STREET LIFE

Starring: J. Caviezel

Director: Mel Gibson

Studio: ICON Production

Year: 2004

By - Holly Mc Lure

When I was summoned to Mel Gibson's office in August of 2002, little did I dream how significant that meeting would be and how much it would change my life in the year and a half to come.
I've been a movie critic, radio talk show host and media personality for over ten years, and had gained some recognition in both the secular and Christian entertainment industry. When Gibson decided to make The Passion of The Christ, he asked a mutual friend, David Rose, who might advise him on the film's potential appeal for Christians. My name was recommended.
So, I found myself seated at a huge conference table at the Icon office that summer afternoon, listening to Mel—yes, we're on first-name terms now—describe his story, acting out several scenes with a zealous animation that is unmistakably "Mel." I had to pinch myself as I watched my favorite actor describe his pet project that was affectionately called, "Mel's labor of love."
Dressed in jeans, a white T-shirt and a blue denim shirt worn open, Mel described the opening scene with zealous details: "There's a full moon over the garden and we see Jesus praying, then he goes to the disciples to ask them to stay awake but they can't, so he returns to pray …" Mel continued describing his movie, a script he'd been working on for almost a decade.
I was caught off guard when Mel offered me the script and asked for my impressions. I blushed as I took it and said, "You're an Oscar winning director of Braveheart. What suggestions could I possibly offer you?" In his usual "aw shucks" humility, Mel replied, "No, seriously, I want your opinion."
Two weeks later Mel called me and asked me what I thought. I told him it was brilliant, and that Christians would love it. He asked if I had any suggestions. And I did.

Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene:
I saw a potential problem with Mary Magdalene. Mel had her in every scene with Mary (Jesus' mother) and John, but there was no scene to connect this woman to Jesus. I asked, "Is she his sister? His wife? A lover? You have to pretend like no one knows this story. You have to ask why this woman would follow Jesus so faithfully."
After a pause, Mel said, "You're right. I need a flashback to connect her relationship to him. I've been working on this script for almost nine years and no one has ever pointed that out to me."
I smiled and said, "Well maybe it takes a woman to see that Mary needs an introduction—and so people don't get the wrong idea. Maybe you could add a scene like the one where men are going to stone a woman and …" Mel jumped in excitedly and said, "Yeah, Jesus steps in and saves her, and I'll show the guys dropping the stones one by one and Mary looks up at Jesus!"

Holly McClure and Monica Bellucci:
It was a conversation I'll never forget. And it ended up contributing to the movie in a positive way. It's a special scene—intimate, precious, touching and certainly one that will connect with women. Mel directed the scene brilliantly. You'd never know it, but that's Mel's foot in the scene, where Mary Magdalene's precious hand reaches out to touch the foot of the man who saved her from being stoned.

A practical joker on the set, humble Mel is a veritable Rembrandt when directing his masterpiece.
Mel Gibson is a man of integrity and class, devoted to his family and faith. He's also a very shy man who hates to be interviewed. If you saw his recent appearance on ABC's Primetime with Diane Sawyer, you could see his nervous fidgeting.
Mel doesn't act like a star. He cracks corny jokes and makes strangers feel comfortable, with his wonderful sense of humor and friendly demeanor.
He's so "normal," it's easy to forget he's a big-time actor and director. But his passion for his work and the art of fine filmmaking is crystal clear. For me, that became especially evident when I visited the Italian set of The Passion in December of 2002.

Holly in Rome:
I was in awe as I drove through the historic sites of Rome, past the ancient ruins of the baths of Caracalla, past the infamous Christian catacombs and through the Italian countryside to the legendary Cinecitta studios. I was moved by the irony of a movie about the Crucifixion being filmed in Rome, the hub of the Roman Empire which occupied Palestine when those events took place 2000 years ago.
I marveled at what I saw as I passed through the gates of the studio and drove to the back of the lot. Standing next to the leftover decaying sets of Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York was Gibson's Jerusalem. A breathtaking 2½-acre spectacle of biblical proportions, the life-sized city included giant columns, flights of stoned steps, massive wooden temple doors and Pilate's palace—where Jesus would be judged and beaten.

