Is this man a knob? Russell Crowe certainly thinks so. Answering a question about Taylor Hackford's admittedly rather bizarre theory that their new film, the diverting Proof of Life, had bombed at the US box office because the public were appalled at Crowe's relationship with co-star Meg Ryan, Crowe did indeed come up with this colourful penile euphemism. I had rather hoped and expected that Crowe was right. Surely the man who gave us Against All Odds and The Devil's Advocate would be a hazelnut-skinned megalomaniac, a cigar-chewing braggart who barked commands at underlings and treated journalists like pond scum - ideal fodder for a snooty, facetious feature. But against all the evidence, Hackford believes himself to be a political filmmaker and a liberal one at that. This is particularly difficult to swallow with Proof of Life, where the villains are all Latinos, the heroes all white and the women all weepy. Russell Crowe plays Terry Thorne, a "K and R" (Kidnapping and Ransom) consultant assisting Alice Bowman (Meg Ryan) in her attempts to secure the release of her husband, who has been abducted in Central America. The Crowe character was drawn from a 1998 Vanity Fair article and feels authentic and convincing. As Hackford puts it: "The way he talks on the phone, the way he holds himself, you can tell he is a consummate professional. When he cuts a man's throat, you know that it's not the first time he's done it." Much of the publicity surrounding the film has indeed focused on the real-life relationship between Crowe and Ryan. She left husband Dennis Quaid for the swarthy Australian during the shooting of the movie and in most American tabloids, it is only ever referred to as "the movie where it all began". However, the notion that its failure was a result of this publicity is wide of the mark. Despite being an enjoyable old-fashioned adventure, it was released at an inappropriate time for a gloomy movie (Christmas) and the public could never really get a hold on whether it was a thriller or a romance.
The relationship between Terry and Alice is in fact admirably under-played ("Yeah, I made a decision to do that, I have final cut and it may have been an unpopular choice but it felt right"). The lacklustre financial performance of the movie may indeed be the first setback in Crowe's recent meteoric rise. Meanwhile, it turns out Hackford has several strings to his bow. He is, after all, the same man who produced and re-edited the classic Ali documentary, When We Were Kings, and his first movie was a documentary about Charles Bukowski. He joined the Peace Corps in the 1960s rather than joining the Marines. He is articulate, and generous with his answers.
"It all amounts to something of an enigma. It's a very gritty-looking film, it's about working-class people. It deals with sex in an honest, straight-ahead way and doesn't compromise about working-class language," Hackford says. What film is he discussing? Naked? Saturday Night and Sunday Morning? No, it is of course that earthy piece of cinema verite, An Officer and a Gentleman, his 1982 monster hit.
TRUE, he does look the part of the Hollywood player. He wears one of those sinister well-trimmed snowy beards that look rather as if they have been applied with Tippex, his teeth are as regular as Chiclets, and he does indeed have skin the colour of the inside of a well-used tea cup. But he is not part of the Bel Air cocaine and colonic irrigation set; in fact, he lives in London with his wife, Helen Mirren. "I live here because I'm married to an Englishwoman. We lived in LA for many years and it's a fair turnaround. She wanted to do theatre, and she should because she's a national treasure," he says. Does he feel like theatrical royalty in the city? "It's very interesting to come into a situation where you're Mr Helen Mirren, and I don't mind it because I love her and I respect her and I have huge respect for her artistry," he says.
Now this is more like it. This is just the sort of gushy syrup that I was looking forward to. But then, dwelling on LA, he adds some vinegar: "It isn't called the movie art form, it's called the movie business - the industry! And it is! You are always facing the daunting prospect that you may never work again."
This seems unlikely in his case. Since he made An Officer and a Gentleman in 1982, he has produced a series of efficient well-polished movies, most of which have made big money. But he has continued to do other more personal work.
"I made Hail, Hail, Rock' n Roll" [a film about Chuck Berry]. I was interested in him because he was working-class, he came from nothing. In When We Were Kings, I re-cut and re-edited it to turn it from a concert movie into the story of a real American hero born into poverty," he says.
Hackford knows whereof he speaks. He was raised by a single parent - his mother was a waitress in San Bernadino, California. He has often said that she was the inspiration for his excellent 1995 film, Dolores Claiborne. This is a film about a working-class woman. It's a very fine film, but also one of his least successful. "I look at this film and I say: `It is a film about women. Hollywood doesn't like films about women. It's a film about incest; God knows, they don't want to talk about that.' " The more he talks, the more I am won over. I can't quite buy An Officer and a Gentleman as a serious sociological study, but there is no doubt that he is sincere in his opinions. "I really wanted to examine that ethos - that the military is a place where working-class people can get ahead," he says. "The girls who work in the factory, those are not glamorous Hollywood chicks. They have no options but to ensnare a naval officer. The main authority figure is black - that's an important thing. It was not a militaristic picture at all." But back to Russell Crowe. Now, surely, we can rouse Hackford by mentioning the issue of Crowe's ungentlemanly outbursts. How can I put this? Does he find him, er, difficult? He pauses, I put my fingers in my ears. "Yes!" he admits. "But that's a good thing. I don't care how difficult someone is as long as he is focused on the work. He's not easy, he challenges a lot. Do we get along, kissing on the lips all the time? Absolutely not. He is a thorny individual, but as long he concentrates on the work, that's OK." Oh well, so he retains the charm right to the close. He doesn't seem to be a knob, nor is he a boor or a megalomaniac. How disappointing, perhaps it's time to interview Michael Winner.
Proof of Life is now on general release.