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Apocalypto Hoho? No

For the non-celeb scandal minded, read about making Apocalypto in my review.

It's true that this story has gone from zero to eighty miles an hour in a short span of time:

In a little over 24 hours, Mr. Gibson’s arrest and subsequent behavior in Malibu had already prompted talk of a claimed cover-up, an exposé, worldwide news coverage, an apology and then a full-blown push for alcohol rehabilitation, even as his representatives and executives at the Walt Disney Company rushed to catch up with the event’s effect on the filmmaker’s movie and television projects with the company.

On Monday, Hope Hartman, a spokeswoman for Disney’s ABC television network, said the company was dropping its plans to produce a Holocaust-themed miniseries in collaboration with Mr. Gibson.

--Mel Gibson: The Speed of Scandal - New York Times

The abbreviation LOL needs upgrading to MeLOL. Seriously though, if there was any residual doubt that, when push comes to shove, Gibson's an anti-Semite, that doubt needs to go live with the people who doubted The Passion of the Christ would make money.

Mel is in good company at Disney, what with Uncle Walt reputedly being unaverse to a good Jew baiting now and then.

A Zen koan: Would this story be so big if there hadn't been a cover-up? Maybe not, but it probably should be. After how he responded to the flack he caught on Passion by flacking right back -- it's pure hypocrisy and that's always big news. In spite of everything, I think we still want to hold public figures to their word.

I'm not defending the guy -- for all the venom he spewed, he deserves the hate coming back -- but I think it should be noted that he was raised anti-Semitic by his Holocaust-denying father. Talk about a birthright.

About J. Ott

John Ott is a writer, filmmaker and futurist. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.