My first night on the set, the massive Jewish temple was bathed in golden lights with the evening stars overhead. Mel, standing in the temple courtyard, was wearing a red rubber clown nose while smoking a cigarette and discussing directions with his crew. I laughed as he took off the nose and came over to greet me. That's Mel Gibson the director.
He creates a relaxed atmosphere by telling jokes, talking with the crew, wearing his red clown nose and occasionally making burping noises through his bullhorn. At 48, Gibson has more energy than many teens, almost to the point of being hyperactive. But it's just indicative of his enthusiasm for his work.
One cold night between scenes, Mel and a couple of guys had producer Steve McEveety drop a tamed rat (a runaway from the set of Gangs of New York) into the pocket of Aramaic coach Evelina Meghangi. The poor woman screamed as she pulled the rat out of her pocket and dropped what she thought was a rubber mouse onto the ground. We all had a big laugh at her expense.
For several weeks, I watched Gibson create his biblical masterpiece, pouring all of his heart into each and every scene. He's a brilliant director, combining instincts as an actor with his knowledge behind the camera. It's almost like watching Rembrandt paint his canvas.
Why Mel didn't cast himself in the lead role—and why he loves his hand-picked cast.
On several occasions, I sat with Mel in his trailer and had wonderful discussions about his career. We talked about politics and how he does love a good conspiracy; I told him he's sometimes just like the character he played in Conspiracy Theory). We talked about his family, the film, the media, you name it.
I ate meals with Mel and his crew, attended Latin Masses conducted by a priest Mel brought to the set, met his family and friends who visited on the set, and thrilled at watching the dailies (scenes filmed the day before) with Mel, Director of Photography Caleb Deschanel and Producer Steve McEveety.

Holly and Jim Caviezel
When asked why he didn't take on the role of directing and starring in his movie, Mel laughed at the question and exclaimed with both hands in the air, "That should be obvious! Jim (Caviezel) was perfect for the role. It required an actor who was less recognizable to the general public, but one who could handle everything I was going to put him through. It's not an easy role, what with the extreme physical demands, learning Aramaic and everything else. Jim took on a difficult task but he's given me an incredible performance.
"Jim and I created a Jesus on film that is true to what we imagined he is. You know, many times when you see Jesus in movies, he's kind of a wimp, but that's not what we've got here. We've got a Jesus who is masculine, strong and tough. He takes a lot upon himself and suffers with tremendous courage and great dignity."
Mel is clearly proud of his cast and what they've done with their roles. After bragging on Caviezel, he went on to laud the performances of Maia Morgenstern, a Jewish Romanian who plays Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci, an Italian in the role of Mary Magdalene.

Holly and Maia Morgenstern
Mel found Maia through a casting director in Romania. The petite actress literally "grew" on the set, and was almost six months pregnant at the end of filming (it's concealed by her long robe). Despite the wind and cold and long days, Maia never complained. She even came in on her days off, and always had a smile on her face.
Monica was beautiful no matter what Mel did. He told her, "I can't make you dirty or ugly; the camera loves you too much!" He constantly put dirt on her face, but her beauty still came through. Monica said that when she heard that Mel was making this film, she called her agent right away and said, "I've got to play this part." She met with Mel and got the job.
(In one ironic twist regarding the cast, the man who plays Judas, Luca Lionello, has a real-life son named Jesus!)
One interesting role is Mel's unusual casting of Satan—a striking Italian actress named Rosalinda Celentano. Mel asked her to shave her head and eyebrows to achieve a dark and evil look as she stalks Jesus throughout his ordeal—including a chilling appearance in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Mel hand-picked each cast member for their personalities and looks—even the Roman guards. "Man," says Mel, "the guards are very scary, a little too real almost. There's not a bad performance in my cast. It's truly amazing."
Realistic violence is Gibson's way of showing "the extent of the sacrifice willingly taken by Jesus."
The Passion of The Christ is a violent film, and Mel Gibson wouldn't have it any other way, because he knows all too well how that realism can impact an audience.
"This is an event that actually happened," Mel explained. "I'm exploring it this way to show the extent of the sacrifice willingly taken by Jesus. The price he paid—that is as much a part of what Jesus went through as the resurrection."

