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Warner Bros told me it has no comment. And Rabbi Marvin Hier has publicly expressed opposition to Mel Gibson taking on this movie about Jewish hero Judah Maccabee ever since it was announced last fall. But, tonight, Hier’s LA-based Simon Wiesenthal Center issued this call to the studio:
In view of the outrageous anti-Semitic and bigoted statements recounted in Joe Eszterhas’ letter to Mel Gibson, the Simon Wiesenthal Center calls upon Warner Brothers (or any other studio) to permanently shelve the Maccabee project as long as Mel Gibson is associated with the film. “It would be an insult to Jews and a desecration to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust to go forward with the Maccabee project,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Mel Gibson Responds To Joe Eszterhas: EXCLUSIVE
Warner Bros Cools On ‘Judah Maccabee’ Script
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Oh, man…I’m the first to condemn prejudice where it exists, and harshly penalize those who exhibit it. But the Wiesenthal Center does me no favors, and earns none of my respect, by calling for punishment of someone based on another compromised human’s unsubstantiated accusations. Sorry, but a letter does not, and should not, equal a conviction.
Very elegantly stated and spot on.
^ A thousand times THIS.
I agree. What ever happened to things like proof and witnesses and substantiation? On the basis of accusations made in an angry rambling letter you are going to take action? And this man is a rabbi? Does he know what it means that you don’t spread false and unsubstantiated reports? That you don’t join with a liar & become a malicious witness? That strife will cease without a talebearer to fan the flames? Agree w/m. This is only a letter that makes accusations, it is not proof of anything but of the anger of the writer.
have you read the letter? I bet you havent and you just came here to open your mouth. read the letter. it is actually not a rambling one.
Sounds like Mel Gibson’s PR team are here posting to defend him. Puleeze, with everything that Mel Gibson has said and done over the years, there is enough evidence that he is an anti-Semite. Even his “apology” was so obviously written by his PR team. It is an outrage that anyone would let this man make a movie about a Jewish hero.
well said……
Well said, thank you!
Ok Rabbi I hear you
Mel should drop the project and not pursue it. Everyone loves GOD and wants to be loved by GOD. In the world is not always about us alone, but it’s about others as well. Mel, just forget it and do something else….be sensitive to people’s feelings and give them the respect they deserve. Just let it go. Love and respect go hand in hand…..part of love is about caring about how people feel. Drop the project Mel.
GOD BLESS TO ALL
Oh Godddddd…… (pun intended).
God uses the most unlikely people as messengers and warriors. Mel Gibson has used his talent to bring a staggering number of people all over the world to God and to Jesus Christ.
He is a faithful Christian, and it is entirely un-Christian to be anti-Semitic. Christians honor God and his son, Jesus. Jesus was a Jew, so was His mother and His half-brother James. So were all of His disciples.
One cannot be a faithful Christian and at the same time be anti-Semitic. It is impossible to hate Jews as a Christian because one would not only be hating Jesus Christ but also be one with the Nazis.
People should not judge so hastily.
The Passion of the Christ made me an atheist and for that I am truly thankful.
You are kidding right? Like you are taping it and laughing behind your monitor? Thank you. I laughed too.
And I’m very surprised that there were actually people who thought that that Eszterhas guy lied. I don’t know him. I don’t care about him. But I know Mel Gibson. We all know because we heard those Satan tapes. And bless Oksana’s heart for recording them. Because we all see how some people listened to those tapes and still think that it’s ok to behave like that. Imagine what would happened if those tapes would not be recorded. Oksana would be called liar. And everybody would say that she made that up.
But do you think that Eszterhas guy didn’t have things to do that day and decided to made that story up and go to press? Like because he was bored yesterday? Do you know what courage he had to have to go public about that. He knows that Mel Gibson has crazy fanatics who worship him for some reason. He knows that he will be attacked in comments and that those accusations won’t help him in industry. Imagine how awful and disgusting Mel Gibson behaved that this man went public about him.
To your first point, Shy, I don’t believe anything that comes out of the Russian gold digger’s mouth, including her veneers that were allegedly knocked out. I mean, what a story! Curious that Mr. Gibson’s former wife didn’t suffer any physical abuse whatsoever over their 30-YEAR relationship.
To your second point, didn’t it ever occur to you that this could simply have been a business situation that fell apart and then became contentious?
To your first point, I don’t believe anything that comes out of the Russian gold digger’s mouth, including her veneers that were allegedly knocked out. I mean, what a story! Curious that Mr. Gibson’s former wife didn’t suffer any physical abuse whatsoever over their 30-YEAR relationship.
