APOCALYPTO --- Mel Gibson's Latest (1 Viewer)

[george kaplan]

And far less of the public gives a crap about Song of the South. Why the hell doesn't Disney know that?!?!?

 

[Michael Reuben]

This thread is about Apocalypto. Please take the Song of the South discussion elsewhere (preferably offline). Thanks.

M.

 

[Paul Case]

Personally, I'm getting tired of the way the press seems more and more incapable of separating the artist from the art. Apocalypto is a film that I am eagerly anticipating, despite my dislike of Mel Gibson's recent drunken behavior. Mel Gibson is, in my opinion, a great filmmaker with a clear vision that makes itself felt on screen. Mel Gibson's personal behavior has nothing to do with that. I guess I'm getting a little tired of the way that the press is so eager to rip everyone down. It's disheartening and I hope that Apocalypto is a wild success in spite of Gibson's current negative publicity. Even more than that, I hope that the film is judged based on its merits/flaws and not those of its director.

 

[Pete-D]

Well M:I 3 I think definitely took a hit because of all the Tom Cruise stuff ... the Mel Gibson thing is not really a "media creation".

No one put a gun to the guy's head and told him to go driving drunk and then launch into a tirade afterwards. The press is not ripping Gibson down, he did a pretty good job of doing that himself.

That said, I'm still somewhat curious to see the film, but lets face it, Apocalypto was never going to be a mainstream blockbuster type of film.

 

[Nathan V]

I live in Hollywood, and it's very clear that a significant portion of the establishment here does not like Gibson. They don't like him because he isn't "one of them," because he's ridiculously successful, with or without their help, and on top of that, because of his noticeable artistic talent. The drunk driving incident is an opportunity for the establishment to "get back at him," as it were. The entire situation reeks of bad behavior on the part of all parties involved. I wondered aloud in the oscar 2006 thread if it might not be a good idea to bump this a year (although I'd personally like to see the film right now!).

Regards,
Nathan

 

[Dan Hitchman]

I just hope Mel seeks and gets real help for his alcoholism and his bigotry. The film is secondary. The man's in trouble and headed for a free fall.

Dan

 

[Matt Stone]

I'm sure the same thing was said about The Passion.

BTW, I was never really excited about the film, but I think Gibson's a good filmmaker...so I'll probably see it. I've never particularly liked the guy outside of his films, but I did gain a decent amount of respect for him presenting his vision with The Passion. I have no problem separating the art from the artist.

 

[MikeRS]

New trailer is pretty impressive.


http://movies.apple.com/movies/touch...tlr1_h480p.mov

 

[Paul Case]

Love the new trailer. I'm betting that Gibson did a great job with this one. I'm looking forward to the chance to find out!

 

[Dave Miller]

I'm intrigued!

Peace,

DM

 

[Ricardo C]

I don't know which is my favorite trailer of the year: this one, or The Fountain's.

It looks absolutely spectacular.

 

[Adam_S]

agreed, too bad it has no shots at awards because mel went a bit mad a while back.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I thought I posted earlier than I wanted to see this--must have been in a POTC thread--but I don't after seeing the trailers. Not my bag at all. Don't care about Mel's behaviour, though.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I'm still very excited for it. This looks astounding, so it has my money.

Hpe it delivers,
Chuck

 

[Tim Glover]

Looks cool. One of my most anticipated films this year.

 

[Nathan V]

WOW. Definitely gives a much clearer picture of what this movie is. To see that trailer is to see a dream come true- a piece by a major artist working with no constraints, creating exactly what he wants to create (within the limits of reason, of course). To say the visuals are incredibly striking is to say the Borat trailer is kind of funny. This catapults the action-adventure genre into a entirely new stratosphere. It's about time the genre had a makeover. People supposedly "in the know" here in Hollywood tell me the jungle chase scene represents a significant milestone in action setpieces, particularly with regard to aesthetics. And of course, as far as content, there aren't that many Mayan-language movies, or movies about Mayans, or movies about ritual sacrifice, or American productions without American lead characters (Dances, Samurai). Looks like Mel has put together something pretty special here (as I'm sure you can clearly tell, I'm a fan of the man's work, regardless of his talents in other areas). I continue to believe that Pure Cinema is one of cinema's great potential futures, and this looks to be an even more potent example of 'PC' than POTC or maybe even the Malick movies.

Holiday movie season, here I come,
Nathan

 

[JediFonger]

we still dunno what the plot if about =). we shall see.

 

[Lars_J]

Wow, it looks amazing!

 

[Nathan V]

I just got done listening to this terrific (and hilarious) 30 minute Q&A session following an AICN screening (http://www.aintitcool.com/node/30187 )- Gibson always screens his new stuff at the Butt-numb-a-thon, or whatever Harry calls it. Anyways, what shocked me was how normal, funny, perceptive, laid-back, and down to earth he still is. The Howard Hughes analogy simply doesn't work. He hasn't turned into a loon- he's the same sensible, wisecracking guy he always was. In light of all the press, from the beginning of The Passion until now, it's extremely easy to forget his real character, which is on full display here. A great listen- informative, fascinating, and quite funny (there is 1 spoiler, however, about 15-20 minutes in).

Regards,
Nathan

Off topic, but I wanted to briefly note that I had no idea he was not politically conservative, although by looking at the content of this film and Braveheart, I guess it is self-evident. There goes all the Gibson vs. M. Moore schtick from '04. (I hope this observation is in line with forum rules. I will not discuss this angle further)

 

[KieranO'C]

Really looking forward to this too. Is it just me or am I looking forward to more films recently than I used to in the past? I hope the trend continues!