SkimIt
This week's celeb feuds have taken a turn for the disturbing -- especially with the return of one well-known hot-head (read: psycho).
The battle between screenwriters Joe Eszterhas and Mel Gibson for the upcoming Maccabees -- a film chronicling the 2nd-century Jewish battle against the Seleucid Empire -- took a dark turn on Wednesday, when Eszterhas' son Nick, 15, released tapes of Gibson at his family's home in Costa Rica going on yet another of his "colorful" rants. Some quotes include, "I go to work, you're getting paid, I'm not! Sh__! I am earning money for a filthy little c_______er who takes advantage of me! Just like every mother_____r! So hurry the f__k up!" Also recorded by Nick, who reportedly slept with a knife under his pillow for protection against the actor, is Gibson knocking over a large totem pole. Huh.
This kerfuffle may not appear to bode well for Gibson. But perhaps we've forgotten Mel's magical ability to be forgiven for every rage-filled, disturbing, racial or anti-semitic attack he goes on. Stars like Mickey Rourke and Jodi Foster have routinely rushed to defend Gibson, and no doubt he'll get support this time. If Eszterhas is correct in saying that "he's trying to organize a PR offensive questioning [his] truthfulness," then we can expect, at best, a well-acted apology, and at worst, claims of media conspiracy. Plans for this film, addressing one of the most revered moments in Jewish history, rubbed the Jewish community the wrong way from the get-go after Gibson's anti-Semitic rant to two police officers in 2006, during which he claimed that "the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world."
This one goes to Nick, the 15-year-old with the wherewithal to take on a Hollywood powerhouse -- but we might sleep with a knife under our pillow, too!
Mel Gibson and Joe Eszterhas (AP)
