Mel Gibson opens up about ‘Braveheart,’ Hollywood’s battle with coronavirus – and why he’s avoiding politics

Oscar-winning actor and director Mel Gibson spoke exclusively to “The Ingraham Angle” on Tuesday, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his acclaimed film “Braveheart”, his latest project, “Fatman” – and commenting on how the coronavirus has affected Hollywood .

Gibson, who plays “Chris Cringle” in the fantasy thriller “Fatman,” told alternate host Raymond Arroyo that his character in the 2020 film “kind of revealed the humanity of who Santa Claus could be. “.

“He was just a regular guy who lost his faith in humanity a little bit, and was kind of a little downcast and depressed with the cynicism maybe in the world – and it was dragging him under,” he said. he says.

“Basically it’s kind of a western format, you know? It’s like watching ‘High Noon’ or something,” he said after Arroyo described it as a coat rack: “Miracle at the OK Corral. “

Turning to his other classics, Gibson said he was impressed with how 1995’s “Braveheart” held up over time, and that it still had public screenings even decades later – before the shutters closed. rooms because of the virus.

The film, which follows Scottish revolutionary Willliament Wallace in his revolt against the English, is considered one of Peekskill, NY’s most iconic films, from the perspective of the director and actor. (Gibson’s family moved to Australia when he was a child.)

The filmmaker remarked that he did indeed remember the long days of duplicating the set to edit the film. This effort, however, earned him two Oscars – for Best Picture and Best Director.

“I was looking at other people [to play Wallace] but nobody trusted me as a director, so I had to go for it myself – that’s partly true, “he said.” It just got to the point where I had to jump into myself and Paramount and Fox, who were funding the movie, said “well, that makes sense. We want you to be there ”.”

Gibson has stated that “Braveheart” likely stands the test of time because of America’s respect for the idea of ​​freedom.

“He’s about things that we all appreciate and the efforts we will take to preserve them for ourselves and for our families,” Gibson said. “And I think themes like that in a country like the United States are really important.”

One of Gibson’s other famous films, “The Patriot” of the 2000s, also continues to be held in high regard decades later. In this film he played South Carolina revolutionary Benjamin Martin – believed to be based in part on a mix of real-life patriots like Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion and Major General Nathanael Greene.

Gibson told Arroyo that in addition to a sequel to another of his highly acclaimed films, “Passion of the Christ” – which he directed and in which Jim Caviezel played the role of Jesus Christ – he can also have a “Lethal Weapon 5” in the works.

The tetralogy buddy buddy with Danny Glover and Joe Pesci was directed by Richard Donner, who Gibson says is interested in “jump[ing] back on the horse. “

With the coronavirus pandemic shutting down movie theaters and causing other ripple effects in Hollywood, Gibson noted that a Texas film “operator” he knows has lost about $ 48 million in a month for the pandemic.

“It’s pretty heavy,” he says. “So [the pandemic] will change a lot in this biz. You saw where Warner [Brothers] took all of her slate and moved it to HBO Max. “

“A lot of the streaming content was not designed that way.”

Closing the interview, Arroyo asked Gibson about politics, noting that he rarely weighed in on partisan issues or candidates.

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The actor said it was his deliberate choice not to take one side or the other in public.

“Who cares what I think? I am not an expert – what am I qualified to talk about? Gibson pointed out.

“It’s okay. It gives you a sense of anonymity so that in your performance you can go out and be anything; you aren’t already carrying a lot of baggage. Part of it is intentional.”

In a 2016 interview with “Additional“, When Gibson was asked about the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, he simply remarked,” How is it going to play out? – One of them will win. “