When it was announced that Mel Gibson was teaming with writer Joe Eszterhas for a biblical epic about Jewish historical figure Judah Maccabee, we more or less assumed that it would mean the death of his long-gestating Viking epic, which was originally supposed to team Gibson with William Monahan, Graham King and Leonardo DiCaprio. Monahan even confirmed late last year that he never wrote a word for the project and that, as far as he knew, it never went past the announcement. Well, it looks like throughout all his recent struggles, Gibson never gave up on his Viking dreams.
At a recent American Cinematheque Q&A [via L.A. Times] after a screening of "Mad Max," Gibson revealed that he's "got a couple of things on the boil, a couple of projects that I'm writing. I just got a second draft of something I'm really excited about today." Questioned whether it was his Judah Maccabee project, Gibson surprisingly replied — to the delight of the crowd — that "it's actually a Viking thing. Vikings, as you know, are very unsympathetic characters and these guys will be bad. I sort of hooked up again with Randall Wallace, who did the script on 'Braveheart.' Yeah, it's pretty good. It's called 'Berserker.'"
Questioned whether the Vikings will have horns on their hats as is the typical stereotype, Gibson said "they did not have horns. No, I don't think they had horns. They're going to look real." He continued, "They're not going to be running around like the '50s," referencing Richard Fleischer's 1958 pic 'The Vikings' starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis. "I want to make something real and visceral."
Gibson also later confirmed that the team on board the earlier iteration of the project (King, DiCaprio, Monahan) was pretty much gone, adding that "things begin and people wander off and do their thing and I do my thing. I just took my stuff and wrote it with Randall. Where it goes from here is anyone's guess." No word on if the plan to film the whole project in the defunct Old Norse and Anglo-Saxon languages is still going ahead but, either way, we've definitely got fingers crossed that Gibson can make it all happen.
The Q&A also touched on George Miller's latest 'Mad Max' film, which Gibson more or less confirmed as the same feature film he was going to star in with Miller in the early '00's — as we previously reported. He did, however, interestingly add that he had met his replacement, Tom Hardy, some time ago. "I like that kid [George's] got, Tom Hardy. He's a very interesting actor. He reminds me of one my sons a bit but I had lunch with him, he's a firecracker. It'll be good. He was already cast [at the time], he just wanted to check in. I don't know, maybe it was like 'Is it okay?' I was like 'Sure, it's fine. Have a ball, knock yourself out. I got better things to do.'"
As for his Judah Maccabee project? "I'm working with Joe Eszterhas on that. That's from the last two books of the Old Testament, which is like; [turns to audience] just read it some time. Maccabee 1 and 2. Just read it, it's like a Western. It's an amazing story. It's heroic beyond belief. The entire might of the Seleucid Empire, which was Persia, their whole objective at the time was to wipe Judea off the map and they almost did it except for this little hold out that miraculously grew and wanted it all back again."
All in all, it certainly sounds like Gibson has plenty on his plate with the two histrorical epics and, if the reception from the crowd at the Q&A are any indication, it seems like his troubled times are behind him. Forgive and forget, Leo?
I think actor Viggo Mortensen (whose from Denmark, by the way, a country where Vikings were in) would be easier to picture as a viking, much more than Leonardo DeCaprio.
screw leo, he blew it
For my money, Gibson is a more talented and cavalier filmmaker than Aronofsky or Nolan, yet few critics have the cajones to state as much for fear of community backlash. He's truly one of our great living directors, and in an infamous business of snakes and sharks, it's hypocritical to say his faults are worse than many others, many who unfortunately have the benefit of a gullible press and the backing of industry insiders.
When it comes to rippling ice cold revenge tales, Braveheart and Apocalypto can hang with Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds. Apocalypto may even surpass them on the basis of financial and artistic risk. Wringing $60 million domestic out of a subtitled film with no name white actors is no small feat, yet it's constantly overlooked, its merits discussed far too little if ever. Gibson put his own money on the line to make it. It's basically his Fitzacarraldo and shot on a scope the last Indiana Jones wishes it had.
Berzerker sounds so masculine it could get Stallone pregnant. Can't wait. If not Leo, then I'm sure Robert Downey Jr would jump at the chance. Hell, Tom Hardy was born to play a viking for Gibson. Filmgoers should remember that most artists are a little nuts and loose of lip. It's not something to ignore but it goes with the territory. They get drunk and scream dumb things at the rain and lightning in the sky. They're artists not politicians. Gibson will never be nominated for another Oscar. He's paid his due.