Mel Gibson's Maccabees Movie is going to hold for a bit....

Even if you're not a fan of the Bible the Book of Maccabees is one of the most fascinating stories in the Bible. I'm not going to ruin it for anybody but suffice it to say without the Judah Maccabee the Jewish religion and consequently Christianity would not exist today. It's not surprising then that the story would be good fodder for Hollywood.

What is surprising is that Mel Gibson has been spearheading a Maccabees film for almost a decade now. In case you haven't kept up on current events during the last decade, ole Mel has said some less than flattering comments about the Hebrew nation. Seems odd that he'd be championing this film. Guilt perhaps? Eh, that's a different post altogether.

In any case Gibson's hopes for a Maccabees movie will have to be put on hold for awhile. According to the "Toronto Sun" and "The Wrap," Warner Bros. has put a hold on the project with no further news on when it might return. Part of this is due to Joe Eszterhaus's script which was categorically rejected by Warner Bros. Seems odd that the man who wrote Basic Instinct (great) and Showgirls (horrendous) would take this gig, but then again Oliver Stone wrote the screenplay for Conan the Barbarian.

Mr Eszterhaus is understandably pretty upset about the situation and wrote a nine page letter calling Mel out for his anti-Semitic remarks. To me this seems like sour grapes although Eszterhaus "claims" he has Mel on tape making racist comments and threatening to have his wife killed. If Eszterhaus's claims are correct it's just another nail in the coffin on Gibson's career. If not then I would sue the pants off Joe and his mamma.

Gibson wrote a much more reserved and appropriate response letter, stating Warner Bros' and Gibson both want to make the movie just not with Eszterhaus's script. Gibson goes on to say that he was upset the script was so late and that he and Warner Bros. were extremely disappointed with the quality of the script. To quote Mel: "In 25 years of script development I have never seen a more substandard first draft or a more significant waste of time. The decision not to proceed with you was based on the quality of your script, not on any other factor." Take that Joe.

I feel like any great story, this film will eventually get made and although Mel's personal views are reprehensible, there's no doubting his talent as a director and his ability to make great movies.