The 1988 movie forbidden from killing Mel Gibson: “I made the guy too earnest”Thanks to his current status as one of the least popular fallen stars in Hollywood, more people would be amenable to the idea of Mel Gibson dying a horrific death onscreen than they would 30 years ago. Initially, his plan was to send Gibson’s drug-dealing Dale McKussic out on his sword, but he wasn’t allowed. “Gibson’s character was supposed to be a moth in the flame,” he explained. “The real high for him was never doing the drugs, but the danger of doing the drugs. He should have been more like the racehorse attached to the milk truck; he hears a bell, and he’s off!”