Russell Crowe, Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come for You?

Russell Crowe arrived in New York City late Sunday to promote his new star-vehicle and possible Oscar-contender, the movie Cinderella Man, in which he stars with Rene Zelweger. Crowe wasn't in Manhattan but 24 hours when he got into a heaping hunk of trouble with the NYPD. This was the big news hitting the gossip tabs and blogosphere Monday, as well as mainstream media (the New York Times had a reporter downtown and on the story). They were alll over the story like flies on you-know-what.

What happened, allegedly: Russell Crowe allegedly threw a telephone at the night porter of the ultra-sleek, ultra-private and ultra-celebrity-filled Mercer Hotel in SoHo. The police were called and within approximately an hour, according to reports, Crowe was in a jail cell a few blocks away at a Tribeca police precinct.

Now we all know about Crowe's temper and violent tendencies. He's become famous for it, so much so that South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker devoted an entire episode of their animated sitcom to satirizing the Australian/New Zealand actor's proclivity for fisticuffs. What more of a pop cultural testament could you ask for?

At any rate, one can be cynical and easily assume that Crowe is copping some timely free publicity for himself and his new movie. After all, Cinderella Man is, ahem, a bio pic of a depression-era American prize-fighter. But is that what is really happening here. It would be sickening, but (sadly) not surprising. The Mercer Hotel porter who was struck by Crowe's alleged flying phone was injured by the handset. (How many dozens of lawyers do you think are trying to get a hold of that guy right now, huh?)

The background story, as reported by the times and other news outlets, is that Crowe was having difficulty placing an international call to his home in Australia and came down to the hotel lobby to complain.

By the way, the Mercer Hotel (and it's adjoining restaurant, the Mercer Kithcen, and bar, Merc Bar) is a beautiful boutique hotel in that luxury-contemporary Wallpaper magazine kind of way. The hotel, which is aptly on Mercer Street between Houston and Prince streets, is popular with celebrities because of it's privacy and relative anonymity in the heart of bustling Soho. Unless your were actually looking for it, you could walk by the hotel's front entrance a dozen times and never notice that there's even a hotel there, which is a pretty amazing architectural-design accomplishment.

But it doesn't really matter for the media; the tell-tale sign that you're there is the always lingering paparazzi who lie waiting for someone famous to step out of or into an always-idling limo double-parked on the cobblestones of Mercer Street. We imagine the press were at the Mercer pretty damn quick Monday morning.

Anyway, Crowe will not be spending any more time at the Mercer. HIs belongings were reportedly removed Monday afternnon, shortly after a court appearance and his release on bail. We can't wait to see Tuesday morning's New York Post coverage (as well as how the story is covered in Crowe's homeland, Down Under). It should be slamtastic.

Posted by Supercore at June 7, 2005 06:55 AM