UH-OH--MEL STARTS TO CAVE

Bowing to pressure from Jewish groups, Mel has "softened" his movie, the Passion:

Paul Lauer, marketing director for Gibson's Icon Productions company, said Gibson has edited the film to show more "sympathetic" Jewish characters who were not calling for Jesus to be crucified. "We believe we have softened the story compared to the way the Gospel has told it," Lauer said in an interview. He pointed to Matthew 27:25, in which the Jewish mob calls for Jesus' blood "to be on us and on our children." "That's in the Gospel," he said. "It's not in our film."

One such sympathetic character will be Simon of Cyrene, the man forced to carry the Savior's cross.

In addition, Lauer said the character of Simon of Cyrene, who was forced to carry the cross for Jesus, will be clearly labeled a Jew in the film.

We're not told how that's to be done; I suppose a moving arrow with the flashing words "sympathetic Jewish character" will follow him to Golgotha.