These are photos of Mel Gibson and his girlfriend/baby-mama Oksana Grigorieva attending the premiere of The Edge of Darkness, Mel’s latest film. Call me crazy, but I actually think Oksana looks really, really pretty. Maybe she stopped doing whatever to her face? Maybe pregnancy made her look weird/different? I don’t know. But she looks rather lovely here. She has a gorgeous profile. Mel looks… yeah, like Mel. Like he’s wearing crazy pants. Like his soul is wearing crazy pants.
Meanwhile, this film is Mel’s first starring role since Signs, and as some may have noticed, Mel has been doing his publicity rounds with his patented hint of crazy – even telling Hello Magazine that he sleeps with a gun and that, in this day and age, you have to “tooled up”. Ugh. So, it’s natural that many, many media outlets are all wondering the same thing – is Mel Gibson capable of a comeback? The answer? A resounding “eh… maybe.” HuffPo has a really long piece on Mel’s “comeback” (full piece here), and these are some of the highlights – including an interview with Mel:
“It was time,” Mel Gibson, 54, tells The Associated Press. “I felt like getting back in the saddle. I felt like I was getting stale about seven or eight years ago. Stepped back, did some things I wanted to do. Did a few things I didn’t want to do. And then time to come back.”
“I don’t think Mel eases his way back into anything,” says “Edge of Darkness” producer Graham King. “Sure, we discussed very early on, ‘Is this the right role for him to come back in?’ I think it is, and hopefully moviegoers will agree.”
Will they? Hollywood.com box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian believes Gibson picked the right movie for his comeback.
“In revenge roles, Mel Gibson has few peers,” Dergarabedian says. “If you’ve been away for awhile, it’s smart to go back to what people are comfortable seeing you do.”
Some, though, question whether Gibson’s public standing hasn’t been permanently damaged.
“I think that drunk-driving tirade confirmed a lot of people’s suspicions about the kind of person Mel Gibson is,” says Matthew Traub, managing director at Dan Klores Communications. Traub, who specializes in crisis management public relations, believes people are willing to forgive celebrities for substance abuse or sexual indiscretion but draw the line at bigotry.
Publicist Michael Levine, whose agency has represented Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson among others, agrees.
“I think he’s done,” Levine says of Gibson’s career prospects. “He’ll work, he’ll exist, but I think he’s seared his obit for life.”
Gibson defiantly rejects the notion that he’s damaged goods.
“It’s 30 years ago that I lost my own personal anonymity,” Gibson said. “And it’s 30 years ago that the public humiliation began. And sometimes it reaches a global level. And what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. And I’m telling you right now, I’m one strong motherf—– because I’m right back at you.”
Gibson also insisted his past notoriety will not affect his ability to work with Hollywood studios in the future.
“What scandal?” he says. “That’s mostly newspaper hype, OK?! I can get in with the studio, work with them, or work independently as I wish. And I’ll go on as I always have.”
“As a Jew, I have to say Mel Gibson’s my favorite anti-Semite,” says veteran film reporter Lewis Beale. “He’s an incredibly talented guy both behind and in front of the camera.”
Adds film historian David Thomson: “Gibson’s not a tidy person. There’s an authenticity to the unhinged characters he plays that sets him apart. Whether you like him or not, there’s a daring there that makes him compelling.”
[From Huffington Post]
My Lord, Hollywood is full of forgiving people. Maybe they’re all in denial? Maybe they don’t want to believe that Mel says stuff like “Jews are responsible for all of the wars.” I always believed he said that. And I believe that he means it too, drunk or sober. But I also kind of understand how someone could describe Mel as their “favorite anti-Semite”. It’s not like he’s goose-stepping around refusing to even look Jews in the eye. He works with Jews every day, and he probably has many Jewish friends. And yet, he still holds those anti-Semitic feelings, you know. He is so complicated!
Mel and Oksana at the LA premiere on January 26, 2010. Credit: WENN.
Hmmm.. Looks like Someone’s had their face jacked up..
