According to reports Russell Crowe has been dropped from Baz Luhrmann's latest Australian movie for being too demanding, and he's been replaced by another Australian actor Heath Ledger.

From Digital Spy:

Luhrmann's new epic is set in 1942, around the Japanese bombing of Darwin, and Crowe had been lined up to star alongside Nicole Kidman.

Crowe apparently was delaying signing up though, demanding a script approval first, and so producers told the director to find a back-up. Luhrmann met Ledger on several occasions and subsequently offered him the part.

A source told the New York Post: "Baz liked him and offered him the movie. Then Crowe came back to Luhrmann and said he'd forgo script approval and wanted to do the film, but they told him it was too late – to buzz off."

There's been no confirmation either way, but it looks like he's lost the role to Ledger. That would be a major scoop for him, and a big loss to Crowe whose career isn't looking as strong as it once did.