OK then, here's the Mel Gibson story:I was living in London, and it was the year before Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ came out. There was some doubt as to whether Gibson would be able to get backers to help with the distribution of the film. He came to London to meet with Catholics involved in film and media as well as some potential financial backers to show us a rough cut of the movie.
Since I was writing film reviews at the time for Catholic papers I got an invitation. We saw the film in a little cinema in Soho in London, and afterward Mel Gibson appeared on stage to ask for our opinion and for any comments and suggestions.
I said that I liked the way he referenced famous Catholic art with his composition of shots and directorial style, and was this intentional. He admitted that it was, and I then said I would have liked to have seen a reference to the famous Salvador Dali crucifixion based on a vision of St John of the Cross in which we see the crucified Lord from the viewpoint of heaven.
Steve--a friend of mine piped up, "I would have liked to have seen some sign of God the Father's grief at the death of his son." Mel took all this on board. We packed up and some of us went off to dinner at a well to do Catholic's home. On the terrace I had the chance to talk personally with Mel Gibson about his Catholic faith and his commitment to the Church.
About a year later, after the film was released, Steve called me and said, "Dwight, have you seen Mel's movie?"
"Not yet," I replied.
"You got to go see it. He put our scenes in."
"What do you mean?"
"You know you said you wanted to see the crucifixion from God's perspective and I wanted to see a sign of the Father's grief?"
"Yes."
"Both scenes are now in the picture."
Sure enough. After Our Lord dies the camera zooms up to view Calvary from the celestial perspective, and then there is a clap of thunder and a single drop of rain--like a teardrop from heaven--falls in slow motion to the earth and the earthquake begins and the torrent starts to fall."
Those two short scenes were not in the rough cut of the movie we saw in London.
Wow. That was my favourite bit.
ReplyDeleteI liked the end quite a lot too. Perhaps Mel truly listened to a lot of voices of faith, as he did yours. I really think the movie is a huge contribution to catholicism and Christianity generally.
ReplyDeleteToo bad he had to go on that bender...
Did you get any feeling about how he is with the church given that his father seems to be of a rebellious SSPX sort of strain?
Oops another thought - have you ever wondered if Mel would put Anne Rice's new books into film in a compelling way? Maybe with the same actor as Jesus?
ReplyDeleteThe few scenes in Passion of Jesus's life were very well done IMHO. I am thinking specifically of the last supper and the scene with Mary and the chair, then there was the scene when Mary picked him up as a child juxtaposed with his falling with the cross...
Anyway, if anyone could make a good film from Ms. Rice's work I would think it would be Mel.
You've met both of them, maybe you could put a bug in his ear?
My suggestion fee is to get to meet Mel and see the opening!
Well now, I do happen to have an inside line on Mel's opinions about the church, sedevacantism and so forth, but I don't really think it would be politic to post them on a public site like this.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of a Mel Gibson Anne Rice collaboration!
I loved that aspect of the movie! very interesting!
ReplyDeleteSo cool since that was one of my favorite parts - it fit so perfect.
ReplyDeleteI can certainly respect keeping it quiet if that's how he wants it. This is what wikipedia says, he sounds somewhat obedient to the Holy Father but it seems a bit vague or hard to discern at times:
ReplyDeleteGibson is a Traditionalist Catholic. Despite the rumors [62] on whether Gibson shares his father's adherence to Sedevacantism, Gibson has not spoken publicly on the matter. As part of his response to a question on whether Pope John Paul II saw The Passion of the Christ, Gibson said, "I’d like to hear what he has to say. I’d like to hear what anyone has to say. This film isn’t made for the elite. Anyone could see this film, even the occupier of the chair of Peter can see this film."[63]Gibson also referred to him as “Pope John Paul II” in a 2004 Reader's Digest interview,[64] and acquaintance Father William Fulco has said that Gibson denies neither the Pope nor Vatican II.[65]
When asked about the Catholic doctrine of "Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus", Gibson replied, "There is no salvation for those outside the Church … I believe it. Put it this way. My wife is a saint. She's a much better person than I am. Honestly. She's, like, Episcopalian, Church of England. She prays, she believes in God, she knows Jesus, she believes in that stuff. And it's just not fair if she doesn't make it, she's better than I am. But that is a pronouncement from the chair. I go with it.”[66] Gibson does not understand this dogma to mean that non-Catholics will go to hell; when he was asked at Willow Creek church whether John 14:6[67] is an intolerant position, he said that “through the merits of Jesus' sacrifice… even people who don't know Jesus are able to be saved, but through him.”[68][69] Gibson also told Diane Sawyer that he believes non-Catholics and non-Christians can go to heaven.[70]
In May 2007, Mel Gibson flew to Hermosillo, Mexico, where he attended a Tridentine Mass during which grandchildren of his friends and two of his children received the sacrament of Confirmation, administered by Archbishop emeritus Carlos Quintero Arce.[71] The same Archbishop Arce consecrated Gibson's private traditional Roman Catholic church of the Holy Family in Malibu in February, 2007.[72]
Gibson's Traditionalist Catholic beliefs have also been the target of attacks, especially during the controversy over his film The Passion of the Christ. When the film premiered in France, the newspaper Libération, considered the voice of French liberalism, dubbed Gibson's religious beliefs "the Shiite version of Christianity." Gibson has recently stated in an interview with Diane Sawyer that he feels that his "human rights were violated", by the often vitriolic attacks on his person, his family, and his religious beliefs which were sparked by The Passion.
Yes, indeed, that shot of God's tear was a favorite, second only to "Behold, I make all things new.." on the way of the cross.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter worked at EWTN when the movie was released and met Jim Caviezel, there for an interview with Raymond Arroyo. She said that she was struck by his humility and grace which translated so well on the screen.
TBTG Jim has fared better than Mel in real life...
The Passion is a very thick movie...my favorite moment is when Jesus' blood sprays out on the soldier, which to me recalls both the sprinkling of blood in Exodus & Leviticus (And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words), and the sprinkling of water in Ezekiel (Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you).
ReplyDeleteAnd I am especially happy to read a blog where the adjective 'politic' shows up from time to time.
That was my mate Steve! & I can bet who the well to do place was!!
ReplyDeleteFr,
ReplyDeleteWikipedia says that Mel has a private chapel and a hired priest at Malibu. Archbshp Burke suppressed a parish in St. Louis that was privately held and disciplined the priest that they hired. Is Mel Gibson and his priest breaking rules or was the St. Louis parish in violation of rules in some other way?
Hey, that is quite something. Your's and Steve's input went into giving the film its silent moment where His death echoes into the deeps.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very admirable that Gibson was so open to advice and input from a vast array of people, for what he regards as the pinnacle of his film career.
My favourite part in the film is when Christ is about to get the nails into His hands and it flashes back to him giving the sermon, and He's saying, "no one takes my life from me, but I have authority to lay it down and take it up again..." Or something along those lines. And the sun goes behind his head as he speaks it. Honestly, I can't help choking up at that part.
My favourite scene in the movie is when Jesus i carrying the cross and falls and there is a flash back to the little boy Jesus calling and Mother Mary running to pick him up.
ReplyDeleteIt touched me a lot and helps me reflect on how sin affects both Jesus and his Mother.