gave Movie trailer hit heavy circulation on NFL playoff broadcasts and elsewhere earlier this month. The pilot, played by Mark Wahlberg, flies a federal agent and a government witness in a small plane. But it seems the pilot is actually a hit man sent to kill the witness. Chaos ensues.
“You don’t see it,” the trailer promises in all caps. “You experience it.”
None of the actors, including Wahlberg, are identified by name — the agent is played by Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”), the witness Topher Grace (“That ’70s Show”) — and the filmmaker is credited only with “ as the famous director of ‘Braveheart’, ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ and ‘Apocalypto’.
gave Movie poster Similar: Wahlberg’s only name in the big variety. The biggest promises of these three films, “from an award-winning director”. And just below, in very small type, is the director’s name: Mel Gibson.
Gibson — who won a directing Oscar for “Braveheart” and was nominated for “Hacksaw Ridge” — was certainly one of Hollywood’s most bankable actors. He’s also the same man who in 2006 made anti-Semitic remarks to a police officer who pulled him over for speeding (Gibson pleaded no contest to drunken driving and apologized for the remarks ), was heard shouting racist remarks on tapes leaked in 2010. Then the girlfriend and this past fall described That Kamala Harris has “the IQ of a fence post.”
Gibson’s return to the director’s chair for the first time since “Hacksaw Ridge” nearly a decade ago coincides with President Trump’s return to the White House — who last week fired Gibson and two other notable conservative entertainment figures, actor Sylvester Stallone’s name was taken. and Jon Voight, as Hollywood’s “special ambassador.” In this light, “Flight Risk” provides a case study of how the cultural industries will navigate a political reality in which conservatism feels culturally ascendant, but the most successful mass products always involve everyone. Something happens for
By all indications, “Flight Risk” is an apolitical, tightly-paced thriller best watched with popcorn. (Reviews not yet available.)
“This movie looks more like she and Mark are having fun,” said Russell Schwartz, a veteran theater marketer and professor at Chapman University, adding that it seems like “it’s not a diatribe, It’s just a good, old fashioned B+ or A – action movie.
Gibson has done limited press to promote the film. He is the host of Fox News’ prime-time show “The Ingraham Angle” and the conservative cable network News Nation (Disclosure (that his family home in Malibu, California was destroyed in a recent fire).
A spokesperson for Gibson referred an inquiry to Lionsgate, which is distributing the film. Lionsgate declined to comment.
Gibson also appeared this month on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the wildly popular podcast whose host became a prominent player in last year’s presidential campaign when Trump appeared as a guest on the show and Rogan spoke to Trump in the days leading up to the election. supported by Rogan attended Monday’s inauguration ceremony inside the Capitol.
On the show, Gibson discussed his conservative Catholic beliefs (he rejects the Second Vatican Council) and his thoughts on evolution. (“The Darwin thing? I don’t really go for it.”) He said he has three friends whose stage 4 cancers went away after complete treatment.
Gibson also promoted “Flight Risk” in widely acclaimed terms. “It’s a bummer,” Gibson said, adding, “I just want people to have a nice little ride.”
Casey Kelly, a professor of rhetoric and public culture at the University of Nebraska, said Gibson’s strategic press exposure could market to moviegoers who find his politics appealing without alienating others. “It makes the material seem taboo, uncultured, rebellious,” he said, “which is really appealing to young people.”
Kelly added, “Being anti-vake is more of a brand than content. Mel Gibson’s movies are not anti-vake. It’s a way of making a name for yourself.”
Fred Cook, a public relations veteran who is a professor at the University of Southern California, said it’s common for a movie to be marketed as different things to different audiences. He noted that trailers for “Joker: Folly a Deux” often gave away the extent that last year’s sequel to “The Joker” was a musical.
“They didn’t show that side of the movie, which is a huge factor, because they didn’t think people would like it,” Cook said.
Gibson’s planned next film may be more difficult to market so carefully. He has said he plans to begin production soon on a sequel to his 2004 blockbuster “The Passion of the Christ,” by some measures the most successful independent film of all time, which was criticized for its anti-Semitic tropes. was criticized for.
The follow-up, in which Gibson says Jim Caviezel will reprise his role as Jesus, will be concerned with the resurrection and more, Gibson told Rogan — “from the fallen angels to the last apostles.” until the death of.”
“You have different goals,” Gibson added, contrasting “Flight Risk” with this new project. “The next thing I’m going to deal with is much deeper for me — it’s going to take more of me.”
