Today Show (Australia)
London, England .February 2000
Host: "Welcome to our exclusive interview with Russell Crowe..(looking around at the sites as he is standing outside in London)..Nelson on top of his column, Trafalgar Square, the bells ringing out, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben..it really is a magic part of the world."
"Russell Crowe is in town to work here now on a new movie with Meg Ryan, he's experienced the highs and lows of Fame in recent times: receiving spectacular reviews for his wonderful performance in The Insider and he's also copped a bit of grief for that fracas in Coffs Harbour. He's well and truly moved on from that now, today we're gonna talk about the Golden Globe Awards last week and his surprise date for the night."
Russell Crowe:(smiling) "It was a great deal of fun..I had a very good partner for the evening, y'know?"
Host: "Jodie
Foster... nice touch!" (laughing)
RC: (smiling and glancing down) "Absolutely mate!..she's a cracker of a girl. I've got to tell you she is very special."
Host: "How did that come about?"
RC: "Well we've been discussing a project for a while and I just blackmailed her!..I just said "Listen, I don't think that we can talk about this any more because I need a date for the Golden Globes" and she sort of squealed and thought it was very funny. She said "I'll call you back in 20 minutes". And she cancelled a few things and got out of being at Sundance a day early and everything and flew back in"
"This is how special she is, mate right..I love an organized woman. I gotta tell you, y'know, so I'm saying to her a couple of days beforehand, we were having this dinner party..we'd never even met, we just had this phone and fax relationship. We got on quite well on the phone..but so we had this dinner and I said "Now what do you want to do on the day? y'know, should I send a car to get you? or whatever" and she goes (clearly amused and mimicking Jodie Foster's accent) "oh no no, I've booked a room in the hotel, I'll arrive at a certain time and my hair and make-up (he laughs) all get done at the hotel and then she'll come to knock on my door and check out my tuxedo just before it's time to go.."
Host: "To go and face the cameras..."
RC: "And I thought "Golly gosh eh? Bloody organized" and we had a lot of fun mate, a lot of laughs."
Host: "What is it like sitting at the Golden Globes? Sitting there with a camera on you, hearing Denzel's name being called out..it must be a weird kind of feeling"
RC: "I didn't expect that I would be hearing anything else..all the smart money was on "Big D". (Laughs)
Host: "Tell me about the Fame game..is being famous what you expected it to be?"
RC: (smiling and grimacing at the same time, looking thoughtful and taking a deep breath before he speaks) "It's getting problematic. Certain things have shifted and changed and er...y'know, there were a lot of things that other people used to complain about..I'd just duck and weave, y'know?"
"But then you get to a certain..in economics y'know, the point of diminishing returns, when things start stocking up and then you have to start doing really goofy things like booking into places under a pseudonym and all that shit, which I had really studiously tried to avoid."
"You get to a certain point and people give you up too mate! and then you find out all these other strange things about human nature y'know? so.....but I'm not whinging or anything y'know, I just do my job." (His fingers are tapping together clearly showing his distaste for these aspects of Fame)
Host: "What are you doing next? What are working on now? What are we going to see you in next?"
RC: "I'm doing a film called Proof of Life with Meg Ryan..and for those of you who are wondering..yes I do get to kiss her!" (He looks directly into the camera and smiles smugly as he says this. He waits for a beat and then nods his head for emphasis before breaking into a smile)
Host: "Good call!!" (giggling)
RC: (smiling and looking directly into the camera as if to Meg herself) "Sorry Meg, I didn't mean to disrespect you, y'know."
Host: "She always watches this show too!!"
RC: "I know, she told me....even though I haven't met her yet but I will tomorrow I think..so.."
Host: "Really?"
RC: "Yes, I'm doing the film with Taylor Hackford, who made among other things, An Officer and a Gentleman, which was one of my favorite films when I was a kid (wistful) but before that comes out, that will come out sort of around next Christmas or something, but then you've got The Insider, then you've got Mystery, Alaska coming out sometime..and then there is Gladiator."
Host: "Gladiator?"
RC: "Which I saw the other day " (there is pride and joy on his face as he is clearly delighted with this film)
Host: "Any good?"
RC: "Mate-IT IS PHENOMENAL!! (smiling coyly) I tell you, I have never been more...I hate watching the movies y'know?..the first time if I'm just by myself 100% "
Host: "You mean watching your movies?"
RC: "Yes, if I can sit there by myself, I can sit there and go "IDIOT!..what the f**k were you thinking?!" I can do all that and then I'm really happy about it and I can yell at myself and say "Look up you bastard!" (giggling) and then it's fine" (He is very animated when he does the impression of himself doing this-waving his arms about and rolling his eyes-laughing at himself)
Host: "So you are really critical?"
RC: "Yes because you should be" (serious)
"I didn't want to see The Insider, Michael had to force me into the cinema to see it and going to Gladiator, they rang me up to say that they were going to put on a screening for me and I was like "Oh the lions and the tigers" (He is excited like a kid-waving his arms gleefully and pulling happy faces)
"Mate, it is phenomenal..I tell you. There is stuff in this movie that you have never ever ever seen in a movie before. Oh yes, you've seen Ben Hur, and might have seen Spartacus, The Fall of The Roman Empire, I, Claudius or Caligula, y'know."
Host: "This is bigger?"
RC: "This is huge!"
Host:"There you go, that is it for our exclusive interview with Russell Crowe, probably the latest member of Hollywood's A-List.
He is, of course, starring in The Insider at the moment with Al Pacino. Look out later this year for Ridley Scott's Gladiator and Mystery, Alaska.
Of course, Russell is working here in London on the new Meg Ryan movie and he's off to Poland in a couple of days. He said "There's only one thing worse than working in Poland..and that is having a day off in Poland!"