Brian Damage
08-11-2006, 08:24 PM
Rumors are now circling that Disney wants to wash its hands of Gibson's upcoming period adventure, slated for December 8th release.
By Dennis Michael, FilmStew.com
The Mel Gibson backlash may be spreading. A Fox news report claims Disney is shopping around Apocalypto, an adventure film set during the conquest and destruction of Central American civilizations by the Spanish Invaders in the 1500's. Fox's Roger Friedman suggests Lionsgate may be the buyer .
Many in Hollywood are attempting to put some distance between themselves and Gibson after his headline-making anti-Semitic tirade that followed a DUI in Malibu a couple weeks back. Both Disney and Lionsgate have denied the report, but Daily Variety suggests the deal rumor could have some validity.
Disney, more than any studio in Hollywood, has an image to maintain. Disney's ABC subsidiary has already put the brakes on a miniseries about the Holocaust to have been produced by Gibson's Icon Productions. At the same time, Lionsgate has shown itself to be willing to go out on a limb, evidenced by its upcoming release of The U.S. vs. John Lennon, and its pickups of heavily controversial films like Dogma and Fahrenheit 9/11. Insiders suggest that bailing on Apocalypto would be expensive for Disney, but distributing it could be expensive as well.
By Dennis Michael, FilmStew.com
The Mel Gibson backlash may be spreading. A Fox news report claims Disney is shopping around Apocalypto, an adventure film set during the conquest and destruction of Central American civilizations by the Spanish Invaders in the 1500's. Fox's Roger Friedman suggests Lionsgate may be the buyer .
Many in Hollywood are attempting to put some distance between themselves and Gibson after his headline-making anti-Semitic tirade that followed a DUI in Malibu a couple weeks back. Both Disney and Lionsgate have denied the report, but Daily Variety suggests the deal rumor could have some validity.
Disney, more than any studio in Hollywood, has an image to maintain. Disney's ABC subsidiary has already put the brakes on a miniseries about the Holocaust to have been produced by Gibson's Icon Productions. At the same time, Lionsgate has shown itself to be willing to go out on a limb, evidenced by its upcoming release of The U.S. vs. John Lennon, and its pickups of heavily controversial films like Dogma and Fahrenheit 9/11. Insiders suggest that bailing on Apocalypto would be expensive for Disney, but distributing it could be expensive as well.