Mel Gibson buys Dendy Cinema chain

Hollywood actor Mel Gibson has succeeded in his quest to take control of the Dendy Cinema chain, claiming the prize for $21 million after a drawn out and bloody takeover battle.

Entertainment company Becker Group announced on Friday that it had sold the cinema chain, known for its preference for screening art-house flicks, to Mr Gibson's company Icon Film Distribution Pty Ltd.

About 75 per cent of Becker Group was recently acquired by regional television broadcaster Prime Media Group Ltd for about $24 million.

As part of that deal, Becker's film assets, including the Dendy chain, were supposed to be sold back to major Becker shareholders Russell and Richard Becker for $15.5 million.

But the sale was scrapped last year after another company associated with Mr Gibson, Dolphete Pty Ltd, threw a spanner in the works by convincing the Takeovers Panel to intervene.

Dolphete accused Prime and Becker of acting in concert and not giving Becker shareholders enough information about the cinema asset sale.

At the time, Prime and Becker had similar interests, with hospital magnate Paul Ramsay holding 41 per cent of Prime and 19 per cent of Becker.

Dolphete was understood to be behind a counter bid for Becker shares, but it was unable to stop Prime taking control of the group despite more rumblings to the Takeovers Panel.

Becker said the sale of the Dendy Cinemas and its film distribution assets to Icon marked the conclusion of a competitive bidding process.

"Icon was selected based on various parameters including value, timing and transaction certainty," Becker said.

Becker managing director Warwick Syphers, who is also head of Prime, said Becker would now focus on growing its television production assets.

Prime shares closed unchanged at $3.50 after rising as high as $3.60.

Dendy operates six cinemas: two in Sydney, two in Melbourne, one in Brisbane and one in Canberra.

Writer Sues Mel Gibson Over 'Passion'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A screenwriter sued Mel Gibson and his production company on Monday, claiming he was misled by the actor-director into accepting a small payment for writing "The Passion of the Christ," and was refused extra money when the film became a blockbuster.

Benedict Fitzgerald claimed that when he was asked to write a script about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Gibson told him the movie would cost between $4 million to $7 million, according to the lawsuit filed in Superior Court. Fitzgerald also alleged Gibson promised he wouldn't receive any money from the film and any profit would be distributed to people who worked on the movie.

Gibson stated he didn't want "money on the back of what he considered a personal gift to his (Roman Catholic) faith," the lawsuit said.

Fitzgerald, who shared screenwriting credits with Gibson, claimed he agreed to a "a salary substantially less than what he would have taken had he known the true budget for the film," which the lawsuit claimed had an estimated budget of $25 million to $50 million. The 2004 movie went on to gross several hundred million dollars.

The lawsuit doesn't specify how much Fitzgerald was paid for his services.

An after-hours call to Gibson's publicist was not immediately returned.

The suit claims fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and seeks unspecified damages. It also names Gibson's Icon Productions company as a defendant.

Mel Gibson to attend IFTAs

Mel Gibson is to receive an award at this year's IFTAs for 'outstanding contribution to world cinema'.

The Australian actor and director will attend the Irish Film & Television Awards ceremony in Dublin's Gaiety Theatre on February 17.

Gibson has starred in over 48 film and television productions in the last three decades and is also the co-founder of Icon Productions. Having made a name for himself acting in blockbusters like Mad Max and Lethal Weapon, he made his directorial debut in 1993. Since then, he has gone on to helm some of the biggest productions of the past couple of years, including Braveheart, The Passion Of The Christ and Apocalypto.

Mel Gibson has Irish connections on both his mother’s and father’s side. His late mother, Anne Patricia Reilly, was born in Co. Longford and his great grandfather on his father’s side was Patrick Mylott, who moved from Ireland to Australia in the late 1800s to escape the potato famine.

Mel is named after the Church of Saint Mel in Longford, his mother’s birthplace, while his middle name, Colmcille, is that of the diocese where his mother was born and also the name of a well-known Irish saint.