Russell Crowe partecipa come giurato all'11. Tropfest, il piu' importante festival di cortometraggi australiano organizzato a Sydney da John Polson, 23 febbraio 2003

le ultime tre foto al Tropfest: Nick Moir

L'apparizione di Russell Crowe - appena sceso da un aereo dopo dei preparativi per il matrimonio con la cantante Danielle Spencer - e' coincisa con un'interruzione della pioggia al Tropfest l'altra sera. [...]

Crowe si e' unito a Claudia Karvan, Gillian Armstrong, Andrew Mason e Emma Freeman a formare la giuria del festival. Sfoggia ancora la coda di cavallo dal film di Peter Weir, 'Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World', di prossima uscita. 

La pubblicista dell'attore, Wendy Day, ha detto che Crowe e' arrivato a Sydney alle 6.30 di mattina dopo un viaggio a Parigi per farsi creare le fedi nuziali e per l'abito da sposa della Spencer creato su misura a Milano. I due sono stati anche a York per visitare i nonni di lei, che non stanno abbastanza bene per assistere al grande evento.

Mentre non ha fatto commenti sul quando e dove avra' luogo il matrimonio, la Day ha detto che Crowe voleva essere parte della giuria per aiutare il suo amico John Polson, il direttore artistico del Tropfest. I due avevano recitato la parte di due amanti nel film 'The Sum of Us' e Crowe aveva finanziato il festival quando aveva incontrato difficolta' con gli sponsor. [...] (A riguardo leggi una parte di un'intervista a John Polson)

By Garry Maddox, Film Writer 24/2/2003

The appearance of Russell Crowe - fresh off a plane after marriage preparations with singer Danielle Spencer - coincided with a break in the rain at Tropfest last night.

While showers throughout the day threatened the country's biggest short-film festival, the weather cleared and the Domain had filled by early evening.

The 11th Tropfest, which attracted a record 723 entries, was also relayed via satellite to five capital cities around the country. Organisers were hoping for a national audience of 150,000.

Despite the absence of big-budget films shooting in Sydney, the line-up of judges was representative of the festival's impressive profile in the film industry.

Crowe joined actress Claudia Karvan, director Gillian Armstrong, producer Andrew Mason and last year's winner Emma Freeman on the judging panel. He still sported the ponytail from Peter Weir's film, Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World, which is due out mid-year.

The Oscar-winning actor's publicist, Wendy Day, said Crowe had arrived in Sydney at 6.30am after a trip to have wedding rings designed in Paris and a wedding dress for Spencer fitted in Milan. They also went to York to visit her grandparents, who are not well enough to travel for the big event.

While not commenting on when or where their marriage would take place, Day said Crowe wanted to be one of the judges to support a long-time friend, Tropfest's creative director, John Polson. The two played lovers in The Sum of Us and Crowe supported the festival when it ran into sponsorship difficulties.

The 16 finalists, all featuring a reference to a rock as this year's signature item, included comedies, dramas and two animated films. Polson said the fact that there were fewer comedies than usual reflected that filmmakers were working in troubling times. Karvan said she was looking for films with heart in her role as a judge.

Arriving from early afternoon, the crowd brought tarpaulins, umbrellas, beach shelters and even small tents. Despite the rain, good spirits prevailed.