In a new interview with Esquire, Chris Rock -- who hosted the 2004 Academy Awards -- explained how one innocent joke* directed at Jude Law resulted in the near throwdown. Fortunately -- and randomly -- Courtney Love stepped in.
ESQUIRE: Jude Law -- you killed his career when you hosted the Oscars.
ROCK: I did not kill his career. Dude, I didn't say Jude Law can't act. I didn't say Jude Law was in bad movies. I just said he's in every movie. I hope one year in my life someone's onstage talking about all the movies I've made. I hope I get to work with all the great directors he got to work with, too... I did bump into him one day. I was just walking by him and said, "What's up?" and he kept walking.
ESQUIRE: He knew it was you?
ROCK: I think ten minutes later he started realizing who I was. Anyway, I was sitting with Courtney Love, and she might've saved me from a fight. I'm not going to say ass-whipping, because I don't think there'd be an ass-whipping. But you never know -- he's hanging out with Guy Ritchie. Those guys go at it. Those motherfuckers are in shape. So Jude Law might whip my ass, I don't know. Those guys bring out mats and shit.
ESQUIRE: What happened?
ROCK: Nothing. Courtney kind of barked, or was growling, and that was it.
You see that, James? Either ask Chris Rock for more advice (he's on Twitter too!) or bring Courtney Love for back-up.
*For the record, Rock was advising the film industry to wait for better talent instead of grabbing lesser actors and rushing into production. "Clint Eastwood's a star, OK? Tobey Maguire's just a boy in tights. You want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law? Wait."
[via Esquire]