It looks like Oprah’s going to be doing more than just taping a few shows during her trip to Australia this week.

Radar Online is reporting that the queen of middle-aged women everywhere took a break from her show’s special taping schedule in the land down under to take a yacht cruise with the ever-charming Russell Crowe.

O and Crowe took a quick sail through Sydney Harbor followed by a flotilla of smaller boats carrying the hundreds of lucky women and fans. The ladies were winners of the talk show’s dream trip giveaway and were invited to accompany Oprah on the landmark trip and taping.

We imagine this was a segment for the show and not just some spontaneous yachting jaunt…right?

Fellow Aussies Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are also due to hang with Winfrey during the trip, though what exactly they’ll be doing with her and her guests is unclear.

Come on, Nicole! We want to see Oprah go scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef!

Brace yourself for sky-high ratings amongst your Australian audience, Ms. Winfrey!

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Great Big Sea’s lead singer is going medieval.

Alan Doyle revealed on the band’s website this week that he has been cast as a troubadour in the upcoming Robin Hood movie starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.

“I had to scoot to L.A. after the big fundraising gig in Toronto last December,” he wrote in a blog entry Thursday.

“I went, lute in hand, to read and sing for the part and must have done all right, as I’ve been offered and accepted the gig.”

Doyle said he underwent training for the role in Australia, learning how to ride horses, do archery and use weapons alongside Crowe and the other actors.

“It was great fun, I must say, to look at your schedule for the day and have it read like a 12-year-old boy’s fantasy: bows and arrows at 10 a.m., sword fighting at 11 a.m. etc.”

The shooting schedule meant Great Big Sea had to drop out of several upcoming festival gigs, though Doyle said the Newfoundland Celtic rock band still plans to tour and record as usual in the second half of the year.

The as-yet-untitled movie, to be directed by Ridley Scott, is due out next year, with Crowe starring as the legendary outlaw and Blanchett playing Maid Marian.

Crowe is a longtime fan and friend of Great Big Sea, co-writing “Company of Fools” on the band’s 2008 album, “Fortune’s Favour,” and even joining the group onstage during a show in Los Angeles last October.

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Production on “Nottingham,” director Ridley Scott’s revisionist take on the popular Robin Hood tale, has been put on hold indefinitely.

The movie, in which Russell Crowe is slated to star as a sympathetic Sheriff of Nottingham, had been scheduled for a mid-August start date in London.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a new production start date may not be set until next year.

Script concerns, location problems and concerns about a possible SAG strike were cited as reasons for the delay.

“Universal could have moved forward with one of these challenges, but the confluence of the three caused the studio to reconsider and take the time for all conditions to be optimal,” Universal Pictures said in a statement.

The statement also said that Universal, co-producer Imagine Entertainment, Scott and Crowe remain committed to the project.

Sienna Miller recently signed on to play Maid Marian, though the role of Robin Hood has yet to be cast.

“Nottingham” was originally set to hit the big screen in November 2009.

The movie is the latest collaboration between Crowe and Scott, who previously worked together on such films as “Gladiator,” “American Gangster” and the upcoming drama “Body of Lies,” which will be released in October.

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RUSSELL CROWE will make a surprise appearance in the next BATMAN movie, Caped Crusader star CHRISTIAN BALE has revealed.

Bale let the secret slip during an interview to promote 3:10 To Yuma, in which both actors star.

He told iF Magazine, “Russell’s going to actually be in the new Batman movie, which is a big surprise and I want to reveal it to everybody right now.”

Bale refused to reveal if Crowe will play a villain in The Dark Knight – which is due for release next year (08). (IG/WNWCBMH/ES)

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Russell Crowe has been dumped by his publicist.

The actor – famed for his short temper and aggressive outbursts – was “let go” by highly respected public relations guru Robin Baum and must now rely on his acting agency, William Morris and Co, to handle his publicity.

Crowe is considered to be somewhat of a PR liability because of his fiery reputation.

Crowe reportedly recently paid a visit to an emergency room in Sante Fe while filming his new movie “3.10 to Yuma,” sparking speculation he may have been involved in yet another bust-up.

However a friend of the actor told the New York Post newspaper: “He wasn’t there – the only medical thing Russell has dealt with is finding a local chiropractor.”

Last year, the 42-year-old star pleaded guilty to third-degree assault for throwing a phone at a hotel clerk during his stay at New York’s Mercer Hotel.

