Word spread quickly that former leading man and matinee idol Mel Gibson, a man who’s personal reputation has fallen on hard times in recent years, has been slated to be a guest presenter at this weekend’s Golden Globe Awards. The 59 year actor/ director/ former “Sexiest Man Alive” has been a pariah in Hollywood since his unfortunate DUI back in 2006.
His very public embarrassment revealed that he ranted at a Jewish Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy with inflammatory ethnic slurs while in his drunken stupor, an offense that humiliated him in the industry and gossip columns. The incident even led to his eventual divorce from his estranged wife, who deemed the alcohol binger the last straw in their fragile marriage.
Since the episode that transpired nearly a decade ago, the Braveheart heartthrob has struggled to find his footing at the box office, not for lack of talent but rather a lack of opportunity from studio executives and producers that feel he’s untouchable. Just last year, Gibson’s good pal, Robert Downey Jr. openly asked the media why Mel has not yet been forgiven for the anti-Semitic words that Jack Daniels summoned from him that fateful night in Malibu.
But it appears time is beginning to heal some old wounds, and if there’s anything Hollywood loves more than a scandalous celebrity meltdown, it’s a heartfelt comeback story.
Not only is the Oscar winner poised to be among his industry peers in broad daylight this weekend, but he’s climbed back into the director’s chair for the first time since ‘Apocalypto’, which premiered mere weeks after his public humiliation back in 2006.
Gibson’s new film, presently wrapping up shooting in Australia, is a harrowing World War 2 drama about a conscientious objector who became a legendary Army Medic at Okinawa. Teaming up with his ‘Bravheart’ scribe Randall Wallace, Gibson’s gotten the band back together for a possible comeback project. ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ seems like a vintage Mel movie…meaning intense drama and violence galore, the stuff audiences used to flock to see the ‘Mad Max’ star make.
One thing is for certain, we’re all curious to see how Hollywood reacts to the one time A-lister when he graces them all with his presence on Sunday night. Will it be a very public kiss and make up session or a frigid cold shoulder?
Is it time for Tinseltown to forgive this one time lethal box office weapon?
