In his new memoir, TV/movie icon James Garner remembers making the 1994 movie Maverick with the esteemed Mel Gibson.
Writes Garner:
“Mel and I got along fine.
“I didn’t know that he hates Jews and everybody else.
“I didn’t know he was drinking either, because he hid it pretty good.
“But when I came on the set, I thought, What are these people doing?
“Mel didn’t know his dialogue and we had to improvise a lot.
“He wouldn’t rehearse, either.
“He was just running off at the mouth on camera.
“When we got through with it,” concludes Garner, “I’m sure [writer] William Goldman didn’t recognize his movie.”
Garner talks about how he and co-star Jodie Foster would look at each other on the set in abject confusion, then be forced to dive into the madness themselves.
But I guess co-star Jodie didn’t hold a grudge since she went on to direct mouthy Mel in The Beaver!
By the way, Garner also cites Bruce Willis as someone who ad-libbed his way through a movie (Sunset) and didn’t take his work seriously.
But “I’ve heard he’s changed since then, and if so, more power to him.”