Mel Gibson told the deputy: "You motherfucker — I'm going to fuck you!"
Mel Gibson then told the deputy that he "owned Malibu" and would "spend all of my money" to get even with the officer.
And then he said, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world. Are you a Jew?"
In my book "Crossbearer," published in 2008, I wrote:
"Ballgame. Open and shut. No doubt now. Mel was a raving anti-Semite. The man who had composed his prayer of a movie about Christ shared the mind-set of Adolf Hitler."
It made me want to retch. Mel had assassinated his own film. Now the movie would be known for all time as a big-screen anti-Semitic billboard. It was said that in the course of making the film, Mel had played a small part as the soldier who drove the nails into Jesus's hand. And now, I thought, Mel had done it again - publicly and in full view of the world. He had driven his nail into his own movie.
It all made me think that God uses unworthy and flawed people for His own good uses.
Mel, the anti-Semite, directs a movie celebrating Christ's passion. And Joe, the author of "Basic" and "Showgirls," carries a cross with Christ's body around chapels, monasteries, and churches.
* * * *
SOME PEOPLE IN THE INDUSTRY were outraged by Mel Gibson's statements to the arresting officer.
Amy Pascal, the head of Sony, called for an industry boycott of him.
And Ari Emanuel, head of the Endeavor Agency, who would later become the head of William Morris Endeavor, probably the most powerful man in Hollywood, wrote an article for The Huffington Post.
"People in the entertainment industry," Ari Emanuel wrote, "whether Jew or Gentile, need to demonstrate that they understand how much is at stake in this by professionally shunning Mel Gibson and refusing to work with him, even if it means a sacrifice to their bottom line. There are times in history when standing up against bigotry and racism is more important than money."
* * * *
I ALSO WROTE in "Crossbearer" about Mel's publicist, Alan Nierob of Rogers & Cowen, arguably one of the best publicists in town, a man who'd been my own publicist for years when we lived in Malibu, a man I liked very much.
This is what I wrote about Alan's defense of Mel when "The Passion" was released:
"I didn't know Mel personally, although my good friend Alan, who was Jewish and had lost family members in the Holocaust, was Mel's publicist, as he had been mine. I knew Alan well and respected and admired him and felt sure he wouldn't work so hard for a man who was either anti-Semitic himself or had created something that would fuel the flames of anti-Semitism worldwide. In other words, nothing could convince me that a proud and strong Jew like Alan would put his energy and talent to work on behalf of someone who would make people hate… him."
But I was wrong about Alan. Even after the anti-Semitic incident with the arresting policeman, Alan continued to work hard for Mel and helped orchestrate a public relations effort that would try to wipe away Mel's hateful words in the media.
* * * *
ALAN NIEROB'S LOYALTY TO MEL reminded me of Ed Limato's loyalty to him. Like my late agent Guy McElwaine, Ed Limato was one of Hollywood's top agents, a brilliant and tough man who protected Mel like a father.
But Ed Limato was gay and Mel had said some horrendously scurrilous things about gay people.
In an interview with a Spanish magazine, Mel had gotten up from his chair, bent over, pointed to his butt, and said, "This is for shitting, not fucking."
He repeated it for the interviewer: "They take it up the ass! This is only for taking a shit!"
In an earlier Australian interview, he had referred to gays as "faggots." He had also been attacked for his depiction — "his mincing portrait" — of a gay hairdresser in "Bird on a Wire."
Yet Ed Limato, a distinguished gay man, ignored Mel's homophobic ugliness the same way Alan Nierob, the son of Holocaust survivors, ignored Mel's anti-Semitism.
I couldn't understand why. I had loved my father more than any other man in the world, but I was unable to ignore the shameful things he had done in Hungary before World War II.
Did Limato and Alan Nierob — people I liked and respected — have no shame? How did Ed Limato look himself in the mirror after what Mel said about that part of his anatomy? How was Alan Nierob able to talk to his dad, a man he no doubt loved, and ignore the pain he saw in his eyes?
Was it the money that both men made off of Mel Gibson? It seemed to me there were easier ways to make money then swallowing your own gay pride or blinding yourself to the pain in your father's eyes.
