Grigorieva believed Mel 'would change' - Toronto Sun

WENN.COM) " src="http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/dynamic_resize/?src=http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/movies/2010/11/13/mel_oksana.jpg&size=248x186">Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva were all smiles earlier this year in at the premiere of 'Edge of Darkness' in Spain. (WENN.COM)

Mel Gibson's ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva has admitted she stayed in a relationship with the star for "longer" than she "should have" because she was convinced the actor "would change".

The former lovers are currently locked in a bitter and highly-publicized court battle as they fight for custody of their young daughter, Lucia.

Gibson hit headlines earlier this year when the Russian singer accused him of violently beating her and knocking out her teeth in an alleged altercation in January, while tape recordings of their bitter arguments were leaked on the internet.

Court documents from their legal battle have been obtained by TMZ.com and a sworn declaration from Grigorieva details the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of the Lethal Weapon actor.

Grigorieva describes several incidents when Gibson was allegedly violent towards her, while she also accuses him of becoming angry and abusive several times a month during their romance.

In the papers, filed in June, Grigorieva explains why she didn't apply for a restraining order against Gibson earlier - insisting she wanted to keep the details private to avoid embarrassing the actor. She also claims she "begged" Gibson to seek professional help for his problems and was convinced he would change.

She writes, "I stayed in this abusive relationship for much longer than I should have due to Petitioner's (Gibson's) threats and intimidation, as well as an obviously misplaced belief that Petitioner would change. I begged Petitioner to get help. I desperately wanted him to get better, but I understand that I cannot live in fear with his unpredictable and unstable personality any more... I am terrified of Petitioner... I believe Petitioner is chemically imbalanced and dangerous. I fear Petitioner now more than ever."

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'Hangover' director grows with his movies - Toronto Sun

(L-r) Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis and director/producer Todd Phillips during the filming of Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' comedy "Due Date," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. (HO)

BEVERLY HILLS -- Having already covered college in Old School and marriage in The Hangover, it only makes sense that director Todd Phillips' latest film, Due Date, revolves around an impending bundle of joy.

"I sort of grow with my movies," Phillips, 39, says during a news conference for the new comedy, in theatres now.

"(My films) are always about my age range, it feels. And that's the next step in life, having a kid and fatherhood. It just seemed like an interesting thing, both for emotion and for comedy."

Mind you, Due Date isn't muddied with dirty diapers and blood-curdling infant screams. Instead it's a road trip comedy in which soon-to-be first-time dad Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) finds himself in Atlanta without a wallet and -- with his wife (Michelle Monaghan) set to give birth in L.A. in just a few days -- he's forced to ride home with airhead wannabe actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) and Ethan's French bulldog Sonny.

Ethan quickly ignites Peter's already-short fuse, making pot pit-stops, crashing the vehicle and engaging in, um, interesting behaviour with Sonny.

It's the second road comedy Phillips has directed (2000's Road Trip is the first), and one of many (in addition to 2003's Old School, 2004's Starsky & Hutch, and last year's megahit The Hangover) that have seen him exploring male friendships, this time through the ticked-off eyes of Downey Jr.'s temperamental architect Peter.

"I think that every time I feel that I really hit critical mass and I'm in the right place is when I feel like the director and I become a third thing and that's the character," says Downey Jr., who calls himself "an appendage" of Phillips in Due Date.

"I always feel like I'm playing an aspect of the director, particularly when he's an auteur. And to me, it's a way of almost making him a proud parent."

But not without a few fights. Phillips says he and Downey Jr. had a lot of "spirited discussions", some lasting up to three hours, each morning during Due Date's filming.

"He is basically another writer in the room," Phillips says of the star. "He had the pages and then he'd go, 'OK, what are we REALLY doing?'

"Robert has an aversion to things that are typed," Phillips continues. "So even if we just rewrote the actual scene on a napkin, even if it was the same scene, he felt better about it.

"A lot of times you hear actors are worried about their lines. Robert thinks of the movie as a whole, he thinks of every character as a whole. For me it was an unequalled experience."

Downey Jr.'s comeback in the last few years has included blockbusters Iron Man and its sequel, as well as Sherlock Holmes and its upcoming sequel - though he'll go so far as to say that Phillips' Hangover followup is his "most healing project" yet.

Though it's not hard to believe, given all of the aggression Peter gets to let out on Ethan.

"There was something so cathartic about (this)," Downey Jr. says. "I've never come across anyone who is so confident and is so thoughtful and so spontaneous that it's not even daunting. He's just in a class by himself, and I think Todd is the best director I've worked with, bar none."

Downey Jr. adds, "We're generally pretty happy guys -- but we love just getting crabby together."

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