No Go To Mel

Mel Gibson, star of such films as Mad Max, Gallipoli, Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ, and I Hate the Jews is now off his newest project:  The Maccabees.

Warner Bros. has put on hold a controversial Mel Gibson movie project about the Jewish Maccabee revolt in the 2nd Century BC after reading the script by writer Joe Eszterhas, TheWrap has learned.

"We are analyzing what to do with the project," a spokesman for the studio told TheWrap.

Jewish groups were outraged after news broke in September that Gibson had reached a production deal with Warner's to direct the story of Judah Maccabee, whose victory over Greek and Syrian armies is celebrated at Hanukka. One Jewish group called it a moral lapse in judgement.

Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said he was pleased that the project had been shelved.

"Jewish history will be better off without Mel Gibson playing Judah Maccabee," Hier told TheWrap.

Eszterhas delivered the script in late February, and Warner's has since passed on it, according to an individual close to the project. Warner production president Greg Silverman described it as lacking in feeling and a sense of triumph," according to the individual.

As another individual put it: "The script didn't pass muster."

But in an explosive letter to Gibson obtained by TheWrap, Eszterhas said that the director never planned to make the movie, and was using him to deflect Gibson's anti-Semitic reputation.

He wrote: "I've come to the conclusion that the reason you won't make The Maccabees is the ugliest possible one. You hate Jews."

Gibson responded in a letter to Eszterhas explaining that he was unhappy with the quality of the script. "Both Warner Brothers and I were extraordinarily disappointed with the draft. In 25 years of script development I have never seen a more substandard first draft or a more significant waste of time. The decision not to proceed with you was based on the quality of your script, not on any other factor."

Gibson also apologized for using "colorful" language, but said that much of Eszterhas's observations were "utter fabrications."

Eszterhas declined to comment.

Warner's has a long history of collaborating with Gibson, but the star was upset after the studio rescinded his cameo in The Hangover Part II when the crew protested his involvement

The project involved one of Gibson's favored themes -- an underdog army fighting for freedom. In 165 B.C., Jewish leader Maccabee led his brothers in revolt against the Seleucid Empire, ruled by Antiochus Epiphanes who had forbidden Jewish practices.

Noting his checkered history of making anti-Semitic remarks and his controversial depiction of Jews in his 2003 film The Passion of the Christ, Jewish leaders said the choice of Gibson to direct a film about a prominent figure in their religion was insensitive.

"Casting him as a director or perhaps as the star of 'Judah Maccabee' is like casting Madoff to be the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission," Hier said in a statement after the project was announced.

The Anti-Defamation League asked Warner's to reconsider the choice of Gibson. In a statement, the group said: "Not only has Mel Gibson shown outward antagonism toward Jews and Judaism in his public statements and actions, but his previous attempt to bring biblical history to life on the screen was marred by anti-Semitism.

The American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants labeled the choice of Gibson a moral lapse of judgement.

"Given our brutal experience, we are pained that Warner's has abandoned principle and taken this unworthy path," the group said at the time.

Gibson was detained by police in Malibu for drunken driving in 2006 and found himself embroiled in a public relations fiasco when reports surfaced that he had launched into expletive-laden anti-Semitic remarks while in custody.

It was left to Eszterhas to offer a modest defense of Gibson in a New York Times interview in February. The screenwriter noted that he had an anger problem but said he understood how to make a movie of the story of Maccabee on a Braveheart-like scale.

"We both saw it as Mel, maybe from his heart, wanting to do a terrific 'Braveheart'-like movie about Jewish history," said Eszterhas, who said he was comfortable working with Gibson despite his problem.

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Having Mel Gibson playing Judah Maccabee (One of the greatest heroes in Judaism.) would be like having Louis Farrakhan play Moshe Dayan.

Mel Gibson Is Playing Who?

There are just some parts, no matter how good, no matter how historical, no matter how good the actor is, that certain actors must NEVER be allowed to portray.  One of these is Judah Maccabee and the actor is Mel Gibson.

Mel Gibson, the actor and director whose comments about Jews have drawn charges of anti-Semitism, is working on a movie about the life of Judah Maccabee, the Israelite warrior whose victory over the Greek and Syrian forces is celebrated during Hanukkah, according to The Los Angeles Times and Deadline Hollywood.

The news on Friday morning that Mr. Gibson had closed a producing deal with Warner Brothers and had enlisted Joe Eszterhas to write a script immediately drew fire from Jewish leaders.

“We would have hoped Warner Brothers could have found someone better than Mel Gibson to direct or perhaps even star in a film on the life of the Jewish historical icon Judah Maccabee,” Abraham H. Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement. “As a hero of the Jewish people and a universal hero in the struggle for religious liberty, Judah Maccabee deserves better. It would be a travesty to have the story of the Maccabees told by one who has no respect and sensitivity for other people’s religious views.”

