By Christy Lemire
Mel Gibson, who reportedly made anti-Semitic remarks during a drunken driving arrest five years ago, is now producing a film about the life of Jewish hero Judah Maccabee.
Gibson’s publicist, Alan Nierob, told The Associated Press on Friday that Gibson is working on a deal with Warner Bros. to develop the film through his company, Icon Productions. Nierob said the studio also would like Gibson to direct, but Gibson will decide whether he wants to do that once a script is finished.
The movie is being written by Joe Eszterhas of Basic Instinct and Flashdance fame.
Gibson, the Oscar-winning director of Braveheart, has defended himself against accusations of anti-Semitism ever since his 2006 drunken driving arrest, in which a deputy’s report revealed he made Jewish and sexist slurs while in custody.
AP