Russell Crowe shows he can be one of the Nice Guys

By Angela Dawson

HOLLYWOOD — Although A-list bad boy Russell Crowe has mellowed since his phone-throwing, temper-tantrum days, the Aussie (by way of New Zealand) Oscar winner can still be rebellious.

For example, when he enters a Beverly Hills hotel room for an interview, the first thing he does is light up (after asking permission from those present, of course), even though the hotel prohibits guests from smoking inside its rooms. Any veteran film reporter who has interviewed Crowe, 52, knows that unless you want him to clam up or cut an interview short, you’d better allow him to puff. And, at least he asked.

The Oscar winner for 2000’s swords-and-sandals epic Gladiator and nominee for The Insider and A Beautiful Mind is downright amiable as he answers questions ranging from his love of smoking to vinyl LPs while discussing his new movie, the 1970’s set comedy The Nice Guys, in which he is paired with People’s Sexiest Man Alive Ryan Gosling (Oscar nominated for 2006’s Half Nelson).

In the film, directed by Iron Man 3’s Shane Black, Crowe plays an enforcer who teams up with a down-on-his-luck private eye (Gosling) to find a missing girl. During their investigation the duo begin to uncover a shocking conspiracy that reached up to the highest levels of the justice system. Part comedy, part noir thriller, The Nice Guys is reminiscent of films like Get Shorty and Black’s previous Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, which starred Robert Downey, Jr.

It’s interesting that Ryan Gosling’s character is the chain smoker in this instead of you.
Whenever he was smoking in the room, he made me uncomfortable. I think that’s why he did it, because he smokes so much (in the film). I think that was his statement. It was unbelievable the way he did that. He came in and he was smoking that much, and then the millisecond we finished the film, I don’t think he’s touched a cigarette since.

But he used to smoke?
Yeah, but I don’t think he was ever fully committed to it, you know? I think he’s just a dabbler. (He laughs.)

Is that something you miss from the ’70s — the fact that you could smoke anywhere you wanted whenever you wanted?
It’s something that should be pointed out, I think. Wherever you go in the world, to places you go where you still have to smoke in licensed premise, those are the places where bars are happy. (He laughs.) Find me a happy bar in Los Angeles (where smoking is banned). There’s a bunch of happy people on the street or standing around having a cigarette.

As the saying goes, if you remember the ’70s, you didn’t live it? Do you remember anything from that time?
I remember everything about the ’70s. I was only a little kid. But yeah, it was a time where I was being awoken by everything. It’s a great decade as far as I’m concerned.

What about the far-out fashions like bell-bottoms and polyester shirts?
See, I think that’s one of things the movie does really well. It doesn’t give into that kind of extremity. So many of the films or TV series that get made set in the ’70’s, everybody’s got colors that were really only seen on Soul Train worn by the performers like the O’Jays. It wasn’t as full on as some of the pastiche expressions of the ’70s have been. That’s one of the things I like about the film. You do have elements of that, particularly in the party scene and stuff like that, but everybody looks normal. They look real, sort-of centered in the world of Los Angeles and that’s partially due to the production designer (Richard Bridgland), the costume designer (Kym Barrett), but also Shane Black’s desire to not make that kind of pastiche thing.

What about the music of that era? What do you remember from the time period? What did you like from the movie that took you back?
I love the soundtrack. I’m definitely going to get it on vinyl.

You’re into collecting vinyl?
Yeah, I did this thing a couple of years ago where I just decided I was going to recreate the record collection of my youth. I’m about a third of the way through, so far, but I keep getting other stuff that I never had when I was younger. You can get so much stuff now. For example, one thing that I had not done probably since 1978 — it’s probably uncouth for some people. If you have a big enough sound system, if you listened to Meatloaf’s Bat Out of Hell from beginning to end. That is an immense record. It’s immense, because you remember that was the hit single, but every single song on that is just crammed full of pop beauty, little riff lines, lines of lyrics and hooks, gigantic chorus and bridges from hell. It’s is a great record. — Front Row Features