The Brand Called Mel Gibson

Last week I spoke with Peter Hoy of Fast Company about the brand called Mel Gibson. Apocalypto, Mel’s latest cinematic piece, is set to open this Friday and many folks are curious to know if Mel’s brand image can bounce-back from his damaging drunken tirade earlier this year.

Hoy’s online article asks the question, “Will the end of civilization on the big screen coincide with the end of Mel Gibson's career in Hollywood?” Karen Post and I are quoted in the article. >> READ MORE <<

Comments

[Rob Stevens]

I was floored that not only did they continue to have Mel's name attached to the movie the marketing, but the commercials are clips of an interview with him about the movie.

I really don't think that I could have distanced myself further if I were the one doing the marketing. If this were a surefire blockbuster summer tentpole release, maybe you could use it to help rehab the guy's image, but in this case, I think it's just going to bring down the image of the movie, which is unfortunate.

[Mario Sundar]

Let me preface my comment by distancing myself from Mel Gibson's recent tirade. It was definitely unfortunate and a sad day for all.

However, from the point-of-view of a filmmaker Mel Gibson's new movie seems to be moving slowly into must-see status: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?s=78225e63593fccb25f71354850e56567&p=9672712#post9672712.

And finally at the end of the day, all that matters is how good the movie is and how controversial it and that could lead to BO results. My bet is on Apocalypto being a smash hit as long as it caters to its core base - the young male demographic.

As a matter of fact, I believe that any publicity is good publicity, and all that the recent tirade did is actually drum up viewer interest in the days building up to the movie.

However, I could be wrong in my analysis! Only time will tell.

[DUST!N]

Rob,

My opinion is this movie wouldn't stand a chance to draw people WITHOUT Mel's name attached to it.

Take away his name and narrative "set-up" of the movie and it becomes a wallflower of a promotion.

The quality of the movie itself will probably dicatate whether this movie is a bonafide blockbuster... but it will definitely dictate if there's any attraction for the next Mel Gibson movie.

[Stephen Denny]

The brand called Mel Gibson stands for a lot of things these days, some of them quite tasteless and some of them very refreshing. You already know the tasteless parts. The other stuff is right in line with Apocalypto -- non-studio screenplays on touchy subjects that (so far, with a sample size of one, namely 'Passion') score huge at the box office.

He produces fantastic movies. That's part of his brand. Hollywood is littered with movie producers of enormous talent who have rather questionable character, from Woody Allen (know any CEO's who married their 17-year old adopted daughter?), Roman Polanski, etc., etc.

The film makers still attach his name to the film because it's a positive addition to the film's likely success -- the market knows what his films are like. To distance yourself from this core brand attribute would be to miss the point entirely.