Jodie Foster proud of movie 'The Beaver,' stands by her buddy Mel Gibson

"We know the movie's not for everybody," Jodie Foster said over breakfast not long ago, referring to her third directorial feature, "The Beaver."

The comedy-drama stars Mel Gibson as Walter Black, a suburban family man whose paralyzing depression leads to a personality split: A blunt-talking, Cockney-accented beaver puppet becomes his alter ego and coping mechanism, much to the amusement and consternation of his family and co-workers — and eventually to his own horror.

"The film has a strange tone to it," said Foster, who co-stars as Walter's befuddled wife. "It's challenging for an audience because it starts out on a light note and has a very high-concept tone in some ways, and little by little it sort of becomes darker fairly quickly."

The unusual premise is certainly one marketing challenge (the film's initial concept leaned more heavily on the comedy, with Steve Carell attached at one point). And there is, obviously, the dilemma of Gibson himself, who has become persona non grata to audiences turned off by his well-publicized temper and a string of bad acts.
"We haven't shown the film to very many people because of all the issues and problems dealing with that," said Foster, who noted that the film's release was delayed several times. "That was hard."

The film was slated for an October 2010 release but was pushed back three times over concerns about Gibson's problematic reputation, which worsened when his feud last summer with ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva (and audio of his enraged phone conversations with her) became public fodder — just as Foster was in the last phases of editing.

Ten months and several news cycles later, Gibson's ability to draw audiences is still an open question. Even before the fracas with Grigorieva, his bankability was fading. His last film, "Edge of Darkness" for Warner Bros., earned back a little more than half of its $80 million budget.

For Foster, promoting "The Beaver" has meant fielding pointed questions about Gibson, whom she considers a close friend. I asked if this put her in an awkward position. "No, not that," she said, though she didn't dismiss the professional complications that have ensued.

One could imagine a director bristling under the circumstances: She wants to talk about her movie, whereas everyone else wants to talk about her star's personal problems.