I’ve been putting off covering this story about Charlie Sheen because I’m so fed up with him. He’s an addict, he makes excuses and denies things and then expects his life to go on as usual as if it’s everyone else’s problem that he’s an addict. That’s pretty much the gist of his call-in interview to a radio station yesterday, in which he bitched and moaned that production is still shut down on Two and a Half Men because he’s ready to go back to work.

Charlie Sheen says he’s all better…for now.

A week and a half after his 36-hour bender — reportedly featuring cocaine and porn stars — landed him in the hospital, the actor wants to get back to work on Two and a Half Men.

Sheen, 45, was a surprise caller Monday morning on the Dan Patrick Show — sounding raspy-voiced and defiant about CBS’ decision to put his hit show on hiatus while he recovers via at-home rehab.

“I just figured I was supposed to go back to work because I’m ready,” the actor explained. “They said, ‘You get ready [and] we’ll get ready.’ And I got ready.”

The father of five blasted the network’s perceived meddling into his “personal life.” (There is a morals clause in his show contract.)

“Nit pick, nit pick, but I don’t think [the clause] covers, ‘Let us totally dominate and interfere with your personal life,’” Sheen complained. “I have a contract. They said, ‘Get your act together,’ and I did.”

To those skeptical about such a fast turnaround? “I heal really quickly, but I also unravel pretty quickly,” Sheen warned. “So get me right now, guys. Get me right now!”

What drives him to drink and party? “Boredom,” Sheen said. “Wanting to make things better – whether it’s real or imagined.”

Sheen’s not a fan of 12 Step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous either, he said. “I was sober for five years a long time ago and was just bored out of my tree,” he said. Calling himself “sober,” Sheen explained, would be “inauthentic –it’s not who I am.”

These days? “I’m having a ball,” Sheen said. “I am enjoying every moment.”

[From US Weekly]

You can listen to Charlie’s interview here. He talks about his bizarre meeting with the UCLA baseball team, during which he told them to “stay off the crack, drink a chocolate milk.” He also claims to be sober, but then makes a bunch of excuses about why he’s still drinking about says that it’s “inauthentic” for him not to be a drunk drug addict.

There were eight episodes left to be filmed for Two and a Half Men this season, but due to the hiatus four have been cut. The crew is pissed off because they won’t get paid for those four cut episodes, and that may be part of the reason why Charlie is so anxious to get back to work. He’s agreed to pay a third of the crew’s salaries during the hiatus, which could run him over half a million dollars. He probably spends that on an average weekend of high paid porn stars and the finest cocaine.

Also, is Sheen threatening producers? He said “I heal pretty quickly. But I also unravel pretty quickly,” as if he’ll go off the rails again if they don’t start his show soon. Production is scheduled to start at the end of February. Somehow this barely functioning addict became the highest paid star on television. Maybe by continuing to talk smack he’ll piss off enough higher ups for them to finally do something about it.

Charlie Sheen is shown in June, 2010. Credit: Fame

Kaiser and I were tuned in yesterday afternoon to see if Lindsay Lohan would finally get her comeuppance, but as you know by now she was simply given yet another chance in a lifetime filled with wasted chances. When Lindsay realized she wasn’t going to jail at that point she smirked involuntarily and I’m sure everything the judge told her about how she was just like everyone else was completely lost to her, since it’s not at all true. Lindsay wore a short tight white dress and told TMZ that it signified her “innocence,” which goes to show that she thinks just like a murderous bisexual stock character. Justice may eventually come limping after Lindsay, though. Lohan has another court date on February 23 and faces charges both for stealing the necklace and for violating probation for the umpteenth time. Oh and she’s back on Twitter of course.

She’s due back in court for Feb. 23. In addition to a maximum three years in prison for the theft charge, Lohan could be looking at jail time for possibly violating her probation from her 2007 DUI cases, which isn’t set to expire until Aug. 11.

