Mel Gibson's next movie?

I saw a headline on the Internet Movie Database: "[Mel] Gibson Planning Jewish Movie." I read it aloud, and Heather asked, "You're not reading The Onion, are you?" No, it turns out that Gibson

has hinted he may make a filmed account of the Revolt Of The Maccabees, the story behind Hanukkah. The 46-year-old says, "The story that's always fired my imagination is the Book of Maccabees. "The Maccabees family stood up, and they made war. They stuck by their guns and they came out winning. It's like a western." The Maccabees led a three year war, 200 years before the birth of Jesus, against Antiochus, a king who forced the Jews to worship false gods. The war led to the liberation of Jerusalem.

Gibson's interest in Jewish history concerns the Jewish Anti-defamation League. National director Abe Foxman says, "My answer would be, 'Thanks but no thanks.' The last thing we need in Jewish history is to convert our history into a western."

Let the speculation about casting begin!