Crazy theory regarding Crazy Mel Gibson

 

So I had a thought and (against my better judgment) I have decided to share it. Since my readership is so low there isn't much risk of increasing the population of people who already think I'm an idiot...

I was in Malibu yesterday, the town that Mel Gibson 'owns', so of course his antics have been on my mind. The fact is, Mel Gibson in a sober state could never utter an anti-Semitic comment and have any excuse for it. However, being slightly over the legal blood-alcohol level for driving (which probably wouldn't account for belligerent behavior) and considered 'drunk', Mel could intentionally sputter off some anti-semitic remarks (buried amidst some sexist and egotistical doozies) and then apologize for it later, saying it was the booze talking, not his true self.

The question is, why would somebody, especially of Mel Gibson's status, intentionally create a scenario in which to say such unseemly things?

Consider the following: Mr. Gibson has a big budget movie (Apocalypto), financed fully out of his own pocket, soon to hit theaters. Disney has invested in the U.S. distribution of the film, leaving Gibson with no stake in the performance of Apocalypto stateside. So it doesn't matter to him if he alienates an audience that, let's all be honest, was probably not going to flock to a film about the Mayan empire, filmed in an ancient Mayan dialect. Passion enthusiasm aside, the American/Christian fanbase normally avoids subtitles.

However, interestingly, Icon Productions, Mr. Gibson's company, holds all international distribution rights to Apocalypto. With worldwide anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment at its all-time high (at least during my lifetime), could the comments of a tipsy film director have been with purpose, and targeted at territories who might actually be impressed by, and rally to the support of a filmmaker who feels exactly the way that they do?

Is this just another Hollywood publicity stunt to engender a fanbase, albeit one that isn't typical by marketing exec standards? If the territories outside of the U.S. and Israel flock to the film, Icon (and therefore Gibson) will make a mint. He doesn't need the Christian fanbase that hit Passion out of the ballpark; it's Disney that needs them (hey, wasn't Walt a famous Jew-hater too?). This incident has grabbed the public's attention faster and more ardently than any of the fascinating couch-jumping or coke-snorting celebrities mishaps of the last year.

Just how rapid the news of Mr. Gibson's tirade spread over the internet -- from Nikki Finke to TMZ.com to Defamer and then to the traditional print media like the LA Times and venerable NY Times -- is astonishing to me. Within 12 hours of the arrest, I had an email forwarded to me by my 66 year old mom, who had received the TMZ link from my 70 year old aunt, about the 'incident'. Viral marketing has infected not just the youth, but the AARP too.

I can see what's coming next very clearly. Al Jazeera will soon be airing a tape of Osama bin Laden, not just urging the faithful to continue jihad, but giving two thumbs up (and one severed American head on a pike) to Apocalpto. The Joel Siegel of Islam, he'll exclaim "I loved this movie" and suggest that if anybody feels like taking a break from terrorist training camp, they should go see the film.