Oh, Mel Gibson! The actor/director has been positioned on the comeback trail for a while now —2016 is supposed to be a big moment as such, with his starring role in the B-movie “Blood Father” (which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival) and his recently Venice Film Festival-premiered “Hacksaw Ridge” (our review). But it seems like it’s always one step forward and one step back with the embattled Gibson. During a recent chat with Deadline, he couldn’t help but put Hollywood on blast for its big spending on terrible blockbusters. But… come to think of it, he’s not entirely wrong.
READ MORE: The 20 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2016 Venice Film Festival
“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. It seems to me that you could do it for less,” Gibson said. “…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.”
It’s true that the risk/reward on mega-movies can seem mind-boggling and would make most accountants faint. When it comes to the reported $250 million budget of “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” Gibson is hardly impressed.
“What did they spend on ‘Batman v Superman’ that they’re admitting to?” Gibson asked. When told the amount, he quipped about the movie, “And it’s a piece of shit.”
As for whether or not he’d do one of those Marvel or DC flicks, his answer isn’t surprising, coming from the guy who turned down playing Odin in “Thor.”
“I’m not interested in the stuff. 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,” Gibson said.
So there you go: Gibson unfiltered. “Hacksaw Ridge” opens on November 4th.