Leonardo DiCaprio is set to star as the title character in the upcoming film Rasputin, according to Deadline.
The 38-year-old actor will play the Russian mystic “who became an advisor to the Russian Imperial family the Romanovs.” He was embraced by Tsar Nicholas II as a healer for his only son, but his influence with the family in all matters “grew to the point that rivals tried several times to kill him, finally succeeding in 1916.”
Leo reportedly liked the idea that this film brings up different sides to Rasputin that were recently unearthed, like how he was capable of switching easily between kindness and ruthlessness, and that he was a charlatan who prolifically bedded women.
Source: http://www.justjared.com/
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Baz Luhrmann and Leo DiCaprio already have teamed on two literary classics: Romeo + Juliet and now The Great Gatsby. So which text will the Aussie helmer likely tackle next with his go-to leading man?
“Hamlet,” Luhrmann told THR at the New York premiere of Gatsby on May 1. “To me, Gatsby is the American Hamlet. What else could we possibly do as a follow-up?” The first thing Luhrmann needs to do, though, is persuade DiCaprio to take on another Shakespeare work to complete their bookish trifecta: “It’s just a dream at this point,” he says.
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Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is to open the 66th Cannes Film Festival.
Based on F Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 classic novel, Toby Maguire and Carey Mulligan also star.
Luhrmann - whose debut film Strictly Ballroom was screened at Cannes 21 years ago - said the festival had “always been so close to our hearts”.
The Australian director’s new film will be shown on 15 May at the Grand Theatre Lumiere of the Palais des Festivals.
“F Scott Fitzgerald wrote some of the most poignant and beautiful passages of his extraordinary novel just a short distance away at a villa outside Saint-Raphael,” Luhrmann said in a statement.
The Great Gatsby was scripted by Luhrmann and co-writer Craig Pearce, who worked together eight-time Oscar nominated film, Moulin Rouge!. That film also opened the Cannes Film Festival in 2001.
DiCaprio, who stars as the tragic romantic Jay Gatsby, last worked with the director on his 1996 film Romeo + Juliet, for which Luhrmann won a Bafta for best screenplay and best direction.
The actor is returning to Cannes for the first time since he presented the 2007 ecological documentary, The 11th Hour, which he produced.
The Great Gatsby features songs by Jack White and rapper Jay-Z - who is also due to attend the opening at Cannes.
It will also be screened in 3D - only the second time in the history of the festival a film has been shown in the format after Pixar’s Up opened in 2009.
The film had been due for release last Christmas but was pushed back by Warner Bros to ensure it “reaches the largest audience possible”.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
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We’ve known for a while now that 2013 would deliver a new movie from Martin Scorsese, but for the longest time when haven’t known anything more specific than that. For the last few months the Oscar winning filmmaker has been working on The Wolf of Wall Street, an adaptation of the book by Jordan Belfort with an all star cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Jon Bernthal, Jean Dujardin, Rob Reiner, Kyle Chandler, Jon Favreau Margot Robbie, Cristin Milioti, P.J. Byrne, Ethan Suplee, and Matthew McConaughey. But get ready Scorsese fans: you can finally start an official countdown.
The Hollywood Reporter has found out that Paramount will be releasing The Wolf of Wall Street on November 15th, placing it right in the heart of awards season. The date is actually an exceptionally busy one, and a surprising choice given that the date already belongs to Ridley Scott’s The Counselor and Bill Condon’s The Fifth Estate, two films that will likely share the same target demographic and split ticket sales. Also set to be released is the boxing comedy Grudge Match starring Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone.
The Wolf of Wall Street is Scorsese’s first film since Hugo and will have DiCaprio playing Belfort, a New York stockbrocker who lived the highlife back in the 1980s only to see everything torn to shreds by accusations of fraud. Terence Winter, who created the hit HBO series Boardwalk Empire (a show produced by Scorsese), adapted the screenplay.
Source: http://www.cinemablend.com/
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Leonardo DiCaprio is trying to tame what happens to wildlife. In particular, the elephants in Thailand.
The actor has signed a petition in hopes of getting Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to ban all ivory trade in the country.
“Illegal wildlife trade is the most urgent threat facing species like tigers, rhinos and elephants. These animals are being killed every day to feed an escalating demand for their body parts,” DiCaprio wrote on his Facebook page. “Much of the ivory traade goes through Thailand. We can help save these beautiful animials. Join me and the World Wildlife Fund and tell Thailand to ban all sales of ivory.”
