How Russell Crowe will turn Sydney into a Hollywood movie set for new action movie Poker Face – including high-speed car chases through the Sydney Tunnel and film crews at the Crown
Russell Crowe, 57, is set to reprise Sydney for his latest film, Poker Face.
The Oscar-winning actor, who will direct and star in the upcoming action thriller, has already chosen several iconic locations for the film’s sets, according to the Daily Telegraph.
One of the footage in the film will feature a high-speed car chase inside the port tunnel.
Big plans: Russell Crowe, 57 (photo) is about to take over Sydney for his latest film, Poker Face. Seen here in 2018
The $ 140 million penthouse atop James Packer’s Crown Residences and “a sprawling Point Piper mansion overlooking Sydney Harbor” will also be featured in the film.
The rest of the film will likely be shot at Fox Studios in Moore Park.
While the film was originally set in Miami, Florida, Crowe reportedly requested that the film be shot and set in Sydney.
Glorious: Among the locations featured in the film will be the $ 140 million penthouse atop James Packer’s Crown Residences (left)
The New Zealand star wants to “show people how beautiful and world-class Sydney is,” according to the newspaper’s sources.
According to Deadline, Poker Face tells the story of a tech billionaire named Jake (played by Russell) who brings his childhood friends together at his property for what turns into a high-stakes poker game.
“These friends have a love-hate relationship with the host, a master player / planner, and he has concocted an elaborate plan designed to bring some justice to them all,” Deadline reports.
Centerpiece: One of the footage in the film will feature a high-speed car chase inside the harbor tunnel (pictured)
Point Piper: “A sprawling Point Piper mansion overlooking Sydney Harbor” will also be featured
“However, Jake finds himself rethinking his strategy when his mansion is overtaken by a dangerous invader whose previous jobs have all ended in murder and arson.”
Joining Crowe in the cast will be the leader of the Wu-Tang Clan RZA, while fellow Oscar winner Natalie Portman “surrounds a role.”
Russell recently worked with Portman while filming a small role in his movie Thor: Love and Thunder.
Big names: Joining Crowe in the cast will lead the Wu-Tang Clan RZA, while fellow Oscar winner Natalie Portman (pictured in 2019) ‘surrounds a role’
Talented cast: rapper and actor RZA seen here in 2019
Poker Face will mark the first time Crowe has gone behind the camera since his directorial debut in 2014, The Water Diviner.
Crowe’s boost to the Australian film industry comes after the actor revealed he was not actually an Australian citizen, despite having spent most of his life here.
Russell – who was born in Wellington, New Zealand – immigrated to Australia with the rest of his family when he was just four years old.
Although he eventually returned to New Zealand with his family, he said he “already considered himself an Australian” by the time he returned.
“My family came back there, but when I was a young adult, I moved back to the city of Sydney, which is the city I grew up in,” he explained in an interview with The Daily Telegraph last month.
A galaxy of stars: Portman (left) pictured here with Crowe (far right) and husband Benjamin Millepied (2R) during a South Sydney Rabbitohs game in March
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