Mel Gibson is reportedly set to turn the late Pope John Paul II's life-story into a movie according to The New York Post. Gibson, a 'devote' Roman Catholic, got a jump start by sending a production crew to Rome to film the Pope's funeral last Friday.
Mel's "The Passion Of The Christ" was one of Hollywood's biggest box-office hits last year and he's already been talking about doing further religious themed movies such as "The Revolt Of The Maccabees", the story behind the Jewish holiday Hanukkah.
Born Karol Wojtyla in 1920 Poland, John-Paul The Second was the first non-Italian to hold the office since Hadrian VI, 455 years earlier. He was born and raised in Poland which he initially fled during World War II, but the Russian invasion prompted him to return home and study in secret, taking a labourer's job to avoid deportation. A firsthand witness to the cruelty of Nazi occupation, Wojtyla joined a cultural resistance movement, where be began studying for the priesthood. Throughout the 50's he earned a reputation for promoting and supporting his church in an oppressive Soviet regime. He became Pope in 1978.
Thanks to 'Paul'