He lost his temper after he had trouble calling his wife, Danielle Spencer, in Australia from his room.
The “Gladiator” actor recently tried to excuse his temper by saying that violence is acceptable in Australia.

Crowe said: “Where I come from, a confrontation like that, as basic and simple as that, would have been satisfied with a handshake and an apology.

“The US legal system is very open to be misused.

“You got to have a temper. You know what happens when you don’t have one? One day you’re walking down the street and you just pop.”

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In recent years, manly-man Russell Crowe has played a Roman gladiator, an ex-military hostage negotiator, the captain of a Napoleonic battleship, and a depression-era boxer. In “A Good Year,” Crowe finds himself playing…a bond trader? Well, at least he’s displaying his versatility.

The Ridley Scott-produced film is about Max Skinner, a vicious and successful British banker played by Crowe. When his wine-making Uncle Henry (played spot-on by Albert Finney) dies, Skinner is surprised to learn that he’s to become the new owner of his uncle’s vineyard in Provence. But that wouldn’t make a movie, so tossed in is an American girl (Abbie Cornish) who shows up out of the blue, claiming to be Henry’s daughter, and a French love interest for Skinner (played by Marion Cotillard).

Though predictable, the ensuing comedy and romance is charmingly executed, with Crowe breaking out of his tough guy mold to give a convincing performance. Especially good is the chemistry between Crowe and Cotillard, both in terms of their initial conflicts and the development of their romance.

One irksome aspect, however, was the (minor) appearance of some out-of-place, stereotypically British humour — the kind where a character is show to be comically lost through sped-up footage of them driving around a traffic circle. It just didn’t fit.

Aside from that, however, this film is warm and satisfying, much like the French countryside it so brilliantly displays. While there are few original elements here, there’s isn’t enough specific imitation to make the movie disappointing. With strong performances and an enjoyable story, “A Good Year” is set to be the romantic movie of the fall.

Rating: 3.5*/5*

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According to Russell Crowe, throwing phones at people in Australia is perfectly normal.

The 42-year-old actor was charged last year for third-degree assault on a hotel clerk in New York after throwing a phone at him. Now, he claims the U.S. legal system is faulty.

In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes,” set to air on Sunday, Crowe says “Where I come from, a confrontation like that, as basic and simple as that, would have been satisfied with a handshake and an apology.”

When CBS’ Steve Kroft suggests that the actor’s celebrity status played a role in the accident, Crowe adds, “And your legal system is very open to be misused.”

Still though, Crowe says he “absolutely” regrets the incident – but he doesn’t apologize for his bad temper.

“You got to have (a temper),” he continues. “You know what happens when you don’t have one? One day you’re walking down the street and you just pop.”

Crowe’s next movie, “A Good Year,” is slated to hit theatres Nov. 10.

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Aussie actor Russell Crowe told CNN’s “Showbiz Tonight” that rumours he will play late friend Steve Irwin in a biopic were “appalling.”

Crowe, who made a short tribute to the Crocodile Hunter at his memorial service on Sept. 20, shared his anger at the media who ran with the story with anchorman A.J. Hammer.

“I’m not doing business over the grave of my friend. I find that appalling. But, you know, that’s not just in the tabloid[s]. That’s in The Guardian; it’s in The New York Times. Understand? Absolutely disgusting.”

The rumours apparently originated in the magazine InTouch Weekly, and was soon picked up by the New Zealand Herald and circulated around the Internet.

During the interview with Hammer, Crowe also divulged his disgust with how the media portrayed his phone-throwing incident at a New York Hotel last year.

“I lost my temper, I apologized for it. You know? We can all move on now,” he told CNN.

Crowe pleaded guilty to throwing a phone at a hotel clerk and was let off on misdemeanour charges and fined $160.

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On Friday, Russell Crowe made a return to the same court where he faced a criminal charge last year – this time though, he had much less to worry about.

The actor returned to Manhattan Criminal Court to film scenes for his upcoming movie, American Gangster.

In June, 2005, Crowe hit a clerk with a telephone at a SoHo hotel. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in court and was fined $160 in November.

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Director Ridley Scott plans to make a “Gladiator” sequel and have Russell Crowe star in it once again.

Scott was planning to create the sequel back in 2003 but it didn’t work out. However, now he has decided to go ahead with it and will try to write around Crowe’s character’s death in the last movie.

