Things didn't look good when Summit, the studio behind Mel Gibson's comeback movie The Beaver, pushed the US release date back from March 23 to May 6. Certainly that was enough to get Hollywood whispering that the 56-year-old actor's well-publicised antics had sounded the death knell for the movie before it had even been released.
But with Beaver director, long-time friend and super-staunch ally Jodie Foster talking her fallen star up at every opportunity, something quite amazing happened. It looked like Tinseltown was willing to give Mr Gibson the benefit of the doubt, and hang fire on the career lynching until they'd actually seen the movie.
Guardian angel Jodie
Having shown the movie, in which Mel's character Walter Black suffers a breakdown, but finds solace in using a beaver glove puppet to communicate with friends, family and colleagues, to a select handful of media pre-release, Foster has been thrilled with the positive reception, insisting, "I haven't really gotten the chance to tell Mel how much people like the movie."
A respected double Oscar winner and Tinseltown survivor who started acting at the age of three, Foster's unwavering support has seen Mel praise her "core of goodness there that's undeniable". Adding, "I just love her."
If Britney and RDJ can do it…
With her most recent Circus tour raking in over Dh480 million, Britney Spears' comeback has been deemed an unqualified success - especially considering she was once deemed such a danger to herself and her children that she was held involuntarily in a psychiatric unit, spoke in a British accent was and placed under the conservatorship of her father. And with Mel's close friend, Robert Downey Jr - whose own addictions once saw him sentenced to three years in jail - insisting, "He and I have a friendship that spans well over two decades and he's a stand-up guy; he always has been for me," industry insiders say The Beaver could help kick star Mel's public rehabilitation.
Is the public ready to forgive?
Mel himself has spoken out about the infamous taped telephone rages against ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, breaking his silence to deliver his own mea culpa. "I don't blame some people for thinking that [I discriminate] from the garbage they heard on those leaked tapes," he insisted. Adding that the rants "[Don't] represent what I truly believe." And with his first post-scandal interview out in the open, The Atlantic's Terrence Henry says further apology is needed - "Morally reprehensible [people like Gibson must] make amends and try to redeem themselves." And the LA Times has pondered, "It's not outrageous to believe Oscar voters could turn a great performance by him into an opportunity to reward a one-time bad boy."
Critics on The Beaver…
The Hollywood Reporter: "Less nutty and more moving than its premise suggests, [this] dramedy transcends its real-world baggage."
The Guardian: "Gibson is undeniably well cast, yet… it's hard to feel moved by his performance: all control and guile, even in the most emotional moments."
Firstshowing.net: "The Beaver has a voice, and what it has to say is something magnificent."
Slashfilm.com: "Gibson gives it his best, and delivers a great performance."
The second chance stars
If these guys can do it, surely Mel can too?
John Travolta
Comeback flick Pulp Fiction
Saviour Quentin Tarantino
John was one of the biggest stars of the 70s thanks to roles in Saturday Night Fever - for which he became one of the youngest men ever to receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination at 24 - and Grease. But after his role in 1980's Urban Cowboy, it all went downhill. He famously turned down leads in American Gigolo and An Officer and a Gentleman, and after languishing in Hollywood purgatory for a decade, Tarantino cast John in 1994's Pulp Fiction, earning him a second Best Actor Oscar nod and a career comeback.
Kiefer Sutherland
Comeback show 24
Saviours Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow
One of the biggest stars of the 80s thanks to standout performances in the likes of Stand By Me and The Lost Boys, Kiefer also enjoyed a high-profile romance with Julia Roberts - although she famously left him days before their wedding. Despite sporadic hits throughout the 90s, it took the iconic role of Federal agent Jack Bauer in 24, to drag Kiefer out of the career doldrums. And with his Dh150 million for three seasons pay cheque he became the then-highest paid actor on TV.
Mickey Rourke
Comeback flick The Wrestler
Saviour Darren Aronofsky
Mickey was one of Hollywood's most beautiful actors when he steamed up the big screen alongside Kim Basinger in Nine and a Half Weeks, and Carre Otis (who would become his wife) in Wild Orchid. But after gaining a rep as being difficult on set, with Alan Parker who directed him in 1987's Angel Heart saying, "Working with Mickey is a nightmare," Mickey turned his back on Hollywood in 1991 to take up his former career as a boxer. Retiring in 1995, after admitting he'd boxed to "test myself physically", he underwent extensive facial surgery to correct injuries sustained in the ring. After a string of bit parts, Brit director Aronofsky cast him as Randy ‘The Ram' Robinson in 2008's The Wrestler, and he was championed with a Best Actor Oscar nomination as well as a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.
The Next Comeback Kids?
The jury's still out on whether these fallen stars can come back in style…
Charlie Sheen
The very public fall out over his sacking from hit TV show Two and a Half Men, coupled with his rants about ‘winning', ‘tiger blood' and being a ‘warlock', have made Charlie appear uninsurable and unstable.
Christina Aguilera
Having recently flubbed the lines to the US National Anthem and been arrested for public intoxication - in the wake of her split from husband Jordan Bratman - Christina's turned her back on music for now, to become a mentor on new reality TV show The Voice.
LeAnn Rimes
Once one of the biggest country singing stars in the world, LeAnn was publicly vilified after her affair with Eddie Cibrian, with whom she was making a TV movie. Both ditched their spouses, but fans have turned on LeAnn, and her career has not recovered.
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