Gibson: straight up.

Nine lesbian and gay filmmakers tell in an exclusive interview what really happened on their day with Mel Gibson

It was a surreal moment in gay history--Mel Gibson conducting As seminar for lesbian and gay filmmakers. Was this the same man who was quoted by a Spanish newspaper in 1991 as saying a person's rear end is "only made for defecating"? The same man who starred in and directed 1993's The Man Without a Face, a film that conveniently heterosexualized the gay leading character of the novel on which it was based? The same man who starred in and directed 1995's Oscar-winning epic Braveheart, a film the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation claimed featured one of the most negative gay portrayals in recent film history?

Yes. That Mel Gibson. On January 27 nine lesbian and gay filmmakers met with the actor-director on the set of his upcoming film, Conspiracy Theory. Conceived and sponsored, ironically, by GLAAD, the daylong affair gave the filmmakers the opportunity to meet with Conspiracy director Richard Donner, producer Joel Silver, and costars Patrick Stewart and Julia Roberts. A 40-minute lunch with Gibson, however, found the filmmakers not only discussing the inner workings of the industry but also hashing out Gibson's troubled relationship with the lesbian and gay community.

"I think we all giggled when we first heard about it," says seminar attendee Bob King, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker who directed the segment "The Disco Years" from 1995's Boys Life. "There was always a little wink in my eye whenever I told someone I was meeting with Mel Gibson." For others in the group, that wink led to more-serious concerns. Says New York-based filmmaker Rob Tate: "A friend of mine asked me, `Do you think he's doing penance?'"

It's an accusation Gibson's camp denies. "That's absolutely absurd," says publicist Alan Nierob, who insists the event was just another film seminar and adds that Gibson had a "great time" with the participants. "Mel is passionate about filmmaking. He's spoken to Harvard about filmmaking, he's spoken to the University of Southern California about filmmaking. Why shouldn't he speak to a group of gay and lesbian filmmakers?"

The participants, however, knew exactly why they were there. "It was important for me to try to get Mel to talk about his past transgressions against gay and lesbian people," says Seattle-based filmmaker Ted Sod. "For him to see that there's a human face attached to those pejorative statements."

But the olive branch that most of the participants expected Gibson to extend didn't materialize--at least not verbally. "I never really felt like we 9, through to him on any grand scale," reports Tate. "He never acknowledged that there was anything wrong with what he did."

Nierob defends his client's unrepentant stance: "Mel Gibson does not have a problem with anyone who is gay. If members of the gay community have a problem with him, that's for them to work out."

Which is where GLAAD comes in. "GLAAD held a lot of protests across the country about Braveheart," says managing director William Waybourn, referring to the film's portrayal of Great Britain's Edward II, a historical figure generally known to have been homosexual. "Before Oscar nominations came out, we were considering placing ads in Variety as part of a campaign against the film."

But then GLAAD changed gears. "We were continuing this loggerhead approach of protests and boycotts, and it wasn't working," says Waybourn. "So I asked the question, 'Has anyone written Mel Gibson to sit down and talk with us? That letter was the genesis of this seminar."

It was also the genesis of a new era for GLAAD. "There's always room for different strategies," Waybourn says. "We can't just be reactive anymore. We have to be proactive. We have to influence these artists before they create their images. That's where we can have new impact on the process."

Opinion remains divided as to how much impact the seminar will have on Gibson. "Just because we came in there and talked to him about these things," says Bar Girls writer-producer Lauran Hoffman, "doesn't mean he's going to change what he does in film." Claire of the Moon director Nicole Conn disagrees: "The next time Mel Gibson goes to do a characterization of a gay man or lesbian, he's going to see this group of people and he's going to think twice."

Despite the varying perspectives on the seminar, most of the participants say that Gibson's efforts--however veiled they may have appeared--should be commended. "He was trying," notes Cheryl Dunye, writer-director-star of The Watermelon Woman [see review on page 53]. "He actively was trying." But for King, the real test may come only when Gibson himself takes on a gay role. In fact, the filmmaker asked the star whether he'd consider playing gay. The answer? "He kind of danced around it a bit," King says. "I don't know if we ever got a straight answer on that."