“I will probably do a sequel to Gladiator. The only problem is Russell Crowe was such a powerful presence and, of course, Maximus dies at the end. We’ll have to get Russell back somehow,” said Scott, reports Hollywood.com.

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Actor Christian Bale (“Batman Begins”) is set to star in a remake of “3:10 to Yuma,” the classic Western film from 1957.

Russell Crowe has already signed on to co-star in the James Mangold-directed project, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The plot of the movie follows that of the original: rancher Dan Evans (Bale) captures a dangerous outlaw named Ben Wade (Crowe) and has to clandestinely transport him by train to Yuma for a court appearance.

Originally, the role of Evans was played by Van Heflin while Glenn Ford took on the part of the criminal.

The movie is slated to film this fall.

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Actor Russell Crowe and his wife, singer Danielle Spencer, welcome their second child on Friday, according to Crowe’s Australian manager.

Spencer gave birth to Tennyson Crowe at Sydney’s Royal North Shore hospital. The newest member of the family weighed in at 3.6 kg (7.9 lb).

“Mother, father and baby are doing extremely well,” said manager Grant Vandenberg, reports Reuters.

Crowe and Spencer also have another boy, two-year-old Charlie.

Crowe is currently set to star in the new Ridley Scott film, “A Good Year,” due out later this year.

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Oscar-nominated director Baz Luhrmann has enlisted two big-name stars for another of his grand romances, this time set in the Australian outback.

The historical epic will star Oscar winners Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman, who worked with Luhrmann on 2001′s hit musical Moulin Rouge.

Luhrmann’s publicist Maria Farmer confirmed on Thursday that the movie will begin production in August. The filmmaker told Australian newspapers that he would direct and co-write the movie, which he compared to “Gone With The Wind” and “Lawrence of Arabia,” with Australian screenwriter Stuart Beattie.

He said the film would be set in the mid-1930s leading up to the Second World War.

“We have some of the most extraordinary landscape on the planet and we want to get two of the most extraordinary actors in the world and put them … in that landscape,” Luhrmann told The Australian newspaper.

Native Aussies Crowe and Kidman had planned to star in another Australian film based on the novel “Eucalyptus,” by author Murray Bail, but the project fell through last year.

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Russell Crowe may be turning to his Gladiator director Ridley Scott to help him bounce back from the box-office disappointment of Cinderella Man.

L.A. papers have reported that their possible upcoming collaboration, A Good Year, will be based on the 2004 Peter Mayle novel of the same name.

It will tell the tale of an investment banker named Max who moves from Britain to Provence to take over his dead uncle’s struggling vineyard. Max’s efforts, however, are made difficult by the arrival of a distant relative from California.

If negotiations between Crowe and Fox 2000 are successful, A Good Year will be the actor’s first film since the Depression-era boxing film Cinderella Man, which was praised by critics but overlooked by audiences.

Crowe was scheduled to work on another book-to-film adaptation, Eucalyptus, in February, but production was postponed indefinitely just days before shooting was to begin.

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The movie that made Russell Crowe into a household name may just be the first in a series of films; a series that won’t include Crowe.

There have been talks about creating a sequel to Gladiator, which starred Crowe as a Roman gladiator seeking revenge.

It’s not that Crowe is refusing to come back. His character was dramatically killed off at the end of Gladiator, making it tough for him to be written into a new script.

Djimon Hounsou, who played an African slave in the first film, said the sequel is in the works, but making it official is far away.

“They’re not happy about what they have for now, so they’re still working on it. It’s still in development,” said Hounsou, according to the AP. “I would probably be in the center of it as one of the leads.”

Gladiator made almost $200 million at U.S. box office, and even more internationally and through massive DVD sales.

Crowe won an Oscar for his role in Gladiator. He most recently through a phone at a hotel employee.

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How’s this for publicity? Russell Crowe, star of the new film Cinderella Man, was arrested early Monday morning and charged with assault.

He allegedly threw a telephone at an employee of a Manhattan hotel he was staying at, according to police.

The phone allegedly struck the man in the face. He was arrested shortly after 4:20 a.m. by New York police.

He was charged with second-degree assault.

The hotel employee suffered “minor lacerations,” according to reports, and was treated at a local hospital.

Crowe is to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday. He could face a year in jail if convicted.

Perhaps Crowe was upset when he hears that Cinderella Man bombed at the box office? Thought to be an Oscar contender, the movie debuted at fourth this weekend, with box office sales totaling $18.6 million.

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