brereton 115 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: scaled the sidewalks from the front seat of his cruiser. 116 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,560 Speaker 1: This was supposed to be his day off. Instead, it 117 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,480 Speaker 1: would be his last day on earth, and the cruiser 118 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:54,239 Speaker 1: skidded under the Hungerford Common. That's when Breerton spotted him, 119 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 1: a young man stalking around with a semi automatic rifle 120 00:07:57,680 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: in one hand in a barrett A nine millimeters pistol 121 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 1: the other. He reached for the radio to confirm the 122 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: presence of an active shooter. A bullet tore through Breton's 123 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: chest before he could finish the call. Shards of glass 124 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: exploded inside the cruiser, and the car swerved under the 125 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,360 Speaker 1: side of the road and shot straight into a telegraph pole. 126 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: Twenty seven year old Michael Ryan approached the wreckage and 127 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: found Breton slumped over the steering wheel. Brian planted another 128 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,239 Speaker 1: twenty plus bullets into the patrol car anyway, just in case, 129 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:33,520 Speaker 1: and then he marched down Southview in his flat jacket. 130 00:08:33,920 --> 00:08:37,040 Speaker 1: He fired at a passing vovo. He didn't know the passengers. 131 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,200 Speaker 1: He didn't need to. Ryan aimed his weapons on a 132 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 1: whim at a grandfather rushing his children inside a taxi 133 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 1: driver headed home to see his family. In between fares, 134 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:51,080 Speaker 1: an elderly man tending in his garden. Ryan killed without thought, 135 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: and he killed for four hours straight. No one was safe, 136 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 1: not his own neighbors, not his own dogs, not his 137 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: own mother, even she got shot four times with this speretta. 138 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:06,320 Speaker 1: Ryan fired into houses as he passed them. He aimed 139 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:08,960 Speaker 1: at drivers, pedestrians, whoever he was unlucky enough to pass. 140 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: On his way to the John o'gon school, the cops 141 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:14,320 Speaker 1: were closing in on him now. Ryan climbed to a 142 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,560 Speaker 1: second floor classroom and aimed at a police helicopter moving overhead. 143 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: He fired through the closed windows. More shards of glass, 144 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:26,199 Speaker 1: more empty cartridges. More cops poured into the playground on foot. 145 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 1: Ryan was surrounded. He tossed his semi automatic out the window. 146 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,240 Speaker 1: A police negotiator called him from the lawn, while an 147 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: officer put Ryan in his crosshairs. It's funny, he said, 148 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: I've killed all those people, but I don't have the 149 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 1: guts to blow my own brains out. No one was laughing. 150 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 1: Seven minutes later, Michael Ryan found the guts. A gunshot 151 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 1: rang out from the second floor classroom. The body count 152 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:51,480 Speaker 1: of what would come to be known as the Hungerford 153 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:58,320 Speaker 1: massacre climbed to seventeen. The events of August nineteenth, nineteen 154 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 1: eighty seven remained one of the dead let mass shootings 155 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: in England's history. Seventeen people were ripped from their families 156 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 1: in a matter of hours. Seventeen seats suddenly went unclaimed 157 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: at family dinner tables. The tragedy damp and public morale 158 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: for the indefinite future. No one with half a heart 159 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 1: stomach any more violence, especially not in the form of 160 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:21,080 Speaker 1: an overblown new action movie that made bullets fly just 161 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:25,679 Speaker 1: for fun. Lethal Weapon didn't open in Britain until late 162 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:29,080 Speaker 1: August of nineteen eighty seven, almost six months behind its 163 00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: massive opening in the United States. Fans lucky enough to 164 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,200 Speaker 1: catch sneak previews at thirty theaters across the country raved 165 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,840 Speaker 1: about their new favorite buddy cop movie, but Hungerford wasn't 166 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: in the mood for any more shootouts. Four of England's 167 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:44,600 Speaker 1: five regional networks pulled the ads for leth A Weapon 168 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:48,319 Speaker 1: on opening weekend. One theater even withdrew the film entirely. 