Image Credit: Pixplanete/PR PhotosTen years ago this week, audiences were flocking to theaters to see Mel Gibson star in the Revolutionary War epic The Patriot, driving the film to over $200 million in global box-office receipts. A few months later, he would star in his second big hit of 2000, the romantic comedy What Women Want. Today, with his already badly tarnished image further damaged by reports that he’s under investigation for domestic violence, the question is, are we approaching a point where a Mel Gibson movie could become something almost no one wants?
Even in Gibson’s prime, an allegation of domestic violence — and to be clear, this is just an allegation, albeit one that comes on the heels of other recent ugly accusations — would have constituted a severe blow to his career. But, as a box-office draw, Gibson is far from his prime. His last movie, the thriller Edge of Darkness — the first major film he’d starred in in eight years — grossed a disappointing $43 million. His next film, The Beaver, is a dark comedy in which he plays a sad-sack man who finds solace by talking to a beaver puppet — not the easiest sell, even under the best circumstances. But given how much bad PR he’s received over the past several years, you have to wonder whether audiences will be able to watch him on-screen and feel anything resembling genuine sympathy, even if the current tabloid firestorm around Gibson has died down by the time the film opens (presumably next year). If The Beaver flounders at the box office, Gibson’s career woes will be magnified all the more; Hollywood can forgive scandals, but it doesn’t forget flops. Gibson recently wrapped production on an action drama called How I Spent My Summer Vacation. We can only imagine how he will spend this summer. It clearly won’t be what you’d call a vacation.
What do you think? Can Gibson rehabilitate his image and salvage his career? Should he retire from acting and focus solely on directing? Or is he rapidly reaching the point of no return?
Read more:
Mel Gibson center of domestic violence investigation
Mel Gibson’s personal issues: Career hindrance or minor annoyance?
Can you forgive and forget Mel Gibson’s off-screen history?
“How much PR damage can one career take and still survive?”
…ask Charlie Sheen.
Bwahaha! No kidding. Also, Robert Downey Jr. came back from the brink to be uber-successful.
I don’t think Robert Downey Jr was accused of domestic violence and bigotry. BIG difference.
Please don’t equate Mel Gibson and Charlie Sheen to Robert Downey, Jr., who never hurt anyone but himself.
I agree, it is unfair to lump Downey in with a violent bigot like Gibson. As for the question in the article, there is nothing Gibson can do to rehabilitate himself in my eyes. He has too long a track record of bigotry, against Jews, gays, women, blacks, Latinos, and now a recording where he admits to punching a woman! Gibson is seriously disturbed and has never been a Christian despite what he may claim. Any apologies he might make would be meaningless.
Besides, Robert Downey Jr is the kind of man who has a charming personality and actually has a passion for acting. Mel Gibson should just focus on having supporting roles or do something cool like Tom Cruise did in Tropic Thunder.
Don’t forget that Mel Gibson is just a person. Have any of you ever done anything slightly violent? Don’t judge him just because he is a star and should be held more accountable because that’s untrue and just plain bullcrap. It is “we” the people of the United States that place celebrities on a pedestal and the first time they make a mistake we turn on them. So just shut your mouths and judge yourself you bunch of self-righteous dicks!
Not comparing directly, just naming a celebrity whose bad PR almost killed his career, but was able to come back from it. Jeez people, lighten up. I wasn’t saying Gibson and Downey were best friends.
And it should be noted that you’re all speaking about him the way you know him now… you wouldn’t be talking about his charming personality in the mid 90s.
Roman Polanski drugged and raped a little girl, and Hollywood is just fine with that. They even gave him an Oscar.
That is so true. The French government even write letters to appeal for clemency in his case. He was found guilty of raping a young girl and has been on the run ever since. It’s not ok just because he’s talented!
So what you’re saying is that if Mel moves to Europe and directs movies the general public never sees he might get an Oscar?
I think you’s have to wait for some time to pass, but yep.
The one difference is that Gibson is a bogot, where as Polanski attacks girls. Society in general seems ok with gender based attacks/assault…even when it comes to children, but firmly against those based on race regardless of age.
If gibson had kpet is violence and hatred aimed at women I don’t think he would be in the mess he is now.
Ask anyone who’s not Chris Brown! The guy never had bad story written about gets it worst than people on trial for murder, and worst than the ones who have a long history of bad behavior.
I had never heard of him before he assaulted Rhianna and then wanted us all to excuse his behaviour. He should go back to obscurity and rot.
He was a huge pop star before he hit Rihanna, But since you’re living under a rock maybe he can join you there.
