Reeling down memory lane with Rusty from Down Under

Before they turned the cameras on, I tried to break the ice with Russell Crowe by asking, in what I intended as a tone of mock-outrage: "What the hell is it with you Australians coming over here and taking jobs away from American actors?" Really: I meant it as a joke. Honest to God. After all, we weren't even really "over here" -- we were in Canada, for cryin' out loud, for the 1997 Toronto Film Festival premiere of L.A. Confidential. Unfortunately, Crowe didn't immediately catch on to the gag, and cast a Tommy-Lee-Jones-ish glare at me. Very fortunately, he didn't have any telephones in easy reach before he realized that, oh, the frightened-looking bloke sitting before him was just fooling around. He smiled, broadly. I smiled, gratefully. And the mini-interview went on from there. (Thanks again to filmmaker Robert Clark.)