169 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 1: No one could prove that movies like leth A Weapon 170 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:54,839 Speaker 1: were an inspiration for criminals like Michael Ryan, but didn't matter. 171 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,880 Speaker 1: The trigger happy ads were downright distasteful. Given the circumstances, 172 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:03,199 Speaker 1: homicidal antiheres like Martin Riggs had no home in Hungerford, 173 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:32,320 Speaker 1: and for that Mel Gibson would have to. Atone young 174 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:37,880 Speaker 1: Mel Gibson prayed like clockwork on his knees, eyes closed, hands, folded, 175 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:42,080 Speaker 1: family at his side, three times a day. His father, Hutton, 176 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 1: wouldn't have it any other way. Hutton said there were 177 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:47,760 Speaker 1: certain perks that came with such staunch displays of faith. 178 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:51,080 Speaker 1: He claimed that if you were Catholic, you had the 179 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 1: lifelong satisfaction of being right. Naturally. He passed that gift 180 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,959 Speaker 1: of righteousness on to his eleven children. Mel always listened 181 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:02,760 Speaker 1: what his father had to say. He listened when his 182 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:05,199 Speaker 1: father told him the Catholic Masses should have never been 183 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,760 Speaker 1: translated from Latin to English. He listened when his father 184 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 1: said divorce was wrong, that abortion was detestable, and that 185 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:16,760 Speaker 1: the theory of evolution was just that a theory. He listened 186 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:19,920 Speaker 1: to everything except that one rule about drinking and smoking 187 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: being two of the worst things a person could do. 188 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: That rule sounded kind of square, especially once Mel got 189 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:30,320 Speaker 1: his first sip of liquor at age thirteen. Mel and 190 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,600 Speaker 1: his pal Jeremy, had their own routine. Jeremy would part 191 00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 1: the seas at the local pub, flash a smile that 192 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,000 Speaker 1: made him look well beyond his years, to fool the bartender. 193 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:43,040 Speaker 1: Score two pints, bring one outside for Mell to slurp down. 194 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:46,040 Speaker 1: Cheers me. Mel didn't know if he was going to 195 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:48,920 Speaker 1: hell for drinking, but he did know that beer took 196 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:51,960 Speaker 1: the edge off way better than prayer did. It didn't 197 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:54,680 Speaker 1: hurt his knees either, which meant the law, considering Mel's 198 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:58,839 Speaker 1: body was aching all the time. When Mel was twelve 199 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:01,960 Speaker 1: years old, Hutton uprooted the Gibson family from New York 200 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,480 Speaker 1: in favor of a life in Australia where his sons 201 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 1: wouldn't be drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. Instead, 202 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,400 Speaker 1: Mel had to fight his own battles at his new school, 203 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:14,080 Speaker 1: battles that left behind a different kind of scar. Saint 204 00:13:14,200 --> 00:13:17,640 Speaker 1: Leo's College wasn't just another private institution. It was an 205 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 1: all boys Catholic school run by a slap happy group 206 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:24,440 Speaker 1: of priests called the Christian Brothers. Every day Mel suited 207 00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:27,800 Speaker 1: up for torment in a stiff blazer, gray flannel trousers, 208 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 1: and straw boater hat. He braced himself for the taunts 209 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:33,199 Speaker 1: of the other boys who mocked his accent and called 210 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,400 Speaker 1: them a yank. God forbid Mel ever fight back, or 211 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:38,679 Speaker 1: he'd get a backhand from one of the Christian brothers. 