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2 articles from 2005

21 February 2005 | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe has rejected directorial responsibility for troubled movie Eucalyptus, and is now looking to hire one of Australia's top directors to salvage the project. Studio Fox Searchlight Pictures postponed the $15 million film earlier this month following the acrimonious departure of director-writer Jocelyn Moorhouse. Following rumors last week that the Gladiator star was to become director himself, Crowe has now indicated he wants either Driving Miss Daisy director Bruce Beresford or Last Orders creator Fred Schepisi to take over. Crowe was set to appear alongside fellow Australian Nicole Kidman in the big screen adaptation of Murray Bail's novel. It has been reported that Oscar-winning Kidman is considering pulling out of the movie. Movie experts predict filming won't start until later in the year.

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17 February 2005 | From Studio Briefing | See recent Studio Briefing news

A falling-out between Russell Crowe and Jocelyn Moorhouse, the Australian writer-director of his latest movie, Eucalyptus, resulted in the production's being shut down this week, according to Australian news reports. The Australian newspaper is reporting in its Friday editions that, although much finger-pointing has been directed at Crowe, producers of the movie blame the collapse of the project on Moorhouse. It quoted one insider as saying, "Can he be difficult? Yes, he can. But it's not fair to Russell to blame him for this whole thing. ... Jocelyn was an absolute prima donna throughout all of this. She couldn't talk to him [Crowe]. She wouldn't communicate." The standoff was particularly odd given the fact that Moorhouse is largely regarded as the person who gave the then-unknown Crowe his initial boost when she cast him in her 1991 film Proof. Although some reports have indicated that in order to save the project Crowe had agreed to direct the movie himself, the New York Times quoted a spokesman for Crowe as saying he had no plans to do so. Friday's The Australian quoted an unnamed source close to the producers as saying that Crowe is hoping that Bruce Beresford or Fred Schepisi will agree to helm the project, but Schepisi and a spokesman for Beresford said that the two directors had not been approached. If the film is remounted, it will reportedly lose its female lead, Nicole Kidman, who, according to The Australian, has prior commitments and had sided with Moorhouse.

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2 articles from 2005