It also occurred to me that this was one of the unstated reasons why Naomi and I brought our sons back to Ohio.
* * * *
AT OUR FIRST MEETING about the Guadalupe project, in Steve McEveety's offices on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica, we were joined by a couple of potential Mexican investors from Cancun.
The sun was setting; shadows played in the room as I talked about the arc and structure of the screenplay I had in mind. As I spoke, Naomi suddenly said, "Look!"
I stopped and we stared at what she was looking at.
A shadow of a cross had suddenly appeared on the wall of the office. In the darkening room, the cross seemed clear and distinct.
Looking at it, one of the potential investors made the sign of the cross.
There was no real explanation for the cross on the wall. There was a church with a cross on its steeple several blocks away, but it was more than unlikely that the setting sun could have put the shadow of that cross on Steve McEveety's wall.
We took it as a Sign from Heaven.
So did our potential investors: They were in! The cross on Steve's wall had convinced them. Now Steve had enough money to pay me for writing the script.
* * * *
STEVE MCEVEETY WAS ONE OF THE PRODUCERS of "The Passion of the Christ." He talked about the "satanic attacks" they underwent during the making of the movie. He said there were thunderstorms and lightning that knocked out the power, computers that went down for no explainable reason. They all slept with the lights on.
"The Devil was all over 'The Passion,'" Steve said. "Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus, even got hit by lightning when he was up on the cross. All of our lives were affected. The Devil took his toll. One night Caviezel was in his room and he felt Satan coming down from the corner of the room and covering his body. Satan was sticking his entire hand down his throat. Caviezel was suffocating. Then a gigantic hand came down and with one finger, flicked the demon off of him into nothing. Isn't that amazing? The power of God!"
I said to Steve, "What about Mel? Did the Devil take his toll on Mel?"
"You'll have to ask Mel that," Steve said.
"What about driving the nail into Christ's hand? Why did Mel insist that the shot show his hand driving the nail into Jesus?"
Steve didn't say anything.
"Is it true that he did that?" I asked him.
Steve looked at me a moment and finally nodded.
I asked, "Why did he do it?"
Steve said, "You'll have to ask him that, too."
* * * *
I HAD MET a distinguished young priest who had grown up in Cleveland and was also a friend of Mel's: Father John Bartunek, a Legionary of Christ.
Father John had spent a lot of time on "The Passion" set and had written a book called "Inside the Passion." Mel had even written the foreword to the book. Father John was a sharp, no-bullshit priest, well-read and pious — a holy man, I thought. We met for lunches and he had come over to play basketball with one of our sons, Nick.
I noticed Father John was circumspect about Mel. He tap-danced around questions about how Mel had behaved on the set of the movie. I asked him too why Mel had insisted on driving the nails into Christ's hand. Father John said he didn't know.
He had heard about our Guadalupe project from Steve McEveety and encouraged me to write it. He said he'd pray for me.
"The Devil doesn't like movies made which glorify J
esus or the Blessed Mother," he said. "Be wary of Satanic attacks." I showed him my St. Benedict medal and he blessed it. We were standing outside a Hungarian restaurant on Shaker Square in Cleveland, the same restaurant I had taken Jimi Hendrix to so many years ago — and I stepped back to watch the scene we were creating.
A guy in his mid-sixties wearing a Cleveland Indians T-Shirt, holding a medal out to a young priest formally dressed (like Max Von Sydow in "The Exorcist"), making the sign of the cross with great flourish in the air.
Blessing complete, St. Benedict medal tucked back inside my Indians T-Shirt, I was ready for all Satanic attacks.
* * * *
I SAID THE HAIL MARY every day as I began writing the Guadalupe script… and the Magnificat at the end of every writing day. I had also begun a practice which I do to this day: I go to morning Mass at the church chapel three times a week.
I felt the presence of the Blessed Mother as I wrote each day, a long way away — a universe away — from the more fleshy presences I had felt writing "Basic Instinct" and "Showgirls". (The New Yorker headlined: "Eszterhas Takes on 481-Year-Old Virgin" when Steve announced "Guadalupe").
