Russell Crowe was replaced by Heath Ledger in an upcoming movie by Baz Luhrmann after demanding script approval. The producers told Luhrman to find another actor and he met with Ledger, eventually offering him the role.
“Baz liked him and offered him the movie,” said one source. “Then Crowe came back to Luhrmann and said he’d forego script approval and wanted to do the movie, but they told him it was too late – to buzz off.”
It’s a shame Crowe didn’t lose it after finding out he lost the part and beat everybody to death with a telephone. If he really wants the legend of Russell Crowe to live on he really needs to increase his ‘beating to death’ vs ‘not beating to death’ ratio. Anybody can act in movies, but the individuals history remembers are the guys that act in movies and murder people in uncontrollable fits of rage.
asmith | May 30, 2006 at 9:32 am
First?
asmith | May 30, 2006 at 9:33 am
Good for Heath….who cares about Crowe.
notalotjellytot | May 30, 2006 at 9:40 am
Meg Ryan must be watching his downhill slippery slope with gleeful abandon. I know I would if I was dumped by someone who only ever makes the headlines for the movies hes not doing.
tits_on_snack | May 30, 2006 at 9:40 am
I don’t care about either one of them.
I bet that makes them really sad.
BarbadoSlim | May 30, 2006 at 9:42 am
Oh, Heath Ledger, so this movie involves him getting his poo stabbed by several large men then.
M@ce | May 30, 2006 at 9:45 am
Is it possible the Russell Crowe is not as important as he thinks he is? But how is that even possible? I mean isn’t he Maximus Decimus Meridius for fuck sake? Does A Beautiful Mind ring any bells? Haven’t the producers heard The Ordinary Fear of God? Oh wait…I guess the HAVE heard his band.
Tough luck mate.
prettierthanmeganharris | May 30, 2006 at 9:54 am
That man is such a twat.
blueballs | May 30, 2006 at 9:58 am
I don’t know who the bigger loser is…Russell Crowe or the moron who types “First” on every frickin post on this blog? I’ll take a wild stab and say the moron(s) that post FIRST will always be the bigger loser.
Russell better shape up or he’ll slowly find himself not getting any parts due to his alcoholic fed ego.
btw, 8th!!!
Tracie | May 30, 2006 at 9:59 am
I feel so sorry for his pregnant little wife and son. Imagine the horror that befell that home when Baz Luhrmann told him to bugger off? All of those Aussie’s used to be friends, too; Kidman, Luhrmann, Watts, Crowe. …Come to think of it, has anyone even seen Danielle Spencer-Crowe recently? Scary…scary, indeed.
BarbadoSlim | May 30, 2006 at 9:59 am
Who says movie producers aren’t smart?
Let’s see, take the guy who played Maximus, Lucky Jack and Bud White and replace him with the dude that played that guy on The Order and that dude on A Knight’s Tale.
This movie is gonna be huge.
Sheva | May 30, 2006 at 10:10 am
After adding Keith, they should put the aging and homeless looking Meg Ryan in because that would be huge.
Crowe has mellowed but he’s in control of his career and steps over the line now and then. So what.
Glory to Maximus. All Hail!
86 | May 30, 2006 at 10:30 am
They probably saved a few million by hiring Heath.
Lindsay Lohan | May 30, 2006 at 10:38 am
Nobody cares about Russell Crowe any more. He’s just beardy and smelly.
sharkbite | May 30, 2006 at 10:39 am
Crowe is such a jackass. I’m glad he lost a movie role – less time the human race has to spend seeing his face.
destination:beautiful | May 30, 2006 at 10:41 am
Heath is lovely. I’m glad that after all these years he’s finally getting the recognition he deserves.
destination:beautiful | May 30, 2006 at 10:42 am
BarbadoSlim:
the guy who played in the Order and A Knight’s Tale is now an Oscar nominated actor…which means he’s now wanted by producers more than ever before.
BarbadoSlim | May 30, 2006 at 10:55 am
Oscar nominated sure, say didn’t Marissa Tomei win one of those, and who else? yeah Halle Berry.
yup Oscars, the true mark of quality entertainment.
Linnea | May 30, 2006 at 11:02 am
Hey, you’d be filled with horrible rage too if you looked like a bearded, primative, Medieval peasant. It’s his job.
BarbadoSlim | May 30, 2006 at 11:03 am
The thing is Heath Ledger is another generic pretty boy. He doesn’t heve the presence nor the acting range to stand next to Russell Crowe.
Is like replacing Johnny Depp with Orlando Bloom is just not done.
I don’t care if he was nominated for taking it up the ass. All the “Brokebackmania” was a trendy hollywood fad.
Sunniva | May 30, 2006 at 11:06 am
Hey, Slim. Speaking of low quality, didn`t “Rocky” receive an Oscar nomination at one point? Case closed as to the quality, in such case.
Donna A. | May 30, 2006 at 11:08 am
I love Russell Crowe’s work. But I am glad he got the boot. Maybe he’ll start to get better blance in his life.
Donna A.
TaiTai | May 30, 2006 at 11:20 am
“Russell Crowe Screws Himself” — I thought there would be some killer pictures to go with this headline but noooooo.
