Mel Gibson pledges sets for Mexican museum

Mel Gibson just started production on the action thriller How I Spent My Summer Vacation in Veracruz, Mexico, this week, but he's already pledged to donate sets from the film to an as-yet-unbuilt museum.

Gov. Fidel Herrera Beltran announced Thursday that sets built for the film inside the Ignacio Allende prison, as well as sets from Gibson's 2006 movie Apocalypto — also shot in Veracruz — will be donated for a new tourist attraction.

The prison where Gibson is shooting his new thriller for the next few months will be converted into a museum-type centre when filming is completed, Herrera Beltran said.

Tentatively set for release in 2011, How I Spent My Summer Vacation stars the actor-filmmaker as a criminal who must learn new survival skills when sent to a rough Mexican prison.

Gibson and government officials drew criticism in December and January, when hundreds of inmates were transferred to other prisons to accommodate film production.

Protestors complained the transfers made it more difficult — both financially and in distance — for families to visit prisoners.

However, Veracruz officials have defended Gibson's filmmaking efforts in the area, saying he has injected millions into the local economy and has touted the region as a prime film location to his Hollywood peers.