It has been written that Mel is a huge practical joker on the set. Is there a possibility of sharing any stories of his jokes from TSD?
Also, one other question--Was Orson Welles right? (What's it like being able to play with the World's Best Train Set?)
Keep up the great work Keith. I really enjoyed Waking The Dead.
Thanks!
Hi,
Sorry for the slow reply - I was away at the Toronto Film Festival.
Sorry to say I don't have that great Mel Gibson story everybody wants (a lot of the press ask the same thing). He was terrific to work with, very funny, very relaxed, but he didn't pull any of his legendary pranks - kind of sorry I missed out on that. His schedule was so tight that we had to shoot all his stuff - 32 pages - in 4 days, so we were moving fast.
But he is very gregarious, a great story teller. I remember there was one day the press came to the set, and they asked about getting insurance for Robert, and Mel said 'I just showed Robert a picture of my penis on a chopping block, and said 'It's up to you, mate''.
Orson Welles was definately right. Being able to create your own reality is pretty amazing. The trick is not getting so caught up in the tensions and challenges (schedule, budget, personality conflicts, 'what will people think?'), that you lose sight of the fun, child-like 'we're telling a story' aspect. But there were definately times - like when we were doing the musical numbers - that I just couldn't stop smiling at it all.
Thanks about 'Waking the Dead'. That one will always have a special place in my heart.
Best,
Keith G