Gibson Gives Offbeat Speech

More than 900 star-struck fans packed Sanders Theatre to hear actor and celebrity heartthrob Mel Gibson speak, but many left dissatisfied after listening to the Australian's flippant remarks.

Peppering his unprepared remarks with profanities, Gibson touched on his career, his future and his fame.

Gibson said he has had to "learn how to live with [fame], like tuberculosis."

"Life is like a shit sandwich: The more bread you have, the less shit you have to eat," he cracked. "You have to stop resenting the bad things [about fame] and take complete advantage of the perks. That's where the bread comes in."

Many attendees were like Pinar Z. Yegin '98, who arrived at 1:15 p.m. for the 5 p.m. speech by the actor known for movies such as "Braveheart" and the "Lethal Weapon" trilogy.

"I didn't have a class; so I decided to come early and see if I could talk to him," Yegin said.

By 3:30, almost 20 other fans joined Yegin in line. Some brought "Braveheart" compact discs or books for autographing; others composed love notes to give to their "Mel."

By the time the doors opened at 4:30, the line stretched all the way to the Science Center.

The predominantly female audience erupted in cheers and screams as Gibson trotted onto the stage, clad in a grey polo shirt and navy suit and carrying a drink from Loker Commons.

After the speech, however, many fans expressed confusion and dissatisfaction with the content of Gibson's presentation.

"I've never heard anyone so inarticulate in my life," said Elizabeth M. Angell '97, a Crimson executive. "He couldn't even answer the questions that sycophant fans lobbed at him."

Audience members said Gibson seemed unprepared and nervous, choosing to answer questions from audience members with humorous but crass quips.

"I am not my brother's keeper," Gibson responded, when asked about the amount of violence in movies.

Even University officials said they are disappointed with Gibson's attitude.

"I thought he copped out about violence and about the history issue," said University Marshal Richard M. Hunt. "But he's a very witty, funny man."

During the hour-long event, viewers learned that Gibson does spank his children, hates calculus and really likes being rich.

When asked why he was at Harvard, Gibson replied, "I don't have to answer that. I'm rich.

Most questioners were casual in their delivery, but one woman drew boos from the audience when she confronted Gibson about distorting historical facts in film.

After the woman pointed out that the idea of "prima nocta" in Gibson's film "Braveheart" was an 18th century invention that had no place in a medieval film, Gibson asked, "Damn cinematic, isn't it?"

"My life, my work, my career are about creating images," Gibson said. "And those people from 1250 are all fucking dead."

One woman in the audience seized her opportunity to flirt with the hand some star by asking Gibson if he needed a co-star in his next production.

Gibson squinted through the bright lights in his face at her, and replied, "No, but you could bring me coffee maybe."

After a second look, he asked, "Could we have children maybe?"

Not missing a beat, the questioner responded from the balcony, "I'll be right down."

Workshop

In addition to his talk at Sanders, Gibson spoke with more than 30 undergraduates yesterday morning and led a workshop with more than 100 students from Boston-area high schools and the Graduate School of Education in the early afternoon.

Gibson described the art of acting as the skill of deception.

"If you can fake people out, truly, that's the art," he said.

During the afternoon session, Gibson affirmed that he had compromised his artistic integrity before.

"Sure, it makes you really wealthy," Gibson said. "You do some things--and I have done [some things]--that are terrible.... Some things I did because I was really hungry."

Gibson was brought to Harvard by a joint effort of the Learning from Performers program and the Graduate School of Education's Arts in Education concentration. Law School alumnus and Hollywood screenwriter Ken Lipper was also involved with the arrangements for his visit

Audience members said Gibson seemed unprepared and nervous, choosing to answer questions from audience members with humorous but crass quips.

"I am not my brother's keeper," Gibson responded, when asked about the amount of violence in movies.

Even University officials said they are disappointed with Gibson's attitude.

"I thought he copped out about violence and about the history issue," said University Marshal Richard M. Hunt. "But he's a very witty, funny man."

During the hour-long event, viewers learned that Gibson does spank his children, hates calculus and really likes being rich.

When asked why he was at Harvard, Gibson replied, "I don't have to answer that. I'm rich.

Most questioners were casual in their delivery, but one woman drew boos from the audience when she confronted Gibson about distorting historical facts in film.

After the woman pointed out that the idea of "prima nocta" in Gibson's film "Braveheart" was an 18th century invention that had no place in a medieval film, Gibson asked, "Damn cinematic, isn't it?"

"My life, my work, my career are about creating images," Gibson said. "And those people from 1250 are all fucking dead."

One woman in the audience seized her opportunity to flirt with the hand some star by asking Gibson if he needed a co-star in his next production.

Gibson squinted through the bright lights in his face at her, and replied, "No, but you could bring me coffee maybe."

After a second look, he asked, "Could we have children maybe?"

Not missing a beat, the questioner responded from the balcony, "I'll be right down."

Workshop

In addition to his talk at Sanders, Gibson spoke with more than 30 undergraduates yesterday morning and led a workshop with more than 100 students from Boston-area high schools and the Graduate School of Education in the early afternoon.

Gibson described the art of acting as the skill of deception.

"If you can fake people out, truly, that's the art," he said.

During the afternoon session, Gibson affirmed that he had compromised his artistic integrity before.

"Sure, it makes you really wealthy," Gibson said. "You do some things--and I have done [some things]--that are terrible.... Some things I did because I was really hungry."

Gibson was brought to Harvard by a joint effort of the Learning from Performers program and the Graduate School of Education's Arts in Education concentration. Law School alumnus and Hollywood screenwriter Ken Lipper was also involved with the arrangements for his visit