The last time we got to see Mel Gibson onscreen was in 2002’s Signs. When asked why it took so long for him to return he said acting had gotten boring and he wanted to take a break to return on something that was compelling and well made. It looks like he kept to his word. Edge of Darkness hearkens back to the 70’s style espionage thriller with it’s slow pace, little action and a lot of character development. This is not the 2 hour ass kicking fest that the trailer would have you believe. This is something much better and way more intelligent. Read the full story

Mel Gibson’s back and he’s out for blood. Or for answers. Or for both.

Things get a tad muddled in this film adaptation of the critically-acclaimed 1985 BBC miniseries, both projects directed by talented gun-for-hire Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Beyond Borders). This time around the screenplay’s provided by William Monahan (The Departed) and Andrew Bovell (Lantana), though it stays surprisingly true to Troy Kennedy-Martin’s teleplay for the original series.

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Variety is reporting that Mel Gibson is in talks to join the Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) directed Cold War-era spy thriller Cold Warrior. The film is about “a spy who helps a younger agent track a terrorist”.

Gibson is hot off his return to the bigscreen with Edge of Darkness. He is keeping himself quite busy after his rather (film-wise) quiet last few years. He wrapped filming on the Jodie Foster directed dramedy The Beaver (which is on our 65 Must-See of 2010 list), is about to start filming an action drama entitled How I Spent My Summer Vacation this spring and committed to direct an untitled viking epic starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

I’d rather that Gibson keep himself busy with acting than directing. I think he has a charismatic and powerful screen presence yet I find the films he has directed to be utterly repugnant and gratuitous in their use of onscreen violence and gore.

Are you glad to see Mel Gibson return to acting or should he just stick with directing?

Most of you might recognize Martin Campbell’s name for being the director of the superb Casino Royale, but he has several projects lined up that have the potential to improve his already more than impressive resume. Edge of Darkness, which features the highly-anticipated return of Mel Gibson to the big screen, will be released on January 29th, and based on this interview from Collider, Campbell has some big aspirations for his next feature as well. Green Lantern, which is currently scheduled for a June 17, 2011 release, is a DC comic book adaptation, centering on a test pilot (Ryan Reynolds), who receives extraordinary powers from a mystical green ring. When asked about his vision of the film, he responded with the following:

“It will be much more in the tone of Iron Man. It’s got to be. Certainly not Batman Begins, which is a pretty dark movie. No, he’s the Hal Jordan character who’s the sort of shoot from the hip, irresponsible kind of cocky test pilot if you will. In fact, the character seems to be the least likely to be chosen as Green Lantern.  Well, of course that’s the fun of it. So no, it’ll be much more like Iron Man. So it’ll have one foot in reality if you see what I mean.”

Considering the acclaim of both Batman Begins and Iron Man, Campbell couldn’t have picked wrong here, but let’s just hope that he delivers. He has already lined up Grant Major (The Lord of the Rings) to be the production designer, and with Peter Sarsgaard (Boys Don’t Cry, An Education) joining the cast, it’s evident that Campbell has a lot of great resources to work with.

Another interesting tidbit from his interview covered the possibility of releasing Green Lantern in 3D. It’s obviously too early in the game for him to have any definitive answer, but his openness on the subject is intriguing:

“[Warner Bros. and I] haven’t really talked about it. But with the worldwide success of Avatar, it’s hard to imagine every studio not re-examining their big budget properties to see if they can release it in 3D and make a few extra dollars.”

Combining Campbell’s past success with the skill of his counterparts up to this point, I must admit that my hopes are high for this film, although it would be ignorant to ignore the fact that this is certainly new ground for the 65-year-old director.

Are you encouraged by Campbell’s decision? Personally, I prefer Batman Begins, but considering the “shoot from the hip” character with which he is dealing, do you think his choice to mirror Iron Man is the right one?

In an interview with Dark Horizons, Mel Gibson dispelled rumors that he would appear in the the fourth installment of the Mad Max franchise. This clarifies some suggestions that he could possibly appear in a cameo or have a small role that resulted from a vague press conference over the weekend.

