Mel Gibson No. 1 thanks to Jesus

[hightime]

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Who says you can't achieve fame and fortune with an indie, filmed entirely in Aramaic and Latin? The movie "The Passion of the Christ" did just that for actor-director Mel Gibson.

Gibson, the director, producer and screenwriter for the "Christ" flick, was named the world's most powerful celebrity by Forbes magazine on Thursday, dethroning "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston from the No. 1 spot she held last year.

The magazine said the "Christ" film helped Gibson earn an estimated $210 million during the past 12 months.

Although the film opened amid a firestorm of controversy in February, "Christ" has grossed $370 million domestically and more than $600 million worldwide.

http://cnnmoney.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=%27Christ%27+film+helps+Gibson+top+Forbes%27+%27Celebrity+100%27+list+-+Jun.+17%2C+2004&expire=&urlID=10763614&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2004%2F06%2F17%2Fnews%2Fnewsmakers%2Fforbes_stars%2Findex.htm&partnerID=2200

[Longhorn79]

1. I haven't seen the film. Is it any good?

I guess I would be directing the question to Christians rather than antheists/others.

[hightime]

2. Never saw it...I like non-fiction

[jjmalonejr]

3. I saw it.

I was less than impressed by it as a film.

Gibson seems obsessed by the extremity of the suffering of Christ, but gives scant treatment to Christ as a character, to his message and ministry and to his relationship with his followers.

I would have been much more interested to see a film which focused on these things rather than the outrageous violence. I'm not a prude about violence, mind you, but for me it just left me numb after a while.

[Don_G]

4. Mad Max Meets Christ?

If that's the case, I never want to see it.

[jjmalonejr]

10. No, it's not treated like an action movie...

...and it's not campy. In fact, it's really rather operatic in its violence.

It's just excessive. Really excessive and really repetitive. It actually gets boring.

You'd have to take the film really personally to be affected by it, but the film doesn't really make a PERSON out of Jesus Christ. Unless you go into the film with the expectation of witnessing the suffering of your Lord and Savior, the film has little emotional impact. Jesus is not developed much as a character, but is merely the object of the violence.

[wtmusic]

12. Didn't you feel guilty after it? Gee, I sure did...

I went home and banged my head against the wall 200x. Christ suffered so much for my sins, it was the least I could do for him.

[jjmalonejr]

19. I didn't feel guilty.

I felt bad that a man whose simple message of love and forgiveness has been transformed into some sort of weird, violence-obsessed death cult.

[xxqqqzme]

14. I find it telling that after wallowing

in sadism & gore, and his declarations of faith, he didn't include the a resurrection sequence......bottom line $$$$$$$$$

[jjmalonejr]

20. He did include a resurrection sequence.

Albeit extremely abbreviated.

It wasn't about the resurrection, though. It was about the suffering. It's all about the suffering. That's what I found so distasteful about it.

[TrustingDog]

17. saw it.

I'm not religious in the traditional sense at all but have a belief that there are possibilities of exceptionally strong untainted characters like Jesus being among us.

I found the film very intriquing - the original languages lent an important dimension to the film - good call by Gibson. Haunting sad beautiful language. I was also surprised to have so much compassion for Judas - he had a role to fill and a large price to pay for it.

[Hoping4Change]

5. Personally I think he was helped by the Anti-Christ.

I'm surprised that the cross wasn't upside-down. The film's reverent and obsessive depiction of gore and suffering for some strange inexplicable reason reminds me of Satanism and its Black Mass.

$210 million for 2 hours of gore and suffering? Is Gibson familiar with the term filthy lucre?

[0007]

6. Have no plans to see it film. I heard enough about it as it is,

I think South Park probably did the best take on how screwy Mel Gibson is -

[Hoping4Change]

7. BTW Hi there hightime

Welcome underground. :hi:

[SmokingJacket]

8. Well we all remember how much Jesus loves money

and loves making people rich! Right?

Or am I thinking of someone else??

Guess I wasn't paying attention in Bible Study.

Hm.

[Corkey Mineola]

9. Saw it ... Need a Barf Bag

It's so gross with barely one redeeming (no pun intended) quality. Gibson would become number one through the grossest film of the year. I hope Jen isn't too mad. Brad might go kick Mel's ass.
That would be worth paying to see!
PHN

[jdj]

11. Mel has issues.

I saw Braveheart, where he's brought out before the crowd, also in a crucifixion pose, with his arms tied by ropes to a cross like contraption (and then is tortured to death). When I tried to find out about the death of William Wallace I could find very little, very little is known, so it seems Gibson has a Christ complex. His feelings about gays are pretty clear from that movie,as well. And then there is the drag scene in What Women Want. Same shit different day, latent homosexual grappling with his forbidden feelings.

I am surprised at this though. I would think it would be Britney Spears, or someone really hot (meaning in demand) or Jessica Simpson, etc. Oprah is richer than him, and probably more "powerful" whatever that means.

[wtmusic]

13. Jesus' suffering is making Mel a HELL of a lot of money

n/t

[Norton]

15. What would Jesus do???

Give most of that money to the needy! I see right through Mel Gibson... he's used Jesus's worst day to make a BILLION dollars for himself... Judas.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

16. Mel becomes multi-millionaire off of Christ's Death and "Jew-Hating"!

Hey!!! He could be the next Pat Robertson.

[TrustingDog]

18. bleh.

no jew hating in the movie. pulheeeeeze don't sound like a freeper.