Russell Crowe Charms 1,400-Strong Venice Audience With ‘What Love Builds’ Doc Charting His Musical Career — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Russell Crowe premiered his self-written, directed, and produced documentary 'What Love Builds' Out of Competition at the Venice Film Festival on Friday evening before a 1,400-strong crowd in the Sala Darsena theater.
- The film traces Crowe's musical career from his teen years performing as 'Russ Le Roq' at an Auckland music hall, through 415 performances in a New Zealand Rocky Horror Show, to his 1992 band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts and current outfit Indoor Garden Party featuring Les Misérables actress Samantha Barks and Canadian folk rocker Alan Doyle.
- Crowe told a press conference the project took 15 years to complete, accumulating 18 feet of footage before cutting, with his stated aim of 'answering the question' of how music and acting intertwine in his life.
- The documentary reveals that Crowe's iconic Gladiator line '2 years, 264 days, and this morning' was written at his request and inspired by the 'seven hours and 15 days' lyric in Prince's 'Nothing Compares 2 U.'
- Crowe attributes his decision to disband 30 Odd Foot of Grunts to a 'pushy offer verging on the vampiric' from then-Sony head Tommy Mottola to sign the band, compounded by his rising acting fame 'muddying the waters.'
- Concert footage intercut throughout the film—including Crowe's cover of Dire Straits' 'Romeo and Juliet'—drew full-scale applause, with spectators clapping to the beat of the final track as the credits rolled.
- Crowe said he targeted Venice specifically, contacting Italian director Gabriele Muccino—who directed him in Fathers & Daughters—to connect him with Artistic Director Alberto Barbera.
Why it matters: This is a vanity passion project by a major star with no announced distribution deal, yet it earned a rousing reception in Venice's prestigious Sala Darsena. For Crowe, the doc directly addresses the long-running ridicule of his musicianship, with the Prince/Gladiator connection and the Mottola anecdote adding texture that may reshape how a star's two creative lives are understood.
Ask SkimNews
