Source: The Daily Telegraph | Sydney Confidential
January 30, 2001
Crowe rescues Tropfest
The sponsorship woes experienced by Tropfest appear to be over. An announcement is expected later this week confirming the cash-strapped short film festival has secured three significant sponsorship deals.
Confidential understands cable movie channel Showtime has upgraded itself from major to principal sponsor of this year's event -- which opens on February 25 -- but with a figure less than the expected $250,000.
Also coming on board as sponsors are the City of Sydney and 30 Odd Foot of Grunt, the band fronted by actor Russell Crowe.
Sources say the Grunts' involvement is a collaborative effort and not a thinly veiled act of generosity by the philanthropic actor.
Tropfest's founder-director John Polson said the festival had been up-ended by the post-Olympics sponsorship drought. "Because Tropfest is big and famous and it's got a good branding now, people assume it's going to just be there," he told us few weeks ago.
source: Gold Coast Bulletin
January 30, 2006
Crowe directs play
HE'S won an Oscar as a gladiator, but yesterday Russell Crowe took on a new role The Mediator.
Crowe was called on to extinguish a potentially explosive situation at the annual Orara Valley Axemen sevens rugby league tournament he sponsors at Coramba, just outside of Coffs Harbour.
Led by former Gold Coast Chargers halfback Wes Patten, Sydney team Moore Park Broncos staged a protest before the semi-final of the tournament, claiming they had been robbed of victory in the preceding quarter-final.
Patten and his teammates refused to leave the field to allow the team that beat them, Lebanon, and Malta start their match.
But following several tense minutes, Patten and his team left after Crowe intervened.
The world-famous actor spoke to Patten and calmed him down, allowing the tournament to continue.
He may be painted as a Hollywood bad boy after brawling and phone-throwing incidents, but Crowe showed nothing but class yesterday.
"I probably do a lot more mediating in my professional life than you realise," said Crowe with a laugh after placating Patten.
"I've known him (Patten) for quite a long time.
"The players are passionate. It is a game that calls for it.
"You can't play this game sitting back on your hands. You have to get involved. You can go through that passionate thing and make a protest.
"But as long as there are avenues for conversation, you can redirect that into a positive thing.
"Those guys will look back on this thing and say that the result didn't go their way, but at the same time they competed really well.
"Everyone is going to relax and enjoy their weekend now."
The drama started after Moore Park were denied a try at what they claimed was a vital part of the game.
The referee at first awarded the try until he realised a touch judge had raised his flag to indicate a player had earlier run out.
He reversed the decision that would have put Moore Park ahead, and Lebanon, the eventual winners of the tournament, won 28-18.
The protest started when Lebanon went on to the field for the semi-final, and Patten and his teammates invaded the playing area.
They left only once Crowe agreed to talk to them. He followed Patten back to his team tent, then listened attentively as the heated halfback called for a replay of the match with Lebanon. Crowe calmly told Patten something most learn as a child playing rugby league.
"The ultimate rule in this ball game is the referee's call," he said.
Eventually the pair retired to a nearby shed away from the crowd, and when Crowe emerged victorious, the tournament continued.
"In every game a shift of momentum can change a game, but in the end the result is the result," he said later.
The incident was the only drama in another highly successful weekend for Crowe and his local side, Orara Valley.
Like the inaugural competition last year, thousands turned out and watched Lebanon defeat Fiji in a tight final.
The crowd also got the first look at a Gold Coast Titans side which joins the National Rugby League next year.
Head coach John Cartwright's young side battled well to finish equal fifth out of 36.
The success of the tournament ensured Crowe, who jetted in especially from Tamworth after performing at the Country Music Awards on Saturday night, will be back next year.
"The committee here for a number of years kept throwing up ideas for fundraising and bringing the community together," said Crowe.
"They were successful to a certain degree but the sevens idea, when they came up with it, I said, 'now you have got it'."
But as for the chance of there ever being a sequel to his Oscar winning Gladiator, a film titled Mediator?
"Write the script, son," he said. "You have had time to think about it, so whip it up over the weekend."
