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Hollywood bigwigs mum on Mel
03/08/2006 14:51 - (SA)
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| This booking photo shows Mel Gibson after his arrest. (AP) |
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Los Angeles - In the days since Mel Gibson's arrest on suspicion of drunk driving, few leading Jewish figures in the film industry have publicly commented on the superstar's barrage of anti-Semitic comments.
The actor and director was formally charged with drunk
driving on Wednesday.
Former AOL Time Warner Vice Chairperson Merv Adelman was so
incensed by the lack of outrage in an industry founded and led
by many Jews that he bought a quarter-page advertisement in the
Los Angeles Times to protest the lack of protest.
"Bigots have so often accused our community of being run by
Jews that I think it has entered our psyche. We have become so
defensive that when faced with a degrading and disgusting
incident starring a movie star, we as individuals remain
relatively silent," he said in the ad.
"What would this community have done if Mel Gibson had
drunkenly ranted and raved about the dirty 'Mexicans' or for that matter used the 'N' words disparagingly as he used the word Jews...?" he asked.
At least one actor took a public stand. Comedian Rob
Schneider, the son of a Jewish father and Philippine-American
mother and star of the Deuce Bigalow films, took out an ad on trade publication Variety's website pledging that he would never work with Gibson.
Los Angeles Times film industry columnist Patrick Goldstein
wondered why the "Big Kahunas of Hollywood" - like director Steven Spielberg and studio bigwigs like Universal's Ron Meyer, DreamWorks' Jeffrey Katzenberg and Paramount's Brad Grey - have been silent.
Avoiding conflict
A spokesperson for Spielberg said the director was on vacation
and "uncontactable".
Goldstein saw the silence by today's Jewish leaders in
Hollywood as continuing a pattern of trying to fit in - which
once saw actors like Emmanuel Goldenberg and Muni Weisenfreund
change their names to Edward G Robinson and Paul Muni.
"They are all thinking, what happens if he comes out of
this and I've said something? He won't work with me when I need him," Goldstein quoted producer Howard Rosenman as saying.
TV network ABC on Tuesday pulled a miniseries about the
Holocaust that Gibson, a traditionalist Roman Catholic who
built his own church in Malibu, was producing, but refused to
say that the cancellation was related to the controversy.
Gibson directed the 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the
Christ, about the last hours of the life of Jesus, which was
criticised in some quarters as anti-Semitic for portraying Jews
as the killers of Christ. His father described the Holocaust
as: "Maybe not all fiction, but most of it is."
Filmmaker and Time magazine critic Richard Schickel said
Hollywood's caution stems partly from the fear of speaking out against one of the most bankable stars in the industry.
"I don't think this is the only reason, but I think many
feel he will weather this storm and retain his clout as a star
and a director. And if this is what they are doing, that is
deplorable," he said.
- Reuters
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