Mel Gibson

"C'mon Jews," the ad exhorted, "show them who really runs Hollywood." Hint: It's not Mel Gibson. In Tuesday's full-page ad in Daily Variety, placed by Comedy Central, the answer is clear from the cartoon showing "South Park" characters next to the Scientology headquarters.

Angry Mel Gibson is back - and he just might be angry enough to sue “The Maccabees” screenwriter Joe Ezsterhas for releasing a recording of a rant that went down in December at the actor's Costa Rica home.   Audio and a transcript of the recording, which came out Wednesday via TheWrap, show Gibson flexing a somewhat limited vocabulary - think the F-word used as noun, verb and adjective - at top volume. (Check it out here , if you're prepared for a slew of profanity.)

Actor-director Mel Gibson avoided the prying cameras of the paparazzi by going to the El Segundo Police Department at night to be fingerprinted and booked in connection with his misdemeanor battery conviction. Gibson arrived at the station about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and was released a half-hour later. A booking record lists Gibson as 5-feet-10 and 190 pounds. His fingerprinting was required after he pleaded no contest Friday to the misdemeanor, related to a struggle last year with his former girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva.

The deputy who arrested Mel Gibson in 2006 for drunk driving has tentatively settled his lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department for $50,000, attorneys said. Deputy James Mee alleged that his supervisors retaliated against him because he resisted requests to remove the actor's anti-Semitic slurs from an initial arrest report. "We did not settle for the purpose of making money," said Etan Z. Lorant, one of Mee's attorneys. "It was a task of the heart. " When the case was initially filed, it appeared to have the potential for high drama if it ever made it to trial, with the likes of Gibson and Sheriff Lee Baca taking the witness stand to address accusations of drunken rants, covered-up slurs and special favors.

A balanced view of Mel Gibson Thanks for the ecumenical piece on Mel Gibson and the upcoming film "Edge of Darkness" ["The Shadow in His Smile" by Geoff Boucher, Jan. 24]. It was refreshing to read an article that reflected on the totality of Gibson's career rather than focusing entirely on the nadir of his drunk driving arrest. Tabloid baggage aside, Gibson remains a truly protean force in the world of film, and I think you captured that enigmatic quality that is elusive to most journalists.

A round-up of entertainment news stories for Thursday. Mel Gibson (remember him?) is expected to plead no contest to domestic violence charges and avoid jail time. ( Los Angeles Times ) Julie Taymor is out of the troubled "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," but the Broadway show will go on. ( Los Angeles Times ) Spider-Man's first comic book appearance sold for $1.1 million -- or about 1/65th of the budget of his new musical ( New York Daily News ) Julianne Moore has landed the plum role of Sarah Palin in HBO's "Game Change.

Mel Gibson, the Oscar winner who has defended himself against accusations of anti-Semitism, is developing a film for Warner Bros. about the life of Judah Maccabee, the warrior whose ancient victory is celebrated by Hanukkah. Gibson's Icon Productions has closed the producing deal with Warner Bros., and Joe Eszterhas will write the screenplay. Gibson's camp said the filmmaker will decide if he's directing after the script is done and that he has not ruled out the possibility that he could act in the film.

Mel Gibson took a deep breath, shook his head and stared down at his palms. "I just can't do this. You've got me at a disadvantage." The movie star, his voice a croak, was a mere 19 minutes into an interview, but it was clear there was no way he was going to make it to 20. "I'm coming rapidly to the conclusion that right now, today, my brain cannot function. Honestly? I'm six days off the cigarette. You're looking at someone who's having a pretty bad withdrawal from a 45-year habit."

"Can Mel Gibson survive 'The Passion of the Christ?' " asks Entertainment Weekly. Oh, come now. Of course he can, and he will! Gibson has made a movie, not issued an encyclical, nor offered an edict, nor made a law -- no, it's just his version of the four Gospels of the New Testament (and perhaps a few persuasive ideas from other more conservative Catholic religious thinkers). This is not such a big deal. But this is a movie that will definitely make its money back.

After months of controversy over whether his film "The Passion" might be anti-Catholic or anti-Semitic, Mel Gibson finally spoke out publicly this week, denying such suggestions and saying the movie about the final hours of Jesus' life is meant to inspire, not offend.

Mel Gibson, the Oscar winner who has defended himself against accusations of anti-Semitism, is developing a film for Warner Bros. about the life of Judah Maccabee, the warrior whose ancient victory is celebrated by Hanukkah. Gibson's Icon Productions has closed the producing deal with Warner Bros., and Joe Eszterhas will write the screenplay. Gibson's camp said the filmmaker will decide if he's directing after the script is done and that he has not ruled out the possibility that he could act in the film.

