Disney confirms it will release Mel Gibson film

Walt Disney says it will continue with the distribution of Mel Gibson's film Apocalypto, refuting reports that the company would sell its distribution rights because of the director's drunken, anti-Semitic rant.

"It's not true," said Disney spokeswoman Heidi Trotta on Friday, referring to reports about a possible sale.

Apocalypto is billed as a Mayan adventure thriller told in the Yucatec dialect with subtitles.It's slated to be released this December.

Speculation has swirled in Hollywood about what Disney would do in the wake of the 50-year-old director's July 28 arrest in Malibu, where he was stopped by police after they clocked him driving at almost twice the posted speed limit.

Gibson has admitted to making anti-Semitic comments to the officers. He was charged with misdemeanour drunk driving, and having an elevated blood alcohol level and an open bottle of alcohol in his car.

A few days after Gibson apologized for his outburst, the Disney-owned network ABC said it was cancellingits contract with Gibson's production company to create a series about the Holocaust.

Asks for forgiveness

Gibson insists he is not an anti-Semite and has asked for both forgiveness and help from the Jewish community.He has also entered an alcohol rehabilitation program on an outpatient basis.

"I must assume personal responsibility for my words and apologize directly to those who have been hurt and offended by those words," said Gibson in a statement released four days after his arrest. "I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith."

The celebrity website that broke the story, TMZ, requested Gibson's arrest tapes be made public but Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca has denied the media request for the tapes.

Baca says the tapes are being used for Gibson's court case and would only be released if they are included as evidence in a trial. It's unlikely Gibson, or his lawyers, would opt for a trial.

Gibson will be arraigned on Sept. 28.