Britney Spears and Mel Gibson are reportedly en route to Costa Rica on vacation together.

Britney arrived on time, about five minutes after Mel, and the plane departed at 9:05 a.m, reports ET.

“They’re just going away for a few days to relax,” said a source.

ET spotted them leaving on a private plane to the Central American state early this morning. Sources say that that Mel is taking Britney and her father Jamie for a mini-vacation. They will be guests at Mel’s home in Costa Rica.

“Mel and his wife Robin clearly saw a woman in crisis and wanted to extend themselves in any way possible,” a source said.

Mel Gibson is set to make his return to the big screen in the Edge of Darkness, reports Variety.

Mel, 52, has directed recent films such as Apocalypto and The Passion of the Christ, but hasn’t been in front of the camera since 2002, when he starred in both Signs and We Were Soldiers.

The former Lethal Weapon star will play a straitlaced police investigator whose activist daughter is killed. He plunges into the case and uncovers systemic corruption that led to his daughter’s death.

Martin Campbell will direct the feature adaptation of the six-hour 1985 BBC miniseries, which Campbell also helmed.

WILL YOU WATCH Edge of Darkness with Mel Gibson?

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• Celebrity Presidential endorsement quotes
• Oprah is reportedly fuming over Dr. Phil
• Survivor winner Yul Kwon has been forbidden to open up a yogurt shop in San Francisco, Calif.
• Despite getting grilled by Letterman last September, Paris Hilton is reportedly scheduled to appear on the show Feb. 1.

• Lindsay Lohan Cutter Confirmation
• Is Paris Hilton Engaged?
• Jessica Simpson Gets Grounded!
• Is Mischa Barton the Next Britney Spears?
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• Posh Spice Chillin’ Like A Villian (Video)

• Mel Gibson appeared on the Leno yesterday and made light of his battle with booze, but never mentioned his DUI and anti-Semitic tirade. Mel nibbled on a cookie at the beginning of the interview and joked that the treat was a reward from someone backstage for staying sober. “He told me if I could walk a straight line, I could have a cookie,” he said.
• Courtney Cox thinks a Friends reunion may be in the works: “I’m just saying I’m not opposed to it. Jennifer (Aniston) said she’s not opposed to it. When we say ‘reunion’… do a little thanksgiving episode, sure…why not what are we all doing? It sounds fun.”
• Rebecca Romijn joined the cast of Ugly Betty playing the mysterious masked woman working with Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams).

• Jude Law Adores Cameron Diaz
• Cameron Diaz Finally Got Her Schnoz Fixed
• Lindsay Lohan Is An Alcoholic? No Way!
• Here’s Your Chance to Own Jessica Alba’s Bra
• Kirsten Dunst: Pregnant??
• Britney Continues the Shame Spiral
• Jennifer Love Hewitt Wins Best Actress?!?!
• Nicole Richie Gains 5lbs…Hey She’s Trying!
• Jessica Simpson — Beer Wench?

• Mel Gibson expresses his sympathy for Michael Richards in the Dec. 8 issue of Entertainment Weekly, saying the actor/comedian will probably be tortured for a while for racist comments he made during a stand-up routine. “I feel really badly for the guy. He was obviously in a state of stress. You don’t need to be inebriated to be bent out of shape. But my heart went out to the guy.”
• Sean Connery turned down the opportunity to play Gandalf the Grey in Lord of the Rings because he “never understood it.” “I read the book, I read the script, I saw the movie, and I still don’t understand it,” Sean told The Scotsman newspaper.
• Beyonce is performing live on Rockefeller Plaza on The Today Showthis Monday, Dec. 4 to promote her upcoming film “Dreamgirls.” Most likely performing “Listen” …
• Watch Justin Timberlake perform at The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show this Tuesday, Dec. 5 @ 10PM ET/PT on CBS.

