“Der Fuhrer,” as Mad Mel Gibson is referred to in “Bruno,” has signed up for “The Beaver,” the first directing project for his “Maverick” co-star Jodie Foster since “Home For the Holidays” 14 years ago. Variety says she will also play the wife of Gibson, “a depressed man who finds solace in wearing a beaver hand-puppet.” Filming is set to begin this fall for the independent feature if financing can be finalized. Gibson, who certainly knows from midlife crisis, is scheduled to end his long absence from the screen (except as a director and occasional character actor) in January with “Edge of Darkness” (pictured), an indie police thriller that Warner Bros. picked up. Mel plays a detective investigating his activist daughter’s death who digs up dark secrets.