212 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 1: Forget nuns and their rulers. Back in the States. At 213 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 1: Saint Leo's, naughty boys atoned for their sins through flesh 214 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:49,319 Speaker 1: on flesh corporal punishment. And there were so many ways 215 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:54,040 Speaker 1: a teenage boy could go astray, smoking in the school bathroom, 216 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:58,960 Speaker 1: antagonizing teachers, starting a competition with the other boys at school, 217 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 1: or who could get the most punishments that early twenty 218 00:14:01,720 --> 00:14:05,319 Speaker 1: seven hits right in a row after every sin. Atonement 219 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 1: was the only option. Atonement was the only way through. 220 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:18,000 Speaker 1: Jim Caviso clenched his teeth, his body cried out for support. 221 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:20,800 Speaker 1: It lurched over a pillar in front of him. His 222 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,760 Speaker 1: bowed position revealed his bare back matted with a thick 223 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:28,800 Speaker 1: coat of stage blood from all the stage lashings. If 224 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: you didn't know any better, it looked like the lead 225 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: actor in the Passion of the Christ was dying. Good 226 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: Mel Gibson needed to see fresh wounds glistening under the 227 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 1: lights from where we sat in his director's chair. Phony 228 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: gashes covered every inch of Jim's back. One eye was purple. 229 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,400 Speaker 1: It took the makeup team eight hours every morning to 230 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 1: make his body look like it had taken a beating 231 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 1: of biblical proportions, and that was only the beginning of 232 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,800 Speaker 1: the torture. After spending a third of his day in makeup, 233 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,520 Speaker 1: Jim trudged to the two and a half acre recreation 234 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:02,480 Speaker 1: of Jerusalem at Rome's in her Cheeta Studios. The set 235 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 1: hurled Mel and his crew into the past and into 236 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 1: an age of brutality. No one held back. During today's scene, 237 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 1: Jim's body crumpled onto the pillar over and over again. 238 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 1: The dried blood coating his hands practically turned them black. 239 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,840 Speaker 1: The actors playing Roman guards counted every lashing in Latin. 240 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: Jim relied on a mirror off set to anticipate every lashing. 241 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: When he saw the whip come down in the reflection, 242 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: he collapsed onto the pillar a moment later, imitating the 243 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:35,200 Speaker 1: agony of a scourgeing a well placed board between Jim 244 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 1: and the Roman guards took the real beating, but Mel 245 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:40,680 Speaker 1: wanted to try something different this afternoon. He ordered the 246 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 1: Roman guards to throw their whips overhand for a change, 247 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 1: you know, like pitching a baseball, and those actors must 248 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:50,440 Speaker 1: not have been sports fans. Jim braced himself on the 249 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:55,680 Speaker 1: pillar for the next round. Jim crashed to his knees. 250 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:58,880 Speaker 1: Before he could scream, the wind escaped his lungs. He 251 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 1: gasped for air and came. It felt like his spine 252 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:06,960 Speaker 1: had been sliced open. Fuck, that was definitely real. One 253 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:10,680 Speaker 1: guard missed the board completely. His whip carved a fourteen 254 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,680 Speaker 1: inch gash into Jim's back. Jim trembled face first in 255 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: the sand. The cut was so gruesome that it became 256 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,880 Speaker 1: the gold standard for Jim's makeup from that day forward. 257 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:25,200 Speaker 1: After all, Mel's holy crusade was to capture the closest 258 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:29,480 Speaker 1: possible representation of Jesus's suffering, even if it edged him 259 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:33,880 Speaker 1: dangerously close to an NC seventeen rating. Mel spent over 260 00:16:33,920 --> 00:16:37,680 Speaker 1: a month perfecting the crucifixion scenes alone. For five weeks, 261 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: Jim endured old fashioned forms of torture. He dislocated his shoulder. 