She still looks like Octomum’s prettier version
She looks like octomom’s sister
She dyed her hair from black to dark brown which makes her look less washed out and compliments her skin tone.
looks like she had MORE work done, not that she stopped.
and Mel’s got the crazy eyes…creepy.
It looks like they’ve both had work done. Mel’s looking younger and better than he has in ages. She looks like a surgeon carved up her face and you all are right, the end result sure DOES look like Octomom!
His career peaked a long time ago. He will keep working, but it’s not ever going to be like it was at the height of his popularity.
Oksana, arm candy. Octomom, an irresponsible mother that reshaped her face made in to a celebrity. Mel, at one time “hot” actor now known for his socially unacceptable comments and actions. Most interesting thing about this article, Mel talking about losing anonymity. I, for one, would never want to be famous and lose my anonymity or privacy. Both are very precious.
excuse me, but how can an extremely pimped face be considered beautiful? i think “octomom’s clone” would better fit the bill.
He looks totally deranged. The proportions of her face are totally out of whack due to implants, filler, chicken cutlets, who knows. Hey Mel, if you’re going to continue to smoke 4 packs a day at least bleach your teeth.
A lot of people hate a group or a race and “make nice” with them in business and even privately, even going as far as dating them. I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive. In fact it happens quite a lot and I think he meant the comments too.
I agree his girlfriend who probably IS his girlfriend because she doesn’t care about issues like that, looks eerily like a Latino version of Octomom.
Has anyone else noticed the wet spot on the front of Mel’s pants? A little PREmiere excitement maybe?
OK, I have officially grossed myself out.
She’s had her lips enhanced and some Botox, not to mention some chemical peels around her forehead. She has that paper thin Nicole Kidman forehead.
Well! Rehabbing Mel’s reputation. I won’t believe it ’til I see him at a bris, holding the baby during the circumcision. Which will NEVER HAPPEN.
“What scandal?” he says. “That’s mostly newspaper hype, OK?!”
Thank god he didn’t finish that with,”…Much like the Holocaust.”
I said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t have a “favorite” anti-semite. I’ll never see anything he had a hand in ever again – past, present, or future.
Two hoes.
How is she really, really pretty? With the sharp chin, the inflated lips and wide full cheeks?
She looks like Octomom’s sister. Get it together.
A gorgeous profile? Gah.
I’m done. I can’t support him anymore as long as he’s with her.
I thought she at least looks more appropriately dressed at the premiere than she did at the Golden Globes. I kept questioning if wearing boots was realy appropriate (I thought maybe I was making wrong observations), but Mel’s clothes seem out of place here – you would think he would be wearing a suit. I believe everything is for “show” and she gets paid something for being seen with him (probably each time she attends something with him); I don’t think she looks really pleased with him (and you know he is not really sincere about her and I don’t think he is truly sincere about the baby – maybe because I don’t want him to – but he is not a sincere man); I hope they are not really living together.
My own feelings I don’t like seeing Mel with this woman; I truly feel she is not a woman who would make a difference in man’s life. I would genuinely love to see Mel with a woman who would be a helper to him and help him turn his life completely around – I believe A LOT of people would have a great deal of respect for him, but he has to want to listen!
I don’t think EOD is going to do well, I don’t think Mel has his “comeback” and I don’t think the Beaver is going to do any better. Mel can’t play any role other than hate and violence and revenge because that is what is in him and I don’t think that is a “great actor” or versatile. There is too much hate in him and each time I see pics of him and this woman together he looks more and more evil and makes me shutter to look at him.
The talk of him having a gun I think the man is truly excessively paranoid and the remarks he made regarding people asking about DUI three years ago that it will kill you or make you stronger – I don’t think it’s made him stronger I think it’s eating at him and tormenting him in his mind and HE can’t get away from it. Mel might be using that gun on the side of his head.
If his PR team thinks it’s a good idea for him to be seen out and about with her, then they should be fired.
““What scandal?” he says. “That’s mostly newspaper hype, OK?!”
Thank god he didn’t finish that with,”…Much like the Holocaust.”
