At the top of Thursday’s NBC Today, co-host Hoda Kotb sounded the alarm about a new film in the works: “Is Mel Gibson planning a sequel to his most controversial and successful movie ever?” Later in the show, fellow co-host Savannah Guthrie gave more details as she similarly warned: “What we’re learning about Mel Gibson’s plan for a sequel to his most controversial movie ever, The Passion of the Christ.”
Introducing a full report on the topic in the 7:30 a.m. ET half hour, Guthrie worried: “Well, Mel Gibson is back in the headlines this morning, nearly 15 years after his film, The Passion of the Christ, stirred up controversy....He is apparently looking to do it again with a sequel.”
Correspondent Willie Geist noted: “Over the last several years, Mel Gibson has tried to overcome a number of personal scandals that have tarnished his blockbuster career.” After describing Gibson’s follow-up to Passion of the Christ as “the Hollywood sequel few people saw coming,” Geist reminded viewers of the director’s past controversies:
The news comes as Gibson is attempting a comeback of his own, after that now-infamous DUI in 2006, where Gibson went on an anti-Semitic tirade that made worldwide headlines, forcing Gibson off of Hollywood’s A-list....That incident was followed by domestic violence charges in 2011 that were dropped after a plea deal.
A soundbite followed of The Hollywood Reporter’s Rebecca Sun fretting: “It raises this conversation of was this long enough? Is it okay for him to come back?”
When The Passion of the Christ came out in 2004, the liberal media showed significant hostility to the religious film. Anchors on all three broadcast networks wrung their hands over the movie’s orthodox depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus. On the Today show, then-co-host Matt Lauer put this question to The New Yorker’s Peter Boyer: “The Anti-Defamation League expressed concern over whether it would portray the Jews as, quote, ‘bloodthirsty, sadistic, and money-hungry enemies of Jesus.’ You spoke to the head of the ADL. Did he think it was an anti-Semitic movie?”
A Media Research Center special report on religion coverage released in 2006 found that while The Passion was treated as a problem, the conspiratorial anti-Catholic film The DaVinci Code was lavished with positive attention from the networks.
Wrapping up his report on Thursday, Geist credited Gibson’s 2004 film “with opening the door to faith-based films as not so much a niche film industry, but as a blockbuster widespread popular kind of movie.” Guthrie replied: “Yeah, I forgot how much money it made at the box office....It was a sensation back then.”
Despite the overwhelming success of The Passion of the Christ, it seems that viewers can expect the sequel, focused on the resurrection of Jesus, to be met with the same media hostility.
Here is a full transcript of the February 1 segment:
7:00 AM ET TEASE
HODA KOTB: Is Mel Gibson planning a sequel to his most controversial and successful movie ever?
7:19 AM ET TEASE
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Coming up, the biggest film in history? What we’re learning about Mel Gibson’s plan for a sequel to his most controversial movie ever, The Passion of the Christ.
7:32 AM ET SEGMENT
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: Well, Mel Gibson is back in the headlines this morning, nearly 15 years after his film, The Passion of the Christ, stirred up controversy. Made hundreds of millions of dollars, by the way. He is apparently looking to do it again with a sequel. And Willie is following that story for us. Hi, good morning.
WILLIE GEIST: Good morning, Savannah. Good morning, Hoda. Good to see you both. Over the last several years, Mel Gibson has tried to overcome a number of personal scandals that have tarnished his blockbuster career. Now, the star who played Jesus in the original movie is opening up about Gibson’s plans for a follow-up.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Controversial “Passion” Project; Mel Gibson to Direct “Passion of the Christ” Sequel]
It’s the Hollywood sequel few people saw coming. The Passion of the Christ was released more than a decade ago on a $30 million budget. The film, spoken entirely in the ancient language of old Aramaic, depicts the crucifixion of Jesus. It earned more than $600 million and remains one of the highest grossing films in history.
Now, after more than a decade, Mel Gibson is set to direct a Passion sequel. Actor Jim Caviezel, who will reprise his role as Jesus, telling USA Today the movie “is going to be the biggest film in history. It’s that good.”
The news comes as Gibson is attempting a comeback of his own, after that now-infamous DUI in 2006, where Gibson went on an anti-Semitic tirade that made worldwide headlines, forcing Gibson off of Hollywood’s a-list. Gibson issued an apology, describing his actions as “a moment of insanity” and a “public humiliation on a global scale.” That incident was followed by domestic violence charges in 2011 that were dropped after a plea deal.
Despite the scandals, Gibson still has two of the top three highest grossing faith-based films of all time, including Hacksaw Ridge, which earned him a Best Director Oscar nomination last year.
REBECCA SUN [THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER]: I think you can look at Mel Gibson as an example of somebody who is now out of director’s jail, back into the graces of people in the industry who realize that he's still pretty bankable. It raises this conversation of was this long enough? Is it okay for him to come back?
MEL GIBSON: The subject matter is vast. I mean, it’s not just about a resurrection, it’s not the, you know, man comes back, walks through walls, has holes in hand, eats a piece of fish.
GEIST: Gibson’s Passion sequel is planned for release in 2020. No word yet on which studio is attached to the project. The Passion of the Christ is credited with opening the door to faith-based films as not so much a niche film industry, but as a blockbuster widespread popular kind of movie, and he’s proved it.
GUTHRIE: Yeah, I forgot how much money it made at the box office.
GEIST: $600 million.
GUTHRIE: It was a sensation back then. Willie, thank you.
HODA KOTB: Willie, thanks.
