Austin360 blogs > Austin Movie Blog > Archives > 2012 > April > 18 > Entry By Matthew Odam | Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 11:22 PM Mel Gibson was slated to present his latest, “Get the Gringo,” at the Alamo South Wednesday night. And the place was buzzing. Many were curious to see the Mexico-set actioner produced and co-written by Gibson, and just as many were excited to see if the mercurial Gibson would actually show and, if he did, whether he would he say or do anything that warranted attention. Well, Gibson showed at the Drafthouse South, but there were no serious fireworks to mark the occasion of the special screening starring a man who continues to make negative headlines. Gibson skipped any formal questions on his brief jaunt down the red carpet. He did appear in a Q&A following the screening, moderated by Harry Knowles, who took questions solely from an online audience. The controlled staging, which did not allow for any questions from the live audience, helped stave off any awkward or confrontational moments, but to Knowles’ credit, he did ask one question that struck at the heart of many of Gibson’s recent negative headlines. Knowles noted the Star of David around director Adrian Grunberg’s neck and asked the Jewish filmmaker, who served as Gibson’s first assistant director on “Apocalypto,” if he had any hesitancy in working with Gibson, whose anti-Semitic rants have made him tabloid fodder. Gibson groaned and Grunberg joked, and within 45 seconds, all of the awkwardness was a recent memory. Gibson responded to a series of questions about his movie and gave hints that he may be back in Austin — a town he professed to love — for work. The “Braveheart” actor and director said he chatted with Robert Rodriguez at the Alamo South screening, and though he would not confirm his participation, said the idea of appearing in a sequel to “Machete” sounded like fun. As for the actual movie, Gibson plays an American con on the run who ends up entangled in a hostile drama set inside a bizarre Mexican prison. The gritty and infrequently comedic film has elements of Rodriguez and Sam Peckinpah — referred to several times in the Q&A by both Gibson and Knowles — dabbed a bit of heart. “Get the Gringo” will be available on DirecTV on May 1. While Gibson said the release platform spoke to the changing landscape of media consumption, it is hard to think that the actor’s recent cinematic failures and personal turmoil did not affect the film’s potential for theatrical distribution. Gibson said he and “Braveheart” writer Randall Wallace have recently finished a third draft of their untitled film about Vikings. The “Passion of the Christ” and “Apocalypto” director said the movie will be in English, but not a form with which audiences are familiar. Photos: Mel Gibson attends screening of “Get the Gringo” at Alamo South. Photo: Thao Nguyen / For American-Statesman Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: News