I’m told by a source intimate with his situation tonight that Mel Gibson “was really on the verge of suicide because he felt he was helpless to alcohol and didn’t know what to do about it.” Sure, my reaction was: sounds like spin. But the source here is someone I’ve known closely for years. Make your own judgment…

I have learned that, because of his DUI anti-Semitic slurs, ABC canceled development with Mel Gibson’s television production company on a non-fiction TV mini-series about the Holocaust that was still in the early pre-script stage. The deal had been announced late last year based on the self-published 1998 memoir of…

Today, American Public Radio’s Marketplace business show, heard by an audience of over 8.1 million unique listeners in the course of a week, on more than 330 public radio stations nationwide, interviewed several journalists including myself and aired a piece about the Mel Gibson slur scandal. Listen to this…

Arianna Huffington, political activist and friend to many Hollywood heavies, wrote on her Huffington Post today a strongly worded challenge to the entertainment business re the Mel Gibson slur scandal. Here are excerpts: “For years, social conservatives have questioned the morals and ethics of the entertainment…

Here’s an update to my Hollywood Reacts To Gibson Slur Scandal posting: newly promoted president of production for Walt Disney Pictures Oren Aviv visited the set of Mel Gibson’s in-the-works movie Apocalpto months ago and came back singing its praises and predicting Oscar consideration. So it stands to reason that…

Here is my exclusive interview this morning with Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center — an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the Holocaust by fostering tolerance and understanding through community involvement…

2ND UPDATE:  *More Hollywood Reaction to Mel Gibson* UPDATE: *Newly promoted president of production for Walt Disney Pictures Oren Aviv and Endeavor agency partner Ari Emanuel have both stepped forward and publicly expressed their opinion about Mel Gibson in light of his alleged anti-Semitic slurs made during his DUI…

UPDATE: No TV Interviews ‘Anytime Soon’ For Mel UPDATE: New Mel Gibson Statement: ‘I Am Not A Bigot’; Apologizes To Jewish Community UPDATE: EXCLUSIVE: Mel Gibson Was ‘Really On The Verge Of Suicide’ Before His DUI Arrest UPDATE: ABC Cancels Mel Gibson’s Holocaust TV Mini-Series Because Of His DUI Anti-Semitic Slur…

SUNDAY: Nostalgia for Crockett and Tubbs, plus a grittier look and story, made Universal’s Miami Vice the No. 1 movie at the box office, knocking off month-long Disney blockbuster, Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest. This was Michael Mann’s biggest movie opening of his directorial career as Vice took in…

Back around Christmas 2005, I was tipped that ICM’s Jeff Berg wanted to close two big deals for boutique agencies. Flush with his month-old $100 million private equity infusion from Rizvi Traverse Management, the agency chief was looking closely at Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann Agency as well as Endeavor Agency…

UPDATE: ICM: Behind-The-Scenes of ‘Project Beta’ The newly freed agents: SCOTT ARNOVITZ NANCY ETZ TANYA LOPEZ STEVE SIMONS BABBETTE PERRY STACEY LUBLINER JILL GILLETTE PATTY DETROIT NANCY…

There’s still plenty of summer left for the movie biz. I’m told Paramount’s World Trade Center is on track for a $25 million-to-$30 million opening weekend starting August 9th. Gotta say, that’s more than I ever expected. Sony’s Talladega Nights; The Ballad of Ricky Bobby looks like it’ll debut even bigger with $30+…