The Korrectiv has spawned its latest project: Surfing with Mel
by Matthew Lickona. It's available as a $0.99 e-book on Amazon, so unless you're not ready for the prospect of Mel Gibson ranting at God and man with Mel-level profanity, what are you waiting for?On April 11, 2012, TheWrap.com published a private letter from screenwriter Joe Eszterhas to director Mel Gibson. The letter chronicled, in alarming detail, their disastrous attempt to collaborate on a film version of the Biblical Book of Maccabees. The media flare-up that followed focused on Eszterhas’ characterization of Gibson as an angry, Jew-hating sociopath, but largely ignored the spiritual crisis at the story’s heart. Using the letter as a map, Surfing with Mel sets out to find some meaning within the madness, and winds up outlining a darkly satirical and deeply profane portrait of two men at war with each other, with their pasts, and with God.
About the Korrektiv Press series Lives of Famous Catholics: Writing in his journal about the celebrities of his day, the author John Cheever observed that "we have a hierarchy of demigods and heroes; they are a vital part of our lives and they should be a vital part of our literature." We agree, which is why the Lives of Famous Catholics series seeks to explore the life of faith by the light of the famous.Remember how we went to Wisconsin on summer vacation and participated in the hysterically funny world-premiere reading of this project? If they gave out Oscars for Best Reading of a Short Story in Script Form around a Citronella Candle in the Wilds of Wisconsin, that evening definitely would have netted a Best Actor nomination for the fabulous Mr. O'Brien, who does the best Mel Gibson impression ever, and Best Supporting Actor for Darwin as Joe Eszterhas, Mel's long-suffering collaborator. (In the Art Imitating Life department, I read Joe's wife, Naomi.)
In honor of those two roles, we're going to give away two free copies to lucky commenters, so leave a comment to be entered into the drawing, and we'll have the kids pull the winning names from a hat tomorrow morning. Or you could just pony up the $0.99 and start laughing now.
(And over at The Korrectiv blog, the clever commenters are already up to their usual literary hijinks churning out a sequel.)
Mel Gibson's rantings and the Darwins -- two important players in our becoming Catholic. Not everyone can say that.
ReplyDeletepick me pick me pick me!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if characterizing this as hilarious is right. Sure, the author includes moments of humor, but it is a moving and even very sad tale. Worth a read, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm in. Maybe you'll save me the 99 cents. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhen it's a matter of $0.99, I can't see my way to picking two out of three, so you all win! Jordana, Federoff11, and Kate, send your email addresses to darwincatholic@gmail.com, and we'll get you hooked up with some Mel-icious reading.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sending me my prize! I admit I rarely remember to check back in comments boxes and promptly forgot entirely about this. :-) I think I will save it to read on a sunny day,as I have a feeling it's not exactly a cheerful read.
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