• Kate Winslet goes all out glamour at the 50th Annual London Film Festival for her upcoming flick Little Children.
• Lindsay Lohan’s new neighbors at the West Hollywood condo community of Sierra Towers don’t want her… and she hasn’t even moved in yet.
• Does Lost’s Evangeline Lilly have freakishly long arms?
• Here’s one cheap and easy celebrity costume idea: The Celebrity Baby Smuggler. From Angelina to Britney, 2006 has been the year of celebrity baby hiding.
• Anne Hathaway looks replendant in a show-stopping scarlet gown at NYC fashion bash.
• Tara Reid’s Ta-tas Tour
• Elizbaeth Hurley has set her February wedding date to longtime boyfriend Arun Nayar.
• Fabio does a photoshoot with America’s Next Top Sex Kittens
• Jessica Simpson is addicted to dating on the Internets.
• Mel Gibson’s drunken tirade spoofed by Chevy Chase (video)
• You can now watch the season 4 premiere of The O.C. on MySpace! Mac users excluded!

• Ricky Martin defended Madonna’s adoption of a 1-year-old Malawian boy, calling her an “exemplary” mother, and said he, too, would like to adopt. Ricky said: “The love she gives her kids is a dream, and I know that her heart is big enough to adopt not just one child but to adopt 20.”
• Former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham called on the Bahamian government Wednesday to investigate whether Anna Nicole Smith has legal residency status in the country and said Anna “is not a fit and proper person to become a permanent resident of the Bahamas.” “Her general character and reputation don’t commend her for such status.” Ingraham added.
• Liev Schreiber is joining the cast of CSI. Beginning in January, the actor will fill in for star William Peterson, who is taking time off to appear in a play.

• Tara Reid Downsizes With Breast Reduction
• FREE Mr. Clean Extra Power Magic Erasers
• Mel Gibson is Probably Drunk Again
• Lindsay Lohan Tries To Win Back Ex-BF
• Ashlee Simpson Made Jessica Simpson Cry
• Mandy Moore is Kind of Cute
• Michelle Rodriguez Makes the Eric Estrada Face
• Mischa Barton is All Mixed Up
• Posh Spice Covering Up Twig Legs
• Rosie: Bring Star Back…Puhleeze!
• Footage of Steve Irwin’s Death Will Never Air, Says Wife

• Lindsay Lohan will reportedly soon move out of L.A.’s Chateau Marmont — where she’s been living for over a year — and into a $2.85 million pad in the Sierra towers. Apparently the Marmont pressured Lindsay to leave because her late-night partying was disruptive.
• George Clooney tactfully shrugged off suggestions that he might run for office Monday, even though fans have started calling for the liberal-minded activist to run for President in 2008. Clooney was on hand for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signing of legislation aimed at helping to stop violence in Darfur.
• MTV’s Spankin’ New Music Week is allowing free downloads of exclusive tracks. JoJo performs on TRL tomorrow and Fergie on Friday!

Janet Jackson performing “So Excited” on The Oprah Winfrey Show. If you follow So You Think You Can Dance, choreographer Brian Freedman and Season One contestant Blake McGrath are back-up dancers. Blake is also in the official “So Excited” music video. Sucks that it’s never played on MTV… Poor Ms. Jackson… ):

• Smell It Like Beckham! The first of many racy ads for Posh and David Beckham’s "Intimately" cologne and perfume set, which is set to hit stores September 1st.  Thanks, Emil!
• 500 Free iTunes Downloads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• 2006 Teen Choice Awards Mega Picture Post
• Christina Aguilera Blows Up Good Morning America
• Paris Hilton’s Newest Pet: Crabby
• More Teen Choice Awards Booty
• Wow.  Matt Lauer is Ripped!
• Heidi Klum takes Life Magazine
• Britney’s Hat Must Burn. NOW.
• Pink’s Terrific Tummy

• Donald Trump’s wife Melania has been searching for a nanny for 5-month-old son Barron on the web site Craigslist.
• Rosie O’ Donnell is already complaining about her power position on "The View."  On her latest posting on Rosie.com, O’ Donnell wrote that she loathed being powerless. "It will be hard 4/ me 2 not b the boss/ it is already/ and we have only just begun,"  she added. The show is set to debut Sept. 5.
• Details of Mel Gibson’s past are still emerging in the wake of his recent anti-Semitic tirade. Gibson and father Hutton attended an event a few years ago run by an Australian group notorious for denying the Holocaust, according to a June 2004 article in On Target, the newsletter of the Australian League of Rights, which claims to promote" loyalty to the Christian concept of God."
• Kal Penn has joined the cast of Fox’s action drama "24" as a recurring chracter, most likely as a terrorist.
• Snakes on a Plane underperforms with estimated $15.3 million for its three-day opener.