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So what happens next? For starters, the actor's tentative post-Passionreconciliation with Hollywood — which started with that goofy taped appearance on the Oscars and recently manifested itself via some Bush-bashing—has been torched. ABC swiftly canceled a miniseries about a romance set against the backdrop of the Holocaust with Gibson's Con Artists Productions. (The network claims it was scrapped for lack of a script, but the timing is certainly suspicious.) All that noise Disney made about the Oscar chances for Apocalypto — the Mayan-language epic that Gibson recently wrapped—now seems tragically absurd. And while the actor has the kind of personal fortune that allows him to make almost any movie he wants, who is going to want to see his name on screen? ''He asked the public, and Christians in particular, to invest in his vision, his beliefs, to buy into his passion, if you will,'' says one prominent film executive. ''And they did, with their hearts and wallets. When you ask the public to do that, and profit from that, then incidents like these represent a major breach of trust.''
Since the arrest, Gibson has acted like a person who would like to make amends: He announced on Aug. 1 that he has ''begun an ongoing program of recovery.'' The next step will likely be the Official Talk Show Contrition Tour. After that it's anybody's guess, but in a few years, an apolitical lowbrow action movie—the type that made him a matinee idol and a multimillionaire — might not be a bad idea. As one producer contacted by EW noted, Hollywood is the town that gave convicted child molester Victor Salva a second chance and saw Roman Polanksi feted at the Oscars.
We're here to tell you it's not going to work — at least right now. The violence of Gibson's words won't allow it. Most Americans who've had one beer or glass of wine too many intuitively know that alcohol doesn't temper the beliefs that simmer at the core of a human being. That's why—official apologies and offers to meet with Jewish leaders aside—it's impossible to imagine true forgiveness for a man who has done what Gibson has done. No matter how badly he may want it.
(Additional reporting by Jeff Jensen, J.P. Mangalindan, Lynette Rice, Joshua Rich, and Hannah Tucker)