The WWF is hoping to reach its goal of one million signatures before presenting the petition to Yingluck at an international trade convention being held in Bangkok on March 3, according to The Hollywood Reporter. So far, more than 400,000 people have signed the petition.
In addition to DiCaprio, other celebrities who have joined the initiative include Alyssa Milano,Ethan Suplee, Ian Somerhalder, Emily VanCamp and Josh Bowman.
Source: eonline.com
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Cinema has often dipped into the story pool of 1930s crime dramas, which present a simpler time in America’s history. For people making the movies, I mean, not for the people that actually lived through the Depression and subsequent road to war. Without cell phones, DNA analysis, fluorescent bulbs, or terrorists to worry about, movie cops get to be badasses, noir-ish shadows are everywhere, and everything is personal.
Michael Armour’s upcoming novel The Road Home looks like it will establish that same gritty tone, and Deadline reports Warner Bros. has already snatched up the rights for it, with Appian Way, the production company run by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran, set to produce. Scott Cooper, who wrote and directed 2009’s countrified Crazy Heart, will also be writing and directing this film. And though DiCaprio is only listed as a producer for now, there’s no telling how attached he’ll get as the project moves forward.
In The Road Home, main character Creek is just your average war veteran-turned-rancher in Depression Era California. He’s asked to privately look into a brutal local murder that the police have covered up, and Creek finds himself way over his head as he uncovers a small town conspiracy. Sounds like it’s got a lot of nail-biting potential.
This will be the second collaboration between DiCaprio and Cooper, who teamed up for Cooper’s upcoming crime thriller Out of the Furnace, which DiCaprio was originally supposed to star in before the role was filled by Christian Bale. But while Cooper was busy with that, DiCaprio was filming Martin Scorcese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, which will be out later this year.
Source: http://www.cinemablend.com
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Today, actor and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Board Member Leonardo DiCaprio helped launch WWF’s “Hands Off My Parts” initiative. The initiative represents a week-long effort tied to WWF’s Stop Wildlife Crime campaign to raise awareness and mobilize support to end the illegal trade of wildlife.
Wildlife crime has reached levels never seen before in WWF’s 50-year history. Rhinos, tigers, and elephants are being killed at alarming rates for their skins, bones, tusks, horns and other body parts.
Tens of thousands of elephants are being poached every year for their ivory. Thailand is home to the biggest unregulated ivory market in the world. Exploiting a legal loophole that permits the sale of ivory from Thailand’s domesticated elephants, criminals are getting away with selling massive amounts of illegally poached African ivory alongside legal ivory in the country.
In addition to raising awareness of this global crisis, the Hands Off My Parts initiative highlights what people can do to help, including spreading the word and signing a global petition calling on Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to ban all ivory trade in Thailand.
In support of this effort, DiCaprio sent a personal email to WWF supporters, celebrities and other influencers encouraging them to join the wildlife crime campaign and sign the petition.
“Illegal wildlife trade is the most urgent threat facing species like tigers, rhinos and elephants. These animals are being killed every day to feed an escalating demand for their body parts,” said Leonardo DiCaprio. “Whole populations are at risk of being wiped out if we don’t take immediate action to shut down this illicit trade. As a key step, I am joining WWF and others calling on Thailand’s government to show leadership on elephant conservation by shutting down its ivory market before the country hosts a meeting of 177 nations on wildlife trade in March 2013.”
“With knowledge comes the imperative to act,” said Carter Roberts, president & CEO of WWF. “This story needs to be told. We’re grateful to Leonardo DiCaprio and others for being the voice for animals who cannot speak for themselves.”
Other prominent voices joining this initiative include: Emily VanCamp, Josh Bowman, Stacy Keibler, Alyssa Milano, Ian Somerhalder, and Ethan Suplee.
“Hands Off My Parts” is the latest initiative in WWF’s global campaign to raise awareness about illicit wildlife trade as a serious crime with far-reaching implications for species and communities around the world. To learn more and what you can do to help, please visit worldwildlife.org/wildlifecrime or http://www.handsoffmyparts.org. Source: http://www.prweb.com/
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Leonardo DiCaprio was seen dining with his family Friday night at Bianca at the Delano. The group of four was seen enjoying conversation and relaxing well into the night. DiCaprio is here for his annual mother/son bonding trip with mom Irmelin. According to our spies, the actor was seen around the Delano’s pool, sushi bar and beach club “relaxing and having family/mom time.” He was also seen Saturday night having “friend” time at Gotham Steak at the Fontainebleau before heading into LIV.
Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/
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