Oscars 2017: ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ Editor Defends Working With Mel Gibson

“A public persona of someone, the picture is almost never true,” John Gilbert tells reporters backstage at the Academy Awards

John Gilbert Hacksaw Ridge Mel Gibson
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Mel Gibson’s career resurgence was solidified at the 2017 Academy Awards on Sunday night when his film “Hacksaw Ridge” surprised with multiple victories, including an upset win for film editing.

Gibson received a few shots at the ceremony for his personal troubles, but “Hacksaw Ridge” editor John Gilbert had nothing but kind words for the director.

“A public persona of someone, the picture is almost never true,” Gilbert told reporters backstage at the Dolby Theatre when asked whether working with Gibson was as he expected going in. “He’s just a warm, genuine kind of guy. Really passionate and really committed director,” he said.

“[He] always wanted to make a great film, and there was a lot of pressure on us to make a great film,” Gilbert continued. “He’s a practical joker. I loved to work with him, it was a great time.”

This awards season has seen Gibson let back into Hollywood’s fold following anti-Semitic slurs he made to a police officer more than a decade ago — which became highly publicized and damaging to his professional reputation.

When “Hacksaw Ridge” premiered at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills last October and Gibson walked down the aisle to take the stage after the film screened, the audience gave a rapturous standing ovation.

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