Less than an hour after hitting the road, Lohan was checking her Twitter account, responding to a concerned-sounding tweet from Celebrity Rehab establisher Dr. Drew Pinsky. (Oddly, her first apparent tweet was a link to a photo of her and Kanye West, taken Feb. 4 at a dinner party for designer Giuseppe Zanotti, but that disappeared a few moments later.)

So what did the celebrity Twitterverse have to say about the embattled star.

“That lindsay lohan necklace is one crummy looking piece of jewelry for twenty five hundred. can barely see it,” quipped Howard Stern, a relative Twitter newcomer, having just signed up last week. “Felony grand theft? I would get an appraisal on that piece of junk.”

“I am mortified how @Lindsaylohan is getting attacked when she is so fragile and just establishing her sobriety. Not at all what she needs,” read the more serious tweet from Pinsky.

“@drdrew thank you for your support.. I appreciate it,” Lohan tweeted in response. And that post stayed put.

[From E! Online]

Is Lohan ever going to get serious jail time for her crimes, or will she continue to skate on the edge of the law, laughing, popping pills and pilfering things she thinks she should get for free? TMZ reports that it’s likely she’ll cop a plea that will allow her to avoid jail time. She just got more publicity for her latest crime than for anything she’s done professionally for years. If she wants to retain any sort of career she’s got a lot of work to do. Lindsay expects everything to come easy for her, though, and I doubt she’ll be able to make any sort of comeback. She’s just too entitled, too addicted, and too much of a narcissist.

Photo credit: WENN.com

America’s favorite cockroach with his cock out, Charlie Sheen, is heading back to the set of Two and a Half Men in just two weeks, according to his hardworking lawyer. We heard this was happening, but there was still the glimmer of hope that Charlie and his many enablers would get the message that an extended stint in rehab was necessary to recover from the scandal of hiring 19 year-old hookers from the “Barely Legal” porn series to hold drug fueled orgies. In Charlie’s case people expect him to be even worse than the character he plays on TV and somehow he’s gotten a pass. The guy did “at home” (read: nonexistent, keep your head down and hire more discreet prostitutes and drug dealers) rehab and he’s going back to work very soon.

The actor’s attorney, Yale Galanter, exclusively reveals to E! News that the actor will be returning to the set of Two and a Half Men before the end of the month.

“We are thinking Charlie will be going back to work two weeks from today,” he said.

Galanter refused to comment on Sheen’s current rehab whereabouts, but he did say, “Charlie is fine healthwise and doing really well. Things are looking good. Everybody’s intentions are to get him back in the swing of things as soon as possible.

And despite recent troubles, Sheen’s family is sticking by him.

“They are a very close-knit family,” Galanter tells E! News. “Charlie has seen all of his kids since he was in the hospital. He is even spending time with the boys today.”

[From E! nline]

I hope “seen all his kids” and “spending time with the boys” means while they’re accompanied by their eagle-eyed mothers. Both Brooke Mueller and Denise Richards have been incredibly quiet during this whole scandal, with Denise simply tweeting that she wouldn’t let an adult film star watch her kids. Charlie pays his ex wives a lot of money to keep his secrets, although the people he pays to f*ck him and sell him drugs don’t give him the same courtesy.

During part two of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reunion, the show’s latest villain, Kim Richards, kept insisting their were “private things” of a family matter that led up to the fight in the limo on the show’s last episode that “made me snap.” Kyle of course went after Kim physically as if she was going to hit her, called her an alcoholic, and told her that she and her husband were done supporting her.

This week’s OK Magazine has a cover story featuring the sisters, which contains quotes from “a source close to Kyle” (read: Kyle) about what those “private things” might be. It’s all about money, and while there may be more backstory there I’ll repeat what I’ve said all along: nothing excuses the way that Kyle treats her sister. To the few people telling me I don’t understand because I don’t have a sister who is an addict, that could be true. I have a brother, not a sister, and our relationship is one of mutual support. Plenty of women with sisters have commented that Kyle’s bullying of Kim is inexcusable, and that there seems to be an aggressor victim dynamic between them, particularly in the way that Kim defends Kyle while Kyle blames Kim and makes excuses. (Thanks to Jayna for this link to analysis on Realitytea, which included that insight.)

