THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 24, 1995 TAG: 9505240051
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Interview
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
``BRAVEHEART'' took two years to make, cost more than $60 million, has 3,000 men on horseback, required 6,000 costumes and was shot in the rainiest part of Scotland.
So why did Mel Gibson decide to produce, direct and star in it, wearing a kilt, no less?
He shook his head.
``It was something that wouldn't leave me alone,'' he said. ``When I was growing up, I loved this kind of movie - romance, death, swashbuckling. I liked `Spartacus,' `A Man for All Seasons,' `El Cid.' The movies of the '50s were great, and of the '70s. But I think the '60s missed out on something.
``Anyway, I never quite saw the movie that I wanted. This is the movie I wanted to see.''
The result is a spectacle set in 13th century Scotland, with Gibson as William Wallace, the national hero who led his people against England's King Edward I. The movie opens today.
He was at Los Angeles' Four Seasons Hotel the morning after its premiere - and was noticeably relieved.
``I was prepared for everyone to hate it,'' he said. ``I didn't know if they'd stay put.''
The jury is still out on the film, which is nearly three hours long. Theater owners and investors would have liked it shorter, but, sounding more like a director, Gibson, 39, said he'd cut all he could.
``Some 90-minute movies seem like three hours,'' he said. ``I think this one seems shorter than it is. The original cut would have gotten an NC-17 rating. I toned down the violence, but we're showing 13th century battles here.
``This shouldn't be a comfortable movie. Ball and chain is not a gentle way to fight. The object, you know, is to bash the brains out of the other guy.''
Gibson's Icon Productions made the film; it's the same company that produced ``Maverick,'' his ``Hamlet,'' the Beethoven biography ``Immortal Beloved'' and his directorial debut, ``The Man Without a Face.''
``It's my own production company because it's often the only way I can get the pictures made,'' Gibson said. ``Jodie (Foster) has her own company. Kevin (Costner) has his own. At first, people thought it was a vanity outfit. I had to prove I was serious. I chose a little picture (``Man Without a Face'') for the first time out. Then this one. It was anything but little.''
The set, according to everyone involved, was a playpen.
``He likes to do 10 takes for a scene, and he'll yell, in the middle of a serious scene, `Your zipper's undone,' '' said Angus McFadyen, who plays Robert the Bruce. ``I knew better, because the costumes didn't have any zippers.''
``If you can't have fun making a picture, you shouldn't make it,'' Gibson said. ``We tried to be historically accurate, but half of what is known about William Wallace is legend anyway. Most of it comes from a poem by a blind poet known as Blind Harry, so why not put a little wit in it?
``Sure, there was a lot of stress. Then it rained all the time - never stopped. (The) only thing I could do was use it. The picture has a moody, cloudy look. It's a unique look.''
Gibson swears, too, that it is historically accurate that the Scottish army bared its genitals, en masse, to the enemy.
``Oh, yes, armies in those days did that before battle,'' he said. ``The script girls and costume girls all came out that day to watch the scene. I, for the record, was not in that line. I feel a little guilty about it - cheated a little.''
Until age 12, Gibson lived in Peeksill, N.Y., one of 11 children. His father, Hutton, a railroad brakeman, was a staunch Catholic conservative who wrote religious pamphlets in his spare time, banned television in the home and preached the evils of drink and extramarital sex.
In 1968, Hutton Gibson became a champion on the TV show ``Jeopardy!'' and used his winnings, plus money from a work-injury suit, to move his family to Australia. One of his motivations was to ensure that his older sons would not have to fight in Vietnam.
Young Mel thought of becoming a priest. He worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken and, at the insistence of his sister, studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
His first movie was as a surfer-beach bum in ``Summer City.'' He was seen in the United States in 1979's ``Mad Max,'' but it was its sequel, ``The Road Warrior,'' that got him a wider American audience. Gibson has won Australian Film Awards for playing a retarded youth in ``Tim'' and a young World War I soldier in ``Gallipoli.''
``The River'' was his American debut. He played a farmer opposite Sissy Spacek.
The three ``Lethal Weapon'' films, as well as ``The Year of Living Dangerously'' and ``Maverick,'' have established a successful record, allowing him to command $10 million a picture.
Married for 15 years and the father of six, Gibson has an 800-acre ranch in Australia and a similar spread in Montana.
Along the way, there have been rumors of too much tequila and beer. Gibson's reckless statements and wild behavior didn't get good press. In 1984, he was arrested for drunken driving in Toronto while filming ``Mrs. Soffel.'' Five years ago, a bar brawl in California made news. He joined Alcoholics Anonymous in 1991. His wife reportedly threatened to leave if he didn't.
Today, Gibson is calmer than in previous interviews. Still, he is careful, keeping his distance even as he jokes. But for ``Braveheart,'' he's eager to talk.
``Not one person got seriously hurt,'' Gibson said, grinning broadly. ``That's something I was going for. We had fire and horses everywhere, but we were careful. I think there was one fractured ankle. That was the worst. No matter what else they say about it, they can't say I wasn't responsible.'' MEMO: REVIEW/E5
ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
by CNB