Comprehensive information and links about Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson (born January 3, 1956Mel Gibson is an American-born Australian-reared actor, director and producer best known for acting in the

Overview

Gibson was born in Peekskill, New York, the sixth of 10 children born to Hutton Gibson (the son of a U.S. businessman, John Hutton Gibson and an Irish-Australian opera singer, Eva Mylott) and the late Anne Reilly Gibson (who was born in the USA to Irish immigrants). The family also adopted one child, bringing the total number of children in the family to 11. One of his younger brothers, Donal, is also an actor.

Although Gibson always maintained his United States citizenship, he lived in Australia from the age of twelve. Following a victory on the TV game show , Gibson's father moved his family to Australia in 1968 in protest at the Vietnam War for which his elder sons were potentially at risk for being drafted, and also because he believed that changes in American society were immoral.

Some people have criticised Mel Gibson and his father, Hutton, for their traditional Catholic beliefs and political views, which have drawn accusations of Anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Gibson commented on a New York Times columnist who implied his father was a Holocaust denier by angrily saying, "I want to kill him. I want his intestines on a stick. I want to kill his dog... He (Hutton) never denied the Holocaust. He just said there were fewer than six million." (see [[1]], [[2][3][4]]).

Extremely devoted to his faith, as evidenced by his production of , Mel Gibson has donated money to finance the construction of a Traditionalist Catholic church in Malibu, California, a sect which rejects the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

Gibson married Robyn Moore on June 7, 1980, with whom he has the following children: daughter, Hannah (born 1980); twin sons, Edward and Christian (born 1982); son, Willie (born 1985); son, Louis (born 1988); son, Milo (born 1990); son, Tommy (born 1999). Rumors that Hannah was going to become a nun were quashed by the family after initial mention in the media.

His wife remains an Anglican despite 26 years of marriage to strong

After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1977, Gibson's acting career began in Australia with appearances in the television series including .

He made his Australian movie debut as the leather-clad post-apocalyptic survivor in George Miller's , which later became a cult hit and launched two of its own sequels. His international profile increased through Peter Weir's anti-war First World War film . In 1984, Gibson's boyish good looks made him a natural for leading man roles, in 1984 he made his U.S. movie debut, starring as Fletcher Christian in . Actor Anthony Hopkins played opposite Gibson as Captain Bligh.

In December of 2005, it was announced that Gibson will produce a television movie about Dutch Holocaust survivor, Flory Van Beek, although it had been rumoured previously that he would make a movie about the Maccabees.

Gibson's next film will be a mythic action-adventure set in the days of the Mayan civilization named Main articles: Lethal Weapon and Hamlet

Gibson moved to more mainstream filmmaking with the popular relationship with his older and more conservative partner played by Danny Glover. Gibson surprisingly moved to the classical genre, playing the melancholy Danish prince in Franco Zeffirelli's movie of Shakespeare's (1995), based on the life of Sir William Wallace, a thirteenth century Scottish warlord who fought the English in the late 13th century and early 14th century.

ion of the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus Christ. The movie has received praise, including from Christians and a number of politically conservative Jewish leaders and scholars (e.g., Michael Medved, David Horowitz, and Steven Waldman).

The movie was initially criticised by some Christian and Jewish figures, a number of whom claimed that it may promote anti-Semitism, as it relies on imagery similar to that of passion-plays, a mainstream Christian tradition that some activists believe to be capable of inciting anti-Semitic incidents. The movie has been criticised by a group of Protestant scholars for its adherence in a number of scenes and details to the visions of a 17th century mystic and nun, the Venerable Mary of Agreda and a 19th Century German visionary, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, both Roman Catholics. Despite such fears, no anti-Semitic incidents traceable to the movie's influence ever materialized.

Gibson was asked if his movie would be offensive to Jews today; his response was "It's not meant to. I think it's meant to just tell the truth. I want to be as truthful as possible. But when you look at the reasons Christ came, he was crucified—he died for all mankind and he suffered for all mankind. So that, really, anyone who transgresses has to look at their own part or look at their own culpability." He also stated on his decision to cut a scene in which Caiaphas says "his blood be on us and on our children" soon after Pontius Pilate washes his hands of Jesus:"I wanted it in. My brother said I was wimping out if I didn't include it. But, man, if I included that in there, they'd be coming after me at my house. They'd come to kill me." (see [[5][6][7][8]]).

When the Carmelite nuns at the convent in Coimbra, Portugal got word out that they wanted to see a copy of the film before it was released on DVD, Gibson personally arranged for a special digital screening from one inch tape and shipped in a projector and screens to view it and introduced the film in person. Later, he stopped by again to have a private meeting with the convent's most famous nun, Sister Lucia, who was 97 and was the last survivor of the three children who saw the vision of the Our Lady of Fatima, the Virgin Mary, and were said to have been given secrets by her, known as the Three Secrets of Fatima. Sister Lucia died not long after.