Here’s the relevant part of OK’s story:

“There is so much more to it than that,” Kyle later blogged. “I didn’t want to come out and say what it was that was really bothering me because this is a private family matter.”

A source confirms, “Kyle was referring to what she believes are Kim’s problems with alcohol.” In fact, footage has since been released of Kim slurring her words and popping pills at an airport in July.

The pal says that Kim’s family has tried to help. “The word is they staged many interventions. But Kim won’t even admit she has a problem…”

How the rivalry began
“There’s deep-rooted jealousy between the sisters,” a source says. “As kids, Kim was the more successful sister. Her acting career was bigger, and Kyle’s always been resentful of that.”

The competitiveness, says a source, continued as the women grew up – who would get married first, who would have the richer husband, who was considered the best looking.

Yet a source close to Kyle says it’s Kim who is now jealous. “She thinks Kyle has a perfect family, kids, life – everything is ‘perfect.’”

Another divide concerns the family home, which Kim accused Kyle of stealing during the show’s finale. After the sisters’ parents died, Kim was due to inherit their L.A. home, says the insider – but Kyle got it: “Kim has never forgiven Kyle for that.” But a source close to Kyle says in reality, Kyle bought her sister’s share of the house – then even let Kim buy it back at a lower price. “Kyle didn’t even cash Kim’s check, because she knew she couldn’t really afford it,” the source tells OK!

In addition, Kyle and her husband, luxury realtor Mauricio Umansky, give Kim money, “a kind of allowance,” says the insider. “They worry about her and don’t want her to feel she’s alone.”

[From OK! Magazine, print edition, February 14, 2011]

Let’s assume for the sake of argument that this version is correct, and that Kyle is upset at Kim because: 1. Kim has a long history of alcoholism and 2. Kyle has been supporting Kim financially. How are those “private things” when Kyle hurled both issues at Kim in the limo? To be fair, Kyle was responding to Kim’s claim that “you stole my house,” but it seems to me like she has no qualms about bringing up her sister’s alcoholism and that she asked her buddies Taylor and Lisa to make a point of it at the reunion. Kyle is using the “private things” argument to deflect blame and suggest that there is much more to the story that would explain her abhorrent behavior toward her sister. We saw Kim this season and while she clearly enjoys to drink it was Kyle and her fish-lipped friend who went after Kim. Kim didn’t say or do anything to Kyle that would explain the way she went after her.

Here’s Kyle in Aspen in late December with Faye Resnick. She loves getting papped. Credit: Fame Pictures

Charlie Sheen’s rep is using celebrity mouthpiece People Magazine to thank everyone for their “support” as he tries to hold on to his client’s career as the top paid star on television now that everyone knows that he smokes crack and hires porn star hookers on his off time. The statement to People is in contrast to what Charlie told E! in a typically dismissive text message in which he pulled the ‘ol celebrity “there’s a war on, why are you paying attention to me” argument. First off, Charlie’s texts to E!:

“All crap,” he told us via text.

“Believe nothing. I will never speak about any of this as long as I’m alive. You’re all gonna have to keep towing the same redundant line, guessing wrong.”

He’s obviously following the news, because Sheen suggested the focus on his situation was overblown.

“BTW, two wars are in an endless state of sorrow. Egypt about burned to the ground, and all you people care about is my bullsh-t….?”

Sheen called it “pathetic” that the media cared about his personal life and how he chooses to spend it.

“Shame shame shame,” he said.

We wished the troubled actor well and told him people really do just want to see him get healthy and happy and return to work.

“Absolutely I see that,” he said. “For that I am grateful.”

[From E! Online]

According to Charlie, we should be ashamed that we’re listening to the 22 year-old porn star he paid $30,000 to f*ck him and watch while he smoked cocaine all night and critiqued porn. There’s photographic evidence the dude was with these women, he looked like death in the picture, and he was rushed to the hospital shortly afterwards with a “hernia.” This is his M.O, though, deny and act like it’s our problem for paying attention.

