FBI: Al Qaeda planned to kidnap Russell Crowe

[Zoltri]

World Entertainment News Network
Posted March 8 2005

Hollywood actor Russell Crowe was stunned to discover he was a kidnap target for Muslim terrorist group Al-Qaeda.

The FBI warned Crowe and a number of other big screen stars prior to the 2001 Academy Awards that Osama bin Laden wanted to kidnap them -- nine months before the Saudi outlaw spearheaded the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington D.C.

"That was the first conversation in my life that I'd ever heard the phrase al-Qaeda," he said. "And it was something to do with some recording picked up by a French policewoman, I think, in either Libya or Algiers."

"I don't think that I was the only person. But it was about -- and here's another little touch of irony -- it was about taking iconographic Americans out of the picture as a sort of cultural-destabilization plan."

Following the warning, Crowe was accompanied to the Oscars -- where he picked up the Best Actor award for Gladiator -- by FBI agents, who also guarded him while he shot subsequent movies A Beautiful Mind and Master and Commander.

"I never fully understood what the [expletive] was going on," Crowe said.

"Suddenly it looks like I think I'm Elvis Presley, because everywhere I go there are all these FBI guys."

[junkmail3]

Osama must not have seen Gladiator ... Russle Crowe is tough.

[dr. klopek]

[ QUOTE ]
World Entertainment News Network
Posted March 8 2005

Hollywood actor Russell Crowe was stunned to discover he was a kidnap target for Muslim terrorist group Al-Qaeda.

The FBI warned Crowe and a number of other big screen stars prior to the 2001 Academy Awards that Osama bin Laden wanted to kidnap them -- nine months before the Saudi outlaw spearheaded the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington D.C.

"That was the first conversation in my life that I'd ever heard the phrase al-Qaeda," he said. "And it was something to do with some recording picked up by a French policewoman, I think, in either Libya or Algiers."

"I don't think that I was the only person. But it was about -- and here's another little touch of irony -- it was about taking iconographic Americans out of the picture as a sort of cultural-destabilization plan."

Following the warning, Crowe was accompanied to the Oscars -- where he picked up the Best Actor award for Gladiator -- by FBI agents, who also guarded him while he shot subsequent movies A Beautiful Mind and Master and Commander.

"I never fully understood what the [expletive] was going on," Crowe said.

"Suddenly it looks like I think I'm Elvis Presley, because everywhere I go there are all these FBI guys."

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, at least their intelligence was good enough to prevent that particular atrocity, All the firefighters in NY can take comfort in that.

[CORed]

Those poor bastards in Guantanamo really have to get creative when they're tortured now.

"Were gonna kidnap Russell Crowe, please stop. Then we're gonna blow up Bullwhackers in Blakckhawk, Colorado. AugggggH!"

Edit: I didn't realise till I read the post that quoted it that this was pre 9/11. I thought it was just another in the long line of false alarms since.

[Moyer]

Wasn't Russell Crowe actually kidnapped once? I remember it was a few years ago. He was kidnapped but he fought his way free. It sounds stupid, but I'm sure it was in the news. It wasn't Al-Qaeda though.

[PeeWeeH]

Great, the CIA was busy protecting Maximus while they were going after the towers. There's a trade-off I think we could all agree on.

PeeWee