...but he's a cute and cuddly convicted rapist, and besides that was way back in the 90s, and let the first powerful man who didn't get a little rape-y back in the 90s cast the first stone...
I mean, I sure as hell don't condone the racism and antisemitism that Mel Gibson has displayed on numerous occasions or his violent threats against his girlfriend, but actually being convicted of actually raping an actual person just seems infinitely worse than saying lots of really bad things.
Thanks, Dan. That's exactly what I thought. Don't forget Tyson bit the actual ear off an actual human at a live event too. I'd like to credit the cast with having not had the power to object with the first flick, but my recollection is that they were generally pretty happy when doing press with and talking about working with him.
Maybe it has something to with Mel being a movie star who often played martyred heroes. Then he let us down when he turned out to be more human than the typical People magazine spread had led us to believe.
Mike, however, never let us down. He's always been the man-beast in the carnival sideshow tent. We decry the exhibitionism while spending our money to watch. Nowadays he's about as exciting as "The World's Largest Rat" at the county fair; but we happily pay, because there's the frisson he might go all Siegfried & Roy white tiger on someone's ass.
*use of "we" and "us" may not necessarily represent anyone writing or reading this
I was just over a year old when he lost to Buster Douglas, so my life and Tyson's 's prime as a fighter didn't overlap for very long. My first clear Tyson memory is hearing a TV commenter talk about the Hollyfield ear bite during a New Year's Eve year-that-was show, and kids would always play Tyson on the playground the same way we would pretend to be Michael Jordon or Jerry Rice or Drew Bledsoe (small town New England's version of Dan Marino) or any other important early-'90s athlete.
I was three when he was convicted of the rape, but I don't think I ever really heard about it till I was 14 or 15, long after Tyson was really relevant. I guess I never chronologically knew Tyson before the sexual assault, but it never figured into my childhood conception of the man.
I don't have any problem with saying "they shouldn't have employed Mike Tyson too" (though there are counterarguments), but does anybody really have a problem with ZG saying "you know, I just don't want to work with MG"?
Isaac beat me to the punch (pun slightly intended) - counterargument re: Tyson aside, I have zero problem with ZG being like "hey, I'm famous enough to say this now, so I'm going to - that guy's a jerky antisemite and I don't want him getting a reputation bump off my movie." Also, the Tyson rape drama was years before the Hangover was shot, whereas the Gibson stuff is current. I'm not condoning what Tyson did AT ALL, but I think there's a difference between hiring a guy who's done something bad in the past and then attempted to atone and hiring a guy who desperately needs a career resurgence after being an asshole.
The saddest part of all of this is how much I love the script for The Beaver (by Kyle Killen, creator of Lone Star) and how due to Mel's behavior it's probably screwed as a movie. Sigh.
@Cinematical says that Liam Neeson now has that role. Yeah, I'd say that's pretty far away from Gibson, though I'm still unaware of whether Neeson has ever smiled on-screen.
ZG said something similar on Comedy Death Ray last week, along the lines of, I won't do movies I don't agree with, but it's hard to change things when you're already cast in a movie. He made an oblique reference to the movie he's doing now (clearly the Hangover) and how he's losing an argument w/r/t the movie (which must have been about MG). So maybe he did protest Tyson, who knows.
Dan, you're a follower of both Survivor and the film industry? I think we just became BFFs! Do you work out here or just aspire to one day? (Not sure how old being the Senior Junior Correspondent makes someone...I feel like I'm probably the Boring Average Aged Correspondent, sigh).
Apparently Neeson came up through Bradley Cooper vouching for him, which makes me feel like the A-Team must have been a much more fun movie to make than it was to watch...
Survivor, the film industry, superheroes, economics, comedy, television, comedy on television; pretty much anything it's possible to be nerdy about, I am.
And, for the record, I'm a senior in college. I think once I graduate and enter the workforce I'll have to FedEx the Senior Junior Correspondent title belt to Maddy.
Good, you can join my "bug ALOTT5MA brass for more Survivor posts" club. Love it. Are you going to enter the work force in film/TV? Let me know if you need/want advice. :)
I would LOVE to work either in the industry or reporting on/writing about it, but I'm chose to school for business and engineering for practical reasons. I've got plans to give it a shot, but it's nice to have some marketable skills with a degree behind them as a fall-back option. What's your relationship to the the world of entertainment?
I know I won't be the first person to think this, but didn't Mike Tyson rape a woman?
ReplyDeleteI think the only way I could buy the hypocrisy is if they blame they blame their lack of clout before doing The Hangover.
...but he's a cute and cuddly convicted rapist, and besides that was way back in the 90s, and let the first powerful man who didn't get a little rape-y back in the 90s cast the first stone...
ReplyDeleteIs there an argument perhaps that Tyson, compared to Gibson, has more thoroughly repaid his debt to society? But you raise a good point.
