Gladiator's bike movie deemed too soft

GLADIATOR STAR Russell Crowe once directed a biker film but he deemed it too sentimental for release.

Sources say Crowe and his friends took an 18-day trip around Australia by motorcycle soon after he finished filming the epic movie 'Gladiator'. The Hollywood star captured the adventure on film.

Crowe thought a movie about tough guys opening up would be a winner but he soon realised that he and his friends became just a bit too emotional.

'Me and about nine friends rode through Australia. It was amazing how much more people opened up the closer we got to the desert. They would reveal things about their families, their lives. It flows against the popular notion that men don't talk to each other when they are alone.'

But the movie was never released because Crowe felt it was a little too sentimental. 'It should remain a home movie,' he said.