Mel Gibson Suits Up for Force of Nature & Dark Santa Claus Comedy Fatman
Mel Gibson is keeping plenty busy these days. Along with (hopefully) directing The Wild Bunch remake, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker has signed on for two decidedly different projects. The first is the action film Force of Nature, where he stars alongside Kate Bosworth, while the second sees him playing an unruly Santa Claus in the action comedy Fatman.
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Force of Nature, according to Deadline, focuses on Gibson’s retired detective who must protect the residents of a building being overrun by criminals in the middle of a hurricane. Michael Polish will direct the film from a script by Cory Miller. Randall Emmett and George Furla will produce alongside Luillo Ruiz and executive producers Tim Sullivan and Alex Eckert. Production is set to commence July 19 in Puerto Rico.
Fatman, on the other hand, as reported by JoBlo, is a dark comedy centered around a “rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus (Gibson) who is fighting his business decline.” Amidst his troubles springs a hit man hired by a precocious 12-year old seeking revenge for the lump of coal Santa dropped in his stocking for Christmas. Brothers Ian and Eshom Nelms will direct the feature based on their own script.
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Gibson was recently seen in Dragged Across Concrete, and will next appear in The Professor and the Madman, due in theaters May 10. He is also slated to appear in Joe Carnahan’s Boss Level.
