{"id":2526,"date":"2005-10-28T16:56:00","date_gmt":"2005-10-28T16:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2005\/10\/apocalypto-update-mel-gibson-speaks\/"},"modified":"2005-10-28T16:56:00","modified_gmt":"2005-10-28T16:56:00","slug":"apocalypto-update-mel-gibson-speaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2005\/10\/apocalypto-update-mel-gibson-speaks.html","title":{"rendered":"Apocalypto update — Mel Gibson speaks!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Mel Gibson held a press conference today to discuss his newest movie, the self-financed action epic Apocalypto<\/a><\/i>. The Associated Press<\/a> reports:<\/span><\/p>\n

Mel Gibson says a fascination with ancient cultures and great civilizations is what led him to make his upcoming movie \u201cApocalypto,\u201d starring unknown Mexican actors speaking in an ancient tongue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019m doing is making an action-adventure film of mythic proportions,\u201d Gibson, sporting a plaid flannel shirt, jeans and a long salt-and pepper beard, told a news conference Friday.<\/p>\n

The movie is scheduled to begin production Nov. 14 and will be shot almost entirely in the jungle of Mexico\u2019s Veracruz state. <\/p>\n

The film\u2019s stars will be unrecognizable to most moviegoers, and they will speak in the Mayan tongue of Yucateco, Gibson said. It will be light on dialogue and heavy on images and action. It\u2019s set 600 years ago, prior to the 16th-century Spanish conquest of Mexico and Central America.<\/p>\n

The most anyone will see of the 49-year-old movie star \u201cis my fingernail,\u201d Gibson said. \u201cIf I was in it, it would wreck everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his first public explanation of the movie, both written and directed by Gibson, he said he decided to hold a news conference \u201cto satisfy people\u2019s curiosity a little bit\u201d and knock down inaccurate speculation.<\/p>\n

The movie is \u201ca story about a man and his woman, his child and his father, his community,\u201d adding that the man \u201cis put in an incredibly heightened, stressful situation \u2026 has to overcome tremendous obstacles. So it\u2019s a universal story in that respect.\u201d <\/p>\n

Like his last film, the stunningly successful \u201cThe Passion of Christ<\/a>,\u201d Gibson will bankroll \u201cApocalypto\u201d himself. Disney has signed on to release it in the United States.<\/p>\n

Gibson said that although he researched the writings of a Spanish missionary and the Mayan bible, the \u201cPopol Vuh,\u201d and visited Mayan sites in Guatemala and Mexico, the Mayan setting is merely the backdrop of the movie. he chose it because \u201cit\u2019s just fascinating to me. There\u2019s still a lot of mystery about the culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping by focusing on this civilization we can \u2026 analyze ourselves,\u201d he said, adding that the movie \u201cis kind of an anthropological journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film\u2019s title, \u201cApocalypto,\u201d a Greek word for an unveiling or new beginning, \u201cjust expresses so well that I want to convey,\u201d Gibson said. \u201cI think it\u2019s just a universal word. In order for something to begin, something has to end. All of those elements are involved. But it\u2019s not a big doomsday picture or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about future endeavors, Gibson replied, \u201cI have many other projects planned. I might just try one in English.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To this, Reuters<\/a> adds:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s set before the Conquest, so there are no European faces, and we are using mostly indigenous people and actors from Mexico City,\u201d Gibson, sporting a long beard, said at a news conference in the port city of Veracruz.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of mystery to the Mayan culture, but when all is said and done, it\u2019s just the backdrop to what I\u2019m doing \u2014 creating an action adventure of mythic proportions,\u201d he said, blinking before a bank of flash lights. . . .<\/p>\n

The runaway success of \u201cThe Passion of the Christ,\u201d which grossed more than $600 million worldwide, has given Gibson the financial freedom and industry clout to pursue projects like \u201cApocalypto.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbove all, film is a business \u2026Independence is a really cool thing as you can be a bit more bold, and take a few more chances with what you do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Gibson said the story would be told through the eyes of a Mayan man, his family and village, and would touch on universal themes about \u201ccivilizations and what undermines them,\u201d but he declined to go into details about the plot.<\/p>\n

He said Mayan myths from the Popol Vuh sacred texts formed part of his research for the film, which also drew on input from indigenous groups and Spanish mission texts from the 1700s and Mayan language translators.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of it I just made up, and when I checked it out with historians and archeologists, it wasn\u2019t that far wrong,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After visiting Guatemala, the Yucatan Peninsula and Costa Rica to scope out locations, he settled on unspoiled jungle in Veracruz to frame the story.<\/p>\n

Residents in the rain-swept streets of Veracruz, near where Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes first made landfall in 1519, gave their support to the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just great that he\u2019s making a film about Mayan culture,\u201d marimba player Manuel Guerrera said as he prepared to play with a local street band in the city\u2019s colonial square.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a neglected part of our heritage, and it makes us feel really proud,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Gibson\u2019s popularity in Mexico has been boosted by his recent donation of $1 million to the victims of hurricanes that hit southern Mexico, including heavily Mayan areas.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mel Gibson held a press conference today to discuss his newest movie, the self-financed action epic Apocalypto. The Associated Press reports: Mel Gibson says a fascination with ancient cultures and great civilizations is what led him to make his upcoming movie \u201cApocalypto,\u201d starring unknown Mexican actors speaking in an ancient tongue. \u201cWhat I\u2019m doing is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nApocalypto update -- Mel Gibson speaks!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mel Gibson held a press conference today to discuss his newest movie, the self-financed action epic Apocalypto. 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