Russell Crowe doesn’t care for the way journalists are conducting themselves these days. He claims that they have been “trivializing news for at least a couple of decades… The desire for new information, which we could use in a very healthy way, has been replaced by supplying trivia.” Amen, Russell! He’s right on about this one. The “infotainment” part of mainstream journalism is something that’s gotten really frightening. Think of the way CNN covered Anna Nicole Smith’s death, or the breaking-news coverage of Paris Hilton getting out of jail. But Russell has more to say – and it could be interpreted as more fodder for LeAnn Rimes’ oversized ego. Oh, no!

Russell Crowe has blasted journalists for “trivializing” news.

The New Zealand born actor plays an investigative reporter for his latest role in “State Of Play” and says he has serious grievances about the way news is now reported.

He said: “There is a crisis in serious journalism and it’s been created by journalists. We’ve been trivializing news for at least a couple of decades. The desire for new information, which we could use in a very healthy way, has been replaced by supplying trivia.”

“I mean really, who gives a shit about what’s in the handbag of LeAnn Rimes? Who gives a s**t about that?”

Crowe, 45, replaced Brad Pitt as main character Cal McAffrey in “State of Play” and said his being asked to take the part came as a shock.

He added: “I was not predisposed to do this film at all, I was back in Australia, looking forward to a very long summer at home and I got a call from the studio. They said Brad Pitt had gone and would I please look at this project.”

The film’s director, Kevin Macdonald, has said he felt Crowe was a better choice for the film, but admits he can be difficult to work with.

Macdonald said: “Russell is highly opinionated. He is very smart, and he has his own ideas a lot of the time about how his character should be. Sometimes that would be great.”

“It’s collaboration with Russell. He has ideas about how he’s going to do it, and it’s hard sometimes to get him off that. He can be tough.”

[From ABS CBN News]

I’d go even further and say “Who gives a sh-t about LeAnn Rimes, much less her purse?” Even though I agree with Russell’s statements in total, Big Russ has been coming off as such a curmudgeon lately. Perhaps he’s always been like that, and his hotness is no longer leaving me hypnotized. But would it kill him to say something nice?

Here’s Russell – not exactly working the sexy – outside “The Late Show” last night in NYC. Images thanks to WENN.com .