Anonymou that was the funniest f***ing thing I heard all day. At the same time horrifying because that is how he sees it.
susieqinBA your comments are truly baffling. On one hand you describe Mel as deeply screwed up and hateful. And based on recent interviews he is. Then you turn around and suggest that a healthy, bright woman would be interested in him romantically?? Just who exactly did you think a guy like that would attract?
Just be glad some great person with a spectacular talent didn’t fall for him, although it’s admittedly an unlikely scenario.
She is vile.
@kermit- I totally agree with you. While I wouldn’t mind the bank account of a celebrity, I would not want to be famous in this day and age. Privacy is a beautiful thing. And the first pap who puts a camera in my child’s face is getting my fist in theirs, money or no money.
At least she’s discovered what conditioner can do for your hair – it does look lovely. The rest of her? Not so much.
Oksana has definitely used some of Mel’s millions for a makeover…notice that her hair is shorter and not as ratty as it used to be. I can’t figure out what’s going on in the relationship. She has the upper hand because of the baby, and is a big fame whore, so maybe she tells him she wants to be out and about together and it’s easier for him to go along with her wishes than say no. He obviously doesn’t think he’s done anything wrong by dumping his wife for her. Has he made any comments about the future of the relationship or has he explained why he decided to have a baby with her in any of the gazillion interviews he’s given over the past few weeks?
As for EoD and Mel’s “comeback”…Warner Brothers made a brilliant PR and marketing decision when they moved the release from the fall to January, as this month is known as a slow month for Hollywood. EoD has a much better chance of a strong opening weekend simply because there’s not much other competition. Mel’s PR has been focused on what I call the “angry white male chauvinist pig” demographic…playing poker in one magazine, talking about guns in another. He’s chipped away at the various groups in his fan base through the years, and knocking up a Russian whore has cost him many female supporters. The guys that are into this macho, violent stuff probably are the ones who pay for Russian internet brides, and they think Oksana is much hotter than Mel’s soon-to-be-ex menopausal wife.
She JUST had her baby in December and her body looks like that? I’m jealous. 🙂 She and Octo look great.
And Mel scores points for me for being able to laugh @ himself during the Golden Globes. Unlike some of those other snots.
OK are her lips REAL?
She had her baby October 30th and her lips look ridiculous
let’s face it….he’s going to show up with her no matter what…i had hoped he wouldn’t…but that’s that…she does look different from the previous pictures, especially the first one of them together…her lips do look bigger and her face looks different…rounder or something..her dress is beautiful…. he looks like he has makeup on, or he has yellowing skin from liver problems…he looks better though somehow…until he actually does or says anything different, this is the way it will be…this is his new life and personna..he is a free man, per se,,no secrets or pretending being married and then seeing anyone he chooses, he now can do what he wants, and the public will now just say, as uzi had said, oh that’s just old mel…he is turning out smelling like an old rose even though last year really stunk….he really pulled himself out of this one…
I think she looks pretty enough..has a certain grace to her. I don’t think he will ever come back the way he would like to or imagines he will. I feel like it’s as much an issue with his past as his present, because he’s not like-able enough to combat what he exposed about himself. He would have a better chance of the public forgetting his particular brand of crazy if he seemed more able to genuinely connect. I saw him on Jay Leno and in his defense he’d just quit smoking, but he was wiry and uncomfortable. It made it hard to watch him. His hideous black jean/Cowboy boot combination didn’t help the situation..
Let’s face it… most people have prejudices. He lets them out, we (usually) don’t. So there isn’t much difference….
Good ole’ boy Mel needs to invest in some teeth bleaching. Oksana could double for Octomom, just slightly less unfortunate looking. Both of them give me the creeps.
I remember seeing Mel many many years ago on Leno or Letterman, can’t remember which one, but even then he acted like he was drunk. It was hard to watch.
