Remember Mel Gibson? Well he remembers and misses you. Not all of you of course, and by ‘you’ I mean exactly who you think I mean. But he misses most of you. The past few years haven’t been all that kind to the guy, both personally and professionally, but to be fair it’s mostly his own fault. Still, I couldn’t care less about his offscreen antics and behavior. I only care about the movies. And the guy has made some great ones. He’s found massive success as a director, but his last box office hit as an actor was Signs from a decade ago. His recent one-two punch of Edge of Darkness and The Beaver failed to generate much interest, but neither of them were really in his preferred wheelhouse of blackly comic action. The best example of his from that mini genre remains Brian Helgeland’s fantastic Payback. (His director’s cut is also quite good although it drops much of the comedy.) Gibson’s latest is Get the Gringo (aka How I Spent My Summer Vacation), an action comedy about a criminal who heads to Mexico with a car full of cash and a dying accomplice only to get arrested by local authorities and tossed into a tough prison. Don’t worry though, he gets out. Check out the new trailer for Get the Gringo below.

Giving movies limited theatrical runs alongside a day-and-date Video On Demand release is becoming more and more popular in our current landscape of digital media. We’ve never seen a big movie that has high hopes of pulling in huge box office dollars take the risk, but it seems like a strategy that’s been working out well for smaller budget arthouse and genre films. The latest movie to make such a deal is probably the one with the most star power to ever take the VOD plunge. Deadline Peekskill is reporting that Mel Gibson’s upcoming Get the Gringo (formerly known as How I Spent My Summer Vacation), a Mexico-set action film that he both stars in and financed through his Icon Productions, has signed a deal with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and DirecTV for its release and promotion. This deal is unique in that the movie will be available exclusively on DirecTV for a period, with wider VOD options coming later in the year. The film is set to hit DirecTV customers on May 1, the same day that it will be screening in at least 10 markets alongside a Gibson Q&A taking place in an Austin theater.

Since we all have a million dollars, our minds are almost always tuned to the day dream of what kind of movie we’d make with all that loose cash just lying around (since banks do nothing but lose things). Would it be a romantic horror film? Would it be a silent action film? Would we blow of all of it on lighting and forget the other elements of production design? Probably. Fortunately, we’ve all had a few filmmakers tread before us in using their million bucks with efficiency and artistry. In a world where Michael Bay needs 200 suitcases full of $1m, these directors made it happen with only one of those suitcases (or no suitcases at all), and they created a lasting legacy despite their lack of foldin’ money. If they can do it, why not us? Here are 8 great films made for under a million dollars that we can all learn from. (And if you enter our contest sponsored by Doritos, you might actually win that $1m you need for all those lights.)

Earlier today I spoke with William Monahan about his directorial debut, the really fun London Boulevard (now on VOD), and while speaking with the candid filmmaker, I couldn’t help but ask about the viking epic he was initially going to write for Mel Gibson. The untitled project was announced almost two years ago; there have been next to zero updates since then, with the exception of Leonardo DiCaprio leaving the project. Is Monahan still penning Gibson’s viking epic? No, and he never did. The writer/director said that he’s no longer working on the project — when asked about it, he responded by saying, “No, no. I don’t know exactly what’s happening with that, except it’s not going on right now. I didn’t [write anything for it], and it never went past the announcement, I believe.” Anyone who’s seen the director’s cut of Kingdom of Heaven knows that Monahan is more than capable of crafting an epic, and the same goes for Gibson; their sensibilities would be perfect for one another. Sadly, their two grand styles won’t be colliding for this once promising-sounding project. Hopefully it’ll still happen for Gibson, though. It’s been too many years since Apocalypto, which is one of the best chase films ever made.

Alec Baldwin is in the news again and it’s not for winning an award or doing worthwhile. No, like most times this Baldwin has been in the news the past five years, it’s because he’s being a baby. The horrid wrong that set him off this time? A most likely poorly written joke for the Emmys was cut, a joke that would have cut at Rupert Murdoch. Baby Baldwin is using his twitter privileges again to air his thoughts, complaining about Fox killing what he thought was the funniest joke – and insisting that his pre-taped segment not air. Fox agreed, and re-shot the sequence with Leonard Nimoy. This in and of itself isn’t totally rageworthy, but it does set me over the edge because I’m collectively tired of seeing Alec Baldwin bitching on the internet – and having people still love him.