Dr.Rokter | May 30, 2006 at 11:22 am
#20 “Rocky” won Best Picture, inexplicably beating out “Taxi Driver”, among others. The Academy was obviously blown away by Sylvester Stallone’s abortive career in porn.
Dee | May 30, 2006 at 11:23 am
I can’t wait until he is completely shunned from hollywood and I never have to look at his creepy face again.
Fisher55 | May 30, 2006 at 11:29 am
russell crowe is old enough to be Ennis’ father…baz luhrman sucks anyhow…moulin rouge was like watching paint dry
gammanormids | May 30, 2006 at 11:30 am
#17, yet but for some reason, Hollywood big boys do cara about oscar winners….
But, doesn’t Crowe has an oscar himself, anyway? Yes, I think, whatsoever, they choose the ‘nominated only’ that has never toss a phone on people. Who wouldn’t?
Ari | May 30, 2006 at 11:38 am
Oh, look at that. I don’t care.
Russell Crowe’s an ass.
86 | May 30, 2006 at 11:48 am
Russel Crowe is an overrated ass, but he’s far and away a better actor than Heath Ledger.
Spacedog | May 30, 2006 at 11:54 am
What are the odds that Russell will fly off in a rage and go beat the shit out of some Mexican working for minimum wage?
Probably about the same as the chance two dudes are pullin an Eiffel Tower on Tom Cruise right now.
I wish Crowe would just go back to New Zealand and chase after wallabees or whatever they do over there for yucks.
UNWASHEDMASSES | May 30, 2006 at 12:27 pm
It’s a Baz Luhrmann film. Crowe should thank his lucky stars. He was probably going to have to act next to a scenery-chewing John Leguizamo, at least one transvestite, and a few gay-friendly musical numbers filmed at a fast clip so that they appear “funny”. In other words, Heath Ledger is the perfect choice.
Iambananas | May 30, 2006 at 1:10 pm
I like Heath better anyway… Russel kind of has a temper problem and my sister thinks he’s fat. I don’t see it, but I don’t know.
Heath is a better actor. I wonder if the movie will be good?
andrewthezeppo | May 30, 2006 at 1:58 pm
Isn’t this the movie that was supposed to star Nicole Kidman and Russel Crowe? I just don’t see this working, Nicole is too much woman for Heath. Maybe there’s a girl left in Dawson’s Creek, the one that played the mental patient or the grandmother that would be daring…and hot
Spindoc | May 30, 2006 at 2:52 pm
Sorry Russel, you can only play hard-ball when people remember who the hell you are.
tinkerbelle | May 30, 2006 at 3:24 pm
heath ledger = yummo!
sexy, sexy man. pretty good actor. and that voice…
Zanathon | May 30, 2006 at 6:43 pm
“Russell Crowe Screws Himself”
Ewwwww!
You couldn’t pay me enough to watch that porno.
herbiefrog | May 30, 2006 at 8:11 pm
looking at the picture
russ would be best
at
letting
peop
p
l
e
know
how to have an absolutely fabulous f*ucking great time :)
so tell someone
duh ?
herbiefrog | May 30, 2006 at 8:22 pm
its almost like watching
fish pushing their mouths
out of their universe
in the hope
that they
might
be
able
to
breathe
time to reverse
those
th
ou
ght
patterns :)
nigelstwin | May 30, 2006 at 8:58 pm
Am I the only one who really wants to know the name of the flick? I mean, wouldn’t it be funny if Rusty somehow managed to get out of “Brokeback Mountain 2: {Insert Your Own Purile Subtitle Here}”?
…
sissybelle | May 30, 2006 at 9:48 pm
Yes, Rusty Crowe has talent — but he always seems to me like he’s THIS CLOSE to majorly twisting off. Those producers should thank their lucky stars, IMHO.
gogoboots | May 30, 2006 at 9:54 pm
Fortunately he’ll still have a million dollars, us lepers who turn down jobs like that end up starving to death eventually…boo-hoo, right?
Sunniva | May 31, 2006 at 3:18 am
# 23, Geezus. I must have suppressed that. Well, case closed. (and to add to the list of winners that disappeared into the mist, Mira Sorvino, anyone?)
Shelley Bonnechance | May 31, 2006 at 7:48 am
Remember back when Russell Crowe was drunk and disorderly in some Australian bar and a girl administered a well-deserved smackdown on his grimy head? Heh.
I’m glad Heath Ledger got the role. He is delicious.
John | August 14, 2007 at 9:38 am
Heath Ledger said no to the role in the end becuase at the end of the day he didn’t have the guts to work with Nicole Kidman as she is Naomi Watts best friend….and that would mean maybe have to bump into Naomi, or listen to Nicole telling him what a bast-rd he was to her best friend. Who knows, maybe Nicole vetoed it and said no, she didn’t want him co-staring with her. In anycase, he loves hanging out with the boys in The Dark Knight and desperately wants the boys to like him. He doesn’t appreciate female fans, sick of them, now he wants male straight fans…the ones who have never followed him. The funny thing is that they still won’t anyway, unless he continues to do ‘action’ films.
jp | March 1, 2008 at 11:23 am
russell crowe is so cool
nintendo ds r4 | February 10, 2010 at 4:39 am
hey russ buss im not trying to suck up but ive loved souths my whole life and ive wanted to be an actor since i can remember, but not many people no that. inspired..