Is this Hollywood’s most unlikely friendship?

Gibson and Spielberg – two names you would never expect to find together in Hollywood – have united in the most extraordinary way.

Mel Gibson is the radical Catholic whose anti-Semitic rants ostracised him from much of Hollywood, while Steven Spielberg is the Jewish director behind Schindler’s List.

Gibson is preparing to direct the sequel to his controversial hit The Passion of the Christ, while Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation films the chilling testimony of Holocaust survivors.

But a fascinating new book reveals the secret friendship that for years has brought Gibson and Spielberg together.

Yet it’s not the ‘Lethal Weapon’ star and the ‘Jaws’ director – it’s Mel’s sister-in-law Shanas Gibson, and Steven’s father Arnold Spielberg, whose unlikely affinity is unveiled in her memoir, ‘Gibson & Spielberg: A Beautiful Friendship, A Journey of Hope, A Road to Resilience & Survival.’

It’s yet another surprising foray into the public eye for Arnold Spielberg, whose family life was the subject of his son’s 2022 hit movie The Fabelmans, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards.

Steven called the film a ‘love letter’ to his parents, especially his father, who bought him his first camera, and whose death in 2020 at the age of 103 inspired him to finally tell the story of his upbringing. 

Yet Shanas’ book, which she hopes will find a publisher at the London Book Fair next week (April 18-20), brings to life an aspect of Steven Spielberg’s father’s life that The Fabelmans never hinted at: Arnold’s deep ties to Mel Gibson’s sister-in-law.

Mel Gibson is the radical Catholic whose anti-Semitic rants ostracised him from much of Hollywood

The Spielberg family: Sue Spielberg, Nancy Spielberg, Anne Spielberg, Steven Spielberg and Arnold Spielberg at the USC Shoah Foundation’s Inaugural Inspiration Award & Luncheon in LA

Artist Shanas, 47, married to Mel Gibson’s younger actor brother Don 65, met Arnold Spielberg purely by chance at a Los Angeles coffee shop in 2000.

Their rapport was instant, and their bond unbreakable.

‘Because of his experiences and everything he had been through in his life he became the most wonderful friend and mentor for the next 20 years,’ she said last night.

Arnold stood by Shanas even as her world fell apart when Mel Gibson was excoriated for his alleged anti-Semitism, she reveals.

Steven Spielberg on the set of The Fabelmans, which was nominated for seven Academy Awards

It’s yet another surprising foray into the public eye for Arnold Spielberg, whose family life was the subject of his son’s 2022 hit movie The Fabelmans

Mel Gibson’s high-powered team of expensive pit-bull lawyers and publicists worked overtime to crush any criticism of the star whose films include ‘Mad Max’ and ‘Braveheart’

Steven Spielberg, as a child, being held in his father’s arms, with mother, Leah, smiling as Steven looks towards the camera

As an artist she worked closely with Holocaust survivors, and was shocked to be shunned by friends and work colleagues when her brother-in-law Mel Gibson released his controversial The Passion of the Christ in 2004.

While the movie earned Gibson a reported $600 million, it was branded anti-Semitic for depicting Jews as being responsible for Christ’s death.

In one scene – a hallucination suffered by Judas – Jewish boys turn into demon children.

Two years later (2006) Gibson allegedly shouted a barrage of anti-Semitic remarks at police officers who pulled him over while he was being arrested for driving drunk. Gibson has always denied being an anti-Semite and made a public apology for his ‘despicable’ remarks.

Mel Gibson’s actor brother, Donal Gibson (pictured), also starred in Braveheart – one of the films he directed

Mel Gibson, right, directs Jim Caviezel on the set of Gibson’s movie ‘The Passion of The Christ’

As an artist, Shanas worked closely with Holocaust survivors, and was shocked to be shunned by friends and work colleagues when her brother-in-law Mel Gibson released his controversial The Passion of the Christ in 2004

Actor Gabriel LaBelle holds up a camera in a scene from The Fabelmans – his character is based on a young Steven Spielberg 

Shanas said: ‘In Mel’s Gibson’s family no one is allowed to speak up, and as a result we all became his victims’. Pictured: Shanas (centre) with Steven’s parents, Arnold Spielberg and Leah Adler

But, says Shanas, the fall-out to his actions led to a rift within the family: she and her husband no longer speak to Mel.