In spite of the criticism (or perhaps helped by it), the movie grossed $611,899,420 (USD) worldwide ($370,782,930 in the US alone) and became the eighth highest-grossing film in history. It currently is the 10th highest-grossing film and the highest-grossing Rated R film of all time. Despite this, the film went without any significant recognition by the major American film award celebrations, although it was nominated for Best music (score), Best cinematography, and Best make-up at the 77th Academy Awards.

In criticism of the film, many critics pointed out that this film is semi-autobiographical for Gibson. They referred to past films such as the , in which Gibson starred, where his character has been brutally attacked and beaten, much like Jesus Christ in this film.

In the summer of 2006, Gibson's next historical epic, Apocalypto will be released into theaters. The film is set 600 years ago in Central America, before the Spanish conquest, during the decline of the Maya. Dialogue is spoken in the obscure Mayan dialect of Yucatec, in the same way Gibson used Aramaic and Latin for his religious blockbuster . It will feature a cast of unknown actors from Mexico City, the Yucatan and even some American Indians from the United States.

While Gibson financed the film himself, Disney will release it domestically.

All that has been revealed about the plot is that the film is set against the turbulent end times of the once great Mayan civilization. When a Mayan man's idyllic existence is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, he is taken on a perilous journey. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.

The title is a Greek term which means "an unveiling" or "new beginning", but the movie is not religiously themed or connected to the biblical Apocalypse.

Gibson's controversies

Some gay rights groups have accused Gibson of homophobia for a 1992 interview in the Spanish magazine . In the interview, when asked what he thought of gay people, he said, "They take it up the ass." Gibson then bent over and pointed to his buttocks, saying "This is only for taking a shit." When the interviewer recalled that Gibson previously had expressed fear people would think he is gay because he's an actor, Gibson responded in saying "Do I sound like a homosexual? Do I talk like them? Do I move like them?" Gibson later defended his comments on Good Morning America, saying "I don't think there's an apology necessary, and I'm certainly not giving one. [Those remarks were a response] to a direct question. If someone wants my opinion, I'll give it. What, am I supposed to lie to them?"

Gibson later said that he was only joking. In January of 1997, to make amends with the gay community and to show that he is not homophobic, Gibson hosted along with Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) ten lesbian and gay filmmakers for an on-location seminar on the set of the movie . During the seminar Gibson provided up-and-coming lesbian and gay filmmakers with an up-close and personal look into the inner workings of a major Hollywood feature film. [9]

Other groups were later angry at the depiction of a homosexual character in . However, historians agree that the character, the Prince (later King) Edward II of England, was indeed homosexual, and also agree with what was portrayed in the movie of the King being a mere puppet of Thomas of Lancaster (though Edward's father never threw his lover out of a window). It should also be noted that Gibson did not write the screenplay for that film.

Gibson was accused of homophobia once more in his movies with his portrayal of Herod Antipas in . Antipas is portrayed as an effeminate homosexual (despite never being explicitly stated, some people believe it is implied as such). Although this was a common caricature of Herod in medieval Passion plays, it does not appear in the Gospels and is contrary to the historical record regarding Antipas.

In 2006, Gibson threatened[10] to sue www.melgibsonsblog.blogspot.com [11], a satirical website which pokes fun at some of the statements Mel Gibson has made over the years, as well as some of his religious views, if the site did not shut down. The site remains open, however.

Despite the fact that he has been perceived as being politically conservative (even though he has never identified himself as such), Gibson joined many of his colleagues in the entertainment industry in opposition to the Iraq War and even praised Michael Moore's film , leading many to question labeling him as a conservative. Most people feel that Gibson is a paleoconservative and an isolationist, which would explain his opposition to the war. As an adherent of the Traditionalist Catholic school of thought[12], Gibson is religiously conservative.

In Gibson's early Australian television and film roles he spoke in a heavy general Australian accent. His voice was even dubbed in the US release of (along with the rest of the cast). In the early 1990s he began to lose the accent after having lived in the United States for over a decade. In fact, even in 1987's Lethal Weapon his accent is barely discernable. He now has a fully American accent.Gibson was born with a physical anomaly called "Horseshoe kidney". His two kidneys are fused at the base into a U shape. This fusion anomaly occurs in about one of every 400 people.In December 2004, Mago Island was purchased by Gibson.[13] Descendants of original native inhabitants of Mago, who were displaced in the 1860s, have protested Mel Gibson's purchase of Mago from Japan's Tokyu Corporation for $15 million., Gibson constructed a church on his California estate. He also donated $100 million of the film's earnings to the Catholic church."Vatican II corrupted the institution of the church. Look at the main fruits: dwindling numbers and pedophilia." - Time, January 27, 2003"Why are they calling her a Nazi? ... Because modern secular Judaism wants to blame the Holocaust on the Catholic Church. And it's a lie. And it's revisionism. And they've been working on that one for a while." - On criticism of Anne Catherine Emmerich, an 18th century nun whose writings influenced his portrayal of Jesus' death and also featured what Gibson's opponents consider anti-Semitic overtones. The New Yorker, September 15, 2003