Jodie Foster Comes Out In Mel Gibson's Defence Post-Tape-Gate; Could 'The Beaver' Still See A 2010 Release?

As Mel Gibson has discovered first-hand on several occasions, the media loves nothing more than a celebrity meltdown story. Not far behind that, though, is the heartwarming comeback story which typically sees the resurrection of a star, who was ironically slammed in the same media outlets not long before that.

Now, looking to pave that very pathway for Gibson is her long-time friend and recent collaborator, Jodie Foster — in response to questions about the actor's recent, infamous Tape-Gate scandal, she describes the actor to More magazine as the "easiest, nicest person I've ever worked with [and] the second I met him [working on 1994's 'Maverick'], I said, 'I will love this man for the rest of my life.' "

"When you love a friend, you don't abandon them when they are struggling. Of course, Mel is an undeniably gifted actor and director, and 'The Beaver' is one of his most powerful and moving performances. But more importantly, he is and has been a true and loyal friend. I hope I can help him get through this dark moment."

Of course, the question remains, when will Summit decide to release the Jodie Foster-directed film? Deadline seems to be making a case for the film getting a release with Nikki Finke leading the charge. So, can we potentially see a late-season, awards-contending release? The film, which follows a depressed man who finds solace in wearing a beaver hand-puppet, is based on 2008 Black List topper from Kyle Killeen and was rumored to be gunning for a fall release this year before Gibson's ugly, much-publicized and still on-going debacle with former girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva put everything on the backburner.

It seems highly unlikely that things have changed since then considering the film's non-appearance at all the recent fall film festivals, though one source of Deadline's Pete Hammond hints that cashed up ('Twilight') and award hungry ("The Hurt Locker") distributors Summit Entertainment "likes to surprise people, so we’ll see." Hammond also adds that he's heard murmurs that Foster "wants to do what’s best for the picture, which was a real labor of love." Hammond adds that he has also heard great things about Gibson's performance with sources to close to the film calling it "extraordinary," "incredible" and "amazing." On top of that, the film also features the promising duo of fellow 2010 award season player Jennifer Lawrence and Anton Yelchin (who will be reuniting for Drake Doremus' upcoming indie-drama "Like Crazy").

Suffice to say, "The Beaver" will be highly anticipated in many circles for many different reasons, including the fact that it will potentially be Gibson's on-screen comeback. The sooner this pic comes out, the better but 2010? Probably too early; we'll believe it when we see it.