ReplyDeleteI mean, I sure as hell don't condone the racism and antisemitism that Mel Gibson has displayed on numerous occasions or his violent threats against his girlfriend, but actually being convicted of actually raping an actual person just seems infinitely worse than saying lots of really bad things.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dan. That's exactly what I thought. Don't forget Tyson bit the actual ear off an actual human at a live event too. I'd like to credit the cast with having not had the power to object with the first flick, but my recollection is that they were generally pretty happy when doing press with and talking about working with him.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it has something to with Mel being a movie star who often played martyred heroes. Then he let us down when he turned out to be more human than the typical People magazine spread had led us to believe.
ReplyDeleteMike, however, never let us down. He's always been the man-beast in the carnival sideshow tent. We decry the exhibitionism while spending our money to watch. Nowadays he's about as exciting as "The World's Largest Rat" at the county fair; but we happily pay, because there's the frisson he might go all Siegfried & Roy white tiger on someone's ass.
*use of "we" and "us" may not necessarily represent anyone writing or reading this
Dan, the Beloit List question: do you have any consciousness of Tyson before he was a convicted rapist?
ReplyDeleteYes and no, actually.
ReplyDeleteI was just over a year old when he lost to Buster Douglas, so my life and Tyson's 's prime as a fighter didn't overlap for very long. My first clear Tyson memory is hearing a TV commenter talk about the Hollyfield ear bite during a New Year's Eve year-that-was show, and kids would always play Tyson on the playground the same way we would pretend to be Michael Jordon or Jerry Rice or Drew Bledsoe (small town New England's version of Dan Marino) or any other important early-'90s athlete.
I was three when he was convicted of the rape, but I don't think I ever really heard about it till I was 14 or 15, long after Tyson was really relevant. I guess I never chronologically knew Tyson before the sexual assault, but it never figured into my childhood conception of the man.
Also, I take my nonexistent role as ALOTT5MA's Senior Junior Correspondent very seriously.
ReplyDeleteAs opposed to Maddy, who's our Middle Junior Correspondent and Kat Cojocaru, our Junior Junior Correspondent. IIRC.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any problem with saying "they shouldn't have employed Mike Tyson too" (though there are counterarguments), but does anybody really have a problem with ZG saying "you know, I just don't want to work with MG"?
ReplyDeleteIsaac beat me to the punch (pun slightly intended) - counterargument re: Tyson aside, I have zero problem with ZG being like "hey, I'm famous enough to say this now, so I'm going to - that guy's a jerky antisemite and I don't want him getting a reputation bump off my movie." Also, the Tyson rape drama was years before the Hangover was shot, whereas the Gibson stuff is current. I'm not condoning what Tyson did AT ALL, but I think there's a difference between hiring a guy who's done something bad in the past and then attempted to atone and hiring a guy who desperately needs a career resurgence after being an asshole.
ReplyDeleteThe saddest part of all of this is how much I love the script for The Beaver (by Kyle Killen, creator of Lone Star) and how due to Mel's behavior it's probably screwed as a movie. Sigh.
For months I've been telling all of my friends who don't follow the industry about The Beaver, and it never fails to excite them.
ReplyDelete@Cinematical says that Liam Neeson now has that role. Yeah, I'd say that's pretty far away from Gibson, though I'm still unaware of whether Neeson has ever smiled on-screen.
ReplyDeleteZG said something similar on Comedy Death Ray last week, along the lines of, I won't do movies I don't agree with, but it's hard to change things when you're already cast in a movie. He made an oblique reference to the movie he's doing now (clearly the Hangover) and how he's losing an argument w/r/t the movie (which must have been about MG). So maybe he did protest Tyson, who knows.
ReplyDeleteDan, you're a follower of both Survivor and the film industry? I think we just became BFFs! Do you work out here or just aspire to one day? (Not sure how old being the Senior Junior Correspondent makes someone...I feel like I'm probably the Boring Average Aged Correspondent, sigh).
ReplyDeleteApparently Neeson came up through Bradley Cooper vouching for him, which makes me feel like the A-Team must have been a much more fun movie to make than it was to watch...
ReplyDeleteSurvivor, the film industry, superheroes, economics, comedy, television, comedy on television; pretty much anything it's possible to be nerdy about, I am.
ReplyDeleteAnd, for the record, I'm a senior in college. I think once I graduate and enter the workforce I'll have to FedEx the Senior Junior Correspondent title belt to Maddy.
Good, you can join my "bug ALOTT5MA brass for more Survivor posts" club. Love it. Are you going to enter the work force in film/TV? Let me know if you need/want advice. :)
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to work either in the industry or reporting on/writing about it, but I'm chose to school for business and engineering for practical reasons. I've got plans to give it a shot, but it's nice to have some marketable skills with a degree behind them as a fall-back option. What's your relationship to the the world of entertainment?
ReplyDelete