Oscar winner Russell Crowe has shot down speculation he is set to portray embattled publishing mogul Rupert Murdoch in an upcoming film.
The Gladiator star has reportedly been tipped to take on the role in a film based on the memoir Good Times, Bad Times by Sir Harold Evans, the former editor of The Sunday Times newspaper.
The King's Speech actor Colin Firth is said to be interested in playing Evans in the big screen adaptation, which would focus on former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's dealings with Australian-born media tycoon Murdoch.
But Crowe has distanced himself from the project, insisting he knows nothing about the job.
Addressing casting reports in a Twitter.com post on Tuesday, he writes: "I haven't been approached by anyone to play Rupert Murdoch. That's just a beat up (rumour)."
Leon Lecash, creative director of the company producing the film, said the film will also discuss a meeting between Murdoch and Margaret Thatcher — who was Britain's PM at the time — where Murdoch agreed to buy the Times in exchange for political publicity for Thatcher's party.