Russell Crowe is stepping back into the director’s chair to helm his second movie.
Having previously directed 2014’s The Water Diviner, the actor has now signed on to helm Poker Face, a drama that Crowe will also star in alongside Liam Hemsworth, Elsa Pataky, and Wu-Tang Clan frontman RZA. Stephen M. Coates has written the screenplay.
The film will follow a tech billionaire who finds himself caught up in the world of high stakes poker and international finance. Originally set in Miami, production has now been moved to Sydney to showcase the city’s impressive landmarks as a background for the risky game Crowe’s billionaire has found himself ensnared in.
Production will take place despite strict lockdowns remaining in place for the whole of the city. Crowe, Hemsworth and co. will join stars like Nicole Kidman and Natalie Portman in keeping Sydney’s film production going despite safety restrictions, with Kidman filming Apple series Roar and Portman shooting both Thor: Love & Thunder and HBO’s Days Of Abandonment.
“We are very appreciative to have the opportunity to safely film in Australia alongside the talented people who live and work in the country,” executive producers Maggie Betts, Celine Rattray, Sophie Mas, and Len Amato said in a statement.
Crowe was last seen in 2020’s action-thriller Unhinged, which was the first wide theatrical American release during the COVID-19 pandemic. He’ll next be seen in horror-thriller The Georgetown Project, and alongside Portman as Zeus in Thor: Love & Thunder.
#Peace.Love.PokerFace
