This is the least judgmental article I’ve read in a long while. Thumbs up for Mel.

Mel Gibson has been frequently visiting the bars in Boston since his arriving there last week, buying alcoholic drinks for his friends, after being charged with drunk driving in 2006.

Close friends insist that Gibson doesn’t drink, though he was spotted buying shots for pals at Mantra last week and showed up over the weekend in Sullivan’s Pub, Charlestown, where he signed autographs.

“Not at all. He goes out; he socializes and has a good time. Maybe the people he’s with are drinking but he doesn’t”, said a source close to Gibson.

Still, there was one patron at Mantra who swears he saw Mel drink a shot and a beer there. And one of the boyos at Sullivan’s said the “Passion of the Christ” impresario hoisted a Guinness or two at the pub.

But Gibson has been a model citizen since following court-ordered treatment for alcoholism two years ago.

The actor received charges of drunken driving in 2006, serving three years’ probation, a fine and alcohol-rehabilitation classes.

During his arrest, Gibson apologized deeply.

Yesterday, Gibson began filming Edge of Darkness in Boston. This flick is a thriller about a cop who investigates the murder of his protester daughter. The flick co-stars Robert De Niro, and it marks Gibson’s comeback in front of the camera after a 6-year-break.

Source: International Business Times

Earlier this year, Hollywood transformed Rockport into the picturesque fishing town of Sitka, Alaska.

Now, another Tinseltown crew has struck a deal to film here. Only this time, Rockport — specifically Cape Hedge Beach — will appear on the big screen as itself. And on center stage for the drama Edge of Darkness when it films here will be Mel Gibson.

Filming is set to take place on Cape Hedge Beach on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 25 and 26. According to Town Administrator Michael Racicot. The scene is said to feature Gibson’s character returning to Cape Hedge Beach, his daughter’s favorite childhood place, to scatter his daughter’s ashes into the sea.

According to a plot outline on the Internet Movie Data Base Web site, Gibson plays Boston homicide detective Thomas Craven, who while investigating the death of his activist daughter, uncovers not only her secret life, but a corporate cover-up and government collusion that attracts a CIA agent (Robert DeNiro) tasked with cleaning up the evidence.

DeNiro will not take part in the Rockport shoot, Racicot said.

Selectmen voted unanimously last week to approve a location agreement with a film crew requesting to shoot scenes for Edge of Darkness.

A representative from the crew met with the Conservation Commission, harbormasters and Police Department in preparation for requesting the location agreement. The crew will only need use of the nearby parking lot and a section of the beach, Racicot said. No structures will be built on the beach, he said.

As part of the location agreement, the production company, which was not identified, agreed to donate $2,000 toward Rockport’s yet-to-be-constructed animal shelter.

Prior to this year, it had been five years since Rockport’s rugged coastline or quaint downtown shops had served as a backdrop for a major Hollywood production.

Before the Walt Disney production The Proposal, filmed on Bearskin Neck back in April, the last film shot in Rockport had been scenes for 2003’s Stuck on You, which starred Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear. Rockport received $5,000 from 20th Century Fox to film Stuck on You; selectmen used the money to renovate Boy Scout Hall.

Filming for Edge of Darkness began in the South Boston neighborhood last week. The movie is slated for a 2009 release.

Source: Gloucester Times

Mel Gibson and Robert De Niro stopped at Abe & Louie’s the other night, huddling in the private dining room downstairs.

The A-list actors, who are in town to shoot Edge of Darkness, were accompanied by their bodyguards. De Niro, we’re told, had the crispy pork dish, while Gibson didn’t order dinner.

Source: The Boston Globe

The Track Girls are runnin’ with a story of Mel Gibson visiting Kings Lanes in Back Bay.

The “Aussie” star is here to scope out the local scene prior to filming Edge of Darkness beginning on August 18. Gibson shares the bill with Robert De Niro in what’s sure to be a hit among crime and sci-fi fans.

The Girls mention that Mel also checked out Mantra and JJ Foley’s over the weekend. Why, Melly’s shaping up to be a regular ol’ Bostonian!