I felt pleased when I finished the script. I felt that the Blessed Mother had answered my prayers and inspired the writing. I sent the script to Steve, who happened to be in Medjugorje, the Catholic shrine in Bosnia where Our Lady is said to have appeared to a group of children many years ago.
Steve called me excitedly after he had finished reading the script. He said he loved it. He said his wife loved it. And so did Father John Bartunek, Mel's friend, who happened to be with him on the trip.
Father John called me and said he read the script at the top of Apparition Hill and, when he finished it, he felt the presence of the Blessed Mother.
Steve, in the village church that night with one of the visionaries, said the visionary turned to him and said, "The Blessed Mother is very happy about something that happened today."
Yet another Sign from Heaven.
And then, the day he left Medjugorje, Steve told me that he said to the Blessed Mother: "Please, if you want me to make this movie, give me a sign, make me a miracle."
When Steve told me that I thought: That sure takes a lot of balls! To ask the Blessed Mother to green-light your movie for you! To ask the Mother of God for your own "personal" miracle. A miracle on demand, like ordering a cheeseburger with fries at McDonald's.
And here came the topper! The Blessed Mother gave Steve McEveety, Catholic Hollywood producer, his own personal miracle: Steve McEveety suddenly saw the sun spin around in the sky.
It was the ultimate Sign from Heaven! It was the best review I'd ever have. Forget Academy Awards: My script had caused the sun to spin!
And Steve McEveety said, "We're going to get this sucker made!"
Steve called back the next day: He had some early thoughts about possible directors for our film: Ron Howard, who, Steve thought, was Catholic.
And one other thought: Mel Gibson.
* * * *
AS WE WERE HEADING TO MEXICO CITY, Mel Gibson was in love. He was in the process of divorcing Robyn, his wife of 25 years. He'd moved out of the Serra Retreat house and was living with a stunning 30-something model and singer.
Oksana Grigorieva was Russian. Her parents had fought against the Nazis. She had been living with her parents in a two-bedroom flat, but when the Iron Curtain fell, she fled to London.
She wasn't afraid of hard work. She cleaned houses. She took care of the elderly. She studied piano at the Royal College of Music in London. She was also a piano teacher and a waitress. A photographer saw her as she was waitressing and took a picture of her. She was a true Russian beauty: Her photograph began appearing everywhere.
She met Timothy Dalton, the English actor most famous for being James Bond. They had a son named Alexander. Dalton married her. They split up a few years later. Oksana moved to Los Angeles and pursued her music. She wrote songs. Josh Groban put one of them on a CD.
She also sang at L.A.'s best and most-upscale Russian restaurant. That's where she met Mel Gibson. They fell in love. She moved into his new Malibu house, on Carbon Canyon Road. He gave her a cameo in one of his films. He found a manager and producer for her who worked for his company, ICON.
Their daughter, Luci, was born prematurely, in October of 2009. Oksana continued pursuing her music. She signed a contract with ICON Records. He co-wrote two of her songs.
He said she was "the love of his life." They travelled in Europe with Luci. Everywhere they went, people told them they were the most beautiful couple they had ever seen.
* * * *
MUCH OF MY HOLLYWOOD CAREER was thanks to my longtime agent, Guy McElwaine, the former head of Warner Brothers, Columbia, and Rastar.
"It was the late 80s and we were in Cannes," Guy told me once. "Mel was just about to become a gigantic star. I was there with one of my ex-wives [Guy had many of them]. Jerry Weintraub had a yacht there.
"We're staying on his yacht and Mel is on the yacht too. I wake up and I hear voices and I realize my ex-wife isn't in the bed. I get up and open the door and my ex-wife is out there in the hallway standing naked, very drunk, and she's beating on Mel's door. And she's saying, 'You better open this fucking door or I'll make sure my husband blackballs you in Hollywood forever.'
"I dragged her back into our room and that's the moment she became my ex-wife, although it took me some time to divorce her. "But I really respected that Mel never opened that door. My ex-wife was a beautiful woman. Of course Mel got so shaken up by the whole thing that the very next morning he got the hell out of there and flew back to Australia.
