Mel Gibson ‘hates jews’ says screenwriter

Mel Gibson has been accused by screenwriter Joe Eszterhas of sabotaging his new historical epic ‘The Maccabees’ because he “hates jews”.

The shock comments were part of an angry nine-page letter from the writer, who was working on a draft of Gibson’s film about the 2nd Century Jewish revolt.

The film tells the story of the Jewish warrior Judah  Maccabee, who defeated the Selucid Empire and is acclaimed as one of the greatest warriors in Jewish history. The film was dubbed by some as ‘the Jewish ‘Braveheart’’.

However, the project has now been shelved by studio Warner Bros., and Eszterhas suggests Gibson’s own ‘prejudices’ scuppered the film.

The letter, sent to The Wrap, suggests Gibson took on the film "to deflect continuing charges of anti-Semitism which have dogged you, charges which have crippled your career". He accused Gibson of using anti-Semitic slurs while they worked together and saying that the Holocaust was "mostly a lot of horses***".

Eszterhas, who wrote 'Basic Instinct' and 'Showgirls', added that Gibson also intended "to convert the Jews to Christianity" with the film.

He added that he is “worried” about Gibson because “there are as many guns around your house as crucifixes” and paints a picture of a man who is sometimes dangerously out of control.

It didn’t take Gibson long to furiously respond via rival blog Deadline. He accused Eszterhas of sour grapes after turning in an awful script, saying: "In 25 years of script development I have never seen a more substandard first draft or a more significant waste of time."

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He added that “the great majority of the facts as well as the statements and actions attributed to me in your letter are utter fabrications” and asks why Eszterhas didn’t quit the project if he found Gibson such an unpalatable character.

He admits to losing his temper with Eszterhas, but only because he hadn’t started the script after “fifteen months” of research.

He ends: “I think that we can agree that this should be our last communication.”

Still, at least the Jewish community will be pleased to see Gibson's project stall. Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, told The Wrap:

"Jewish history will be better off without Mel Gibson playing Judah Maccabee."