Mr. Gibson has yet to decide whether he will direct the film or play a part in it. An outspoken conservative Christian, the former action star has been a controversial figure in Hollywood since he wrote, produced and directed “The Passion of the Christ” in 2004, a gory depiction of the crucifixion that is one of the highest grossing films of all times. Some critics objected to what they saw as the negative portrayal of Jews in the film.

He should not be allow any where near Judah Maccabee or any other JEWISH hero.  His anti-Semitism is well documented.

Gibson’s career reads like a Shakespearian Tragedy. After becoming arguably the biggest star in Hollywood he began displaying his hubris, spewing hatred against different ethnic groups, much of it against the Jews (or as he has called them “oven dodgers”). Gibson’s hatred nearly destroyed his career turning him into at best a b-player. But announced last week, Gibson successfully wrangled funding for a big Hollywood project withy Warner Brothers. He will be producing and possibly directing and starring in a movie based on Jewish history, the story of Judah Maccabee.

This is not the first time Gibson has tackled Jewish History, just the first time he’s attempted it in film. In 2004, Gibson was interviewed by Peggy Noonan for Readers Digest. Noonan asked Gibson if he believed the Holocaust happened. He answered by questioning the number of Jews slaughtered by the Nazi’s and seemed to downplay the Holocaust as a Jewish experience.

“I mean when the war was over they said it was 12 million. Then it was six. Now it’s four. I mean it’s that kind of numbers game. I mean war is horrible. The Second World War killed tens of millions of people. Some of them were Jews in concentration camps. Many people lost their lives. In the Ukraine, several million people starved to death between 1932 and 1933. During the last century 20 million people died in the Soviet Union. Okay? It’s horrible.”

These are just a few of many anti-Jewish acts made by Gibson, the most famous of which occurred during a drunk driving arrest in 2006 when he kept screaming “f***ing Jews” and later stated that “the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world”

So should Gibson’s Antisemitism prevent him from making a movie about the Maccabees? Well that’s kind of a hypothetical question because it was Gibson who brought the picture to Warner Brothers. It won’t be made without him. But is it the right thing for Warners to do, and once it is made should Jews consider seeing the movie?

Rabbi Marvin Heir, founder and dean of Los Angeles’s Simon Wiesenthal Center Museum of Tolerance, voiced his displeasure in statements to The Hollywood Reporter and predicted that Jews should stay home.

“Warner Bros. is making a terrible mistake,” Hier says, adding, “most of the people that are going to come to a film about Judah Maccabee are the Jewish community. Surely they know the Jewish communities are not going to come to this film.”

I am not as sure as Rabbi Hier. As a people, Jews are quick to forgive. Israel considers Palestinian Authority President Abbas a moderate despite the fact that he was one of the people responsible for the Sbarro bombing, American Jews still support Barack Obama despite his anti-Israel policies. In the end, the good Rabbi is likely to be disappointed to learn how many Jews see the movie.

More than his anti-Semitic history, I am not sure that Gibson has the background to appreciate the real story of the Maccabees. Gibson is a passionate member of the Catholic Traditionalist movement, a minority Catholic sect that rejects the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in 1964-65 — in particular the abolition of the Latin Mass. Part of the traditional Latin Mass that Gibson so fiercely believes in is about the conversion of the Jews. The prayer reads: “Let us pray also for the Jews, that the Lord our God may take the veil from their hearts and that they also may acknowledge our Lord Jesus Christ.” It also refers to their “blindness” and prays for them to be “delivered from their darkness.”

This is a direct conflict with the story of the Maccabees who fought against conversion. Only part of the Hanukah story was the Maccabees fight for getting the Greeks out of Israel, and the cleansing and dedication of the Temple. The Maccabees fought a civil war against other Jews. Judah and the boys were fighting Jews who had turned away from their faith by combining it with Greek/Hellenistic practices (or in some cases abandoning the Jewish faith totally). The resulting assimilation caused a loss of Jewish faith and tradition, and finally laws against practicing Jewish ritual.

Sadly, in many way’s this story about a war against assimilation of the Jewish people has become the most assimilated of Jewish holidays. Too many treat this holiday as a “Jewish Christmas,” the exact opposite of what the Maccabee story is all about.

The reason I don’t believe Gibson is qualified to produce, direct and possibly star in a movie about Judah Maccabee is not his love or hatred for the Jewish people, but the fact that his view of the Catholic faith argues Jews should be cured so they can accept Christ — and that is the exact opposite of the Maccabee story.

Mel Gibson is entitled to his religious belief, that’s not the issue. The real question is: based on his religious beliefs could Mel Gibson do the story of the Maccabees justice? Personally, I do not see how a man who prays that Jews convert can do a movie about a civil war waged to prevent Jews from losing their faith.

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To allow Mel Gibson to portray or film the story of Judah Maccabee would be like allowing Al Sharpton to portray David Ben-Gurion.  Neither one would be a good idea.