Mel’s Hot Potato

After Mel Gibson’s major faux pax with DUI and anti-semitism it seems he now has an epic motion picture that Disney no longer wants to have to deal with.

Mel Gibson’s movie “Apocalypto,” which Disney was supposed to release on December 8, 2006 is “being shopped” to other potential distributors according to Fox movie critic Roger Friedman.

One potential distributor for “Apocalypto” is Lions Gate, an independent company with a history of rescuing distressed projects. In the past they’ve picked up Kevin Smith’s “Dogma” and Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 911” when Miramax was prevented from putting them out by their own agreements with Disney.

“Apocalypto,” an already iffy venture for Disney, has become a film non grata since Gibson’s arrest for DUI and his less than appropriate slurs to the police officer who slapped on the cuffs.

A spokesperson for Lions Gate declined to comment on whether the company had talked to Disney or Gibson. At the same time, a reliable insider who knew the players in this game has assured Friedman that Disney was quietly shopping the film and that Lions Gate was first on its list of hopeful buyers.