What he did: In July, alleged recordings of Gibson berating and threatening his estranged girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva (pictured), with physical abuse were leaked on the Internet before the couple went to court over shared custody of their young daughter, Lucia. In addition to the attacks on Grigorieva, the recordings included racist rants.

This follows a 2006 incident in which Gibson was pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving in Malibu. A sheriff's deputy said Gibson accused Jews of being responsible for all wars. Gibson also reportedly made a crude sexual remark to a female deputy. It was not the first time Gibson had sparked controversy.

What happened next: After the Malibu arrest, Gibson quickly issued an apology, offered to meet with Jewish leaders, agreed to enter an alcohol recovery program and did a confessional interview with Diane Sawyer. It's unclear whether he'll get off so easily this time: Legal battles for custody of Lucia continue, and the tapes are in the hands of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department while a domestic-abuse case is investigated.

Residual effects: Gibson's "The Beaver" opens at South by Southwest film festival in March, but its wide release has been pushed back until May 2011, where it will have to do battle against Johnny Depp's "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides." While this might put some more padding between the summer 2010 scandal and the film, it also offers a dandy excuse if the film tanks.