Mel Gibson to shoot epic movie in Mayan language

By Tim Gaynor

VERACRUZ, Mexico (Reuters) – Actor Mel Gibson, who turned a
Latin script on the crucifixion of Christ into box office gold
last year, is in Mexico to shoot his latest film: an action
movie shot entirely in an ancient Mayan tongue.

The star turned independent director was in the eastern
state of Veracruz this week where he is to film “Apocalypto,” a
thriller set in an ancient Mayan settlement and shot in the
Yucatec dialect.

“It’s set before the Conquest, so there are no European
faces, and we are using mostly indigenous people and actors
from Mexico City,” Gibson, sporting a long beard, said at a
news conference in the port city of Veracruz.

“There’s still a lot of mystery to the Mayan culture, but
when all is said and done, it’s just the backdrop to what I’m
doing — creating an action adventure of mythic proportions,”
he said, blinking before a bank of flash lights.

Gibson achieved fame with lucrative movies like the epic
“Revolution,” the sci-fi thriller “Signs” and the “Lethal
Weapon” series and has become one of the most bankable stars in
Hollywood, commanding a fee of $25 million a film.

A devout Roman Catholic, he had the greatest hit of his
career with last year’s “The Passion of the Christ,” which
became the most successful independent film ever made despite
its impenetrable Latin and Aramaic dialogue and stomach
churning flogging sequences.

The 49-year-old star is making “Apocalypto” through his Los
Angeles-based Icon production company with an undisclosed
budget. It will be distributed by Disney, although the shooting
script remains under wraps. Filming starts in November.

MAYAN VILLAGE

The runaway success of “The Passion of the Christ,” which
grossed more than $600 million worldwide, has given Gibson the
financial freedom and industry clout to pursue projects like
“Apocalypto.”

“Above all, film is a business …Independence is a really
cool thing as you can be a bit more bold, and take a few more
chances with what you do,” he said.

Gibson said the story would be told through the eyes of a
Mayan man, his family and village, and would touch on universal
themes about “civilizations and what undermines them,” but he
declined to go into details about the plot.

He said Mayan myths from the Popol Vuh sacred texts formed
part of his research for the film, which also drew on input
from indigenous groups and Spanish mission texts from the 1700s
and Mayan language translators.

“A lot of it I just made up, and when I checked it out with
historians and archeologists, it wasn’t that far wrong,” he
said.

After visiting Guatemala, the Yucatan Peninsula and Costa
Rica to scope out locations, he settled on unspoiled jungle in
Veracruz to frame the story.

Residents in the rain-swept streets of Veracruz, near where
Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes first made landfall in 1519,
gave their support to the project.

“It’s just great that he’s making a film about Mayan
culture,” marimba player Manuel Guerrera said as he prepared to
play with a local street band in the city’s colonial square.

“It’s a neglected part of our heritage, and it makes us
feel really proud,” he added.

Gibson’s popularity in Mexico has been boosted by his
recent donation of $1 million to the victims of hurricanes that
hit southern Mexico, including heavily Mayan areas.