I believe in redemption and that Mel Gibson is a uniquely talented filmmaker. What more is there to say?

DHD:

This subject matter is a decided departure for the filmmaker famous for directing The Passion of the Christ. But in a way the subject matter is in his wheelhouse: Maccabee is a close cousin to William Wallace, leader of the Scottish rebellion against the British in Braveheart, the film that brought Gibson two Oscars: for Best Picture and Best Director. Gibson last directed Apocalypto about the Mayan civilization and a tribesman who escapes human sacrifice and saves his family. While Gibson has experienced tremendous success as a producer and director, his recent star turn in front of the camera in The Beaver was a box office failure even though it received a rousing ovation at this past Cannes Film Festival.

This new deal also marks a major return to filmmaking for Joe Eszterhas, once Hollywood’s highest paid screenwriter for pics like Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge, and Flashdance. His credits also include two films that focused on Jewish themes: the 1987 Betrayed, which starred Debra Winger as an undercover FBI agent probing white supremacists, and 1989’s Music Box, which starred Jessica Lange whose Hungarian immigrant father is accused of engaging in atrocities during World War II. …  (more…)

After my first feature film Hometown Legend had been sold to Warner Brothers, I had some meetings with the WB marketing team in 2001. Near the end of their presentation, I said, “Now you know that this film has some faith elements in it, and my Dad (the executive producer) wrote the Left Behind books, so we could take advantage of his fan base and also promote the film to churches and youth groups.” After an awkward pause where I assume they were expecting me to explain myself, they had two questions: “What are the Left Behind books, and what are youth groups?” After another awkward pause where I expected them to say they were kidding, I replied, “The Left Behind books have sold over 30 million copies, and youth groups are where the young people in a church gather every weekend and/or Wednesday night for an hour or so.”

They adjusted their marketing plan.

This was before the Left Behind movies sold a few million DVD’s and The Passion of the Christ opened to over $100 million despite being set 2000 years ago in a dead language. Now every studio in Hollywood is looking for “faith-based” projects, especially because this year’s highest-grossing independent film was Fireproof, produced by a church for about $700,000 and which grossed over $30 million. Several studios even have faith-based divisions.

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