Crowe Laughs Off Phone Throwing Controversy

Academy Award winning actor, Russell Crowe, is now showing off his lighter side when it comes to his phone throwing arrest. Earlier this year, Crowe was arrested for throwing his cell phone at a New York hotel's concierge. Saturday night, Crowe walked on stage at the Australian Film Industry Awards, holding an oversized, gag cell phone. He was quoted as cautioning the nominees of the night, "If there are any problems and you do get up here and go on too long...then 'hello' to my little friend." The joke was widely broadcast over the news. At a news conference later on, Crowe reportedly criticized the reporters by stating that he felt the news media made too much of the incident. Crowe's punishment for the incident is a conditional discharge, meaning the actor cannot get arrested for one year. If Crowe was charges and convicted of this initial, harsher charges, he could have faced up to seven years in prison and the inability to work in the United States.