She also lost many of her friends – but Arnold Spielberg remained loyal.

‘My career and my friendships were destroyed,’ she says. ‘When my world was being torn apart and my whole life was being destroyed by Mel Gibson and his cronies, my friend Arnold Spielberg was always there to pick me back up again.’

Mel’s high-powered team of expensive pit-bull lawyers and publicists worked overtime to crush any criticism of the star of Mad Max and Braveheart, according to Shanas.

While the movie earned Gibson a reported $600 million, it was branded anti-Semitic for depicting Jews as being responsible for Christ’s death

An image from The Fabelmans film shows shows Gabriel LaBelle, from left, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Keeley Karsten, Julia Butters and Sophia Kopera

Shanas said the fall-out to his actions led to a rift within the family: she and her husband no longer speak to Mel

‘Arnold was the calm in the middle of the storm,’ says Shanas. ‘He was someone I could lean on in trying times and he never let me down. He was always there for me. He would always tell me: ‘You are a fighter. You need to persevere. You need to be resilient.’

Shanas was unable to defend herself, she explains: ‘In Mel’s Gibson’s family no one is allowed to speak up, and as a result we all became his victims.

‘I have not watched any Mel Gibson movies ever since The Passion. It pretty much ruined my life because I was caught in the crosshairs and became a target of not only Mel and his attack dogs, but also of the many people who were offended by Mel’s actions and his film.’

Steven called the film a ‘love letter’ to his parents, especially his father, who bought him his first camera. An image from the The Fabelmans film 

Director Steven Spielberg and parents Arnold Spielberg and Leah Adler at the American Jewish Committee’s 83rd Annual Executive Council

‘Arnold was the calm in the middle of the storm,’ says Shanas. ‘He was someone I could lean on in trying times and he never let me down

As her world fell apart, Arnold Spielberg was her unlikely saviour.

‘I don’t think I would be alive if it wasn’t for our amazing two-decades-long friendship,’ she admits. ‘He stood by me when life became almost unbearable.

‘Arnold would never allow me to be the victim. He wanted me to celebrate my life by realising and acknowledging that I was a survivor. I had survived, I was alive and it was something to be proud of.’

Steven said his father’s death in 2020 at the age of 103 inspired him to finally tell the story of his upbringing

That first coffeehouse meeting soon turned into weekly rendezvous for lunch. Arnold, a retired electrical engineer who helped design some of the earliest computers, would regale her with tales of his military career and his life, which included three marriages.

‘Arnold was Jewish and, while I am not, race, religion, age and background didn’t matter,’ she says. ‘We were equals and best friends from the moment we met.’

Gibson & Spielberg: A Beautiful Friendship, A Journey of Hope, A Road to Resilience & Survival 

He supported her through the heartache of two miscarriages, and ‘he was always there to hold me up,’ she says fondly.

Her book contains scores of photographs of the two of them together – along with supportive notes he wrote her.

‘My book is an homage to our longtime friendship of over 20 years – 20 years that saved my life,’ she says.

Shanas has also penned a second book, ‘In the Valley of the Shadows,’ about her ’20 years of living dangerously… and all the pain I endured at the hands of Mel and his violent cronies,’ hoping to find a publisher.

Both books speak out against hatred and bigotry of any kind, and she says: ‘Anti-Semitism is on the rise and I hope history will never repeat itself in this regard.

‘Mel’s film The Passion of the Christ frightened people and divided them. I want my book to unite people. I want it to build bridges between them in order to bring people together.’