'Proof of Life''s Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe's latest movie, "Proof of Life," was inspired by a Vanity Fair article on abductions for money, "Adventures in the Ransom Trade"

Landslides, political unrest: All in a day's film work

By Sherri Sylvester CNN Showbiz Today Correspondent

HOLLYWOOD (CNN) -- "Proof of life" refers to the first demand negotiators make of kidnappers: Prove the hostage is still alive.

The phrase also is the title of a film starring Russell Crowe as an expert in "K & R" (kidnap and ransom). "Proof of Life," also starring Meg Ryan, opens Friday.

In the film, Crowe's character is enlisted by Ryan, whose husband (David Morse), an American engineer, is held hostage by guerrilla rebels. The two work closely to gain his release, only to find themselves falling for each other.

AUDIO Russell Crowe on tabloids and paparazzi being unnecessary ... WAV sound On 'Proof of Life' rising above the avalanche of gossip ... WAV sound    VIDEO Movie trailer for 'Proof of Life' Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

In real life, the two developed a romantic relationship as well, and their affair has been the source of endless tabloid speculation and countless paparazzi photos.

The story was inspired by "Adventures In The Ransom Trade," written by William Prochnau for Vanity Fair. The story detailed in the magazine deserves serious discussion, Crowe says.

"This is a multibillion-dollar business based on stealing people's freedom in exchange for money," he says. "We're talking about 30,000 abductions a year -- 5,000 alone in Colombia every 12 months."

The two stars got a first-hand look at the economics of kidnapping. They were protected by a K & R company while making the film, shot on location in Ecuador. Just before filming began, there was a coup d' etat in Quito, one of director Taylor Hackford's planned locations. The coup was short-lived, but the cast and crew faced other potential dangers -- heavy rains created mudslides that threatened to wipe out the set, and high-altitude sickness waylaid several staffers.

Crowe recently talked with CNN about "Proof of Life" and the pressures of life.

CNN: Did you feel you were in a danger zone on the set?

Russell Crowe: From a tourist point-of-view you get a completely different experience when you travel than when you're traveling for work, particularly when you're traveling with 200 other people making a feature film in a country that's not used to supplying the infrastructure that a feature film requires. ... Every day, shooting in Ecuador there were new things to deal with -- the drive to the jungle set was an hour-and-a-half out of Quito ... and with the landslides, you would come around a corner that you had been around 10 times, but now you can't get around that corner (because of a landslide). ... safer for me staying out in the jungle with the wildcats than it was doing that drive every day.

CNN: Does the hardship of shooting on location actually seep into the film and make for a better movie?

Crowe: In some aspects I see that it's beneficial for the film, but I think you are putting a lot of people in danger. This is a very unpredictable place, and it's politically unstable, and there are things that are done in that area of the world on such a regular basis that you are putting 200 people in a very negative situation.

In "Proof of Life," Crowe plays a freelance professional hostage negotiator

I would argue that you could find that kind of altitude and those kinds of locations somewhere slightly safer -- Northern Queensland comes to mind, in Australia: lovely country, everybody speaks English, and the beer is better.

CNN: In past year you have been the subject of speculative reporting. What is your take on that? Is that part of the business?

Crowe: I think it is completely unnecessary, and I think it fuels areas of people's psyche (that) are kind of unhealthy. And the thing is, if it wasn't shoved under your nose, you wouldn't care about it -- that's the bottom line. There is supposedly a (news) market that is being supplied, but that market has been created by the supplier -- it becomes a chicken-and-egg sort of thing, doesn't it?

In this country ... there's a certain group of parasites that have a constitutionally protected right to make a living out of sniffing through people's garbage and basically stalking people, and I think it really should be examined. Because I don't believe that, just because you are a public figure, that all aspects of your life should be on display.

... Just take, for example: Somebody announces in the press that I'm getting married. Now, I only have one life on earth, one time I'm gonna be here. I'm 36 years old -- I've never been engaged, and I've never gotten married -- but that person who printed that has just stolen some joy out of my life, some possible joy. ... See, mate, I don't think that should happen, and I don't think that should be protected legally. And I don't think that people who sniff through other people's garbage should be serviced in that manner.

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Proof of Life

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