Source: Bostonist

The Boston casting is seeking Prius-driving moonbats for Mel Gibson’s flick Edge of Darkness, which begins filming in Massachusetts Aug. 18.

If you are a woman in your late 30s to early 50s, own a hybrid and would be willing to be a background performer, e-mail a photo of yourself, a photo of the enviro-friendly wheels, and the rest of your stats to edge.vehicles@gmail.com.

Source: The Boston Herald

Hollywood superstars Robert DeNiro and Mel Gibson are to team up for the first time in a new movie.

Gibson will play a murder detective who discovers his daughter led a secret life after she is murdered on his doorstep. DeNiro will play the operative sent to clean up the evidence, reports Daily Variety.

The film, titled The Edge of Darkness, is Gibson’s first big role since 2002 movie Signs. The film will be directed by Casino Royale filmmaker Martin Campbell and is due for release in 2009.

Source: Contact Music

It’s all supposed to be stealthy and secret, but we hear Robert DeNiro is this close to signing on to co-star in the made-in-Mass. movie Edge of Darkness.

The crime thriller, based on a popular BBC miniseries, stars Mel Gibson as a seasoned Boston police detective investigating the death of his activist daughter, played by Aussie actress Bojana Novakovic.

The creepy flick, which will be directed by Martin Campbell and written by Oscar-winning The Departed screen scribe William Monahan, will shoot in and around Boston and the Berkshires from Aug. 18 to December.

When asked about the DeNiro signing or which character the Hollywood heavy would play, the production company had no comment.

However, we do know that Boston Casting is holding an open call for age 18-plus Screen Actors Guild members from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday. Non-union talent will be seen from 2 to 4 p.m. Bring a photo and resume to 129 Braintree St., Allston.

Another open call for adult extras is Aug. 9 in Northampton. As always, do tell them the Track sent cha.

Source: The Boston Herald

Malice. Adultery. Psycho-killers. Abortion.

Directors bent on filming dark movies know where to go. We call it Northampton. It’s no mystery, then, that the makers of the new Mel Gibson flick, Edge of Darkness, have scoped out the place once dubbed “the Paradise of America” for some creepy scenes.

Production people from the movie have been talking to police and other local officials about the possibility of shooting in Northampton this fall. The Hampshire County Courthouse is one prospective setting, although other prominent locales have also been mentioned.

Police Capt. Joseph W. Koncas said film officials have been in touch with his department to discuss issues such as traffic control and security for possible filming. Hampshire County Clerk of Courts Harry Jekanowski Jr. said there have also been inquiries about using the old courtroom in the original courthouse for a scene.

According to the Web site for the entertainment magazine Variety, Edge of Darkness will be a film adaptation of the popular British television serial of the same name. The story revolves around a policeman who witnesses the brutal killing of his daughter. His investigation leads him into a murky world of government cover-ups and corporate intrigues.

Read more

Usually, the Hub hearts Hollywood, and is happy to host all the A-list stars who come to town to shoot movies. Not so much Mel Gibson. The Aussie actor, who’ll be in Boston this fall to film the cop drama Edge of Darkness, is getting a cold shoulder from the owners of a Roslindale apartment building.

Seems the couple have denied “Edge” director Martin Campbell’s bid to use their Bradfield Street building during filming. Why? They’re upset about an anti-Semitic comment Mel made to the police officer who arrested him for DUI near his Malibu home. “[Expletive] Jews,” the Mad Max actor told officer James Mee in 2006. “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

The couple isn’t talking about the contretemps with Mel, but their nephew Brian Keaney, who blogs at MyDedham.org, is. Keaney told us his aunt and uncle were initially excited when Hollywood came calling. “Until they found out Mel Gibson was involved,” said Keaney. “The whole family’s very proud of them for standing up to [Gibson]. You can’t make comments like that and get away with it.”

The movie, which is written by Departed scribe William Monahan, is about a police investigator - played by Gibson - whose activist daughter is killed under mysterious circumstances. “I think the filmmakers might come to my uncle and aunt later and see if this has blown over,” Keaney said. “But the answer’s going to be the same.”

Source: The Boston Globe

According to the Boston Herald, Mel’s location peeps are poking around the Berkshires to film in the Massachusetts mountains this coming August.