Mel Gibson feels like he’s living in a B-movie.
“How did I get here? It is bizarre,” he told Jay Leno Friday.
The fallen blockbuster star appeared on Leno’s “Tonight Show” to plug his latest film, the DirecTV release “Get the Gringo.” But he spent the first half of the conversation discussing his latest hate-fueled audio clips, anger management efforts, and diminished box office standing.
“When you get me here and tape me, you let me know up front,” he told Leno, taking a shot at former screenwriter associated Joe Eszterhas.
Eszterhas – the guy who wrote “Showgirls” – was writing a screenplay for Gibson about the Jewish warrior Judah Maccabee.
The two had disagreements on the project. Eszterhas’s son reportedly recorded one of those conversations, and the audio – featuring a bellowing, potty-mouthed Gibson – was recently leaked online.
That audio follows 2010 recordings of Mel threatening to kill his ex Oksana Grigorieva, and his 2006 DWI arrest, during which he blamed Jews for “all the wars in the world.”
Gibson is frustrated about Eszterhas invading his privacy.
“It’s kinda like you build a house, you hire a guy to put a roof on it, he comes over and eats lunch and talks about the roof, then you get rained on all night,” Gibson said.
Gibson was introduced Friday with a montage of some of his greatest movies – “Lethal Weapon,” “Road Warrior,” “Edge of Darkness,” What Women Want,” Braveheart.” The clips remind you of Gibson’s former status, what used to be, what’s been lost.
His newest action film, “Get the Gringo,” has all the makings of another solid Gibson effort. Mexican prison. A bunch of cash. Corrupt cops.
But it’s not going to be released in theaters in the United States.
It’s difficult for people to go to the movies anymore, he told Leno. The DirecTV deal puts the movie straight into the country’s homes.
“It’s different because it’s on a small window,” he said. “I think it’s the way of the future.”
Yes, this is the future – but you get the feeling that he’s talking about himself more than the digital movie industry, with recordings and venom making Gibson’s B-movie dream far too real.