"We all laughed at that. Of course that was a long time ago when Mel was still a Hollywood virgin."
"What's a Hollywood virgin?" I asked Guy.
Guy said, "It's a woman who's had two kids but says she hasn't ever had sex yet."
* * * *
STEVE MCEVEETY TOLD ME how Mel's interest in doing a movie about Christ's passion and crucifixion began. "He was in his Connecticut house and a bunch of books came with the house when he bought it. There was a book he saw on a top shelf that he couldn't reach. He got a cane to try to pull the book down, but the book next to it fell down instead. The book that fell down and landed in his hands was "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ" by Anne Catherine Emmerich."
Another Sign from Heaven, no doubt.
* * * *
MEANWHILE, OVERNIGHT, Mel Gibson had become the talk of America — no, the talk of the world.
Mel and Oksana had broken up amid a flurry of furious accusations. What made the world pay attention to all this was a series of tape recordings, recorded by Oksana, that showed Mel berserk: screaming, roaring, bellowing, growling, hyperventilating, and panting the ugliest and vilest things to her. The recordings went global instantly. Howard Stern was playing them over and over again every day.
These were the things that struck me:
THREATS:
• Mel: "I'll put you in a fucking rose garden, you cunt. You understand that? Cause I'm capable of it. You understand that?"
• Mel: "I don't need medication. You need a fucking bat in the side of the head."
• Mel: "I'll burn the goddamn house down, but blow me first!"
• Mel: "You need a fucking kick up the ass for being a bitch, cunt, gold digger whore!"
• Mel: "I will make your goddamn life miserable."
• Oksana: "I'm saving my life, and I'm saving my daughter's life. You almost killed us, did you forget?"
• Mel: (making fake crying noises) "The last three years have been a fucking gravy train for you."
• Oksana: "You were hitting a woman with a child in her arms. What kind of man is that? Hitting a woman when she's holding a child in her hands. Breaking her teeth. Twice, in the face, what kind of man is that?…"
• Mel: "You fucking deserved it."
• Mel: "I'm coming over there!"
• Oksana: "I'll call t
he police."
• Mel: "Fuck you! I don't involve the police in anything because I can stand up for myself. You, you weak cunt, you call the fucking cops."
BLOW JOBS AND OKSANA'S SEXUALITY
• Mel: "I should have woke you up and said — 'Fucking blow me, bitch!' I should have woke you up and said, 'Blow me.' You would have liked that better, yeah?"
• Mel: "You went to sleep and didn't blow me!"
• Mel: "I deserve to be blown!"
• Mel: "And I'm not giving you my house. You can rot! Unless you crawl back and suck my cock and say you're sorry — in that order!"
• Mel: "You should just fucking smile and blow me! Cause I deserve it!"
• Mel: "You're a woman who sucks from me and just fucking sucks me dry!"
• Mel: "Go out to the goddamn Jacuzzi — go and fuck the fucking Jacuzzi — it's a thing! You have no soul!"
• Mel: (about one of Oksana's girlfriends) "She was fucking making eyes at me! She'd have sucked me in five seconds!"
• Mel: "You look like a fucking bitch in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of niggers, it'll be your fault, all right!?"
• Mel: "You feel like you have to show off in tight outfits and tight pants. You can see your pussy from behind."
• Mel: "Your breasts are too big and they look stupid. They look like some Vegas bitch. They look like some Vegas whore. And you go around sashaying in your tight clothes."
• Mel: "Your tits look ridiculous! Get rid of them, why don't you!"
• Mel: "If you get raped it's your fault for showing off your fake tits, like they're some special deal. How much did they cost, those fakers?"
• Mel: "You're a pain in the ass. You're a pain in the ass. You're a pain in my ass!"
• Mel: "You flaunt your ass."
• Mel: "Fuck you in the ass!"
OKSANA TO MEL
• Oksana: "You are unbalanced!"
• Oksana: "You need medication."
• Oksana: "You're insane!
• Oksana: "You need medication!"
Heaven and Mel (Kindle Single) Page 2
