Rumor Patrol: Crowe Not Ruining 'Nottingham'

I'll pay you $27 if all of this turns out to be true, because not only is it an immediately suspect Page Six rumor, but there are also a few "facts" that just don't line up. The center of the storm is Russell Crowe and Nottingham, a movie I was incredibly excited about a year ago, and I still have some hope that this twist on the Robin Hood story will be solid. The rumor goes that Russell Crowe is making all sorts of demands, insisting that Sienna Miller be dropped from the project, and that the actor is trying to have Ridley Scott fired as director. The Sienna Miller stuff may be true to a point; the New York Post does say they contacted a studio rep who confirmed that much, but denied everything else about the puslished report. Miller would've made a great Maid Marian, I feel, but because of the film's delayed shooting schedule, she might have taken another offer to work immediately. I don't believe - and this is what Page Six says - it's because Russell Crowe is so fat he doesn't want to look like a tub of lard during love scenes, so he's asking that a more proportionate actress be cast instead. Says the Page Six insider, "It is a mess. Russell never lost the weight he put on for Body of Evidence - and so the love scenes between him and Sienna would have been laughable. He's so old and fat and she's so young and gorgeous. It's just . . . gross." We know, of course, that it's actually Body of Lies, and we also know that within a quote, if a journalist or editor catches an honest mistake you can replace those words with [what they meant to say] or [words to that effect]. This is just bad journalism. That's an easy catch. Also questionable is whether or not Crowe demanded "serious script rewrites." It was already going under the knife before Crowe was cast as both Nottingham and Robin Hood; a few months ago he was only playing one of the roles, and one of the reasons the film was originally delayed six months back was script rewrites. Crowe didn't demand those. Could he be demanding them now, if the script is still crap? Sure, but without looking at his contract, I'd wager that Crowe has that clause in nearly every movie he does. To what degree I couldn't say, but if you're a movie star, you have some control over your dialogue. "Originally the movie was about a love triangle between Maid Marian, Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham," the insider "reported." "It is now all about Russell's Robin Hood. Literally, 40 pages of script were redone and now are just devoted to him and his massive ego. It's amazing." Question: If he's playing both parts, what difference does it make, ego notwithstanding, which character is on the page more often? And then there's the kicker: Crowe going behind Ridley Scott's back to find a new director. Says the source, "[Ridley] has no idea." It's just asinine. All of it. More than likely, the troubled script has been rewritten a few times, and in production meetings a few other things were changed, because when you tweak a script it by definition is no longer the project people agreed to. That could help explain the Sienna Miller thing, along with the other projects angle, and it's certainly likely that Crowe didn't warm to some developments in a new version of the screenplay. Big deal. As for his weight, I saw Crowe on Letterman in October; he'd lost a significant amount of the Body of Lies chunk, but come on: He's a bulky dude in his 40s. He's never going to be Brad Pitt in Fight Club. If he's concerned about looking fat, Crowe can and has exercised. He's put weight on and taken weight off before. The Ridley Scott stuff is just nonsense. Crowe and Ridley have worked on so many films together, and will probably continue to do so for a while to come. I'll grant you, Crowe might not be a picnic on set - or anywhere else for that matter - but if you honestly think it's always got to be all about him, look at American Gangster, Body of Lies, and 3:10 to Yuma. He likes being surrounded by good talent, especially Ridley Scott, and he doesn't have to be the thrust of the movie if the movie's good enough as it is.

Comments

[sunseeker]

HE LIKES TO BE SURROUNDED BY GOOD TALENT, WELL MISS MILLER IS NOT THAT GOOD TALENT AND WITH ALL HER BAD PRESS AT THE MOMENT THE FILM MIGHT BE BETTER WITHOUT HER, I HONESTLY THINK THEY COULD FIND A BETTER ACTRESS. WHAT I CANNOT UNDERSTAND IS THAT SHE WAS SO KEEN TO DO THE MOVIE, WHY BALE OUT JUST BECAUSE IT IS GOING TO BE SCHEDULED A BIT LATER.

[Get The Big Picture]

WHAT'S WITH THE CAPS? IS IT STILL 1997 AND PEOPLE ARE NEW TO MESSAGE BOARDS?

She probably got a lead offer that paid more or gave her a better opportunity to prove herself. She signed on last summer, and since then, production has been delayed twice, so it's not like she should have to wait around for whenever it finally gets going.

[lara Petersen]

Russell is difficult, but there's no way he would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs (Ridley Scott).
I can see hiim & Sienna not getting along and her being fired over it.
As for the weight-loss issue, I believe he can lose the weight if Ridley told him to do it.

I'm with you Colin, I'm not buying most of this nonsense.

[Liz]

Eureka - some common sense at last about this ridiculous travesty of "reporting" from "anonymous insiders".
As for Crowe's weight, have all the rumour mongers forgotten The Insider ?
Ridley Scott himself said in an interview back in October that Crowe was losing weight quite satisfactorily.
Crowe may be difficult, but strangely enough almost every director who has worked with him has said it was worth it. His roles speak for themselves.
The man is one of the very best actors in the world just now. He'll do what he has to do for a role.

[vinnieboards]

These stories make me laugh. I quite agree with comments about Ms Miller who is a lightwieght compared to Crowe's heavyweight (pardon the pun).

Crowe is without doubt one of the best actors of his generation which is exactly why he is difficult because of the standards he demands. There are very few in the movie business that Crowe would bow to, but Ridley Scott is definitely one of them. His pedigree as an accomplished director is unquestionable. Regardless of troubles, the film is sure to be a hit when compared to Prince of Thieves, where Alan Rickman single handedly saved the film with a jaw-droppingly brilliant pantomine villain performance against the woefully inadequate Kevin Costner. Bring it on !

[sunseeker]

Yes Mr. Boyd, I have not long ago learned to use a computer, which is nothing to sneer at, also have a new computer one which is a little different, and I stick to my point, that Russell Crowe is a very good actor and Miss Miller is not, but that is only my opinion, and whatever reason I personally think the movie is going to be great with Russell Crowe whoever plays the female role does not matter.

[Simone]

If Sienna Miller really dropped out of the project then I'd be very happy to replace her. I'd gain weight, lose weight - whatever they want me to do.

As long as I can play next to the incredibly talented and versatile Mr. Crowe.

So Sir Ridley, give me a call!

:-)

[Darrin]

Thank you, Colin Boyd! You rock, dude. This is what we need more of and less tabshit lazy-asses pretending they speak for everyone.

I hope you'll continue to dispell stupid rumours like this and many others. ^_^