Charlie’s rep realizes that he’s alienating his fan base and all of the people whose jobs depend on him showing up for his easy, insanely high paid job. He issued a statement thanking everyone and suggesting Charlie is going to take a hiatus and put his “sword down,” “like Errol Flynn,” although I bet that hiatus will last all of three weeks.

“I have a lot of work to do to be able to return the support I have received from so many people,” the actor, 45, says in a statement released by his rep Wednesday.

“I want to say, ‘Thank-you’ to my fellow cast members, the crew of Two and a Half Men, and everyone at CBS and Warner Bros … for their concern and support.” He singled out his bosses, CBS chief Les Moonves and Bruce Rosenblum, president of Warner Bros. Television Group.

“Like Errol Flynn, who had to put down his sword on occasion, I just want to say, ‘Thank-you,’ ” says Sheen. “And to my fans, your good wishes have touched me very much.”

[From People]

It’s too bad that Rosenthal’s efforts are being undermined by Charlie and his bitchy text messages. Also, I’m not as up on old Hollywood as I should be so I checked Errol Flynn’s wiki page and he was a partier like Charlie Sheen, was married three times and was accused of statutory rape by two different women. Charlie at least likes them a smidgen on the other side of 18. US Weekly has an overview of the porn stars that were over at Charlie’s house the night in question and two of them were 19 – Gigi Rivera and Melanie Rios, while the one who is going to media, Kacey Jordan, claims to be 22. His latest madam starred in the “Barely Legal” porn movies and told Radar Online that Charlie would regularly request women from that series. They’re “legal,” although prostitution isn’t outside of the state of Nevada.

These photos are from January, 2010 of Sheen courtside at a Laker’s game. Credit: PRPhotos

Kaiser and I are somewhat amazed that Lindsay Lohan has managed to stay out of trouble for a full let’s see… four weeks since getting out of rehab. It seems like stalking Samantha Ronson and fabricating relationships with up-and-coming actors agrees with her. Now I’m not saying that she’s in any way sober, just that she hasn’t been busted yet and for her that’s progress.

A few months ago, Glee mocked Lindsay in their Gwyneth Paltrow episode, during a segment in which Gwyneth showed off her Spanish skills. She said in Spanish “Lindsay Lohan is totally crazy right?” and “How many times has Lindsay Lohan been to rehab?” the answer to which was five and it was accurate. Lindsay’s mom Dina subsequently threatened Glee with a lawsuit and went on to say that her daughter found the segment “hurtful” and was “so upset” with Gwyneth Paltrow because she considered her “a friend.”

Well some Glee castmembers were supposedly out at dinner and ran into a completely sober Lindsay, at which point they apologized to her supposedly for that episode and those very tame remarks. Ten bucks says this story comes from Dina and that no apology was offered and Lindsay and the Glee kids just happened to be in the same place at the same time. It’s not like it’s anyone’s issue except the writers and maybe Gwyneth Paltrow, who possibly suggested the lines. (Although we haven’t heard anything about it.)

The cast of “Glee” apologized to Lindsay Lohan for mocking her during an episode last year … TMZ has learned.

Lindsay was out at dinner in West Hollywood Sunday night when she ran into the cast (minus Jane Lynch and Lea Michele) … and naturally, that episode — mocking Lindsay’s frequent trips to rehab — came up .

Sources tell us the cast walked up to LiLo … apologized for the jokes … and said they didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. Lindsay accepted their apology and everyone parted ways.

Don’t expect the same thing to happen if Lindsay bumps into Jay Leno. Or David Letterman. Or Jon Stewart. Or Jimmy Kimmel. Or …

[From TMZ]

We’re so sorry our writers called you crazy when you were in court-ordered rehab and subsequently had a meltdown and got a staff member fired. We’re sorry they pointed out the actual number of times you’ve been in rehab, which is well documented. Your mother’s persecution complex doesn’t make us more likely to believe her lies.

In other news that suggests that TMZ is the Lohan’s mouthpiece, they report that Lindsay is super worried about Charlie Sheen and is “thrilled” that he’s in rehab. She’s probably hoping to do the same at-home rehab scam that he’s working.

