XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SUNDAY JUNE 10 2000 18:22:41 ET XXXXX

‘PATRIOT’ SCENE STUNS AUDIENCE; PRODUCER, GIBSON DEFEND CHILDREN SHOOTING

GUNS IN FILM

A screening of SONY’s PATRIOT in Los Angeles on Thursday night left the
audience jumping about scenes in the Revolutionary War film that depict
young
children carrying guns — and using them!

The controversial scene begins when Gibson’s character reaches into a
chest
and gives his sons rifles.

“They go into woods and ambush the Redcoats, killing around 15 men. One
son
is around 13 years old, the other is 10,” says an insider.

A loud “gasp” was heard in the screening room as the camera zoomed in for
a
closeup of the kids. Shots are fired. Blood splatters on Redcoats.

Mel Gibson defended the scene over the weekend, declaring that he would
let
his own kids take up weapons in self-defense. Gibson says he’s taken his
children to shooting ranges.

In the movie, Gibson goes to war only after one of his son’s is killed.

Screenwriter Robert Rodat attempts to portray the complexities of war, as
he
did with SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.

“This war will be fought not on the frontier nor on distant battlefields,
but
among our homes. Our children will learn of it from their own eyes…”
says
Mel Gibson’s Benjamin Martin in PATRIOT [opening last week in June].

The movie’s theme — take arms up against those who would take your arms
–
is bound to stir the national debate over gun control.

Producer/Director Roland Emmerich conceded that the film may become a
rallying call for pro-gun advocates and militias.

“Rosie O’Donnell and Hillary Clinton may want to spend the holiday
checking
out PERFECT STORM,” laughed a viewer after the screening.