» Special Report  |  GAME: Inside the Envelope  |  Gallery  |  Ballot  |  Archive

Crowe 'angry' over poem snub

Crowe has been snubbed twice over a poem

LONDON, England -- Actor Russell Crowe has suffered a double blow after a poem he wanted aired was cut from a broadcast in his native Australia.

The snub followed in the wake of a British television producer cutting a chunk of his 'Best Actor' acceptance speech for a schizophrenic math genius in "A Beautiful Mind" in a delayed telecast of the British equivalent of the Oscars.

That time, 37-year-old Crowe was reportedly enraged, belting out a tongue-lashing at director of the awards show Malcolm Gerrie before apologizing.

News reports said that Crowe swore at Gerrie, 51, at a dinner after the February 24 ceremony and pushed him against a wall.

On Monday the New Zealand-born star threw a party for friends at his farm near the Australian town of Coffs Harbour to watch the broadcast on Australian Broadcasting Corp. television, the British tabloid The Sun reported.

RESOURCES • EW.com: All about 'A Beautiful Mind'  • EW.com: All about Russell Crowe

To his surprise, the four-line poem, "Sanctity," by the late Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh, was cut despite TV executive assurances, The Sun said.

An unidentified friend was quoted by The Associated Press as saying Crowe got angry.

There was no immediate comment from Crowe's publicist in Los Angeles, Robin Baum.

Gerrie was not available for comment Tuesday, but The Sun quoted him as saying that "there were specific instructions that Russell's poem would not be edited out of the Australian broadcast."

Crowe, who won an Oscar for his performance as Maximus in "Gladiator," has been nominated for a second Academy Award for "A Beautiful Mind."

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is Britain's leading organization for film, television, and interactive entertainment.