Fatman directors on Mel Gibson, Walton Goggins and Santa (Interview)

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Christmas 2020 is going to be – tough. The whole year has been a hot mess from beginning to end, and thanks to COVID-19, a lot of the places we live in are going to be locked down come December 25th, making this a not-so-merry Christmas. Enter FATMAN, a uniquely 2020 Christmas tale if ever there was one. A hard-edged action/comedy, with an emphasis on carnage, this is an R-rated flick that, in some ways, is alike a more grounded version of "The Night the Reindeer Died", the movie-within-a-movie some of you may remember from SCROOGED. Mel Gibson stars as a disenchanted Santa Claus, while Walton Goggins co-stars as an assassin looking to put paid to the jolly fatman one and for all.

While the reviews have been mixed, I loved FATMAN (read my review) and to me it seems like a cult comedy waiting to happen. Many of the reviews seem to be reviewing Gibson's personal life rather than the film itself, which is always a risk. I was lucky enough to speak with the duo behind this oddball Yuletide tale, Ian and Eshom Nelms, who spoke to me about casting and direction Gibson in the role, and how easily this could have been twisted into a cuddly mainstream comedy (which this distinctly is not).