So, let's just say Christopher Hitchens once sent off The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg to stop Mel Gibson from producing his now in-development biopic about the hero of Hanukkah. That actually happened. And frankly, even if you had envisioned the scenario you'd be hard-pressed to come up with a more entertaining conversation than what ensued between Gibson and Goldberg. Let's just say everything seems to be on the table, including, but not limited to: why Gibson wants to make an epic about Judah Maccabee (the stories are "ripping good reads"), how he explained away his drunken, anti-Semitic rant and hilarious dialogue about a few key aspects of the tale. Here's the first few lines of the transcript:

Jeffrey Goldberg: There are some unpleasant aspects to this story, you know. Some crazy stuff went on. Some of the people were so in love with Greek culture that they would uncircumcise themselves.

Mel Gibson: I know!  I read that. That's weird. How do you do that?

JG: You attach weights to your penis, I think. I think they pull the skin down. Some people have extra skin.

MG: Fuck, I don't know. I don't know how you do it.

JG: I think they attach weights. Which has to --
 
MG: -- Damage you.

 

Read the rest over at TheAtlantic.com.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at ehayden at nationaljournal dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Erik Hayden