262 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 1: He shivered outside in nothing but a loincloth while tethered 263 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 1: to the cross as the crew filmed his misery and 264 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: scarves and mittens, he caught hypothermia in a lung infection, 265 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:58,080 Speaker 1: and then he's caught a bolt of God's wrass. Jim 266 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 1: knew the lightning would strike him above or seconds before 267 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:04,359 Speaker 1: it made contact. His recreation of the Sermon on the 268 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,480 Speaker 1: Mount was about to be cut short. The higher the hill, 269 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:11,120 Speaker 1: the closer to God, and the closer to danger too. 270 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,920 Speaker 1: The bolt snapped down from the sky. It passed through 271 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,760 Speaker 1: Jim's body, millions of votes of electricity shaking through his veins, 272 00:17:19,119 --> 00:17:22,240 Speaker 1: pink and red static flash before his eyes. His body 273 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: gave off a heavenly glow as fire shot from his ears. 274 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:28,760 Speaker 1: The sight of lighting actually striking Cavisil gave a whole 275 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:32,119 Speaker 1: new meaning, a holy hell. Like many to vote Catholics, 276 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:35,920 Speaker 1: Jim Cavisel offered up every ounce of his suffering to God. 277 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:40,160 Speaker 1: He had no other choice. Mel Gibson realized that even 278 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 1: a sacred story like Jesus's death could push boundaries. The 279 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:46,520 Speaker 1: Passion of the Christ earned its standing as the most 280 00:17:46,600 --> 00:17:50,240 Speaker 1: violent film Roger Ebert had ever seen. With every bone crunch, 281 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:53,320 Speaker 1: every ripped chunk of flesh, and every mouthful of blood, 282 00:17:54,119 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: Mel demanded accurate in extreme scenes for his masterpiece. After all, 283 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,760 Speaker 1: mel Gibson had a reputation to uphold. He wasn't just 284 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:07,199 Speaker 1: a successful actor anymore. By the early two thousands, he 285 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:10,119 Speaker 1: was a hybrid of an actor, director, and Academy Award winner. 286 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,120 Speaker 1: Leith A Weapon was his liftoff to the upper echelon 287 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:17,040 Speaker 1: of Hollywood. Leith Weapon III was so gripping it practically 288 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 1: overtook the original and popularity. He made his directorial debut 289 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 1: with The Man Without a Face. In nineteen ninety three, 290 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,680 Speaker 1: he shared his sensitive side in a film adaptation of Hamlet, 291 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: which was almost as impressive, since most folks associated mel 292 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:35,000 Speaker 1: with murder and mayhem, not the sweet verses of Shakespeare. 293 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,280 Speaker 1: Between nineteen eighty nine and two thousand and two, mel 294 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:41,400 Speaker 1: Gibson starred in ten movies that each grossed at least 295 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:45,199 Speaker 1: one hundred million dollars at the box office. By the 296 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 1: two thousands, he had nothing left to prove to the public. Instead, 297 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:51,720 Speaker 1: he had something to prove to himself and to his maker. 298 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:55,159 Speaker 1: While the accolades poured in during the nineteen eighties and 299 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:59,920 Speaker 1: nineteen nineties, mel Gibson kept pouring himself drinks. He'd graduated 300 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:02,399 Speaker 1: from sneaking beers from the pub as a teen to 301 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,200 Speaker 1: chugging a six pack of beer for breakfast before showing 302 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:08,720 Speaker 1: up to set. That particular morning habit led him behind 303 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 1: the wheel of a rented Pontiac and into the rear 304 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 1: of another car in Toronto in nineteen eighty four. His 305 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: bouts with the bottle worsened. While filming Matt Max Beyond Thunderdome, 306 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:21,439 Speaker 1: and at his lowest points, Mel remained yellow eyed and 307 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: weak kneed, blacking out and keeling over on regular intervals. 308 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:27,880 Speaker 1: But that was the old Mel. The new and improved 309 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:31,440 Speaker 1: Mel transcended that behavior. He claimed the Holy Spirit moved 310 00:19:31,440 --> 00:19:33,360 Speaker 1: through him. On the set of The Passion of the Christ. 