Russell Crowe: People want to go to the movies because the 'crazy s*** happens on screen' (exclusive)

Russell Crowe’s new film Unhinged lands on Friday, 31 July and it’s arguably the biggest new release to play on the big screen since cinemas gradually began reopening in England from 4 July.

It features a powerhouse performance from the Gladiator star, who plays a menacing stalker terrorising a young mother (Caren Pistorius), and Crowe and its producers hope it offers the sort of escapism you can only get from cinemas.

“The way I break that down, is that it’s that perverse human thing, it’s like a self-protection thing: we want to go back to a place where all the crazy s*** happens on screen,” Crowe tells Yahoo Movies UK.

“It doesn’t actually happen in our own lives, and that’s a place that movies have taken up in our lives – our entertainment lives – for such a long time. I think people are craving that, that feeling of normalcy.”

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“But what happens next? Who knows? I have no idea.”

The film has been described as the canary in the coal mine for new theatrical releases ahead of the blockbuster releases of Tenet, Black Widow and Wonder Woman 1984 coming later in the year, but how things will pan out in the coming months for the cinema industry as the coronavirus pandemic evolves, remains a mystery to Crowe.

“Who the hell knows what normal’s going to be for any of us, going forward?” Crowe adds. “I don’t know.”

“I do know that the studio and exhibitors and local governments are looking at the cinema experience and how to make it as safe as possible.”

His co-star Pistorius, hopes the film will help to revitalise the box office, which – in the UK – is running at a fraction of what it usually would at this time of year.

“There’s just a romance about [cinema],” the Slow West star explains.

“I just love the experience, everything from buying popcorn to getting annoyed at the person eating popcorn too loud in front of you, I just really love it.”

“I hope that in this process that, in the one hand, yes, have cinemas reopening and it be a success, but at the same time I hope people stay safe, follow the rules and just look after each other,” she caveats.

Cineworld is the latest chain to reopen its doors from 31 July, with Vue announcing a phased reopening from 7 July. They join Odeon, Showcase and the independent cinemas that have already began welcoming back customers with new health measures in place to ensure the safety of visitors and their staff.

Unhinged plays exclusively in cinemas from Friday, 31 July. Watch a trailer below.