| Summit Entertainment and Participant MediaÂ’s long-delayed film starring Mel Gibson and directed by his longtime pal Jodie Foster, The Beaver, premiered tonight at The Paramount Theatre during the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas. Gibson did not attend, but Foster flew in for the screening and Q&A that followed. Film execs and fest staff milled about anxiously waiting to see how Mel's comeback movie would play for the first time in front of a public audience. The line to get a seat snaked around the building. Attendees told me that Jodie intro'ed the film and received a round of applause. When Mel came on screen for the first time, there were no boos. Laughter occurred at the right moments and the audience appeared engaged. The film received what was described to me as a very strong ovation at the end. As one attendee tells me, "People were really moved by it. They were rapt. He's phenomenal. People were really surprised they cold let go of all the other stuff with him. It went as good as it could have been." |