Lindsay Lohan is shown out shopping at Fred Segal on 1/30/11. Credit: WENN.com She’s also shown in Venice, CA shopping of course on 1/27/11. Credit: Fame Pictures

More details are coming out about the incident at Lindsay Lohan’s halfway house in which she allegedly abused a staff member who busted her after she snuck out with some girlfriends to drink at a local bar. As is typical for Lindsay, her family has denied that she’s done anything wrong and are hard at work spinning their side of the story to celebrity outlets. They claim that Lindsay just pushed the female staff member in self defense, that she called 911 and that she supposedly passed a sobriety test administered by the Betty Ford Clinic.

Meanwhile the Betty Ford staffer, Dawn Holland, has spoken to TMZ. Holland makes it clear that Lindsay was wasted, violent, and refused a breathalyzer. The other two patients were compliant, according to her account. Holland granted a video interview to TMZ telling her side of the story. In the video Holland is wearing a brace on her wrist and claims that it was strained severely when Lindsay grabbed a phone out of her hand. Here’s the story from TMZ, and you can watch the video there.

The Betty Ford staffer who claims Lindsay Lohan assaulted her tells TMZ … Lindsay had been drinking before the incident and hurt her so badly, she’s now on workers’ comp.

Dawn Holland, who works as a chemical dependency technician at the Betty Ford Clinic, tells us on Sunday, December 12, just after 1 AM, Lindsay and two roommates came home from a night on the town … violating the curfew policy.

Holland says Lindsay and company jumped a wall, trying to get inside the place she was staying without being noticed. Holland says security stopped the three women, and that’s when Lindsay became belligerent and started swearing up a storm.

Holland says she was called to do a breathalyzer on the 3 women, but Lindsay refused and then pushed her. Holland says she went back in the house and Lindsay called 911 on the house phone.

Holland says she picked up another house phone to speak with 911, and Lindsay confronted her again and ripped the phone out of her hand, causing a severe sprain which caused Holland to go out on workers’ comp.

Holland says she could smell alcohol on Lindsay’s breath.

As for Lindsay’s claim Holland touched her first, she says, “I did not touch the woman.”

As TMZ first reported, Holland filed a police report and the cops are investigating Lindsay for criminal battery.

[From TMZ]

Holland also said she didn’t think Lohan has made progress at Betty Ford because she “has been defiant and broken just about every rule.” Holland claimed that she is out on workman’s comp. Radar reports that Holland admitted she was paid upwards of $10,000 for that interview by TMZ. Both Radar and TMZ report that Holland was fired for violating patient confidentiality by speaking to the press.

There are so many new stories coming out about this incident that it’s hard to cover them all. The jist is that Lindsay’s people are pulling the same old victim card that they always do and there’s little more to it than that. The official statement from Lindsay’s lawyer reads: “We are declining to comment on the underlying facts surrounding this incident, as we await the completion of the police investigation. It should be noted, however, that it was Ms. Lohan who called 911 to request police assistance at the time this incident occurred.” As if that means anything. Lindsay’s mother called 911 when Carvel refused to give her a free cake!

According to the latest report, and there are so many more, Lindsay claims she was “out getting her hair done” and wasn’t at a bar at all. Radar reports that while she did refuse a breathalyzer that evening, (and the Betty Ford incident report written by Holland states that Lindsay’s mom Dina told her in a phone call not to submit to one) she took one the next day and passed. Of course she did. This account from Holland is very typical of Lindsay and is in no way surprising, nor is Lindsay’s response.

Do not pass go, do not collect $200 Lindsay. I can’t believe that this girl has yet to spend more than a month in jail. She is not special, but it’s not hard to see how she keeps copping that attitude when she continually acts like this and gets so many damn chances. Lindsay is facing six months in jail for violating probation.