311 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:37,160 Speaker 1: Mel existed in a space of grace and healing, which 312 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:41,440 Speaker 1: he ironically created through beatings, whippings, and explosive acts of God. 313 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:44,320 Speaker 1: The Passion of the Christ was Mel's way of making 314 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:47,920 Speaker 1: peace with his past. Although Jim was seemingly the one 315 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:51,480 Speaker 1: doing all the atoning. Mel had faith that his Lord 316 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:53,680 Speaker 1: and Savior would calm the storm that had been raging 317 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:57,919 Speaker 1: inside him for decades. But the fix was temporary at best. 318 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:01,840 Speaker 1: Another tempest brood on her horizon for Mel Gibson, a 319 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:08,560 Speaker 1: tempest that not even God could spare him from We'll 320 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:17,919 Speaker 1: be right back after this. We're We're, We're. Mel Gibson's 321 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:21,480 Speaker 1: throat burned like hell. He kept his hands at ten 322 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:23,880 Speaker 1: and two on the wheel of his lexus, but all 323 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:26,439 Speaker 1: he wanted to do was clawed his neck. What had 324 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:29,560 Speaker 1: he done? The sting of booze lingered like a thousand 325 00:20:29,640 --> 00:20:32,560 Speaker 1: lashes down his throat. Maybe it was all in his head, 326 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:35,639 Speaker 1: some good old fashioned Catholic guilt after boozing it up 327 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:39,680 Speaker 1: at Moonshadows, a Malibu restaurant known for its killer cocktail menu. 328 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,280 Speaker 1: Imaginary or not, the burn felt real to Mel. He 329 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:47,240 Speaker 1: focused so intensely on his throat that he didn't notice 330 00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:50,400 Speaker 1: his foot leaning into the gas pedal. The flashing blue 331 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,440 Speaker 1: lights in the rear of your mirror tip Mel off. Shit. 332 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 1: He was going eighty seven and a forty five on 333 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:59,560 Speaker 1: the Pacific Coast Highway. The cop tailing him didn't realize 334 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:04,480 Speaker 1: Mel was also driving under the influence Yeah July twenty eighth, 335 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: two thousand and six. Mel kept his cool. He provided 336 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:11,439 Speaker 1: his license and registration. He stepped out of the vehicle 337 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 1: at the officer's request. He waited patiently for the moment 338 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:16,480 Speaker 1: the cop would give him a script to read to 339 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:20,080 Speaker 1: see just how blotto he really was, and that moment 340 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:23,920 Speaker 1: never came. Instead, the officer made him an offer. If 341 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:26,720 Speaker 1: Mel cooperated, he could sit in the back seat without 342 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: any handcuffs. Mel was going down to the station. No script, 343 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,840 Speaker 1: no second chances, no fucking fair, Mel thought. That's when 344 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:39,960 Speaker 1: Mel Gibson turned on the extreme. He went back to 345 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:42,040 Speaker 1: his lexus. I'm not going to get into your car, 346 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,120 Speaker 1: he said. The cop cornered Mel against the driver's door 347 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:47,520 Speaker 1: and slapped the cuffs on him. The drama could have 348 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,040 Speaker 1: ended with Mel's ui in his attempt to escape arrest, 349 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,760 Speaker 1: but it didn't. Mel's mood continued to sour in the 350 00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:55,320 Speaker 1: back seat and the cruiser. On the way to the 351 00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:59,680 Speaker 1: police station. He began to rant and rave about Jews. 352 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,880 Speaker 1: He even asked the cop if he was Jewish. I'm serious, 353 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,560 Speaker 1: this is all on the police report. Those kinds of 354 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 1: remarks aren't the usual script for entitled celebrity arrests. Mel 355 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 1: made sure to add that he owned Malibu before making 356 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:16,440 Speaker 1: one final remark to a female officer at the Lost 357 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:19,680 Speaker 1: Hills police station, what are you looking at, sugar tits? 358 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:24,159 Speaker 1: A breathalyzer test revealed that Mel's blood alcohol concentration was 359 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,320 Speaker 1: zero point one two, well over the legal limit of 360 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 1: zero point zero eight. It's impossible to know how much 361 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:33,120 Speaker 1: or for how long Mel had been drinking that night, 362 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:35,960 Speaker 1: but the math shakes out to five or six drinks 363 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:39,200 Speaker 1: in one hour for someone his size to get that wasted. 364 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:43,280 Speaker 1: Mel started the damage control before the news could break. 