December 29

Source: The Sun-Herald

December 29, 2002 Croc 'n' roll Russ, Irwin-style
By Christine Sams

It was the first official meeting between the Gladiator and the Croc Hunter, and they ended up "mates for a lifetime".

That's the verdict of Steve Irwin, who showed off his collection of deadly snakes and crocodiles to Russell Crowe on Friday.

Crowe visited Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland, with a group of friends and their children, in an excursion organised by his fiancee Danielle Spencer.

Spencer, who didn't visit the zoo, befriended Irwin during a recent magazine cover shoot and asked whether he would play host to Crowe at Australia Zoo.

"Yeah, Russell did come here," said Irwin, speaking from his Queensland home yesterday.

"We yarned for about four hours and had the best possible time any two blokes could ever have, doing absolutely anything."

But did Crowe wrestle any crocodiles? "Bloody oath he did," Irwin said. "He was fantastic; really, really good."

Source: twincities.com

December 29, 2005

Quote:
"... but the year's best performances also bore the ring of truth. Russell Crowe probably screwed up his Oscar chances when he used a hotel phone as a discus, but he is monumentally good in Cinderella Man, a sometimes mushy film that features the year's most heart-wrenching scene. It's in the Depression, and Crowe, playing a once-famous boxer, takes hat in hand to beg for money from his former colleagues so he can feed his kids."