SHE HAS NO SHAME SHOWING UP WITH HIM AFTER HAVING HIS LOVE CHILD. SOME WOMEN JUST HAVE NO SHAME. SAD BUT TRUE. hE IS JUST AN IDIOT
fORGET oCTOMOM LOOKING LIKE aNEGLINA (SHE DOESNT AT ALL). i THINK oKSANA AND oCTOMOM WERE SEPERATED AT BIRTH! OR MAYBE THEY JUST HAVE THE SAME BAD PLASTIC SURGEON =)
Mel downgraded from a classy wife to a 2 bit, gold digging, fame whore
wow..she cleaned up nicely with mels money….
as far as i know she’s been targeting an A lister for quiter a whie- …mel fell for the oldest trick on earth that he’ll have to pay dearly for…
she definitely knows what she is doing…him? im not so sure..
Eden: I really like what you said. I have to admit Oks does look pretty here and Mel , somehow, does look good (it must be the makeup), personally I really like her dress I would love to have one like that; I like the style. I agree that Mel isn’t going to have a comeback how he would like or what he would imagine it to be and his present/future is an issue as his past and I can’t help but feel Oks has damaged his comeback and will continue to damage his future. I don’t feel his popularity is strong; I feel the greatest “stone” against Mel is his bi-polar, that keeps him from “genuinely connecting”.
I’m quite certain that the Jews who work with him “are not doing it for free” and he probably has to pay them “a premium” to do so.
He and Oksana have a child together and he has to know just how much of an impact that flaunting this relationship publicly will have on his ability to make money at the box office. Domestically, he’s going to have a “tough row to hoe”; however, internationally he may stand a chance. In the U.S., tolerance of uber-conservatives who fall from grace is not very high.
I saw the interview when Jay said About Mel Becoming a father again, Sorry Body language to me gave it away, Head went down and his answers were not that of a man thrilled to be expecting another new born.
He got aced at his own game and I do truly believe He never in a million years intended for his marriage to go down the toilet.
He just thought He’d be Mel and have his flings, go home to Robyn, when it suited.
I’m sure this piece of works leaked the news about the baby out herself knowing full well Robyn would start divorce proceedings. Mel and Robyn did have a loving relationship, no matter what has been said. Just check out some of the pics of them on various sites, it showed.
She’s dangerous, and Self centered and you are right She’s using the baby. WE all know about her so called famous career as a singer and a Model, It make my skin crawl when she sang. Just look at her very sketchy past, How many Men has she had, to say the least, So many engagements,. I think from memory at least 3 times married. I believe the first marriage was to some low life in the UK only to get her citizenship and residency to get a Visa as a permanent resident.
The UK and Europe papers Are much harsher on her than tabloids in the US and Canada.
Believe me this is not going to be a long loving relationship, I maybe give it a couple of years tops, He’ll find some one else down the line, on one of his many Movies to come.I bet you anything already he’s already cheated on her, because one thing is for sure he’ll do it again he’s done it before .
This whole relationship thing and baby happened far to quickly, far too much baggage, remembering he’s a lie, cheat, a so called recovering alcoholic, and suffers from depression. I do how ever wish him luck in kicking the cancer sticks, but sadly something has to give.
And Mel Being Mel………….. well
i think that people will generally accept him and oks as time goes by…as he goes on to make and direct more movies, it will mean less and less…it will be the acceptable part of who he is..unless some giant incident comes out…in reading his interviews, they are disconnected, or confusing sometimes…he will quote a historical figure etc..and then make a very disconnected statement that doesnt’t make sense…his actions have not shown the deep philisophical and thoughtfulness that he tries to talk about…..i guess the problem has been all along with him, is the feeling of humbleness or humility…hence why peole havent forgiven him for his anti semetic remarks,,,and as far as his personal life the same thing…i picked up no remorsefulness over his divorce or behavior in flaunting a new love weeks after robyn filed….perhaps as he said you just stop whinning and move on…..well 3 weeks after filing for divorce i guess is long enough to whine
Why does she look like she’s holding ten ounces of water between her cheeks and needs to spit it out pronto?
I think she has one of those faces you see reflected on a distortion mirror at a circus/youth fair.
in looking at some other pictures, she looks very different…can’t put my finger on it, but something has changed…the lips are definitely bigger, but there is something has changed…
I thought it was interesting how he referred to the baby as “blameless” hmmmm.
“I’m quite certain that the Jews who work with him “are not doing it for free” and he probably has to pay them “a premium” to do so.”
