Gibson's career stained by controversy

Mel Gibson in <i>Edge of Darkness</i>. Photo / Supplied

In mid-January Mel Gibson was on the publicity trail in Los Angeles talking up what was supposed to be his comeback movie, Edge of Darkness, a crime drama that some thought could elevate him back to the top of Hollywood and wipe the memory of his infamous drunken, anti-Semitic 2006 Malibu rant.

The venue for Gibson's media interviews was Santa Monica's oceanside luxury hotel, Casa del Mar.

If Gibson's former Russian girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, is to believed, while the double Oscar winner was doing his best to resurrect his career while sitting down with the world's press, he was holding on to a secret.

A week earlier, on January 6, Grigorieva, 40, allegedly taped violent confrontations with Gibson in which he is accused of berating her for looking "like a Vegas whore", telling her she needs a "bat to the side of the head" and that he could put her in a "rose garden".

She also alleges Gibson knocked one tooth out and chipped another when he struck her in the face.

During the arguments, Gibson also allegedly dropped highly-offensive words to describe African Americans and Latinos.

Instead of immediately reporting the alleged assault to police and handing over the tapes, Grigorieva declined to go public at a time when Gibson was working on his big career comeback.

Edge of Darkness' New Zealand director Martin Campbell was wowed by Gibson's performance in the film and heaped praise on his star during interviews.

"Mel is back doing what he does best," Campbell, who directed the James Bond blockbusters Goldeneye and Casino Royale, told AAP before Edge of Darkness opened in theatres in Australia and the US.

"He is a superstar and I think this is some of his finest work."

The events of the past week seriously challenge all that praise.

Gossip website RadarOnline has released daily snippets of Gibson's alleged violent rants.

Some say the tapes, if proved authentic and if an investigation by LA Sheriffs leads to charges against the actor, will end any hope Gibson had of becoming a "superstar" again.

Others say the final nail in Gibson's career coffin was when Edge of Darkness tanked at the box office.

Edge of Darkness marked the first time in seven years Gibson had starred on the big screen.

It was viewed as a major test of the 54-year-old US-born, Australian-raised actor's star appeal in the aftermath of his drink-driving arrest and anti-Semitic rant toward an LA County sheriff at Malibu four years ago.

Gibson, once dubbed "The Sexiest Man Alive" and ranked highly on Hollywood's power lists, suffered a public image battering after the 2006 arrest, but he entered rehab, agreed to some carefully selected interviews and appeared to be on the right track.

A year ago, however, his private life became front page news again when his wife of 29 years, Robyn Moore, divorced him and Gibson admitted new girlfriend Grigorieva was pregnant with his child.

In Edge of Darkness, Gibson plays a Boston cop avenging his daughter's murder and at test screenings before the release, the feedback was positive.

Campbell said: "It was amazing the amount of people who said how fantastic it was to have Mel back on the big screen."

However, after the press junkets, global advertising campaign and other hype, the film opened lukewarm at the box office.

It achieved a mediocre $US17 million opening weekend in the all-important North America market and only went on to make $US80.8 million worldwide.

It cost $80 million to make, so with marketing costs thrown in, Gibson's comeback movie was a bust.

It was the lowest North American opening for a film starring Gibson since 1995`s Braveheart took $US9.9 million, but back then ticket prices were 42 per cent lower and there were far fewer cinemas.

Ticket sales analysis showed Gibson was no longer a draw for the key young male demographic, with 90 per cent of the audience for Edge of Darkness aged over 21.

Adding to Gibson's career woes, last week his Hollywood talent agency, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, announced it had dropped him as a client, a major embarrassment for the actor-filmmaker whose 2004 film, The Passion of the Christ, became one of the most profitable movies of all-time by earning $US611 million globally, but cost just $US30 million to make.

In another blow, The Beaver, a Jodie Foster-directed film Gibson shot last year in which he plays a disturbed man who walks around with a beaver puppet on his hand, may never get released.

The Beaver was tipped to debut at the Toronto or Venice film festivals, but Hollywood distributor Summit Entertainment is now mulling its options.

US civil rights campaigner Reverend Jesse Jackson declared Gibson's "penchants for anti-Semitic and racist diatribes reveal the actor's fundamental character flaw" while other religious and community leaders called on the public to boycott Gibson's films.

"There are three things that can be done about Gibson," Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Institute, wrote on the Huffington Post blog.

"One is to ignore him. The second is to rant against him. Neither means much.

"The third is to take action. That means only one thing. Just say no to Gibson. Hit him where it hurts, his wallet, full press boycott of his films, DVDs and promotional materials."

However, others believe Gibson will emerge from the latest controversy, just as Alec Baldwin was forgiven for blasting his daughter during a taped phone call a few years back and has since won multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Awards and was asked to co-host this year's Oscars.

US marketing and branding expert John Tantillo said Gibson's brand is too strong.

"Like Baldwin, Gibson will be fine as long as he remembers his target market, the people who like him and are entertained by his creative work," Tantillo, president of the Marketing Department of America, said.

"If Gibson were a personal brand that relied on endorsements and sponsorship, like a sports brand, he might be having some serious trouble now. But he's not."

While Gibson survived the media spotlight during his many interviews for Edge of Darkness back in mid-January, perhaps the biggest insight that he was again fighting his demons came in an interview he did with the Los Angeles Times.

Gibson cut short the interview with the Times.

"I just can't do this. You've got me at a disadvantage," the LA Times reported Gibson as saying.

"I'm coming rapidly to the conclusion that right now, today, my brain cannot function. Honestly? I'm six days off the cigarette. You're looking at someone who's having a pretty bad withdrawal from a 45-year habit.

"I'm not running away from it. I want to give you a fair trot. I like where you're coming from with these questions. I just feel ill-equipped to answer."

- AAP