I suspect you may not be far off in the way Gibson will skew the movie. When I first heard about this my mind flashed back to an old religious film I really liked when I was about ten. It was called Ruth and was an embellishment on the story of biblical character Ruth. When I rewatched it recently (and it actually isn’t too bad for a religious film of that era), I noticed that how very Christianized the pre-Temple Jewish characters are. There is even a wandering Jew figure (couldn’t be Elijah because Elijah didn’t exist yet in Judaism) who predicts a messiah (a concept not even part of Judaism at that time) will come from the bloodline of Ruth’s sone Something tells me Gibson will at least try to do a 21st century version of that with the story of Judah Maccabee.
Where did you find that about Joe Eszterhas’s father? I admit I first learned about him in one of those shitty E entertainment things that focused on Flashdance, and in was Eszterhas fighting other writers for the credit of having written that masterpiece. He does seem to have a penchant for erotic thrillers, I wonder how will that affect the story 
(on the other hand, that would be a better angle than “300 with Jews”).
I read about it in one of Eszterhas’ books, Hollywood Animal, I think.
That’s an excellent point, Shoogar-Tits.
If the movie is a hit he’ll probably do movies on some of the many other wars the Jews have started.
The thing is, he is a good film maker with a distinct voice and a talent for being able to create immersive period pieces which at least feel realistic even if they’re not necessarily historically accurate. In terms of specialized skill, style and experience, Mel Gibson is exactly the right director to do a Maccabees movie (and I’m surprised this story hasn’t been done before). I’m sure he’ll simplify it and make the “good guy/bad guy” divisions much sharper than they really were (Antiochus was truly a monster, but this conflict started mostly as an internal battle between conservative and Hellenized Jews. Antiochus eventually barrelled into what was essentially a civil war, and the Maccabees were not really all that good, but that’s another thread), but he could certainly make it a rousing and entertaining movie - very much a Jewish Braveheart. I think he would do best to keep himself out of it as an actor, though. It would be too distracting, especially if he tried to play a hero role.
If he’s going to put himself in it at all, it should be in a villain role. Antiochus was a raving, megalomaniacal nutcase, so that would seem to be a pretty easy role for Mel Gibson.
The question is, will he accurately depict the various resistance groups against the Greeks?
The Maccabees, the Judean People’s Front, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Judea…
Splitters!
Ἕλληνές ὑπαγε οἶκόν!
Gibson’s representatives are saying he may direct the movie but won’t be in it. While this movie wouldn’t be outside his range as a director, I can’t help think his involvement was at the behest of someone who decided the controversy would help them sell tickets.
Mel was misquoted. What he actually said was,
“you’re going to get raped by a pack of niggers, while I watch.”
See? Pervert, not racist. 
WRT to the Macabee film, the controversy alone will sell tickets.
You may not want to take your kid to see his remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
I always thought that the Maccabean revolt would make a good epic movie, and I thought Braveheart was brilliant (historical liberties aside). He’s a good choice to direct.
I’m less enthusiastic about Eszterhas but you never know.
If I were going to film an ancient Israel epic it would either be somehow based around the life of Herod the Great, which was a wild and weird epic in and of itself complete with major intrigue/weird sex/lots of war and gore, or I’d go two centuries later with the Bar Kokhba Revolt, which also has some interesting heroes/villains and all the bloodshed you could want.
The Jews lost that one, though.
True, but they put up one hell of a fight. There’s a reason there’s a Jewish holiday celebrating the rebellion.
The Spartans lost at Thermopylae, but they still made 300.
Sampiro:
Not a bad idea, but personally, I’d go with the story of King Josiah. An incredibly tragic figure in Jewish history, I’ll bet a skilled filmmaker could do wonders with his story.
Alessan:
You’ll have to remind me of just which holiday this is. The only two Jewish commemorations of the Bar Kochba revolt that I know of is that the fall of Betar is said to have occurred on Tisha B’Av with other Jewish tragedies, and that a fourth blessing was added to Grace after Meals to thank G-d for allowing the dead of Betar a decent burial. Neither of these strike me as celebrations of the rebellion itself.
I know Lag Ba’Omer is bigger in Israel than it is in the diaspora, but I can’t believe you’ve never heard of this aspect of it.