I don’t mean to be snotty about this (despite the fact that I am still quite full of literal snot with this cold that will not die), but I TOLD YOU SO. Brooke Mueller claimed last week (or the week before) that she was “sober” and “healthy”. This was despite looking like she was back on the pipe - and then some – for months, plus hanging out with Paris Hilton constantly (for a new reality show they’re filming). And now Us Weekly reports that Brooke has checked into a “sober living facility” in LA. Brooke has already done the rehab in-and-out thing most of the year – for God knows how many addictions. Crack, alcohol, coke, anything goes. Those poor babies.

Brooke Mueller, Charlie Sheen’s soon-to-be ex-wife, checked into a sober living facility in L.A. on Friday, a source confirmed to UsMagazine.com.

Mueller, 32, who has done stints in rehab for various addictions, “checked in just for a couple weeks to keep her sobriety,” the source explains. The mother to Sheen’s twin sons Bob and Max, 20 months, was “starting to feeling tempted,” the insider told Us.

Her friend Kathy Hilton — who is shooting an Oxygen reality show with Mueller and her daughter Paris Hilton — tells Us, “Brooke is fine and taking preventative measures.” Hilton added that the development “won’t affect the show,” and that she is “very proud” of her pal.

Last Saturday, Mueller shot down a false report that she had checked into rehab over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend after a wild night of partying. “The story is ridiculous,” she told Us. “I am happy and healthy.”

She and Sheen, 45, wed in May 2008, and famously got into a violent fight last Christmas in which the Two and a Half Men actor reportedly threatened her with a knife. They both filed for divorce Nov. 1.

[From Us Weekly]

Wait… she went into a sober house because she was feeling “tempted”? Yeah, right. She’s been blitzed out of her skull at events for months – just look at these photos. Oddly enough, I used these exact photos for the post on Brooke claiming to be “sober”. Here’s why I’m not really sympathetic towards Brooke: first of all, she’s still lying. She’s lying to us, and to herself, if she thinks we’re buying the whole “she checked herself into a sober house because she was tempted” thing. Secondly, I’m not sympathetic to any former or current user (who happens to be a mother of two small sons) who willfully hangs out with a parasitic user and abuser like Paris Hilton. Thirdly, I don’t have sympathy for Brooke because it’s pretty clear she doesn’t take her sobriety seriously, so why should I? She never checks into a rehab facility that will actually make her stop using, she just checks into places that are like spas, where she can check herself out as soon as she needs a fix. Ugh.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Lindsay Lohan is supposed to be in court ordered rehab as an alternative to additional jail time. She did go to the Betty Ford center, but is now in a nearby “sober house” instead of rehab proper. That sounds acceptable and like she’s working the program, only Lohan has been seen out and about several times in the last few days. She was photographed on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week, and it turns out that she spend Saturday at her condo with her assistant and without any kind of sober minder from rehab. This must have been part of the “work pass” she was clamoring for. How is it a “work pass” if she spends the entire day at home getting “supplies”? What’s more is that Lohan shot a photoshoot for an ad campaign the next day.

Lindsay Lohan was back at her West Hollywood condo Saturday, but no worries…her rehab days aren’t over just yet.

The 24-year-old Mean Girls star received a day pass from the Betty Ford Center for good behavior, which allowed her spend a day away from the rehabbing compound.

Lohan was whisked away from her Betty Ford-supervised home in Rancho Mirage Saturday morning around 8:20 a.m. by her dedicated assistant known only by the name of Eleanor. Lohan, wearing black leggings, a blue flanel top and black boots, arrived at her condo around 10 a.m.

While Lohan wasn’t accompanied by a Betty Ford counselor or sober partner, her father, Michael, later arrived at her building. A source close to the family said Lindsay had asked Michael to bring her dinner, which he did.

Lindsay collected some necessities from her place and returned to her treatment facility around 11 p.m. But her weekend getaway isn’t over just yet. On Sunday she is reportedly planning to do a photo shoot for a clothing line at a site near Rancho Mirage. – E! Online

Lindsay Lohan returned to the Betty Ford Center at about midnight Saturday night, RadarOnline.com has confirmed, but Sunday is no day of rest for the rehabbing starlet.

