Mel Gibson--In Vino Veritas?

I don't think you suddenly become anti-Semitic when drinking.

I think it is his fundamentalist Catholic bent and his supposedly holy quest in making "Mashin' of the Christ" that shows him up as a hypocrite. Obviously, his religion isn't helping him as one doesn't get arrested for a DUI by chance on one outing of drinking. It's the law of averages that catches up with one after getting away with driving drunk many, many times. I guess his fundamentalist ideals have forsaken him -- forgive him father, for he knows not what he does.

He's never been an especially great actor, miscasting himself in "Braveheart." The best effort was "The Year of Living Dangerously" but look who was backing him up on the silver screen! There are more stilted, uninteresting performances in his movie output than engaging performances.

My thoughts concerning Mr Gibson have wavered over the past few years. I have practically no respect for him now.

He reminds me of the character played by ed begeley in "12 angry men" who went on a tirade about "those people," fighting, drinking and whatforth who didn't value life and had everyone turn their backs on him.

the man ought either to be shunned totally by Hollywood until he does a remake of the film Exodus extoling the courage of the men and women who birthed Israel.

not arguing gibson hypocracy...but your statement isn't true....that's like saying one only gets pregnant by the law of averages, and not on the first time.

A person can obviously get a DUI, even if he/she had never even gotten drunk before...maybe not LIKELY, but neither is getting preggers on the first shot.

again, not defending gibson, just an observation.

Better read the article before spouting off -- Gibson finally admits he is the throes of alcoholism. Youn can't seriously think he's avoided driving all this time. Alcohol impares one's judgement and more often than not, if a drunk person wants to get somewhere in a car, they get in the car and drive. The chances of one drunken incident and getting into a car and getting arrested are so remote that it is foolish to even think about it.
He's admitting he's a drunk. It is just that he's no been outed to the public by being arrested and nearly resisting arrest but that the hypocracy is deep rooted along with the denial.

Your pregnancy analog is obviously ridiculous.

I just wish they'd stop referring to him as an Australian actor. He was born in the US and lives there. You can have him.

I don't want him. He was strikingly handsome in "The Year of Living Dangerously," and that was a fine film. Sigourny Weaver and Linda Hunt just plain upstaged him even if he did deliver one of his best performances. His "Hamlet" was

His second best performance was type casted in "Lethal Weapon" but his character in particular deteriorated as the series of sequels began to hit the screens. Joe Pesci took up the slack as well as Danny Glover. In "Signs," he was confused and played the part so maudlin and moribund it was causing me to have indigestion.

I would not care if he was as good an actor as Laurence Olivier. To me he is a common, little man, whose true character was revealed when he was drunk. Let him slink back into the hole that he came out of.

not spouting off at all lightwizard, and you seem to have some misplaced anger for me...

as I said, this wasn't directed at gibsons acts or alcoholism...just stating a fact that a person does not have to be drinking and drinking drunk numerous times before getting a DUI....

This was more of a mini-hijack of this thread for a moment away from gibson, and toward the idea that it is entirely possible to get a DUI without ever having drunk before that occassion.

Of Course gibson has a history of alcoholism, and of Course he has driven under the influence before that.

I wasn't "spouting" off them, and I'm not "spouting" off now. Nor have I or am I presently calling you ridculous.

It's not the law of averages in this case, it's the law of probability. gibson aside, I was merely stating a fact.

Now....on with the show.....

I thoroughly recomend a film he was in called 'Tim'.Have tissues ready for the drool and tears.

I saw Mel in an interview around the time of his Passion film.He looked like he had totally lost the plot, like he was obsessed with Jesus and he felt responsible for his death etc, he looked very traumatised.
Not something Id associate with Mel Gibson, never before that film was i aware he was religious in any way.

It's now coming out that his anti-Semitic rant is worse than first reported.
One cop on The Today Show stated that often true feelings spew out when one is drunk. Yep.

There was no intended anti-Semitism in "The Crashin' of the Christ." Sure.

The geyser comes back with even a larger geyser.

Gibson was going 87 MPH on a curved beach road with a speed limit of 40-MPH. I've traveled that road -- worked on a extensive lighting installation at Neil Diamond's former residence at The Colony and that road is dangerous. He put his own life in danger and could have easily killed others. He's lucky. He's been let go before for reckless driving but there is strong evidence he was drinking and the police report was doctored. Could easily be a right-wing, religious cop on those roads?

Stop rationalizing and defending such behaviour. It's the end for Mel. Only rehab and AA will help. Our own President white-knuckles and one-steps his program of recovery with his wife as his higher power.

You took the words right out of my keyboard! That film also has a good historically correct (background) story.

Not a single person in the entire thread doing that, Light.

It not his drinking that's creating all the commotion but his anti-Semitic remarks. I'm curious to know what these same people who are condemning would say if Mel had used the word Muslim instead of Jew in his remarks.

Interesting comment, xingu.

The office was buzzing about this today. Agog would be an apt description. There was only one person conspicuously quiet about it--but everyone is entitled to her feelings. I think (from her glib statements, and then excuses) she's a bigot, but whatever... But, another girl and I admitted we'd defended Gibson against anti-Semitic accusations when the Passion was released. I thought the protests had been premature and unfounded. I was obviously wrong.

My Seriously Jewish boss comes out of her office, hearing the hoopla, and says-- "If I were so drunk I could barely stand, I'd never say Muslims were to blame for everything, because I don't believe that. Alcohol doesn't make you a bigot. Hate and ignorance do."

Truthfully, I would feel the same way about a person who grouped a bunch of people by race or religion and made some wide nasty comment, but I likely wouldn't say so much about it had they been Muslims he slurred. Only because I imagine enough other people would loudly make their views known.

I'll never patronize a Mel Gibson project again in my life. If Johnny Depp had a similar tirade against Muslims tomorrow, I may not react as vociferously--as long as others did--but I'd never spend another dime on his movies, and my mind would immediately change about him.

If (I believed) reactions against anti-Semitism here were equal in number and passion to anti-Muslim remarks, I'd probably react identically to both.

I feel the same way about racism against other groups, too, but some have a societal protection the others (IMO) don't have, so I feel almost duty-bound to speak out re some, and not so much others. I currently think Jews and gays are the most endangered groups on the planet.

I don't want to confuse anyone. I think the Koran sucks and is dangerous, but I wouldn't group the people in a slur. My answer, anyway.

That'll teach me to post on the run -- had to do a fast delivery of some lighting parts at a job site.

Sorry, I meant "People should stop rationalizing and defending such behavior," and it wasn't only the drinking and driving but also the anti-Semitism which he doesn't do well in concealing as well as his attack on the Catholic church for trying to modernize the religion. It's not Latin to him, since he mistakenly used the language in "The Lashin' of the Christ" when they actually spoke Greek during that time. It was confusing to take exception that someone can, by some bad luck, get a DUI when they aren't alcoholics and just slip up on some isolate incident, when it's obvious this wasn't the case with Gibson.

Actually, LW was correct in his assumption that Gibson had skated on previous occasions.

Stories coming outon MSNBC. At least two previous suspicion of DUI stops... I had thought he was right--but it was only a hunch. Now, a fact.

Oh for God's sake, not the "Muslim" word. What if Gibson had used the word Mormon instead of Jew in his remarks?

Would the world end?