It must really suck to be Mel Gibson some days. Today being one of them. The other days would probably be when he was pulled over for DUI and went into an anti-semitic rant, and when he freaked out at a Mayan scholar who asked him if he realized how racist and inaccurate Apocalypto was. Now he’s been sued by hi co-screenwriter on The Passion of the Christ.

Benedict Fitzgerald says that Mel conspired to keep more money for himself, and is suing for $5 million.

In the 21-page complaint filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Benedict Fitzgerald accuses Gibson of fraud, breach of contract and unfair business practices.

“Gibson preyed monetarily on Ben, taking advantage of his unbridled enthusiasm for the project and with full cognizance of Ben’s fundamental personal and spiritual beliefs,” the lawsuit says.

Fitzgerald claims Gibson, who also takes a screenwriting credit on the 2004 film, engaged in a “chronic and conspiratorial pattern of deceit,” telling Fitzgerald he’d be working on a small, $4 million to $7 million project that would yield little money for Fitzgerald and none for Gibson.

Although by some accounts the film grossed over $600 million worldwide, Fitzgerald complains he was paid $75,000 and that he had to borrow $200,000 from Gibson for expenses.

People

A lawyer for Mel says that Fitzgerad was compensated ‘handsomely’, and that the charger are ‘utterly baseless’.

I am sure that Mel did say the film was only going to be a small budget - after all, $7 million is a lot to invest, and another movie about the life of Christ is hardly the most obvious of box office fodder. Particularly when it is R-rated. If Mel wants to fund a movie that is such a huge risk, I think he should be allowed to reap the rewards. Particularly if you consider how easy it is for costs to blow out on a film’s budget. It doesn’t matter how much money he already had, or had as a result of the film.

However, Mel should definitely have paid a handsome bonus to the man who helped him to do it, or at least gifted him the $200,000 loan rather than expecting Fitzgerald to repay it. I suspect that he was paid a reasonable wage, but not much on the scale of what the film earned. The gentlemanly thing to do might have been to give him a large cash bonus, but I doubt that Mel is legally obliged to pay it. Which is probably why Benedict Fitzgerald is asking for a trial by jury to decide the damages, not a judge alone.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Here’s Mel Gibson not looking drunk or anything at the premiere of American Gangster on 10/29/07, thanks to PRPhotos.