Russell Crowe

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Crowe's choices are the complete opposite of "fascinating". What exactly is so fascinating about yearly Oscarbaiting, and striking up a directorial/actor relationship with Ron "middle of the road" Howard?

I hear he's also got another hearttwarming tale in the pipeline with Opie, so we'll have many more years to bask in the glow of the new Deniro/Scorsese *snicker*.

Crowe is turning into Tom Hanks. If Hanks was 10 years younger, he'd be making Cinderella Man.

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What's fascinating?

Romper Stomper, The Sum of Us, LA Confidential, The Insider, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander - A neo Nazi, Gay Plumber, 1950s LA cop, tobacco whistleblower, A Gladiator, schizo math genius, Napoleon era ships captain...

No pattern here. A range of types, and eras. Not all heroes. Not the gee whiz boredom of Hanks. No sequels (Thank God), and work with some great directors.

And, yes, while it's fashionable these days to diss "A Beautiful Mind", I loved it. Not for the speech at the ending which didn't belong, but for the portrait of the man. with that disease. If the mental health organizations who praised it to high heaven know anything about the illness, it was a faithful portayal.

As for Oscarbaiting, once any actor or actress gets into the A list (for acting, not PR), any of his/her major performances get talked about for Oscars. Not sure I'd blame them for that.

Also, I do remember that it was Crowe who was keen to do the Cinderella Man film (not because of the boxing but because he liked the story of the man and his family), long before Howard was attached to it, so it's not accurate to view it as their pairing from the start. I seem to remember it (CM) was scheduled before Master and Commander to do with another director (the one who did Shipping News). Crowe was contacted by Weir before CM started and given the M&C schedule restrictions due to the water shoot, CM was postponed.

[darlinglilly]

Miss Marple I too, love Russell. I fear we are outnumbered though.

This is news. An Aussie Gone With the Wind. Oh my.

Australian director Baz Luhrmann is in talks with the pair about a new romance film he is planning, IMDb.com reports. Luhrmann, who directed Kidman in Moulin Rouge says that his new project is like “an Aussie Gone with the Wind".

link

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You're not alone. I probably don't like him as much as you guys. I use to like him more, but he's got some serious character flaws. He's arrogant, self-serious and full of shite. However, he's a great actor and if you catch him the right mood he can at times be a nice bloke. I think his surly reputation is exaggerated -- at times.

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My crush went on and on despite so much evidence that I wouldn't be able to stand this guy if I ever met him. What finally killed the crush once and for all was some story I heard about how he got in a rage and started brow-beating some young girl for asking for his autograph! That poor kid probably still cries now and then from the memory. I would!

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She was 20-ish type of young, and not 8-ish type of young girl, but yeh. I've seen the camera footage of it, because he yelled at her under the CCTV camera of the place. Dick.

I feel quite smug that even in his glory days when Gladiator came out and before the reports of his bad behaviour, I still found something unlikeable in him in addition to not remotely seeing what the physical attraction was all about.

[dool]

However, he's a great actor

I think he used to be a good actor but his last good performance was in LA Confidential.

Australian director Baz Luhrmann is in talks with the pair about a new romance film he is planning,

Baz Luhrmann is a goddamn one trick pony. And a romance between Skeletor and ManBoobs? Bull.shit.

[snacktastic]

Wait, I love Russell too. I totally agreed with what you said about "A Beautiful Mind". There were ways that the movie was inaccurate, but you know, to have a sympathetic portrayal of someone with schizophrenia is exceedingly rare. (My brother has schizophrenia and has said in the past, "Why are all schizophrenics seen as murderers (Psycho, the Cell) or as a joke?" There was a study by CDC about ten years ago, btw, and Schizophrenia was ranked only second to Leprosy as the most stigmatized illness by the people they polled.)

But anyway, he's an asshat, I am sure, but he actually can act. He lives up to his hype, in my opinion as an actor and is wide-ranging and intense.

[foxfair]

I'll concede 'intense' but not, imo, 'wide-ranging'. I'm not sure I've ever seen Russell do anything *other* than 'intense' (and no I didn't see that one romantic comedy from way back in the day, so maybe he managed 'less intense' in one flick).

I am, however, predisposed to subtle actors and also find myself disliking Russ's co-hams Sean Penn and Kevin Spacey, who I know are thought of as great actors by many.

[snacktastic]

In the Sum of Us, he played like a surprisingly nice gay man. And I really thought he was amazing in the Insider.