Mel Gibson's pipeline is filled.
He's got movie ideas lined up and ready to go. And he knows not to mess with a format if it has already hit paydirt.
I know a few people in the business and while I can't mention their names, I can share with you what I saw when they snuck me into Mel Gibson's studio and got a look at some of the dailies that have already been shot for some of his upcoming movies.
Nativity
Gibson's take on the birth of Christ is astoundingly graphic, from the iridescent glow of the placenta to Joseph's agony at knowing he won't be able to cough up the taxes he'll have to pay on the myrrh to the sniping among the magi when they discover that nobody kept the receipts.
The Wedding at Cana
Gibson's cameras don't blink, and in the buildup to the first miracle ever performed by Christ we see every authentic detail of the wedding: The mother-in-law bossing around the caterers; the woozy groomsmen singing an Aramaic "Louie, Louie" after too much wine; and in the scene where Christ tells his mother, "Woman, my time has not yet come," Mary establishes herself as the Gypsy Rose Lee of the New Testament, ensuring that everything comes up roses, and new wine casks, for the wedding party.
Loaves and Fishes
Christ feeds the multitudes, but it is astounding just how many of that throng grew quickly bored with the miracle and haughty about the menu. "Yuck, fish!" cry many in the crowd -- not all of them children -- except for the mother of the apostle Paul, who founded a seafood distributorship that to this day bears her name.
The Prodigal Son
I saw some of Gibson's footage for the dramatization of this parable. Many of you probably have already heard how PETA has protested the graphic, slow motion photography of the slaughtering of the fatted calf. Gibson assured me that if this scene never makes it off the cutting room floor, he might just offer to direct a commercial for Longhorn Steakhouses.
Mel Brooks' Passion
On a related note, did you know that Mel Brooks is also working on a passion movie. In it, the Messiah can't enough of the lashings and Dom Deluise as Pilate insists on washing his hands of the whole affair just so he can smell the soap leaves.
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