It seems that America and/or Hollywood isn't quite ready to forgive Mel Gibson just yet. His attempted comeback films — the dreadful "Edge Of Darkness" and the middling "The Beaver" — weren't the vehicles they were supposed to be, and his offscreen behaviour has continued to dog the actor. And while he was rumored for a couple of new projects this year — the international heist thriller "Sleight" as well as a Jewish historical epic — they both seem to be stalled and/or have courted controversy. So given the uneasy relationship the industry continues to have with the actor/writer/director it's no suprise he still has one movie sitting on the shelf, waiting to be released.
"How I Spent My Summer" is a project Gibson shot in Mexico in late 2009. Helmed by longtime second unit and assistant director Adrian Grunberg ("Apocalypto," "The Limits Of Control," "Traffic," "Jarhead") and co-starring Peter Stormare, Gibson plays a career criminal who finds himself locked up a Mexican prison, and learns to survive thanks to the help of a 9 year-old boy. That's nabbed from IMDB and it seems there is a plot detail missing in there. At any rate, a post for the film has popped up quite randomly (via RecentMoviePosters), promising a 2012 summer release date, but don't hold your breath. Update: The Film Stage have uncovered an image from the movie which is up top.
As far as we know, while the picture has sold in numerous international territories, no U.S. distributor has picked up the film (and not for lack of trying, it was screened to buyers at Cannes in the spring and likely other fests/markets as well). As long as Gibson is a pariah, 'Summer' will likely stay out of reach of the multiplex or turn up on DVD at some point. Which is a shame, since, considering all of his potential comeback movies, this one sounds the most promising. But who knows, maybe the tide will shift at some point and it will get its due stateside.
The full poster is below, but before that, check out Gibson's latest acting role you may have missed. He teamed up with Jamie Foxx and Garry Shandling and put together a video for Robert Downey Jr.'s American Cinematheque tribute earlier this year. It's pretty good.