I have to agree with Jen. If the choice was name a Chris Brown song or die…i’d be dead.
Or did he sing the song in the youtube video of that wedding procession?
EXACTLY!
Don’t worry about Mel, he will just self-finance his next flick, like he did with “Passion.” Matter of fact, he already is.
Mel Gibson, in what PR folks are calling a terrible decision, is going to produce, direct, star and self-finance Braveheart 2: The Jews and Blacks Storm Malibu.
Read this hilarious article about the movie.
VERY FUNNY.
http://www.dailygoat.com/?p=1396
I’m done with him. It’s a shame, because the man is a great actor and an amazing filmmaker. It’s sad to see how he has ruined his life.
Mel should probably be in jail for abuse. He’s a non-entity now.
I think it’s more a case of it being sad to see how he conducts his life – his boozing and bigotry were well known in certain circles well, well before they ever made headlines. He used to always be able to use “family man” and “devout religious guy” in his PR, but that horse has bolted.
yes! This stuff has been going on for DECADES. It was bound to ruin his career if he was unable to change it.
I gotta feeling Mel Gibson doesn’t give two sheets how his movies do at the box office… considering how much Jesus money he’s got stashed in a bank. And by bank, I mean wrapped in butcher paper and stored in a very large freezer. Because that’s how Mel Gibson would save his money.
lmao
I was just thinking he should make another Jesus film. Religious fanatics will flock to see that, unless of course reports surface about a male lover hidden away somewhere!
Wait 10 years, then come back in a Tarantino movie.
Well, if Gibson’s actions in his personal life don’t bother you, I think it’s fair to ask where your line of morality exists. The only way this man can save his career is through legitimate rehab and then being embraced by those he’s offended. I don’t believe he cares, though. Gibson’s got all the money he needs now. I question anyone who will work with him. Yes, that means, you, Jodi Foster.
Rehab won’t cure ingrained bigotry. The man is an unchristian fanatical Christian. Yes that’s an oxymoron and that makes him a hypocrite on top of all his other failings.
Why can’t they leave the poor man alone? Hasn’t he suffered enough? He’s a major star and has been for years, so he has the right to do and say anything he wants. And I, for one, am looking forward to his next movie, “Leave it to the Beaver”. I bet it’s going to be great!
sarcasm fail
You are being sarcastic, aren’t you? Or are you one of those delusional people who believe that celebrity comes with no responsibilities attached?
I think the guy is completely insane – but he makes damn good movies. I can separate the actor from the character, so I’ll continue to see his films if they look interesting.
I do not expect people to abandon Mel because he is an avowed and vicious anti-semite, throws around the n-word so naturally it is clearly a comfort zone for him, verbally abuses women, and drunkenly spouts racial slurs every couple of years…actually, I sort of do expect that.
Wagner was a great composer and perhaps listening to him now is justified by the greatness of his issue, but giving him money to spout his hatred would have made you complicit in his madness. Same goes for Mel. Though even when no longer can profit from your dollars, he’ll probably will his inheritance to the Klan so maybe you should wait until Gibson movies are in public domain to watch them…or never…I vote for never.
Not even “Lethal Weapon 5″ could save him now.
Yeah, not even an appearance on SNL could save him, either, or being cast in a John Waters movie, lol.
Like he could get through a John Waters shoot without punching someone in the face for being gay or black or otherwise “icky”, lol.
The problem with Mel Gibson is his (literally!) “Holier Than Thou” attitude… over the decades he has plyaed himself as this very religious man and has regularly attacked those who he feels don’t “measure up.” Now, for the last few years, with his anti-semitic, racist rants, his having an out-of-wedlock child with a girlfriend, and his alleged violence toward said girlfriend, this guy’s picture should be in the dictionary next to the word “hypocrite.” Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, indeed… for someone supposedly so devoted to the Bible, Mr. Gibson seems completely ignorant of this essential teaching!
I agree 100%. He is a bigoted, foul mouthed, arrogant, violent, heavy drinking,cheating hypocrit! I would never go see a movie of his again.
It’s funny how Mel and Tom Cruise, both HUGE ten years ago, are now both suffering greatly from weird choices and personal mistakes (and bad PR). You can come back from it, as others have pointed out above, but it’s tough to escape that change in perception. A sympathetic media can help, but in Mel’s case he’ll never get that.
I really can’t understand why people continue to link Cruise to Gibson. Cruise jumped up on a sofa and got into a debate about psychiatry. (He and Brooke Shields are now friend.) No drunken rants against Jews and Blacks. No slurs against gays. No alleged abuse.
