MEL GIBSON GOES MAYAN

Director Mel Gibson tells the story of ancient Mayan civilization in Apocalypto.

Director Mel Gibson took on the daunting task of bringing the Mayan civilization to the screen in Apocalypto which means new beginning or unveiling. With every new beginning something always has to end.

Mel says he found parallels with the ancient society to society today.

“It was an interesting period, an end of a civilization with a lot of wild things going on in it that in a strange way had parallels to our civilization today which had the earmarks or the precursors to a civilization that seems to be crumbling.”

Mel worked with a cast of unknowns from Mexico City, the Yucatan and Veracruz with the exception of Raoul Trujillo playing Zero Wolf who starred in TNT’s Into The West and The New World.

“But actually he’s very handsome this guy. There’s a lot of earrings and stuff on him. And what we did was I looked at him and thought, ‘wow he’s an amazing looking guy but we need to ugly him up some.’ So I actually marred his own natural features by putting more of a proboscis on him. And it didn’t sort of fit as well with his face but it worked. And it actually made him look more Mayan I thought.”

A handsome Native American, Mel says he tried everything he could to ugly him up for the Mayan warrior.

Apocalypto is told in the authentic Yucatec Maya language at the insistence of Gibson who met with much resistance not unlike speaking Aramaic in The Passion of The Christ. Apocalypto opens today in theaters.