Gibson Taking Oscar High Road for 'The Passion'

Passion of Christ, Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson has sworn off using paid advertisements to seek Oscars for his blockbuster, "The Passion of the Christ," and instead is putting his faith in the merits of the work as it vies for the film industry's top honors.

Breaking with a growing Hollywood practice of heavy-handed pre-Oscar marketing, Gibson and his Icon Productions partner Bruce Davey have vowed not to spend a cent on television, radio or print ads hawking "Passion" for Academy Award consideration, a spokesman said on Friday.

However, Icon is presenting promotional screenings of "The Passion" and plans to send out thousands of DVD copies to members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and other industry groups that present year-end film awards.

"This film should be judged on its artistic merit, not on who spends more money for advertising. That's really what the academy was meant to be and to celebrate," Davey said in a statement issued through Icon's publicist, Alan Nierob.

Gibson, who wrote, directed and produced the blood-drenched film about the last hours in the life of Jesus, likewise spent relatively little on commercial advertising to promote "The Passion" before its theatrical release.

Instead, Icon relied on a marketing campaign centered on special screenings for Christian churches. The R-rated film also benefited from media scrutiny after some Jewish leaders expressed concern that the movie could incite anti-Semitism.

"The Passion" went on to gross well over $600 million in worldwide ticket sales.

Nominations for the 2004 Academy Awards are two months away, and with no clear favorites having yet emerged the Oscar contest is expected to be especially heated this year.

"The studios that have films in the race are going to be out there doing everything they can to get attention for their films,"said Gregg Kilday, film editor for The Hollywood Reporter.

Oscar marketing has grown into a multimillion-dollar exercise for major studios and production companies, which spend lavishly on advertising, parties and publicity campaigns to raise the profile of their movies during the run-up to the Academy Awards and other year-end film prizes.

In recent years, promotional blitzes have taken on a nasty edge, with rival movie executives accusing each other of trying to buy academy votes or fomenting whisper campaigns.

Academy officials thought the situation had gotten so out of hand that last year they formed a committee to tighten guidelines governing the promotion of Oscar-eligible films.

Academy President Frank Pierson praised Gibson for working to restore the Oscars as a "celebration and appreciation of excellence" and resisting the "crass commercialism that was threatening the integrity of the award."

The stakes are high. An Oscar nomination or award carries tremendous prestige for a film's producers and talent while often translating into a commercial windfall for those movies that are still in theaters or in DVD release.

"The Passion" has little to gain commercially from Oscar recognition at this point, having already completed its global theatrical run and DVD release.