I am no fan of Tom Cruise (in fact, the exact opposite), but I gotta agree with you on this one.
I concur.
The couch jumping thing in particular is a ridiculous thing to hold against Cruise. I’ll never understand why this one-time silly act by someone excited to be in love is considered by some to be this horrible, unforgivable offense, considering the atrocious, outright EVIL things that Mel Gibson & Charlie Sheen have repeatedly done.
Yes, but it is the idea that he was insane that spread and then he couldn’t bounce back from it. Mel isn’t crazy – he’s just a d!ck head.
I’m in agreement too. I don’t care for Tom Cruise or his cult-religion, but he genuinely approaches things positively. When he made nice w/Brook Shields and seemed genuine about it. You can kind of tell when it is fake for PR.
Plus there have been at least two times I can recall where he was in the news for being a hero bystander – aiding people in distress. And most importantly never has he been in the news for getting arrested or putting other people in danger w/drunk driving for physical violence to those weaker than him.
I think with Cruise it has more to do with the Scientology aspect. That “religion” has been exposed as the cult that it really is and how crazy the belief’s and rules are behind it. Tom Cruise now comes across as strange and possesed…brain-washed. It’s hard for people to admire someone they think is crazy.
“are we approaching a point where a Mel Gibson movie could become something almost no one wants?” Oh, we’re most certainly there. He’s offended women, Jews, African Americans, and Latinos. The only audience he has left are hate groups. I like Mel Gibson movies. I will never watch another one.
Hmmm I’d say Gibson’s career is done but Charlie Sheen is still going strong and Downey Jr is one of the biggest box office draws right now.
But Gibson…he hasn’t picked a good movie in a loooong time and let’s face it, those offers just aren’t going to come in anymore.
Stick a fork in him, he’s done
Charlie Sheen hasn’t tried to portray himeself as the paragon of virtue, and Downey Jr. has more than redeemed himself. He had a drug problem but is really a genuine nice guy unlike Gibson.
exactly, wakeforce.
Yeah, Downey Jr. seems like a less fitting comparison than, say, Tom Sizemore.
Lets ask Downey what he thinks of Mel Gibson – how when Downey came out of jail and couldnt get bonded to make a film it was Gibson who put up the bond – or that celebrity singer who was spiraling down until Gibson intervened & gave her his resort in Costa Rica to get her head straight – or the countless acts of charity he has done that only get filtered out second hand and third hand because Gibson doesnt talk about it. He may be a vulgar and troubled human being but there are a lot of people in Hollywood who got a much needed hand from him when they needed it – now lets see if they reciprocate
Mel Gibson’s organized hatred is way beyond anything Sheen and Downey’s drug fueled bad decisions can lay claim to. I doubt you could get them to admit they thought carrying guns through airports or drunkenly propositioning prostitutes was a GOOD IDEA!!! Mel believes he is of the superior race and Jews, Latins and Blacks are mud-people. He might be too savvy to say it in an interview, but he when whiskey speaks truth through him, he says so loud and clear. There is no comparison between them.
As to Polanski, I think the world has punished him PLENTY for his transgressions…not that he doesn’t get what he deserves, mind you. Mel just keeps getting paid.
I stopped watching his movies after his hateful tirade against Jewish people. The man is a fundamentalist pig – and an embarassment to all true Christians. Give the jerk a KKK robe and be done with him. He beats up women? Doesn’t shock me at all. He’s a bottom feeder.
Like you allie, I got rid of all my Gibson DVDs and stopped watching his movies after his anti-Semitic rant. After his latest rant, I think the best punishment for him would be for his career to tank and the only job he could get would be the graveyard shift clerk at a 7-11 in Compton!!!!!!!
Very sad. I too love Mel Gibson, and he is an extremely gifted director. But unfortunately,these recent events he will not be able to get away from,Hollywood is fickle, and these acts have ruined his career.
He may be a good director but he is a pathetic excuse for a human being and does not deserve any sympathy for the consequences of his own actions, he dug his own grave.
Charlie Sheen and Robert Downey Jr are not a racist bigots. I have had it Gibson – I will never, and I mean never watch another of his movies.
true. Although in the rankings of idiotic a-holes, Gibson is tops, Sheen isn’t exactly an angel and Downey never hit a woman – just got really stoned and woke up in the bedroom of a stranger. Let’s not forget Broderick who actually killed someone in a DUI – another sweetheart.
Well than add Laura Bush and Brandy to the list
then
Whoa, Allie, Matthew Broderick was NOT drunk when that accident happened. That’s a harsh accusation.
Neither was Brandy according to police.