'Maccabees' Screenwriter Releases Audio Of 'Primal' Mel Gibson Rant

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — A Hollywood screenwriter has released an audio recording that he said proves actor and filmmaker Mel Gibson may need psychiatric help.

KNX 1070's John Brooks reports the very public feud between Joe Ezterhas and Gibson took a new twist on Thursday.

Gibson, 56, can be heard ranting incoherently on a newly-released audio clip that was recorded by Ezterhas' son during a visit to Gibson's home in Costa Rica last December.

"It is a crazy, crazy rant where he's screaming in a very primal way," said TMZ's Harvey Levin, who reported that Gibson is considering legal action against the "Basic Instinct" writer.

The feud between the two initially began over a movie project that both Gibson and Ezterhas were working on based on the story of the Jewish Maccabee revolt in 167 BC that resulted in the expansion of Judea in what is today commonly referred to as the West Bank.

Ezterhas wrote a scathing letter to Gibson on April 9 that challenged the Oscar-winning director of "The Passion Of The Christ" and "Braveheart" on what Ezterhas described as increasingly anti-Semitic behavior from Gibson.

"I've come to the conclusion that the reason you won't make 'The Maccabees' is the ugliest possible one: you hate Jews," Ezterhas wrote in the letter.

Regardless of any legal outcome, Levin said the former box office juggernaut continues to lose credibility in the industry.

"Clearly, Mel Gibson has issues," said Levin.