365 00:22:43,600 --> 00:22:45,480 Speaker 1: He ran his fingers through his hair at the police 366 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: station's water fountain and splashed water on his face to 367 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:51,399 Speaker 1: freshen up before the mug shot. Keep up appearances, you know. 368 00:22:52,080 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 1: He was released a few hours later. The five thousand 369 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:56,960 Speaker 1: dollars bail felt like a small fine for a multi 370 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:01,239 Speaker 1: millionaire movie star, but in Hollywood, Mel Gibson still had 371 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:05,160 Speaker 1: a mighty price to pay. Mel Gibson was pulled over 372 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 1: early Friday morning for speeding and drunk driving. 373 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:22,760 Speaker 3: Celebrity in the pre mugshop beauty session was useless. 374 00:23:23,119 --> 00:23:26,560 Speaker 1: Mel Gibson was beyond keeping up appearances. This was no 375 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:28,960 Speaker 1: run of the mill d UI. Those were a dime 376 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:34,880 Speaker 1: a dozen. This celebrity arrest had everything unspeakable controversy, explosions 377 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,320 Speaker 1: of wrath, a clear line between right and wrong. Mel's 378 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:41,320 Speaker 1: meltdown was something everyone could agree on, and that ship 379 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:45,600 Speaker 1: was messed up. Mel hovered between extreme and egregious for decades. 380 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:49,199 Speaker 1: One anti Semitic tirade finally vaulted him over to the 381 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:54,280 Speaker 1: sinister side. His remarks resurrected religious controversies about the Gibson 382 00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:58,679 Speaker 1: family's toxic strain of Catholicism. Mel's father, Hutton, ran his 383 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:00,720 Speaker 1: mouth on the radio back into two thousand and four, 384 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,600 Speaker 1: just a week before the Passion of the Christ hit theaters. 385 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:08,240 Speaker 1: Hutton confidently stated that the Holocaust was mostly fictional. It 386 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 1: paired well with his previous statements that Jews have tried 387 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:15,040 Speaker 1: to destroy the Castle Church and Jews have infiltrated almost 388 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:18,159 Speaker 1: every religion in the world. Those are both direct quotes. 389 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 1: Sound familiar. Hutton Gibson's remarks rocked the airways. Many people 390 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:26,000 Speaker 1: began to interpret the Passion of the Christ as a 391 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,199 Speaker 1: stereotypical portrayal of the Jewish people that blamed them for 392 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:33,000 Speaker 1: the death of Jesus. But those were just theories. Mel 393 00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:36,919 Speaker 1: wasn't responsible for his father's bigotry. Besides, art was all 394 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:40,280 Speaker 1: about interpretation, right, No one knew for sure how Mel 395 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:45,520 Speaker 1: really felt about Judaism until now. Now, Mel made his 396 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:49,920 Speaker 1: feelings very clear. The remarks in the police report crucified 397 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,880 Speaker 1: his career. He would be offered no period of atonement 398 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:57,560 Speaker 1: this time. Within three days of Mel's arrest, ABC canceled 399 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:00,480 Speaker 1: a miniseries that Mel was developing about and I Shit 400 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:04,159 Speaker 1: You Not the Holocaust. Amy Pascal, the head of Sony, 401 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 1: immediately called for an industry ride boycott of Mel. Ari Emmanuel, 402 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: a founding partner of Endeavor, then one of the fastest 403 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,760 Speaker 1: growing talent agencies in Hollywood, echoed Amy's demands to quote 404 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,720 Speaker 1: his character Martin Riggs and leave the weapon. Mel was 405 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:20,959 Speaker 1: fucked and no one wanted to work with him. Fortunately, 406 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: Mel could still work for himself. In two thousand and six, 407 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,320 Speaker 1: he already had one film in the can. He directed, 408 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:30,440 Speaker 1: co wrote, and co produced an adventure film called Apocalypto 409 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: that hurled viewers back to the final days of the 410 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 1: Mayan Empire. Apocalypto literally made heads roll. Actors launched severed 411 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:41,480 Speaker 1: heads down a set of temple stairs, pulled the beating 412 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:46,520 Speaker 1: hearts for human sacrifices. Never mind the historical inaccuracies, Mel 413 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,320 Speaker 1: Gibson needed to remind people what he was capable of, 414 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:52,240 Speaker 1: that he could shock them into forgetting his tepit apology 415 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 