If you squint your eyes just right and look at a photo of the late comedian Bill Hicks, he kind of resembles a young Russell Crowe (or vice versa). So, it would have been really cool if the Australian actor had played Hicks around ten years ago, when he was still in his 30s. But if we've learned anything from Kevin Spacey and Mike Myers (respectively, star of the Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea and star of an upcoming Keith Moon biopic titled See Me Feel Me), you're never too old to play an icon who died young, and therefore we must accept the fact that at close to 50 years old, Crowe is likely to portray Hicks, who died from cancer at age 32. Fortunately for Crowe, he's good enough that it shouldn't be too hard to believe such a portrayal.

The Oscar-winning actor is quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald saying he's involved with a Hicks bio, "which is going from treatment to draft stage with Kiwi writer Mark Staufer." Never mind that the quote doesn't sound like it was actually spoken by anyone, let alone Crowe, the article is mostly about how the actor is spending time with his family now that Ridley Scott's Nottingham has been postponed. Crowe also references other projects, including an unnamed documentary and the surfing gang movie My Brother's Keeper, based on the documentary Bra Boys, which Crowe narrated. Stuart Beattie, who co-wrote the doc, is currently working on a second draft of its adaptation.

The writers strike may be keeping the pens from flying across the page, but some deals are still getting made. Variety has reported that Stuart Beattie has signed on to write a new film called The Man Who Tried to Save the World -- once the strike is over, of course. The writer got his big break helping to suss out the story for the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, but that's not all he's been involved in. He penned Collateral, and then followed it up with the beyond-stinkariffic Derailed, he worked on 30 Days of Night, and now has got a bunch of original and adapted features on the way -- Australia, Man Without a Gun, Spy Hunter, G.I. Joe, and Without Remorse.

The Man Who Tried to Save the World is based on the life and death of U.S. aid worker Fred Cuny, and will be based on Scott Anderson's book of the same title, along with a '97 Frontline documentary called The Lost American. "The film will focus on the death-defying disaster-relief exploits of Cuny, a Texan who became known as the Master of Disaster for his accomplishments in unstable places like Iraq, Ethiopia, Somalia, Bosnia, and Chechnya." However, he could only avoid death for so long, and when he went missing in Chechnya, it is believed he was murdered there. While we have been over-saturated lately with heavy political and war dramas, this could be a bit of a different spin, if done right. At the very least, it's a sort of a real-life action hero story.

Topping that off, Beattie is also penning planning to pen a feature based on his recent documentary, Bra Boys. The film focused on the evolution of a Sydney beach surf gang of the same name, and was narrated by Russell Crowe, who Variety says will direct the feature. While I wish this is about a gang who is wild for the soft-touch of bras, I imagine it's just the typical surfer slang.

Russell Crowe has been flying under the social radar lately and now I know why. The actor has turned into a full-fledged producer with the launching of his company, Fear of God Films. The name seems suitable for something run by Crowe, I see him as being a brute man who may only be afraid of someone like the almighty God. He has wasted no time and is now producing his first feature under the Fear banner, Dolce's Inferno.

Dolce's Inferno was written by Mark Staufer, a former TV exec whose writing credits appear to be few and far between -- Crowe apparently knows something about him that we don't. There aren't many details yet, but we know Staufer's romantic comedy is about a Los Angeles gossip columnist whose life gets turned upside down by love -- Dirt meets You've Got Mail, perhaps?

Crowe isn't set to appear in Dolce's Inferno but has his plate full in the acting world. He just finished three films and is set to play the title character Sheriff of Nottingham in the film being directed by Ridley Scott. He is also working on the film Bra Boys, a documentary about the Australian surf gang in a Sydney suburb. Crowe has plenty of work in the years to come and as he may have a fear of God, he definitely doesn't have a fear of exhaustion.

Russell Crowe is about to add director to his already impressive resume. The Academy Award winning actor isn't exactly new to directing; he is responsible for two documentary shorts made in 2002. This time, however, he will be helming a dramatic feature based on a documentary he previously narrated called Bra Boys. The original Bra Boys doc is about the surfer subculture in Australia; Crowe's film will focus on three brothers within the group who lead the movement. The film has not yet been written, but Stuart Beattie -- responsible for Collateral -- will be taking on scripting duties.

Universal and Imagine Entertainment will be producing the film and Variety has stated that it's currently unclear whether Crowe will play a role in the film. It's exciting witnessing strong actors -- with even stronger personalities -- moving behind the camera. Of course, it's always a gamble whether a phenomenal actor will turn into a phenomenal director or not. Jack Nicholson might be the king, but even he directed the Chinatown sequel flop The Two Jakes; maybe Crowe will turn out to be more like the next Clint Eastwood.