The Beaver

May 17th, 2011 | 3:15 pm by Anthony Miccio

Mel Gibson Steps Out For The Beaver At Cannes

With Mel Gibson interviews tending to get a little tangential and dark these days, director/co-star Jodie Foster has been handling most of the promotional duties for their film The Beaver. But now that the film’s officially a megaflop, making only $300k after two weeks in theaters (it cost $21 million), the actor has decided to take what applause he can get. Though Mel skipped the press conference for The Beaver at Cannes this morning, he showed up alongside Foster on the premiere red carpet, looking just a little amped. Proving just what Mel probably fears, a festival reporter managed to ask him how he prepared to play such a scary, mentally disturbed person. “I faked it,” he said.  “Hey, I don’t know. It doesn’t bear too much analysis.” Oh, Mel—you bear plenty of analysis.

See photos of the supremely good friends in the gallery below.

[Photo: Getty Images]

May 9th, 2011 | 10:00 am by Anthony Miccio

Mel Gibson’s The Beaver Bombs At The Box Office (Finally!)

Looks like it’ll take more than teary interviews by pals like Jodie Foster to bring folks to a Mel Gibson movie. Mel’s long-awaited The Beaver finally made it to 22 theater screens this weekend, scoring about as much per-screen as the similarly budgeted Something Borrowed—except that Kate Hudson rom-com is playing at nearly 3,000 screens (and not doing so amazing either). The Beaver is still scheduled to expand its scope next week, but the numbers suggest people aren’t lining up see Mel win back his family after an emotional breakdown with the help of a puppet. After all, it’s not like the puppet kept him from splitting with his long-time wife Robyn and getting violent with ex-girlfriend/babymama Oksana Grigorieva…drama that already delayed the film’s release.

Execs at Summit Entertainment are blaming the subject matter, rather than Mel, for the mediocre numbers (“As it turns out, I think the film is more of an art-house speciality kind of movie than a broader commercial film…I don’t know whether it’s going to transcend that art-house audience”), though it’s debatable whether the film even scored that “art-house audience.” Mel’s next movie, How I Spent My Summer Vacation, about a career criminal who teams up with a young boy in a Mexican prison, has yet to be given a US release date, so who knows if the art-house will even get to see it.

March 16th, 2011 | 4:30 pm by Halle Kiefer (@hallekiefer)

Jodie Foster Weeps For Mel Gibson’s “Lifetime Of Pain”

Most people in Hollywood haven’t stood behind delicate flower Mel Gibson (mostly for fear that he’ll whip around and punch them), which makes it even stranger to hear Jodie Foster say she loves Mel Gibson in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “He’s so incredibly loving and sensitive, he really is,” Foster says of Gibson, who was charged with misdemeanor battery last week. “He is the most loved actor I have ever worked with on a movie. And he’s not saintly, and he’s got a big mouth, and he’ll do gross things your nephew would do. But I knew the minute I met him that I would love him the rest of my life.” Gross things our nephew would do? Foster must have some pretty intense relatives if she’s comparing Mel to a teenage troublemaker.

Having directed Gibson in the upcoming The Beaver, Foster sees the actor with rose-colored glasses that no one else on the planet has access too. “God, I love that man,” Jodie says, growing misty-eyed. “The performance he gave in this movie, I will always be grateful for. He brought a lifetime of pain to the character that we’ve been talking about for years, that I knew was part of his psyche and who he is. It’s part of him that is beautiful and that I want people to know, too. I can’t ever regret that.” What could be more beautiful and cause someone more pain than being a famous person who assaults his girlfriend and calls Jewish people “oven-dodgers”? Mel’s like a sonnet in human form! As if Jodie doesn’t already seem totally disconnected from reality, she also likens the drama around Gibson…to the  media debacle surrounding the attempted assassination of President Reagan, which was done for Foster’s benefit. Look, Jodie, if we all agree to still see your movie despite Gibson’s prominent role, would you please stop talking like you’ve lost your mind. Oh really? Great! We assumed so.

