Mel Gibson Talks His Viking Movie, MACCABEE, And Thinks Tom Hardy Is An Interesting Actor

Last year, Robert Downey Jr. asked the world to forgive his buddy, Mel Gibson. I don’t know if the world’s already done what RDJ kindly requested, I for one has always and will always see Gibson as a master filmmaker despite the horrible things he says when he’s drunk. Too bad that his next movie, GET THE GRINGO would hit DirecTV and VOD instead of theaters, but that’s not necessarily mean a bad thing, especially after the fact that The Bear didn’t do so hot at the box office, it’s gonna take some time for Gibson to come back strong, but he will.
Hero Complex’s Geoff Boucher got to chat with Gibson a recent MAD MAX special screening in Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre. Among other things, Gibson talked a bit about some of his previously planned project that didn’t take off..

A few years back, Mel Gibson was going to direct an untitled period drama set in the ancient, violent, Viking world, starring Leonardo DiCaprio with the great scribe William Monahan (The Departed, Edge Of Darkness) writing the script. .
DiCaprio has been a longtime fan of Vikings, he openly expressed his excitement over this project because he thought there hasn’t been a great and fair Viking portrayal.
For a full circle, it was going to be produced by Oscar winning producer Graham King. He worked with DiCaprio and Monahan for The Departed and he worked with Gibson and Monahan for Edge Of Darkness.
But alas, in summer 2010, Leo DiCaprio decided not to do the project anymore.
Gibson explained what kind of VIKING movie he had in mind, he’s now working on it with scribe Randall Wallace..

“Vikings, as you know, are very unsympathetic characters and these guys will be bad. I sort of hooked up again with Randall Wallace who did the script on Braveheart. Yeah, it’s pretty good. It’s called Berserker.”
“they did not have horns. No, I don’t think they had horns. They’re going to look real. They’re not going to be running around like the ’50s (referencing Richard Fleischer’s 1958 pic The Vikings starring Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis). I want to make something real and visceral.”
“Things begin and people wander off and do their thing and I do my thing. I just took my stuff and wrote it with Randall. Where it goes from here is anyone’s guess.”

Last September, a rather hilarious but true info hit the web.. it was reported that WB will house an untitled drama about Jewish warrior JUDAH MACCABEE. Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas will pen the script and it’s a potential directing vehicle for Gibson.
Maccabee led a revolt against the Greek-Syrian armies that conquered Judea in the 2nd century. His triumph gave birth to a certain Jewish celebration which you’re familiar with, it’s called Hannukah, the festival of lights, it commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the temple in Jerusalem in 165 BCE, after Judah Maccabee removed the pagan statuary. Mazel Tov!
Now,.. this was odd because even with the fact that Mel Gibson has previously made a film about the most famous Jew of them all (The Passion Of The Christ), you would think that after his 2006 anti semite drunk rant, he’d pick another project that’s not Jew-related.. but he just keeps coming back to this world.
Gibson explained what they’re aiming for with this project..

“I’m working with Joe Eszteras on that. That’s from the last two books of the Old Testament, which is like; [turns to audience] just read it some time. Maccabee 1 and 2. Just read it, it’s like a Western. It’s an amazing story. It’s heroic beyond belief. The entire might of the Seleucid Empire, which was Persia, their whole objective at the time was to wipe Judea off the map and they almost did it except for this little hold out that miraculously grew and wanted it all back again.”

Tom Hardy is set to play the new MAD MAX in the next installment, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD to be directed once again by George Miller. Gibson was the original Mad Max and he explained that he’s met with Hardy and he likes the bloke.

“I like that kid [George's] got, Tom Hardy. He’s a very interesting actor. He reminds me of one my sons a bit but I had lunch with him, he’s a firecracker. It’ll be good. He was already cast [at the time], he just wanted to check in. I don’t know, maybe it was like ‘Is it okay?’ I was like ‘Sure, it’s fine. Have a ball, knock yourself out. I got better things to do.’”

Check out the rest of the interview with Gibson OVER THERE