Gibson Faces Distribution Problems Over The Passion

Maverick superstar Mel Gibson is experiencing big problems in his quest to find a major studio willing to take on his controversial film The Passion.

The MAD MAX star directed the film about the last days of Jesus Christ, having got the production off the ground via his own company ICON PRODUCTIONS.

However, now shooting has wrapped on the JAMES CAVIEZEL-starring project, Gibson has been trying to find a distributor - but only small, independent studios are interested.

The Passion has already come under fire from Jewish leaders who fear the depiction of the murder of Christ will incite racial disharmony.

But Gibson's epic film - which contains only Latin and Aramaic dialogue with no subtitles - has been given a seal of approval by the Vatican.

Insiders believe the adverse attention given to studio UNIVERSAL after it took on Martin Scorsese's THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST has made other companies wary of handling such challenging material.