RadioTimes.com<\/a>, Crowe revealed that the lengthy break between directing projects came about because of the passing of his close friend, Andrew Lesnie, a cinematographer who worked on The Water Diviner and also collaborated with Peter Jackson on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies.<\/p>\n\u201cI had a very unfortunate situation arise after The Water Diviner \u2013 because in reality I should have just gone straight on to the next film and the next film,\u201d Crowe explained. \u201cBut my partner in crime, Andrew Lesnie, who had been a friend of mine for 20 plus years, he passed away, and he was the Costello to my Abbott, if you know what I mean. I found it very, very difficult to think about being on a set [without him].<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d grown up with every single influence cinematically being the same \u2013 we finished each other\u2019s sentences, we just were two halves of a whole and to lose that really took the momentum out of me wanting to direct.\u201d<\/p>\n