Mel Gibson Slams 'Batman v Superman' on Cost, End Result
Mel Gibson’s exile from Hollywood following anti-Semitic and sexist remarks — and furious, abusive rants in leaked phone conversations — has been going on for ten years now, with only an occasional appearance here and there (in Jodie Foster’s The Beaver, Get the Gringo, or The Expendables 3) to remind you that the one-time superstar hadn’t completely vanished from the scene. This year, however, he’s making his bid for A-list reinstatement via the redemptive action saga Blood Father and this fall’s awards-courting Hacksaw Ridge, which marks Gibson’s first directorial effort since 2006’s Apocalypto. And while that wartime film has won praise out of its Venice International Film Festival screenings, the writer/director/actor is also now making noise by taking aim at another high-profile target: Batman v Superman, and its legion of superhero tentpoles.
Related: ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ Review: Brutally Effective War Film Could Bring Mel Gibson Back
In an interview with Deadline at the Venice fest, Gibson expressed disgusted astonishment at the cost of modern superhero movies, and when the subject turned to Zack Snyder’s DC Comics effort from earlier this year, he made it clear that he wasn’t a fan.
“GIBSON: I look at them and scratch my head. I’m really baffled by it. I think there’s a lot of waste, but maybe if I did one of those things with the green screens I’d find out different. I don’t know. Maybe they do cost that much. I don’t know. It seems to me that you could do it for less…. I mean if you’re spending outrageous amounts of money, $180 million or more, I don’t know how you make it back after the tax man gets you, and after you give half to the exhibitors. What did they spend on Batman V Superman that they’re admitting to?
DEADLINE: I want to say $250 million. Then you’ve got marketing.
GIBSON: And it’s a piece of s—.”
Related: Mel Gibson Reveals Plans for a ‘Passion of the Christ’ Sequel
When asked if he might one day take a shot at a comic book-based film, Gibson — who once reportedly turned down the role of Odin in Thor that went to Anthony Hopkins — let it be known that he didn’t consider such projects appealing. “I’m not interested in the stuff,” he explained. “Do you know what the difference between real superheroes and comic book superheroes is? Real superheroes didn’t wear spandex. So I don’t know. Spandex must cost a lot.”
You can read Gibson’s entire interview with Deadline here. Hacksaw Ridge debuts in theaters on Nov. 4.
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