Two Clips from Russell Crowe's Directorial Debut, 'The Water Diviner'

Russell Crowe has been dabbling in filmmaking for awhile, but next month his native Australia will have a chance to check out his directorial debut, The Water Diviner. The rest of us will have to wait until next year to see if Crowe can make a similar leap as fellow A-lister Angelina Jolie, or if he should stay in front of the camera.

The first two clips from The Water Diviner have been released, which has Crowe pulling double duty as the star. Set in 1919 after the Battle of Gallipoli, Crowe plays a father who travels to Turkey to locate his missing sons, declared missing in action. The first clip mostly centers on a mustachioed Jai Courtney as a soldier aiding in the search, while the second clip shows a daring rescue from a terrible dust storm.

Also starring Olga Kurylenko, The Water Diviner opens April 24th 2015.

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First Trailer for Russell Crowe's Directorial Debut, 'The Water Diviner'

As we've seen with Angelina Jolie of late, the transition from actor to director is smoother for some than others. When you've had a chance to work with many of the top filmmakers in Hollywood, picking up a few pointers is natural, and Russell Crowe must have been soaking it up like a sponge. He's directed a couple of smaller projects, mostly documentaries, but last year we learned he'd be making his feature debut with The Water Diviner, and the impressive first trailer has arrived for it.

Crowe stars as an Australian farmer with a gift for finding water, who travels to Turkey to locate his three missing sons four years after the Battle of Gallipoli. A strong supporting cast of Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney, Yilman Erdogan, and Cem Yilmaz co-star, but the attention will be on how Crowe handles himself behind the camera. He seems to have a firm grasp on the story's historical sweep, although there are stretches where it looks a little dry.

The Water Diviner opens December 26th in Australia but does not have a U.S. date yet.


The Water Diviner Official Trailer #1 (2014) Russell Crowe Australian Epic Movie HD. by TrailerNow

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Jai Courtney Joins Russell Crowe's 'The Water Diviner' and Angelina Jolie's 'Unbroken'

This weekend on the Starz Network they'll begin re-airing Spartacus: Blood and Sand, one of my favorite shows of the last few years. While all of us who enjoyed it felt the sting of losing star Andy Whitfield so young into his budding career, it's also been great to see his co-star Jai Courtney break out into becoming a sought-after star on the big screen. After starring with Bruce Willis in A Good Day to Die Hard and Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher, Courtney has now joined the upcoming directorial projects by Angelina Jolie and Russell Crowe. So yep, he's definitely in high demand.

First up, Courtney will take part in Jolie's WWII drama, Unbroken, about former Olympian Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell), who survived a crash landing and being stranded at sea, only to endure terrible torture at a Japanese POW camp. He'll play Hugh ‘Cup’ Cuppernell, a fighter pilot who fought alongside Zamperini. Unbroken is slated to open on Christmas 2014.

From there he'll move into Russell Crowe's feature directing debut, The Water Diviner, which has him starring as a father who travels to Turkey to recover the bodies of his sons after the war in Gallipoli. Olga Kurylenko co-stars, and Courtney will play a "smart, efficient soldier tasked with organizing the effort to identify the tens of thousands of soldiers killed" in the fighting.

Courtney will be seen next in the YA adaptation, Divergent, opposite Shailene Woodley. [Deadline]

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Russell Crowe To Make Directorial Debut With 'The Water Diviner'

Now that Jor-El has seen his son grow up to be the Superman he always hoped for, it's time to focus on more serious pursuits. It's kind of surprising that Russell Crowe's only credit behind the camera was a co-directing gig on a concert movie for his band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, but now he's going at it head on, making his solo directorial debut with The Water Diviner.

Deadline reports that Crowe will helm and star in the Australian period drama, which is set in 1919 and centers on a father who travels to Turkey to recover the bodies of his sons after the war in Gallipoli. Aussie TV vet Andrew Knight co-wrote the script with newcomer Andrew Anastasios.

So it sounds like more father/son issues for Crowe, who is dealing with them on a cosmic scale in Man of Steel. Filming on The Water Diviner begins later this year, which should give Crowe plenty of time to begin press for Darren Aronofsky's Noah.

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