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Hutton Gibson: Mel Gibson's Dad In His Own Words

Autobiographical documentary on Hutton Gibson, Mel Gibson's controversial, fascinating father

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Hutton Gibson: Mel Gibson's Dad In His Own Words

Hutton Gibson: Mel Gibson's Dad In His Own Words

Hutton Gibson: Mel Gibson's Dad In His Own Words

Hutton Gibson: Mel Gibson's Dad In His Own Words

Hutton Gibson: Mel Gibson's Dad In His Own Words

Autobiographical documentary on Hutton Gibson, Mel Gibson's controversial, fascinating father

Autobiographical documentary on Hutton Gibson, Mel Gibson's controversial, fascinating father

Autobiographical documentary on Hutton Gibson, Mel Gibson's controversial, fascinating father

Autobiographical documentary on Hutton Gibson, Mel Gibson's controversial, fascinating father

Gibson Documentary
Gibson Documentary
Gibson Documentary
Gibson Documentary
1 Campaign |
Los Angeles, United States
$16,144 USD by 194 backers
$11,679 USD by 133 backers on Jul 29, 2020

After almost two decades, it can finally be seen!

February 2004: Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ was opening worldwide, and the media, always hungry for a scandal, zeroed in on Mel's father Hutton. Hutton Gibson was vilified by the press as a “racist,” “bigot,” “anti-Semite,” and “Holocaust denier.” He was condemned by so-called journalists who had never met or interviewed him.

And Mel himself was attacked for not “denouncing” his father.

The media hysteria and vitriol led many people to ask the question: who is Hutton Gibson? Who is this man who inspires hatred in some, but passionate loyalty and high esteem in others? For many Americans, the only thing they knew about Hutton Gibson, apart from the attacks in the press, came from a few call-ins Hutton had made to radio shows. But who was the man behind the voice? To those who knew him, he was an author, theologian, World War II veteran, and dedicated family man who lived his faith on a daily basis and garnered thousands of loyal friends and followers worldwide.

As the media firestorm swirled around him, Hutton reached out to a documentary filmmaker whose work he knew to be fair, and who had a history of tackling controversial topics. David Cole was invited to bring a camera crew to Tomball, Texas (where Hutton lived at the time) to spend a weekend and document Hutton's life and views. What resulted was a lengthy shoot that covered everything Hutton wanted to discuss, everything he wanted to preserve on the record for posterity: his faith, his personal history, his family, and his views on religion (not just Catholicism, but Judaism, Islam, and secularism), marriage, children, politics, the Holocaust, and the most pressing issues of the day.

It was at the time, and remains to this day, the only in-depth, sit-down, on-camera interview that Hutton ever allowed.

Hutton spoke as a scholar, a spiritual leader, and a family man. The wide-ranging interview included moments of rigorous intellectual discourse, and humorous personal anecdotes. No topic was off-limits. Cole was a passive interviewer; this was Hutton's film, a testament that would be released after his death.

Cole and Hutton stayed in touch for many years following the interview. Hutton's wishes were that, upon his passing, the footage would be released as a documentary film.

Hutton Gibson passed away on May 11th, 2020, three months before his 102nd birthday. The mainstream media, and the powers-that-be in Hollywood, rejoiced like vultures.

“Hallelujah! Neo-Nazi loving, anti-Arch Diocese, bizarre rogue Catholic Hutton Gibson is dead,” crowed “journalist” Roger Friedman on the Showbiz411 entertainment website. Friedman, who has covered Hollywood for Fox, NY Magazine, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, could not contain his ghoulish joy at the passing of a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather: “Hutton Gibson was a bad, bad guy who was a Holocaust denier and all around crazy person. Hell is too good a fate. So roast in Hell, Hutton.”

Yes, this man is considered a “serious journalist” in today's warped environment.

The New York Times called Hutton an “extremist anti-Semite” in its June 4th obituary. Stephen Silver of The National Interest marked Hutton's passing by calling him a “Jew-hating psycho,” and New York Magazine's Yashar Ali celebrated the death by vulgarly tweeting “Bye, bitch.”

More examples of “serious journalists.”

Right now, THESE are the people defining Hutton Gibson in the public mind. These cowards are heaping abuse on a man who can no longer defend himself.

But you can help him have the last word.

Hutton knew that after his death, the people and institutions he spoke out against and stood up to in life would attempt to control his legacy. That's why he shot the interview, the “video autobiography.” This would be his last word.

Our goal is to take that weekend of footage from 2004 and create a professional, engaging documentary film anchored by Hutton's words, and expanded in scope and context with additional interviews with the people who knew him personally or through his work. We have already filmed several supplementary interview with parishioners (including a filmmaker) who attend the Gibson family's church in Southern California. Additional interviews are being sought with family members and colleagues.

Ultimately, we want to create a high-quality documentary that will present an unbiased view of Hutton Gibson's life, in his own words, accompanied by the words of the people who knew him, and professionally presented in a documentary feature form for streaming services, DVD distribution, and other platforms, to give it the largest possible audience worldwide.

Were Hutton Gibson's views controversial? Indeed. But we as filmmakers believe that they should still be heard, and that everyone – Hutton's friends, his foes, and those who are not familiar with him – should have the opportunity to watch and decide for themselves. Hutton was an influential man, and his story, which is also the story of Mel and the entire Gibson family, is fascinating regardless of one's perspective.

Please help this project become a reality, so that this fair and respectful look at the life and beliefs of a truly fascinating and influential figure can be given the proper vessel in a well-produced and engaging documentary film that will do justice to its subject.

Who we are:

Robert Stark is a filmmaker, author, journalist, radio show host (1680 AM in Fresno), and podcaster (starktruthradio.com). He has a long history of interviewing prominent figures in the entertainment industry – Steve de Jarnatt (Miracle Mile), Éva Gárdos (Budapest Noir, Apocalypse Now), Everett Peck (Duckman), and Matthew Wilder (Dog Eat Dog) are some recent examples. He's also known for his fair and unbiased interviews with compelling and provocative figures in journalism, literature, and politics, including Peter Brimelow, Jared Taylor, Ron Unz, Aleksandr Dugin, former Congressmen Pete McCloskey, and Professor Robin Hanson of George Mason University and Oxford.

Robert's motion picture Supply won the award for Best Guerrilla Film at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival in 2018.

David Cole is a documentary filmmaker, author, and journalist. For the past five-and-a-half years, he's written a weekly column for Taki's Magazine, and his op-eds have appeared in The Los Angeles Times and The Agonist. He's the author of the Amazon bestseller Republican Party Animal (Feral House, 2014), and he's appeared on 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, The Phil Donahue Show, and a number of other television news programs.

* For any amount donated, you will receive a DVD of the final film, which will include in the special features the entire raw unedited footage of the Hutton Gibson interview sessions.

* For a donation of $100 or more, you will receive on-screen thanks in the movie itself.

* For a donation of $1,000 or more, you will receive on-screen Associate Producer credit, and an invitation to the private premiere of the completed film in Los Angeles.

~~~

Update: On June 14th, Roger Friedman of Showbiz411 tweeted a hateful message about this fundraiser:

"No one in their right mind should contribute to this crap. I'm so glad Hutton is dead. I don't want to hear another word from him or about him. You have to be crazy yourself to be involved with this."

This is exactly why you SHOULD contribute to this project. The Hollywood bullies can't stop gloating over Hutton Gibson's death. They want to control the narrative. Let Hutton's words be heard, so that people can decide for themselves if he deserves such vitriol.

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