The new film "The Beaver" stars Mel Gibson as a mentally ill man who begins to speak through a battered hand puppet that he retrieves from a dumpster in a moment of despair. Although the controversial star made a point to puppeteer the beaver himself, on the set, puppet wrangler Anney McKilligan Ozar was tasked with grooming the creature's fur and even brushing its prominent teeth. "I had to keep his teeth nice and shiny because things wear down," she said. On an average day on the job, McKilligan Ozar said she needs "everything from 18 different sizes of needles to 18 different sizes of drill bits.

There are all kinds of problems with "The Beaver. " Ironically, Mel Gibson isn't one of them. So for those inclined to set aside the actor's alcoholic, anti-Semitic rants and his no-contest plea to domestic abuse (and I'm not arguing for that), there is a sensitive performance to be found, with Gibson creating a sad, sobering portrait of depression. Being sold in ads as a whimsical, poignant family drama from director-actor Jodie Foster, the film is more a torrential downpour of pain.

As she has crisscrossed the country tirelessly promoting her latest directorial effort, "The Beaver," Jodie Foster has been keeping in touch via text with Mel Gibson. When the star of your film is also your close friend and Hollywood's leading persona non grata, the messages can get a tad awkward. "Mel said, 'I will be dragged through gravel for you,'" Foster said in Beverly Hills. "He's been in Costa Rica. I texted him back, 'I don't want you to be dragged through gravel for me. Please do not.'" Left hanging in the air is what, if anything, Foster does want from Gibson at this point.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Friday. Mel Gibson is finally talking about his troubles. Not screaming. ( Deadline ) Lindsay Lohan is expected back in court Friday in her jewelry-theft case. ( Los Angeles Times ) Gary Busey's 1-year-old son has been hospitalized. ( Los Angeles Times ) "American Idol": Sayonara, Stefano! ( Los Angeles Times ) The Queen is 85. ( Los Angeles Times ) Jim Carrey is joining "The Office" for the season finale.

There was a moment during the first public screening of her new film, "The Beaver," when Jodie Foster finally felt she could exhale. The drama, starring Mel Gibson as a depressed father who reinvents himself with the help of a furry hand puppet, deals with tough subject matter that is uncomfortably close its star's very public meltdown. After a mostly comic first hour, Gibson's character reveals the depth of his depression and anger by turning his rage against himself. "There's one scene in the movie where it takes this turn and where Mel hits himself, and if people are laughing there, then we're like, 'This is bad. This is not good,' " Foster said in an interview the morning after "The Beaver's" sold-out premiere at the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival here this week.

LOOK AT THOSE PHOTOS of Mel Gibson taken at Moonshadows in Malibu only hours before his arrest July 28. How innocent he looks in his ignorance of the fact that he's mere hours, maybe only minutes, from self-immolation. From letting his id run briefly wild and changing his life forever. From committing one of those rare acts for which no apology short of "I'm sorry you had to see my true inner ugliness" can have any meaning. Movie people are infrequent apologizers.

The cameras were rolling, but actor and director Mel Gibson was nowhere to be seen at the Malibu courthouse Tuesday. In a brief hearing held at the Oscar winner's request, a judge agreed to expunge Gibson's drunk-driving conviction. The initial arrest made headlines when the star was reported to have made anti-Semitic comments to a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy. "He does not appear to be on any sort of probation or facing any similar charges," Judge Lawrence J. Mira said as a videographer for a celebrity news website taped the proceeding.

Actor-director Mel Gibson avoided the prying cameras of the paparazzi by going to the El Segundo Police Department at night to be fingerprinted and booked in connection with his misdemeanor battery conviction. Gibson arrived at the station about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday and was released a half-hour later. A booking record lists Gibson as 5-feet-10 and 190 pounds. His fingerprinting was required after he pleaded no contest Friday to the misdemeanor, related to a struggle last year with his former girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva.

A roundup of entertainment headlines for Monday Mel Gibson attends court for Hamlet. ( Wall Street Journal ) Moviegoers made "Battle: Los Angeles" the No. 1 movie of the weekend. ( Los Angeles Times ) No joke: Jane Lynch, Ellen DeGeneres and other celebrities are starting a campaign to get President Obama to clarify his stance on same-sex marriage. ( Los Angeles Times ) Bad news for Charlie Sheen = good news for "The Chicago Code. " ( Los Angeles Times )