1: from earlier that year. Two apologies, actually, since Mel's first 416 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,400 Speaker 1: statement was directed at the arresting officer and somehow neglected 417 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,920 Speaker 1: to apologize as to the religion he slandered at length, 418 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:06,480 Speaker 1: Mel's words were useless. Anyone could claim they were sorry, 419 00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 1: just like anyone could claim an entire religion was the 420 00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:12,280 Speaker 1: source of the world's problems. Fine, let him be that way. 421 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:15,480 Speaker 1: Mel could withstand all the punishment in the world. That's 422 00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 1: what his life was built around, for Christ's sake. But 423 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:20,520 Speaker 1: could he truly say he was sorry? Could he really 424 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:51,040 Speaker 1: feel actual remorse? Was salvation still an option? The applause 425 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,080 Speaker 1: thundering through the Venice Film Festival didn't let up for 426 00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:58,159 Speaker 1: ten minutes straight. That's one minute for every year that 427 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:02,240 Speaker 1: Mel Gibson had been banished from Hollywood. Most of Hollywood anyway. 428 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 1: But tonight, on September fourth, twenty sixteen, he was among 429 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,760 Speaker 1: the world's most respected inner circles of cinema, collecting praise 430 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:14,959 Speaker 1: for his new World War II film Hacksaw Ridge. It 431 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: was a comeback. No one saw coming a comeback. No 432 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:22,119 Speaker 1: one was sure Mel Gibson had even earned it, just was, 433 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:26,400 Speaker 1: and by the time Hacksaw Ridge premiered Mel's dui rest 434 00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,480 Speaker 1: was ten years in the rear view. That was old news, 435 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:32,920 Speaker 1: especially since he had more recent scandal to smooth over. 436 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:37,080 Speaker 1: These days, cops weren't the only people Mel Gibson mouthed 437 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:39,439 Speaker 1: off to He could be just as nasty with an 438 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:42,719 Speaker 1: ex girlfriend. The media even had the tapes to prove it. 439 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:45,960 Speaker 1: Six years before the standing o at the Venice Film 440 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:50,040 Speaker 1: Festival in twenty ten, a handful of taped phone conversations 441 00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,480 Speaker 1: between Mel and his ex leaked to the press. Mel's 442 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,320 Speaker 1: ugly words who were full of hardcore racial epithets and 443 00:27:56,440 --> 00:28:00,320 Speaker 1: rampant misogyny. At one tape, his ex said she feared 444 00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:03,240 Speaker 1: for her young daughter's life when Mel was around. Mel 445 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:05,440 Speaker 1: later remarked that he put her daughter in a quote 446 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:09,040 Speaker 1: unquote fucking Rose Garden. Toss in a couple of sea 447 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,800 Speaker 1: words and you get the idea of the rest. The 448 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:16,120 Speaker 1: tapes fanned the flames of Oxana's domestic abuse case against Mel. 449 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:18,199 Speaker 1: If he didn't know that, she had accused Mel of 450 00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,720 Speaker 1: punching her and threatening her with a gone, well now 451 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:23,920 Speaker 1: you did, and you were damned concerned too. After hearing 452 00:28:23,920 --> 00:28:26,440 Speaker 1: the kind of damage he could inflict over a phone call. 453 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:31,439 Speaker 1: Mel wound up pleading no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge. 454 00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:35,760 Speaker 1: The backlash was once again immediate. Leonardo DiCaprio backed out 455 00:28:35,760 --> 00:28:38,800 Speaker 1: of Mel's future movie Berserker, which subsequently fell off the 456 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,760 Speaker 1: face of the earth, and then Mel lost his cameo 457 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:44,040 Speaker 1: in The Hangover two. At the behest of the movie's 458 00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:47,800 Speaker 1: cast and crew. Mel eventually landed a lead role in 459 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,960 Speaker 1: The Beaver, Jodie Foster's quirky drama about mental health. Mel 460 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:55,240 Speaker 1: played Walter Black, a suicidal CEO on the brink of 461 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,920 Speaker 1: bankruptcy who copes with his depression by speaking exclusively through 462 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,440 Speaker 1: a beaver puppet. The successful and loving family man he 463 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:05,400 Speaker 1: used to be is gone missing, goes the voiceover narration 464 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:07,840 