A very risky risk. One that’s either going to pay off or cement his sinking career out cold.

At the Sundance Film Festival yesterday, Mel Gibson made a surprising deal via his company Icon Productions with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The pair agreed to release Mel’s “south-of-the-border gritty action film” Get The Gringo domestically via direct-to-consumer methods. In other words, the flick will bypass theaters completely.

Instead, starting on May 1st, the film will be made available for watching on DirecTV, which will charge $ 10.99 per home viewing. A wider release on Blu-ray, VOD, and digital download will follow later in the year. Now, this may lead you to believe that this movie just isn’t all that good, like so many straight-to-video films have been in the past. But the release on DirecTV makes us wonder otherwise. Perhaps this is the start of getting movies to premiere in people’s homes rather than in an expensive theater. You can pay the same price as a movie ticket, but get to stay in the comfort of your own home. No fighting for seats together, no smelling of popcorn and always in your pajamas.

So perhaps Mel is ahead of the game — or he’s about to lose everything.

What do U think?

[Image via WENN.]

PerezHilton