What is Movie News After Dark? It is a nightly movie news recap column that would like to make it all the way to the end of this thing without getting controversial, political or mentioning how much skinny Jonah Hill looks like President Obama. It’s just not likely. We begin tonight with the story that’s on everyone’s mind — no, not the Obama speech — the fact that Mel Gibson is developing a movie about Jewish hero Judah Maccabee, who led a second-century revolt against Hellenistic overloards in the name of the Jewish people. He’s brought Basic Instinct writer Joe Eszterhas on for the script work. There will be nothing controversial about this project.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a little early this evening, but it’s still the same badass nightly movie news column that you’ve come to love and mostly ignore. Tonight it spends time around the globe, traveling to the south of France, the Hindu Kush, the future, the 18th century, the end of the Cold War, Asgard and Sequelville (it’s right between West L.A. and Century City). But it always comes back to you, dear reader, to bring you the goods. And the bads. And well, you know. The most interesting thing at Cannes yesterday might not have been Lars von Trier’s movie, Melancholia (which we reviewed and, as it stands, liked very much), it was von Trier’s comments during the press conference. From sympathizing with Hitler to extremely young naked women, he let it all out. To their credit, Vulture has captured all the best of it and delivered a list of the 10 most controversial things Lars von Trier said at the Melancholia press conference. “Should I talk about Spider-Man now?”

The opening shot of The Beaver is of a pool on a sunny day. A body drifts through the frame, slowly, on a raft. It’s Mel Gibson doing his best impression of a starship and The Beaver doing its best impression of Star Wars. It’s kind of a foreboding image. Walter Black isn’t doing so well. He’s depressed. But, more than that, he’s depressed to the point where he has completely checked out on his job and family. He has somehow reached such a hopeless state that he has sat passively and watched his once great toy company fall into financial straits, and his once loving family become isolated from one another. We are never explicitly told what has led to Walter’s current state, but The Beaver is mostly a film that focuses on the present moment. The past exists here as a ghost, haunting the characters and coloring their actions, but only half remembered and never spoken of. The big gimmick of the film, if you haven’t seen any of the advertising, is that Gibson’s character begins to deal with his inner turmoil by speaking through a plush beaver puppet and using a voice that sounds like Michael Caine in a bar fight. Much of the film details the phases of Walter’s beaver experiment; the initial shock, the turnaround when The Beaver starts helping Walter get his life back together, and then the darker stuff that comes as his mental state degrades again. If you saw only the ads, [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Summit Entertainment has passed along to us an exclusive look at the first TV spot for Jodie Foster’s The Beaver, starring Mel Gibson. As is the case with the film, it’s not all fun and games — there’s a somber, bittersweet tone to the story of Walter Black (Gibson), a man who must use a hand-puppet that talks like Ray Winstone in order to communicate with the people he loves. As I mentioned in my review from SXSW, the film finds laughs in the situation, but balances it perfectly with the drama of a family in turmoil. The performances from Mel Gibson and Anton Yelchin, who plays his son, are worth the price of admission alone. You can see a bit of it all in the 30-second spot found after the jump.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly round-up of entertainment news and tidbits written by a Doctor Who obsessive. But you already knew that. If you didn’t, you’re about to. The sixth season of Doctor Who debuts this weekend on BBC and BBC America (at the same time!!) So of course I’m writing something about it. I just found out that season passes for ‘Part I’ of the Matt Smith-led sixth frame are available on iTunes, for those (like me) who eschew the bonds of cable providers. Also, if you’re looking to throw a Doctor Who premiere party — and invite your favorite film blog publisher — the BBC America page has Doctor Who recipes, including Ginger Companion cookies and Radioactive-Spuds with Cool Avocado Cream. Don’t put these in front of me, because I would easily EXTERMINATE! them. Get it? I’m like the Daleks of food.

As the first question points out from the Jodie Foster roundtable at SXSW, the trailer for The Beaver is truly a disservice to the film. While a decent piece of marketing material, it really does showcase the film as a fluffy drama, and The Beaver isn’t that. Foster’s film is a dark, sad, witty, and poignant — factors that Neil’s review perfectly captured — story about depression and isolation, and how there’s no such thing as quick fix for that. Summit can’t be having an easy time selling trying to sell this film. Not only for the obvious reason that I’ll refrain from mentioning, but for the simply reason that it’s difficult to accurately pitch a film like this in a two-minute time frame. Tonally, Foster goes for odd and not-so-commercial plays. Here’s what Director and star Jodie Foster had to say about marketing, commercialism, symbolism, and more:

The Beaver is just as much Anton Yelchin‘s film as it is Mel Gibson‘s. Jodie Foster‘s film is an ensemble piece, and all the leads – not just Walter Black (Mel Gibson) – are suffering from some form of depression. The greatest fear of Yelchin’s character, Porter, is becoming just like his father. He doesn’t understand Walter, and Porter doesn’t understand himself as well. The character is so uncomfortable in his own voice that he makes a living off other people’s voices; Porter writes school papers for others. Small character devices similar to that truly add a lot to the film. Being so afraid of becoming his father, Porter even has 5o-something post-its planted on his wall filled with their similarities, so he can avoid doing them. Here’s what Anton Yelchin had to say about the SXSW reaction to the film, the notecards, and his character’s relationship with Norah (Jennifer Lawrence):

Ten minutes in to Jodie Foster’s The Beaver, you may forget that you’re watching Mel Gibson. In light of all the things that have happened to Gibson off-screen, this is probably a good thing. But more importantly, it is something that any actor sets out to accomplish in every role they play: total immersion. It’s that immersion that makes this one of Gibson’s best performances to date. Could it be the best performance we’ve ever seen from him? That’s for history to decide. But this one is damn good. And it’s made better by the well-crafted film that surrounds him.

What is Movie News After Dark? This is a question that I am almost never asked, but I will answer it for you anyway. Movie News After Dark is FSR’s late-night secretion, a column dedicated to all of the news stories that slip past our daytime editorial staff and make it into my curiously chubby RSS ‘flagged’ box. It will (but is not guaranteed to) include relevant movie news, links to insightful commentary and other film-related shenanigans. I may also throw in a link to something TV-related here or there. It will also serve as my place of record for being both charming and sharp-witted, but most likely I will be neither of the two. I write this stuff late at night, what do you expect?

There are 130 films this year at Austin’s SXSW, and 60 of them being world premieres. When you scroll down the list of the films showing there, 99% of them you’ve never heard of before. Only a handful stick out that you actually know about or have eagerly (or mildly…) been anticipating. The films at the fest that currently are the most exciting for us are also the most high profile. That’s not to say there won’t be far superior little known flicks playing there – there most definitely will be – but the big ones showing are always the early attention grabbers. We’ll be running a bigger and more comprehensive list of SXSW must-sees closers to the fest, which is basically when we’ll have more info on the films there that aren’t being released by Universal or Summit. But as of right now, here are a few features that already got our excitement on high. As for those of you interested right now in knowing more about those 130 films, check out the full list here.

It would be easy to take the concept of a man using a beaver puppet to recover from a psychological break and use it as emotional slapstick. About as easy as it would be to make a vaginal reference when discussing the title of the film. However, easy jokes aren’t what we’re about, and it’s definitely not what this trailer is about. The trailer for The Beaver takes itself seriously for good reason. The character arc is clearly there – Mel Gibson plays a man on the brink of crippling depression whose wife, played by director Jodie Foster, is pulling away alongside a young son who doesn’t understand and an older son, played by Anton Yelchin, who understands too well. By the looks of it, everyone here is in top drawer performance mode. It’s especially nice to see Yelchin get to stretch a little bit in the Charlie Bartlett vein, but it’s also great to see Gibson and Foster return to the screen for something a bit more substantial. There’s a familiar sort of Regarding Henry feeling to all of it, and that’s a good thing. Plus, with the way they’re flashing around the Oscar pedigree, it’s unclear why they’re releasing it in the Spring. There goes a Best Supporting for the Beaver. Maybe he’ll get another shot in the new Muppet movie. [Apple]

Next week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly was supposed to lead with the Mel Gibson story. I’m sure you’ve heard about it: apparently he said some things that didn’t go over well with the rest of the world, or something. But instead, word on the street is that fans of comic flicks will get a pre-Comic-Con look at Ryan Reynolds in his fully rendered costume for Warner Bros.’ Green Lantern. Footage is expected to screen in San Diego, but it’s likely that the EW cover will be online by mid-week (the issue hits news stands Friday). This is exciting, as the Reynolds Lantern look will be much talked about. Hopefully it doesn’t earn the same reaction as the costumes from Thor. That didn’t seem to go over so well.

Science Fiction is, sadly, not always seen as high art. However, there are some brilliant acting talents who have dared to slum it in the world of science fiction. Here’s the 15 most notable ones.

Earlier this year, Mel Gibson returned to the big screen – in front of the camera, this time – with the crime thriller Edge of Darkness. If you missed this in the theater and you like Mel Gibson in full ass-kicking mode, you may want to check this out on DVD or Blu-ray. And since it’s Boston, and there’s a lot of pubs in Boston, you might just want to have a drink or two with the film.

Porter has been double-crossed by his wife Lynn and partner in crime Val Resnick. The duo left him for dead and took off with his share ($70,000) of their latest score, but six months later he’s back and wants only one thing… his money. That motivation is one of the few things the two distinct cuts of Payback have in common.