And, to your second point, didn’t it ever occur to you that this could simply have been a business situation that fell apart and then became contentious?
Making a billion dollars off of The Passion, doesn’t make Mel a honorable guy. I believe every word of it of Joe Esterhaz’s claims. I’ve heard the recordings of his other rants. Don’t care if he was set up. How much more proof do we need that he’s a total piece of dog crap? And I don’t blame Rabbi Marvin Hier for taking offense at Mel wanting to make the movie. It’s truly offensive.
Once again, rushed condemnation based on unconfirmed accusations by a man known to slander those who dares to judge or rewrite his poor screenplays.
Somehow I have the feeling that this will only make Mel more determined than ever to make the film. I think they just gave him the undying resolve to do it even if he funds all entirely himself.
And, I agree with m., SHOWGIRLS’S letter should not stand as a conviction. I don’t believe him for a second. It’s just sour grapes over his script being trashed.
Agree with Rabbi Marvin (and I’m a gentile)
Yeah – cause when Joe Eszterhas recounts something, you can take it to the bank.
Hier grasping for relevance again. This based on unsubstantiated crap from an unreliable source. Not that I would want to defend Gibson – he seems a mess. But Hier just wades in and looks like a fool. No wonder I stopped giving to them years ago.
Since Rabbi Hier decided to denounce the use of “any” production which used the services of a particular actor in the portrayal of a particular fictional/biblical/theological character, and since he spoke as the head of a justifiably internationally renowned Center, and since he is also a frequently quoted member of AMPAS, I feel the urgency to publically call upon him – and the Wiesenthal Center – to publically repudiate his comments.
This insipid attack on an individual, based on the rantings of a former houseguest, should be far below the radar screen of a serious organization, engaged in serious business.
Films went through a period when the authoritarian mindset leaked into a business and destroyed lives through a blacklist. “They” didn’t play by “their” rules so “they” had to be destroyed.
I hope a new kind of fascism isn’t arising around the land. Last year’s despicable incident at CUNY with the playwright Tony Kushner was ugly enough.
No small group – no big group for that matter – gets to tell everyone else how to think.
If Rabbi Hier wants to go into the casting business, by all means go for it. If he wants to tell all his friends how he can’t stand a particular actor, no problem. But, if he speaks as a member of AMPAS, and as the head of the Wisenthal Center, and spouts garbage like this release, then, I don’t think he gets a free pass and I call him on it.
You, Mr. Harper, have my vote!
Mr. Harper, thank you for two things — posting with your name and secondly, making some wonderful points.
and these are the same people who gave Tom Cruise a humanitarian award. hypocrites
Joe Eszterhas only came forward with claims after he was fired as writer. RED flag on the possible black mail and this should reflect on the credibility on Joe Eszterhas, as he continued to work on the script. He stated that he no longer had contact with Mel after their Costa Rica trip where his son was told a perverted story and was so scared that, “he had to sleep with a knife under his pillow”. WHY WOULD YOU NOT LEAVE THAT MINUTE and WHAT DOES MEL TALKING ABOUT SEX HAVE TO DO WITH THE REST OF THE STORY??? Joe I promise your 15 yr old son and his friends would think whatever Mel says is PG 13. I was 15 just 5 years ago and the stuff that kids talk about would blow the mind of adults.
Eszterhas stated he has a tape of Mel. Why not release it and come forward with true evidence? You already released a 9 page memo about. Being in this business Joe KNEW that it would circulate and make it’s way to the media. So please dismiss the whole, “the memo was not for the media”.
I think Mel is a huge nut bag that has said racist/anti-Semitic stuff and is clearly an alcoholic. However I think Joe sees this as a chance to slander and achieve retribution for his failed script.
I think Mel should just forget about it. There’s too much going against him to get this picture made. That said, I’d love to see him direct a Game of Throne episodes.
the Rabbi has sunk to new lows, making comments on pure “gossip” on someone that was fired from the project by Warner Bros..not Mel. but……Mel is the easy target.
The Rabbi should have been worried about Eszterhas, he was writing another version of SHOWGIRLS.
Okay, Mel’s a talented whack job. Established. Joe’s a hack writer. Established. But whatever happened to working for someone (be it MG or WB), taking the check, and just shutting up? Far as SW goes, however worthy their cause, this fiasco will play its way out on its own. Can’t see why they should stick their noses into any of this, especialy considering the source and circumstances.