Linds is shooting an ad campaign for the Russian fashion line Kira Plastinina at a location near Betty Ford in Rancho Mirage, CA.

As RadarOnline.com reported, Lindsay and her assistant Eleonore arrived at her West Hollywood apartment at midday Saturday after having been given a “day pass” from Betty Ford to attend to some business needs.

Lindsay is, we’ve been told, strictly following all the rules the court and her counselors at Betty Ford have imposed on her.

She’s said to be taking her counseling “seriously,” although sources tell us her attorneys may try to convince the court to allow her to end her rehab earlier then her currently-scheduled January 3 discharge. – Radar Online

[Sources linked in text]

So this girl had the choice of going to jail or rehab and she went to rehab for a while and is now predictably working the system to get as many privileges as possible. I hope that the judge sees what’s going on and either puts a stop to it or puts her scrawny ass in jail. This is how she got jail time in the first place – she couldn’t bother to show up to alcohol education classes. How many chances can she piss away before there aren’t any options left? Is she even getting drug tests now?

Lindsay is shown in the header and below on 11/12/10. Credit: Fame Pictures. Her dad is shown outside her place talking to passersby on 11/13/10. Credit: WENN.com

Russell talks about Twitter at 3:20 in

Russell Crowe was on The Today Show this morning promoting his new thriller The Next Three Days, with Elizabeth Banks. This is actually the first I’ve heard of this film, by director Paul Haggis, and it looks pretty good, although familiar. Spoilers follow that are also in the trailer. They weren’t entirely clear on The Today Show what the film is about, but I looked up the trailer afterwards and Crowe’s wife, played by Banks, gets arrested for a murder she claims she didn’t commit. He then tries to break her out of jail several years later when she becomes suicidal. It has Liam Neeson in it too!

Crowe was good natured and humorous with Matt Lauer, particularly when Lauer said he was surprised that Crowe has been spending so much time on Twitter. I didn’t know that Crowe tweeted either, and like Matt I didn’t think he was the type. Big Russ explained that he’s been a stay-at-home dad while his wife tours with her band and that he’s had some time to kill without the longer stretches that would allow him to be creative. He then added a few obligatory sentences about how it’s cutting edge technology that allows him to talk directly to fans. You know he’s just bored. Russell also said he’d quit coffee and cigarettes – at the same time – and admitted that it took him a couple of months to feel normal again and be able to concentrate.

Russell Crowe, tweeter? That was one question Matt Lauer had during Monday’s interview with the actor on TODAY.

“I’m in this place at the moment where I’m basically being Dad,” said the man behind @RussellCrowe. “I’m at home, my wife’s doing gigs and stuff with her band, she’s promoting a record (‘Calling all Magicians’). I take the boys to school in the morning, I pick them up in the afternoon, and then there’s the bedtime, and stories … I find there’s not a long length of time to get involved with anything creative,” Crowe said.

A recent tweet revealed that Crowe had given up two habits: “Blue Sky in NYC today. Haven’t slept a wink. It’ll make the interviews interesting, no cigs, no coffee and no sleep. Good luck Journalists,” it read. Lauer joked, “Do you realize there was a time when someone like me wouldn’t sit across from you while you’re giving up cigarettes and coffee at the same time?”

“I got cranky for some time,” Crowe conceded.

[From MSNBC]

Russell explained that he had the impetus to quit smoking when he “got caught smoking a cigarette by my eldest boy, Charlie [6]”

This guy is a hell of an actor and I like that he has a few pounds on him lately. Sure you can see a paunch when he’s sitting down, but he’s still sexy as hell – he’s Russell Crowe! I’ll take a guy with some weight on him over a skinny smoker any day. You guys can have Colin Farrell! (Kaiser!) After I saw him chain smoking on the In Bruges DVD extras I was pretty much over him.

Here’s the trailer for The Next Three Days, which has a lot of spoilers as mentioned above:

Russell is shown on 7/27/10 and with his wife, Danielle Spencer, on 5/21/10. Credit: Fame Pictures. Last photo below from 5/15/10. Credit: WENN.com