Gibson said in the interview when asked about a cameo possibility, “”No, not at all. We’ve talked about it.”  He went to say that it is director George Miller’s franchise and that he “can’t wait to see what he does with it.” Read the full story

After Braveheart, Apocalypto, and The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson is now set to direct a film about viking culture. Variety reports that Leonardo DiCaprio will star in the film written by William Monahan, who was behind The Departed, Kingdom of Heaven, Body of Lies, and the upcoming Edge of Darkness. Mel Gibson isn’t the only connection in the project.  Producer Graham King worked on The Departed, Edge of Darkness and London Boulevard, Monahan’s upcoming directorial debut, starring Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley, set to be released later this year. As for the currently untitled viking film King says it will “be an awe-inspiring story, created with some of the industry’s finest cinematic talent and I am just over the moon to be making this film with Mel, Leo and Bill.” The project is looking to begin shooting in fall 2010. Read the full story

The first trailer for the action/thriller Edge of Darkness starring Mel Gibson (yes, he is back) and directed by Casino Royale’s Martin Cambell has been released. Check it out after the jump. Read the full story

It was originally reported that 2008 Blacklist sensation The Beaver would go into production with Steve Carell (The Office) to star and Jay Roach (Austin Powers, Recount) to direct.  The script is about “a depressed man who finds solace in wearing a beaver hand-puppet”.  But now it seems that original combination is gone and has been replaced by a more unlikely, but in turn more interesting actor-director duo.

An article in Variety has announced that The Beaver will now star Mel Gibson and be directed by actress Jodie Foster.  The same story also says that producers Steve Golin and Keith Redmon are hoping for production to begins this September in New York.  As of now, there is no studio financing behind it.

I find myself more excited for this project than I previously had been.  I like Steve Carell good and well enough, but I like that a more unexpected actor will be taking the lead role.  I’m also a big fan of Mel Gibson and I’m happy to see he’s starting to get back into acting, beginning this year with Martin Campbell’s The Edge of Darkness.  Jodie Foster’s involvement is also a surprise, and I’m curious to see what she does with a comedic project like this one.  As for now, it seems as if The Beaver has a lot of promise.

What do you think of this new announcement?  Which actor-director pairing do you prefer for a project like this?

You are entering the Back Stage. The following is a round-up of smaller film news around the web this week. These stories aren’t quite big enough to garner a full post, but worthy checking out.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Cast in Christopher Nolan’s Inception [THR]

Tom Hanks Has Seen Toy Story 3 [/Film]

Transformers 2 Trailer to Premiere in 20 Cities [/Film]

Jack Black and Michael Cera Are Proud of Their Son Andy Samberg [/Film]

See The First 7 Minutes of The Brothers Bloom [Firstshowing]

Empire Unveil Tintin Information Galore [/Film]

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By Dan Mecca

Not that Eurocentrism has ever really gone away, but at least high-profile filmmakers were trying to conceal it with “noble” films like Crash. Hell, Hollywood even buys and sells independent projects like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon every once and a while. When considering what it was like in the 1940s/1950s, in which films like Elia Kazan’s Gentlemen’s Agreement (which won Best Picture in 1948) and Delmer Daves’ Broken Arrow were regarded as milestones of equality and filters for truth (even though both revolve around white men infiltrating minorities they are not a part of, thereby rescuing them from themselves), we have taken several big steps forward.

Thanks to the productions of recent years, usually independent of Hollywood, one can find honest cultural studies like the impressive HBO miniseries Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee or realism-drenched Westerns like John Hillcoat’s The Proposition.

However, all of this progression seems to be fading fast. How else do you explain why the new Street Fighter movie starred Chris Klein and the people behind Dragonball Evolution decided to cast uber-white Justin Chatwick and Emmy Rossum as Goku and Bulma, merely falling back on Asia’s most Americanized actor, Chow-Yun Fat, for validation. And let us not forget Jake Gyllenhaal playing Prince Dastan in Mike “Goblet of Fire” Newell’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

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