Why does this man continue to find work?
Despite being a wildly racist jackass who once told his then-girlfriend that she looked like a “fucking pig in heat,” Mel Gibson’s quiet comeback continues apace. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gibson is reportedly in talks to direct a sequel to 2016's widely-panned Suicide Squad—a movie that somehow made $745 million, a figure that would essentially fast-track the sequel.
Gibson’s name isn’t the only one on the list, but the fact that he’s even being considered to direct a big-budget blockbuster like this is worrisome to say the least. As THR notes, Gibson has recently fallen out of favor with Hollywood, due to his racist, anti-Semitic rants and a drunk driving arrest. As a result, he fell out of favor for a while, because that’s what happens when your personal brand goes from freaking William Wallace to dirtbag.
It would seem that his relative silence in the past years is enough for Hollywood to accept him back in the fold. His new movie Hacksaw Ridge, about World War II conscientious objector Desmond Doss, is up for six Oscar nominations, including a Best Director nod for Gibson. Next up, he’s starring in a “gritty crime indie” about cops called Dragged Across Concrete(LOL OH GOD) with Vince Vaughn. He is apparently “fielding a slew of offers, both from studios and indies.” What else? What’s next? What other treats will Hollywood throw his way as a seeming reward for sitting down and being quiet for a while? Is everyone really this forgetful?
He called a cop “sugar tits” once. Who does that? Why would this be happening? How does this man find work with a measured ease that other, more deserving filmmakers do not enjoy?
DISCUSSION
Money. This is about money. He nursed one of Hollywood’s cash cows back to health (Robert Downey Jr) and probably spent a lot of his “quiet” time introducing powerful people to other powerful people.
This is the same industry where getting out of murder, domestic violence or DUI charges is seen as a status symbol so really who is surprised?