The realistic-looking wounds on Jim Caviezel:
The special effects team of makeup artists and technicians were challenged to create new ways of showing realistic crucifixion and flagellation scenes. They devised a never-been-done-before technique of showing the nails being driven into Christ's hands—and yes, it looks real.
Special effects makeup producer Keith Vanderlaan (nominated for an Academy Award for his work in Hannibal) did extensive research on actual crucifixions, then improvised with his own techniques. The graphic flesh wounds, scars, ribs protruding from Christ's chest and even the nails being driven into his hands have never been tried before.
Jim Caviezel, a devout Christian who plays Jesus, was the recipient of much of Vanderlaan's makeup magic. At the end of the work day, I watched Jim peel off the layer of rubber makeup that looks like realistic wounds. He'd drop it all to the floor, leaving what looked like a pile of pizza toppings. Yes, I know: It's pretty disgusting.
Jim suffered through much in his portrayal of Jesus. The film was shot in the frigid winter cold, and he sometimes wore no more than a loin cloth. During the filming of the scourging scene, he was accidentally struck several times, actually drawing blood.

Despite all that, Jim had a few light and funny moments while wearing his tortured makeup, singing Bing Crosby Christmas carols and doing imitations of famous people.
It was amusing and interesting to see the extras stare in awe at Jim. Many of these character actors—mostly Italians—had been extras in other films, but they'd never seen anything like this. To them, Jim represented the closest thing to Christ that they'd seen. Old women would walk up and touch his robe or grab his hands and yell "Christo!"

Jim Caviezel's amazing make-up job:
In some scenes they used a mechanical dummy of Jesus to survive the cold weather and long hours on the cross. (I have some of the toes and fingers from the dummy.) One day, while filming the crucifixion scene, a woman saw the dummy on the ground and went over to try and console him and keep him warm. I'm still not sure if she ever realized that dummy wasn't a real person.
Another time, a priest approached the cross in distress, convinced that Jim had taken his last breath. As he begin to yell and scream for help, the crew came running. The priest was embarrassed to find out that it was only the mechanical Jesus—and not Jim—that stopped breathing. Everyone had a good laugh—especially the priest.
In the end, though, Mel Gibson has made a violent film that realistically depicts Christ's wounds. Although the scenes of torture and crucifixion are very hard to watch, for the first time I, as a Christian, clearly saw what Jesus must have truly suffered through. It strengthened my faith and made me grateful for the price that was paid.
Miracles on the set: "There's an interesting power in the script," says Gibson. "It's really happening."
It's not every day that Jesus gets struck by lightning. But that's just what happened one day on the set of The Passion of The Christ.
Jim Caviezel, who plays the role of Jesus, and assistant director Jan Michelini were both struck by a lightning bolt one day while filming near Rome. Neither was badly hurt.

The Cross:
Mel told me that Michelini earned the nickname "Lightning Boy," because it was the second time he'd been struck on the set, suffering burns to his fingers after he was hit while carrying an umbrella.
"Both times, he got up and walked away without harm," Mel said. "The second time, the lightning bounced off Jan and hit Jim, and literally his ears and head lit up with a glow. He says he could feel a surge go through his body, but no one was hurt!"
Producer Steve McEveety, who saw the second strike, told one publication that he saw "smoke coming out of Caviezel's ears."
Those are just a couple of what Mel describes as "miracles" during the filming of The Passion, both on and off the set.
"There is an interesting power in the script, so there have been a lot of unusual things happening," Mel said. "Good things. People are being healed of diseases. A couple of people have had their sight and hearing restored. There was even a 6-year-old girl (the daughter of a person connected with the crew) who had epilepsy since she was born. She had up to 50 epileptic fits a day. But she doesn't have them anymore—and hasn't for over a month now."
At one screening of The Passion for religious leaders, Gibson told about a 2-year-old girl whose sight and hearing had been restored. "And you know you can't fake that when you're two," he said.
There were also reports of conversions on the set.
"It has changed us," said Francesco De Vito, who plays the disciple Peter. "I talk with Judas (Luca Lionello) and with John (Hristo Jivkov) about this movie and about faith on the set, and there is something going on with many of us. We've become very focused."
Vera Mitchell, Caviezel's personal stylist, said, "There's a pride that all of us have because we realize we're working on an important movie that could change a lot of lives."
It certainly changed many lives on the set, and Mel marvels at that.
"What seems to be happening because of this movie really gives you a lot of hope," he told me. "It's like, Wow! I mean, we're not kidding around about this. It's really happening."

Rate: 10/10

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