Gibson’s hot potato is her plum

Lisa Gerrard has stepped into a storm, composing the score for Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of Christ.” Early screenings of the film, centering on the final 12 hours of Jesus’ life, have raised concerns among Jewish leaders over potential anti-Semitic interpretations, and stirred debate among theologians about Gibson’s sources and motivations.

But Gerrard, former member of the groundbreaking, world-atmospheric duo Dead Can Dance, sees the long path that led her and collaborator Patrick Cassidy to the project as nothing less than a matter of divine inspiration and destiny.

“It came about through a series of miracles,” she says cheerfully while taking a break from the frenzied work in her home near Melbourne, Australia. “It’s really quite amazing.”

Even before hearing about the movie, she and Cassidy had recorded two songs in Aramaic, the language in common usage in Jesus’ time and which Gibson used for most of the film’s dialogue. Gerrard and Cassidy were collaborating on an album, “Immortal Memories,” which is due in January and includes the Aramaic pieces as well as songs in ancient Gaelic and three other languages.

“We heard about ‘Passion’ and thought, ‘This is our movie,’ ” Gerrard says. “We both love Christ and thought this would be ideal for us.”

Gerrard had solid credentials from scoring five films with characteristically haunting and beautiful music, including “Gladiator” (for which she and co-composer Hans Zimmer received an Academy Award nomination), “Ali” and the recent “Whale Rider.”

Getting the attention of Gibson, a fellow Australian, was not easy, though. Several attempts proved fruitless.

The miracle came after Gerrard sang on the score of an Australian documentary about youth drug culture. Recently that film’s director found himself sharing office space with a man who works for the head of music of Gibson’s Icon Films company. The man happened to play a Dead Can Dance song and the documentary maker remarked that he knew Gerrard. Next thing you know, Gerrard is e-mailing her Aramaic songs to him, they’re on their way to Gibson, and the door is open.

Now she and Cassidy are rushing to meet the film’s premiere date of Feb. 25 -- Ash Wednesday. Before they even started the music, Gerrard received a few e-mails from people voicing the charges of anti-Semitism.

“The film unambiguously portrays Jewish authorities and the Jewish mob as the ones responsible for the decision to crucify Jesus,” Anti-Defamation League National Director Abraham H. Foxman said in a statement released after attending an August screening. “We are deeply concerned that the film, if released in its present form, could fuel the hatred, bigotry and anti-Semitism that many responsible churches have worked hard to repudiate.”

Evangelist Billy Graham, though, has just seen the film and on Monday issued a statement that it “is faithful to the Bible’s teaching that we are all responsible for Jesus’ death because we have all sinned.”

Gerrard did not see anything divisive in the film.

“If someone wants to tell the story accurately, they have to tell it like a history,” she says. “I believe Mel Gibson has done that. The idea of it being anti-Semitic is ridiculous.”

Deal provides a lot to chew on

Singer-songwriter P.J. Olsson may have been dropped from the Columbia Records roster in May, right before his second album, “Beautifully Insane,” was set for release. But the L.A.-based musician is whistling a happy tune. “The Whistle Song,” a track from the unreleased album, was picked up by the Mars candy company for a new series of TV commercials for its Starburst chews. Thanks to the exposure, Olsson is drawing interest from several major labels, including Columbia, for a new deal.

“It’s an interesting career -- what can I say?” says Olsson, whose Columbia debut, “Words for Living,” was released in 1999. “Nowadays it’s a great way to get exposure. And sometimes these days I like the music in commercials more than what I hear on radio, and at this point in my life I’ll take anything that will make my dream happen quicker.”

Mars, he says, is not just using the song in the ads, which show a trio of hipster youths bopping carefree down the street amid various forms of chaos to a whistled portion of Olsson’s jaunty tune, but also actively promoting Olsson. The confection’s Web site (www.starburst.com) sports his bio on its “Spankin’ New” page and also offers free downloads of a demo version of the song.

Meanwhile, Olsson is booked to play at the Temple Bar on Dec. 30 and is planning to perform a lot in 2004 with Gimme Mota, a band he’s formed with friends Emerson Swinford and Guy Erez.

Small faces

* Dave Grohl, having drummed with Queens of the Stone Age and recorded his own metal-homage Probot project, is continuing on the hard-rock front as producer for the major-label debut from Rye Coalition, a New Jersey band whose indie albums and concerts have been marked by affection for and mocking of ‘70s and ‘80s metal. The album is due in the spring from DreamWorks Records.

* With Michelle Branch, Avril Lavigne, 50 Cent and Vanessa Carlton among the alumni, America Online is launching a new class of Breakers designed to bring attention to emerging artists. AOL’s four new Breakers are Katy Rose (signed to V2 Records), Snow Patrol (Interscope), Ben Yelen (Maverick) and Free (Elektra), with each to be featured in various AOL Music locations with exclusive interviews, performances and video clips available for AOL members.