So, Mel? Can We Expect An English-Language Picture From You Ever Again?

Not since he took on a murderous gang of thugs in the post-apocalyptic Australian desert, or perhaps when he began to understand what women are actually talking about, (or maybe when did a picture about you-know-who getting the you-know-what beat out of him) has Mel Gibson courted such a variety of reactions to a movie project. As reported by our no. 16 top link today, the Outrageous Aussie has got a flick going that the whole family can enjoy: Set 600 years ago in Central America, it features unknown Mexican actors speaking in the obscure Mayan dialect of Yucateco, and will be an epic action-adventure story. It occured to us that this might be worthy of a quip, or perhaps even one of our trademark japes, but then we realized its brilliance: how easy must it be to write a script in a language nobody understands? You just write the subtitles and we foolish English-speakers take for granted the characters aren't saying in each line, "Isn't Mel Gibson a genius?" "Yes, this is the greatest movie ever made." Bloggers are wary, however. "Yeah, that sounds much more fun than Jesus getting the Holy crap beaten out of Him," this one wrote. And as for Gibson's new Al Gore\Saddam Hussein-style beard, this blogger makes some photographic comparisons. We think you'll agree it's devastating. No wonder he doesn't want to be in it.

Posted by Philip Ewing at October 31, 2005 10:36 AM

Category: Moving Pictures