Speaker 1: of the trailer for the movie, while bleak clips of 465 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:11,360 Speaker 1: Mel's character rolled by the public saw Mel in the 466 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:14,880 Speaker 1: movie is a lost cause. Jody Foster sunk twenty one 467 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,760 Speaker 1: million dollars into the project. It barely brought home seven 468 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 1: million dollars at the box office. After his ten film 469 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,440 Speaker 1: run of one hundred million dollar movies, The Beaver was 470 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 1: a new low for Mel Gibson, so he shocked everyone 471 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:30,760 Speaker 1: again and bounded to a new high. Mel hopped into 472 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:34,160 Speaker 1: the director's chair once more to make Hacksaw Ridge War 473 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:38,000 Speaker 1: was the great American unifier. Ikey united divided country against 474 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:41,560 Speaker 1: its sworn enemy. It even united industry that rode off 475 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:45,520 Speaker 1: a bigot. Almost ten years ago, the Motion Picture Academy 476 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:50,120 Speaker 1: embraced Mel with six Oscar nominations and two wins. Hacksaw 477 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:52,280 Speaker 1: Ridge Is one hundred and eighty million dollar performance at 478 00:29:52,320 --> 00:29:55,320 Speaker 1: the box office suggested that ten years was long enough 479 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:59,120 Speaker 1: of an atonement for most Americans, and even if it wasn't, 480 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:02,680 Speaker 1: Mel was an apologizing anymore, not one given the chance 481 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:06,160 Speaker 1: on late night television when fellow Catholic Stephen Colbert tried 482 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:09,200 Speaker 1: to squeeze one true sorry out of him. Not in 483 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:12,600 Speaker 1: countless interviews where Mel insisted that he had apologized quote 484 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:14,880 Speaker 1: more than anyone else, He even said it was a 485 00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:17,440 Speaker 1: shame that celebrities like himself weren't allowed to have a 486 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,400 Speaker 1: nervous breakdown, directly referencing his two thousand and six d 487 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:24,360 Speaker 1: u Hi Fragments of Hollywood maintained to this day that 488 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:27,560 Speaker 1: there's no penance extreme enough for what Mel Gibson has 489 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:30,840 Speaker 1: said and done, but Mel's misfortunes faded in the rear 490 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:35,040 Speaker 1: view around twenty seventeen because a new sinner was about 491 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:39,080 Speaker 1: to be revealed. Two words, one hashtag in a million 492 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:44,440 Speaker 1: voices dragged down another film industry mogul, Harvey Weinstein, Hollywood's 493 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:49,920 Speaker 1: newest supervillain, deaned beyond redemption once the microscope shifted away 494 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:52,840 Speaker 1: from Mel and on a Weinstein. Mel stepped back into 495 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:57,360 Speaker 1: the spotlight. Between twenty seventeen in twenty twenty two, he 496 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,440 Speaker 1: nabbed at least a dozen movie roles, return him to 497 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:04,040 Speaker 1: the rapid filming pace of his pre DUI days. As 498 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:06,480 Speaker 1: we speak, both the sequel to the Passion of the 499 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 1: Christ and Lethal Weapon five are in the works. Harvey Weinstein, meanwhile, 500 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:15,800 Speaker 1: is out of business. Mels back in business like never before. 501 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:20,680 Speaker 1: It's a superstar switchero so controversial and so extreme that 502 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:25,840 Speaker 1: you know it ought to be in pictures. I'm Jake 503 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:43,880 Speaker 1: Brennan and this is hollywood Land. Hollywood Land was created 504 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:47,360 Speaker 1: by Years Truly and is produced in partnership with Double Elvis. 505 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:50,800 Speaker 1: Follow like, rate and review hollywood Land wherever you get 506 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:52,840 Speaker 1: your podcasts, and get in touch with us on social 507 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:56,280 Speaker 1: media at double Elvis. If you like Hollywood Land, check 508 00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:58,960 Speaker 1: out my other show, the award winning disgrace Land, which 509 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:00,800 Speaker 1: looks at the world of music through the lens of 510 00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:03,600 Speaker 1: true crime. Just search for Disgraceland or wherever you get 511 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:04,280 Speaker 1: your podcasts 512 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:11,320 Speaker 2: That there's a lab