[Photo: Splash News Online]

November 4th, 2010 | 5:56 pm by Halle Kiefer (@hallekiefer)

Introducing Mel Gibson’s Beaver Poster: Good Luck Getting To Sleep Tonight

melgibsonbeaveredited

ADDRESS YOURSELF TO THE PUPPET! Ah, we can imagine Mel screaming that at a terrified police officer now. Feast your eyes on the latest poster for Mel Gibson’s The Beaver, directed by Jodie Foster and starring Gibson as a man who believes his beaver puppet is a sentient being. Ten bucks says the movie was originally about a grieving father trying to sail around the world while befriending a scrappy tween, and then one day Gibson just showed up with the puppet on his hand…and no one had the heart (read: taser) to tell him no. Wow, just imagine all the other movies they could make based on Mel’s real-life lunatic behavior: See You Down At the Rose Garden, Desperately Seeking Sugar Tits, Babies Be Paying Rent, or What Women Want 2: Restraining Order Boogaloo!

Foster calls Gibson’s role “one of his most powerful and moving performances,” which is great to hear. What better way to revamp Mel’s career as a Hollywood hunk then a disturbing film about a puppet-controlled, mentally-ill person? We can’t want to see that mangy, gin-soaked animal accepting the Best Actor Oscar next year. And it’ll be even weirder that he’s wearing a puppet! [Photo: ComingSoon.net]

September 21st, 2010 | 6:28 pm by Halle Kiefer (@hallekiefer)

Jodie Foster Defends “Easiest, Nicest”, Craziest Person Mel Gibson

With friends like Jodie Foster, who needs a trial lawyer? Oh right, still Mel Gibson. Recently The Beaver director Jodie Foster defended Mel Gibson despite his racist, sexist and anti-Semitic rants. Says Foster about her leading man, Gibson is the “easiest, nicest person I’ve ever worked with… The second I met him, I said, ‘I will love this man for the rest of my life.’” Well, not love in that sense; you can lose your veneers for that. Foster also went on to add, “Oh, but I don’t support the girlfriend-beating, drunk driving or the use of the n-word.” JUST KIDDING! She said no such thing.

Continued Foster, “Of course, Mel is an undeniably gifted actor and director, and The Beaver is one of his most powerful and moving performances. But more importantly, he is and has been a true and loyal friend. I hope I can help him get through this dark moment.” Hol’ up. The Beaver, a film about a delusional man with a talking puppet on his hand, is one of Gibson’s most stirring roles? Ooooooooooh, now we get it. Foster is afraid no one will see her Beaver picture if they think Mel is some kind of monster that famous people don’t like. Well don’t worry Jodie. Lucky for you, 76% of people will still see your movie despite Gibson’s personal Vesuvius. Lucky for you, bad for the soul of everyone who thinks that movie actually sounds kind of cool…

July 15th, 2010 | 11:45 am by Liz Black

Mel Gibson, On-Set At The Beaver Creates Worst Workplace Vibe Ever

Imagine for a moment that you found out that someone in your office was having trouble at home and has potentially knocked his girlfriend’s teeth out and was known to scream racist remarks at her when he got angry. You’d probably avoid eye-contact with the guy or try not to make any sudden moves that would set him off. That’s pretty much what happened when Mel Gibson showed up to re-shoot scenes for his latest film, The Beaver, and it was awk-ward!

Mel had to show up for work on the film, directed by his pal Jodie Foster, this week after the vicious audio tapes leaked, and a source says “Mel was in complete shock. Everyone was walking on eggshells around him. It was the weirdest set ever.” We bet! We can’t imagine anyone brave enough to look him in the eye after listening to his insane rants. Fortunately for everyone, we’re gonna guess that Mel’s not going to be cast much in the near future, so he won’t have to worry about awkward run-ins with coworkers after this.