************************
@Sincerity:
Uhm, are you implying that that it’s only the greedy Jews that charge for work? Is that in contrast to the non-Jews that volunteer?
I am quite confused at your comment – have always been pretty sure that you kinda have to pay people to do work for you. Was yours meant to be an anti-Semitic remark, or did it just accidentally come across as such?
@Anonymous
You see “evil” because you are obviously “evil”. I don’t have an “anti-Semitic” bone in my body. I’ve dealt with Jewish people all my life and I have Jewish friends. I even graduated with honors from Tulane University in 2006 which is considered a somewhat “Jewish” institution.
My statement only confers a “reality” not any “malicious intent”. I strongly suspect the vast majority of Jewish people absolutely hate Mel Gibson due to his “anti-Semitic” rant and probably would not even consider working with him unless they were “very well paid” or could not avoid having any contact with him altogether within the course of conducting their business. Although he has apologized for this incident it’s quite obvious they don’t forgive him because this issue seems to keep coming up. I’m I wrong?
everything to settle down and he will marry her.
he thinks its his second chance and he looks happy with her ( which i think he is).
i think her loooong way of hopping from man to man will ultimately be rewarded at the end(she is a real trooper:)). gotta give it to her – she knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it.
the irony is – you can call her anything on the book but she got mel and he seems totally smitten!!!!!!!
@Sincerity I don’t see most Jewish people giving much thought to Mel Gibson, although I can’t imagine most people trust his heart. But I think the confusion over your intention is in your phrasing, even in your last post.
You don’t have to be black to be appalled by Michael Richards, or gay for Isaiah Washington to make your skin crawl. Or poor to find the “owning Malibu” comments sickeningly arrogant. Or a Puritan to find Sean Penn’s rowdy, abrasive persona intolerable. You don’t have to be perfect to call out a bald-face, preachy hypocrite.
Most people I know have the same reactions to these people. (in case you missed it, you can throw in gays and women to the list of people who started to wonder about Mel in the 90s.)
It’s not a matter of “forgiveness.” That implies too deep an investment, and turns it into a religious matter. It’s at what point do you find someone too unlikable and/or offensive and/or scary, to want to invest time in them.
Marriage I don’t think so, I have never known any man that ends up marrying a mistress that lasts. This divorce with Robyn will cost a huge amount, Ok he’s super rich but remember its lust not love. There is a difference, She is demanding and does have a temper, And Mel who Believes HE is still deeply religious, His So called church does not believe in Divorce.
So where does this leave him.
Why go into another marriage with the possibility of it ending again. Why would he. I still think the fact the Robyn issuing Divorce papers on him and the Unplanned baby have clearly thrown Mel loopy
@Blint:
Why are you even bothering to read let alone post any comments on this particular thread, if it’s “too much of an investment” for you to waste your precious energies on?
None of us are perfect by any stretch of the imagination and if you have issues with how I phrase my posts which may contains some typos from time to time, you’re more than welcome to simply ignore them altogether. Believe me, I certainly won’t be offended and I doubt seriously, if anyone else will either! Have a most blessed evening!
@debbie…i think it threw him for a loop because he thought his wayward lifestyle would continue, see women, and have the family guy look….for the life of me though, i am confused as to why robyn agreed to such a marriage..she knew he was seeing other women…i think oks being pregnant was the only thing that stopped the insanity and falseness…even after the trailer pictures, he was seen on the beach in dec…he really pushed his luck on this one…..i am curious as to what robyn has been up to..
For certain, there is a much higher authority that won’t look kindly on this relationship. No matter what he does to embrace it. I find, in talking so many men and women that don’t like the russina woman, Oksana it centers on disappointment with Mel. It isn’t any of our business….? I don’t agree with that. He spun into our homes and hearts with some powerful movies. We looked to him for more, actually and that isn’t wrong. The woman is pretty but she is so typical of the kind of woman that do anything to get what she wants. She covers it well, however, with the innocent looks, but you would have to say, she isn’t who she projects herself to be. Her history speaks for itself and most of us are disappointed in Mel because his faith/witness meant a lot to us and absolutely affected our own.