Russell Crowe was arrested in New York City after he hurled a broken telephone at a hotel concierge early Monday, hitting the man in the face.The Oscar winning actor, who is currently gracing screens across America as boxing champ Jim Braddock in Cinderella Man, earned the charge of second degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon (the phone). Crowe was apparently enraged when his calls to Australia did not go through, leading to the incident. In his defense, Crowe’s lawyer pointed out that this was the action star’s first arrest in America; judging by Crowe’s volatile history of drunken brawls and shoving incidents, he’s been pretty lucky so far.
In an effort to combat the tidal wave of media snooping that has hounded Angelina Jolie of late, the actress is reportedly requiring any and all interviewers to sign an agreement to stick strictly to the topic of her upcoming movie. NY Post’s Page Six reports that this contract gives Jolie the right to leave any uncomfortable interview and sue if anything negative is written. While this is unlikely to curb any of the rampant rumor-slinging revolving around Jolie and her rumored affair with the Mr. to her Mrs. Smith, co-star Brad Pitt, the tabloids might think twice before publishing any more lawsuit-inviting gossip, a la Cameron Diaz.
Here’s some food for thought…Lindsay Lohan, Oscar winning actress? According to columnist Liz Smith, the July issue of Elle Magazine boasts cover girl Lohan, with an interesting thought proposed by her mother, former Rockette Dina Lohan:
‘Five years from now Lindsay will get the kind of roles that Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow got so she can win that Academy Award.’
Granted, the teen queen has recently made public her longing for more serious roles and has signed on for Robert Altman’s A Prairie Home Companion. But is Herbie: Fully Loaded the next Mystic Pizza or even the next Emma? Is there an Erin Brockovich or a Shakespeare In Love in Lohan’s future? Only time will tell.
And finally, the much maligned critical and box-office disappointment, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, has been once again hit where it hurts the most: the numbers. Original Exorcist author William Blatty has filed suit against Morgan Creek Productions for failure to pay him $750,000 for the Paul Schrader-directed second prequel, which was notoriously canned and re-shot by director Renny Harlin (as per the 1996 agreement, Blatty was paid $930,000 for the Harlin film). As you may recall, Schrader’s version of the demonic tale garnered a paltry 26 percent on the Tomatometer, which eclipsed Harlin’s woeful 11 percent, but grossed only $246,708, leaving us wondering just how Blatty will ever get his due.
