Ok, Ok!. It's not exactly current but it is funny and I just stumbled on it while reading up on Mr. Crowe.
Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is a New Zealander Australian actor, film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator
For those who don't get that distinction Russell Crowe is a proud New Zealander who happened to do acting in Australia.
Russell Crowe Walks Out Of BBC Interview, Swearing
First Posted: 5/14/10 10:06
Russell Crowe, in Cannes for "Robin Hood," got up and walked out in the middle of a BBC radio interview.
Interviewer Mark Lawson first irritated Crowe by innocently (ignorantly) asking about his accent in the film, saying he heard a hint of Irish.
An unhappy Crowe responded, "You've got dead ears, mate, seriously dead ears if you think there's an Irish accent."
After Crowe rambles a few minutes about the character's genesis, Lawson asks if the accent is more northern English.
Crowe replies, "No I was going for an Italian, yeah. Missed it? Fuck me. Anyway"
But the final nail that made Crowe stand and just leave was when Lawson asked him about a newly published anecdote that says, during "Gladiator" filming, Crowe didn't want to say the famous line, "I'll take my revenge in this life or the next."
Rather than answer, Crowe unhooks himself and walks out, saying, "I don't get the Irish thing by the way."
With two weeks to go before filming, the actors complained of problems with the script. William Nicholson was brought to Shepperton Studios to make Maximus a more sensitive character, reworking his friendship with Juba and developed the afterlife thread in the film, saying "he did not want to see a film about a man who wanted to kill somebody." David Franzoni was later brought back to revise the rewrites of Logan and Nicholson, and in the process gained a producer's credit. When Nicholson was brought in, he started going back to Franzoni's original scripts and reading certain scenes. Franzoni helped creatively manage the rewrites and in the role of producer he defended his original script, and argued to stay true to the original vision. Franzoni later shared the Academy Award for Best Picture with producers Douglas Wick and Branko Lustig.
The screenplay faced many rewrites and revisions due to Russell Crowe's script suggestions. Crowe questioned every aspect of the evolving script and strode off the set when he did not get answers. According to a DreamWorks executive, "(Russell Crowe) tried to rewrite the entire script on the spot. You know the big line in the trailer, 'In this life or the next, I will have my vengeance'? At first he absolutely refused to say it." Nicholson, the third and final screenwriter, says Crowe told him, "Your lines are garbage but I'm the greatest actor in the world, and I can make even garbage sound good." Nicholson goes on to say that "...probably my lines were garbage, so he was just talking straight."
I kind of side with Mr. Crowe on that one. It's a stupid borish line. Who wants revenge in the afterlife? How can you even be sure? It would of been more likely that a Roman officer would want to exact revenge for the death of his family here and now. No one ever knows what happens when we are dead.
Russell Crowe seems to have little patience for stupid questions. And don't ask him about wearing tights for his role in Robin Hood.