In an eleventh hour decision by Warner Brothers president Jeff Robinov and director Todd Phillips, a cameo appearance by Mel Gibson in The Hangover 2 has been canceled. See who will replace him here.
The controversial actor was slated to appear in the sequel as a tattoo artist, with filming scheduled to take place within days.
It all began in early October when actor Zach Galifianakis staged a mini-rant during a Comedy Death-Ray podcast, while promoting a different movie. Without naming names he admitted to being “in a deep protest right now with a movie I’m working on, up in arms about something. But I can’t get the guys to listen. I’m not making any leeway…It’s very frustrating.”
Interviewer Scott Aukerman started to reveal that the movie he was alluding to was the Hangover sequel, Galifianakis stopped him cold.
Director Phillips explained: “I thought Mel would have been great in the movie and I had the backing of Jeff Robinov and his team. But I realize filmmaking is a collaborative effort, and this decision ultimately did not have the full support of my entire cast and crew.”
According an insider: “They didn’t want the movie to serve as a platform for some creepy Mel Gibson comeback. They didn’t want to shoulder what would come with having him involved in promoting the film.”
Funnyman Galifianakis recently did a sexy swimsuit photo shoot for Vanity Fair.