Mel Gibson will return to Australia this year to make his first film Down Under since Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome in 1985, and Australian states are already gearing up to host the shoot.
Gibson, who in recent years has been more well known for his personal life than his films, will direct the Hollywood drama Hacksaw Ridge. It is Gibson’s first directorial role since Apocalypto in 2006.
Hacksaw Ridge is based on the true story of World War II medic Desmond Doss, who as a result of his Seventh-Day Adventist beliefs, refused to kill people or carry a weapon, and thus became the first conscientious objector to win the US Congressional Medal of Honour, after saving 75 American soldiers in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.
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Hacksaw Ridge will begin filming in September, and will star Andrew Garfield as Doss. A location has not yet been announced, but Australian states are reportedly all vying to host the film, which has a budget of US$45 million. The film will be produced by Gibson’s Icon Productions business partner, Bruce Davey, and Bill Mechanic, who recently shot The Moon and the Sun in Victoria with Pierce Brosnan.
[via Fairfax Media, News Corp, Daily Mail]
