AP Photo/Mark J. TerrillRehab's the new DUI in H'wood nowadays, and formerly naughty men are seeing the light. Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke and G.G. winner Colin Farrell are all about waving buh-bye to their salacious, often pathetic pasts, and they're being handsomely rewarded for it.
Col's demeanor at the Globes was stunningly rehabilitated, don't you agree? He was a friggin' walking billboard for Hollywood's naughtier set to come clean. "I had to make certain changes in my life I thought needed to be changed," C.F., scrubbed and gleaming, told us at the Globes.
Maybe Russell Crowe, who's still known for being belligerent to colleagues and friendly to beer-swilling swagger, should follow suit? He used to be the the hottest dude Down Undah before being replaced by Hugh Jackman's chest and Heath Ledger's now sainted memory.
R.C. hasn't been Oscar nom'd in a couple of years. His movies aren't faring well. So at a Globe do we grilled Crowe collaborator Ron Howard and asked if the hotheaded actor was actually a misunderstood kitty cat in person? You might be surprised by Opie's frank response:
"He's mercurial," piped Ron about the star of A Beautiful Mind (the flick that got Howard an Oscar for directing, as well as a nomination for Crowe). "He's said and done, I suspect, what he wishes he could take back." Well, duh. Does anyone ever not regret hitting someone with a phone? By the way, if you're a bodyguard in the employ of Nicole Kidman, you do not have permission to answer this question.
"But he's a great artist," Howard insisted about the highly unpredictable Crowe, whose most exciting upcoming flick is playing yet another version of Robin Hood (along with, apparently, the title character) in Ridley Scott's Nottingham. Oh, and the movie's been delayed.
Probs already, including reports that costar Sienna Miller left the project reportedly due to Crowe's ale-packed fat frame. But never fear, Ronnie-babe sure is more circumspect on all things Crowe: "We're friends; I'd love to work with him again. Every hour of everyday, he's working. So ya gotta respect that."
Grudgingly, I guess. We miss your fab thighs and your raconteur's wit from the Gladiator days, Mr. C! Hey, why don't you give Colin Farrell a call and figure out how to get all that crap back?
—Additional reporting by Becky Bain