"The Mel problem," is what Jodie Foster calls it, as she currently goes out on the road to sell The Beaver, the movie she directed starring Mel Gibson. His personal Mel-o-drama is even more bizarre than the fictional movie, a comedy-drama about a deeply depressed man who communicates through a hand puppet in a Cockney accent.
The "Mel problem" is, in some respects, illustrative of a certain kind of movie - the come-back-from-a-scandal movie, designed to rehabilitate a tarnished star's career. Though movies are fiction, and Gibson is a trained actor, the star system is about the commoditization of an aspect of an actor's personality. Gibson's popular persona ( Mad Max, Lethal Weapon) is variations on a guy so independent-minded he's on the edge of mental illness.
The Beaver was actually intended as stage two in Mel's comeback after his 2006 drunk-driving arrest, when he went on an anti-Semitic rant and made sexist comments to a policewoman. Stage one was last year's Edge of Darkness, a sop to his action-film base, in which he played a deeply suffering detective dad seeking the truth about his murdered daughter. The movie, which earned $81-million (U.S.) worldwide box office against a $80-million budget, plus marketing - was neither a success nor an outright rejection of Gibson. The Beaver, at a mere $20-million, was a safer bet. In 2008, the script for The Beaver was at the top of the Black List, the annual ranking of the most promising unproduced screenplays. Jim Carrey and Steve Carell were linked to the role, which gives you some idea of its sad-faced clown appeal.
Then came the phone tapes, recorded by Gibson's girlfriend, the songwriter Oksana Grigorieva, creating a fresh and deeper public relations disaster: Domestic violence, death threats, the N-Word and anti-Hispanic slurs. The William Morris Agency dropped him; his planned cameo in The Hangover Part II was dropped, too. Rumours were that The Beaver, then in post-production, would never open. The release date was pushed back from December to March and then to May.
So how do you sell such a movie? Foster is going out on the road for it, with Mel being kept in the background and limited to select interviews, most notably a softball profile that appeared on the website Deadline Hollywood. You have to sympathize with Foster, who is famous for shunning controversy - about her sexuality, or even speaking out for gun control after her stalker shot the U.S. PresidentRonald Reagan. With Gibson, she's gone out on a limb, calling him "truly the most loved man in the film business" even as she acknowledges the public may feel differently: "I'm not sure if I even want him to do any publicity."
Whether it's strategy, or just good intuition, there's a pattern here. If you need to rehabilitate a misbehaving actor's reputation, get a strong, sympathetic woman to do the job. A few cases in point: With Extreme Measures, Hugh Grant's comeback film after he was arrested with a prostitute, his partner Elizabeth Hurley (a producer on the film) took the heat while Grant ducked the press. Robert Downey Jr., (whose comeback after drug convictions was aided by Gibson paying his insurance bond), embraced the guidance of his producer and new wife Susan Downey. When Alec Baldwin faced career ruin after calling his 11-year-old daughter a "rude little pig" on the telephone, he was redeemed by the support of 30 Rock creator Tina Fey. Most recently, Oprah Winfrey has bestowed her magic on Rob Lowe, who, at 47, is still living down making a sex tape with a 16-year-old girl when he was 22. In his new memoir, he says none of his friends at the time called him except for Jodie Foster.
Mel Gibson may not live long enough for the public to forget his sins, but a seed has been planted that he might be redeemable: At least he has one good woman in his corner.
OPENING NEXT WEEK
Beat the WorldA dance crew from Windsor, Ont., mixes parkour and hip hop to compete at the Beat the World competition in Detroit, in a dance movie directed by Canadian director Robert Adetuyi.
Last NightMichael (Sam Worthington) is a married man who finds himself tempted by a colleague (Eva Mendes) while his wife (Keira Knightley) meets an old lover (Guillaume Canet) in this Manhattan-set erotic drama from first-time director, Massy Tadjedin
BridesmaidsIs this the female version of The Hangover? Judd Apatow produces and Saturday Night Live's Kristen Wiig gets her first starring role as a woman picked to be the bridesmaid for her best friend (Maya Rudolph), which involves a trip to Las Vegas.
Meek's Cut-offCelebrated American indie director Kelly Reinhardt Reichardt ( Wendy and Lucy, Old Joy) delves into historical drama in this tale of starving pioneers on the Oregon Trail, with Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano.
Meet Monica Velour Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall stars in this indie dramedy as a former porn star who is the chief obsession of a teenager (Dustin Ingram) who seeks her out to befriend her.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger TidesRob Marshall ( Chicago) directs Johnny Depp, Keith Richards, Geoffrey Rush and Penelope Cruz in this fourth entry into the blockbuster Disney series, in which Jack Sparrow (Depp) sets off on a quest to discover the Fountain of Youth.
PoticheFrench director François Ozon's off-beat farce stars Catherine Deneuve as a trophy wife who takes over her husband's umbrella factory when he is taken hostage by striking workers. Gérard Depardieu co-stars as a former lover and union leader.