Leonardo DiCaprio

[TubaGirl 7]

Leo Joins Junk Mail Crusade

Page Six

 

Leonardo DiCaprio can’t stand unsolicited missives showing up in his mailbox.

 

So the screen idol, 33 — along with fellow environmentalist Adrian Grenier — has joined a new move to establish a national Do Not Mail Registry.

 

Quietly launched February 29 by international environmental group ForestEthics, which protects endangered woodlands, the campaign is urging Americans to sign a petition demanding the federal government make it possible for citizens to say adios to junk mail — much in the way it did with 2003’s Do Not Call Registry.

 

At the moment, more than 23,000 people have signed the petition.

 

In addition to Leo (who, just became signer No. 22,816) and Adrian, other celebs have been quick to add their John Hancocks to the online list, including Darryl Hannah, 47, and Alicia Silverstone, 31.

 

Griped Adrian, 31, “Junk mail is more than an annoying waste of time, it’s a waste of our environment!”

 

I ghuess he never heard of the DMA’s Mail Preference Service

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DiCaprio, Scott high on "Low Dwellers" By Steven Zeitchik

Fri Mar 21, 11:24 AM ET

 

 

 

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio will re-team for a dark thriller titled "The Low Dwellers."

 

The project, which has echoes of "The History of Violence" and "No Country for Old Men," is a spec script from twentysomething first-time writer Brad Ingelsby, who works as an insurance salesman in Pennsylvania.

 

Set in Indiana in the mid-1980s, the movie centers on a man (DiCaprio) trying to assimilate into society after he's released from jail, only to find someone from his past pursuing him to settle a score. In addition to the pursuer, a third male character and a female love interest are said to figure prominently in the story.

 

Scott and DiCaprio will produce the film, with DiCaprio attached to star and Scott eyeing the possibility of directing.

 

Ingelsby had been working on the script in his spare time and has yet to set foot in Hollywood. But he has hit the spec jackpot, with the project selling for mid-six figures to Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media after a heated bidding war that involved Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures.

 

The movie would be the second collaboration between DiCaprio and Scott. They just wrapped the geopolitical thriller "Body of Lies" for Warners.

 

DiCaprio next re-teams with another A-list director when he begins shooting Martin Scorsese's period thriller "Shutter Island" this spring. Scott is prepping the Robin Hood romance "Nottingham."

 

"The Low Dwellers" marks one of the first big spec sales after the writers' strike, though given Ingelsby's frosh status, he wouldn't have been affected by the labor stoppage.

 

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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Leonardo DiCaprio Buys Eco-Friendly NYC Condo

Friday April 4, 2008

Us Weekly

 

How green is Leonardo DiCaprio?

 

The staunch environmentalist, 33, just bought a luxe eco-friendly New York City pad, according to New York magazine. (The price is unknown.)

 

Called the Riverhouse, the 264-unit condominium high-rise comes complete with programmable thermostats, a 24-hour fresh-filtered air system, a gray and black water treatment facility, rooftop green landscaping and free bike storage.

 

The building was built with only non-pollutant materials and solar-powered energy.

 

Good news if DiCaprio and girlfriend Bar Refaeli decide to start a family.

 

The building offers a children's playroom, indoor 50' lap pool, media café, fitness center (with yoga studio), indoor children’s Light House, landscaped Riverhouse terrace and a dog spa.

 

His rep confirmed the purchase, telling New York, “Riverhouse is a prime example of how green technology is both accessible and achievable for new residential developments — it is a groundbreaking building.”

 

DiCaprio is currently in Boston filming Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island with Michelle Williams.

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Walking the talk: Some celebs are living green

DiCaprio, Daryl Hannah, others take environmental issues to the next level

By Michael Ventre

 

Mark Gold, president of Heal the Bay, has been with the nonprofit environmental group in Southern California for almost 20 years. He has seen many celebrities come and go, and then come back again to stay. He has seen some show up once and disappear.

 

Over the years, he has changed his opinion of that last group.

 

“When I was younger in my career, it did bug me a lot,” he admitted. “I said, ‘Why can’t they be there for us all the time?’ Over the years, I’ve changed that opinion completely. Now I’m very grateful for any help we can get in that arena.”

 

In Hollywood these days, green does not refer only to box-office totals, but to the environmental movement and its celebrity component. In politics, celebrities can have a toxic effect. (Remember Whoopi Goldberg’s lewd riff on President Bush in 2004?)

 

But in a less polarizing climate, in which the process of getting the word out on issues relevant to everyone is crucial, a celebrity name can have as profound an effect on the drafting of a bill in the state legislature or on fundraising as it can on the marquee of a multiplex.

 

And in the green world, as in life, some are more committed than others.

 

Going above and beyond

“We really look for people who have demonstrated a commitment personally to the issue,” said Ruben Aronin, director of communications for Global Green USA, a national environmental organization. “We want people who care about the environmental crisis and want to use their celebrity visibility to shine a light on the issues. We’ve had a great track record.”

 

Two of the most respected actors in Hollywood — Leonardo DiCaprio and Edward Norton — are members of Global Green’s board of directors. The two have been involved in everything from lobbying Gov. Schwarzenegger and the California state legislature on behalf of green-friendly, to low-income housing to participating in fund-raising events to arriving at the Academy Awards in energy-efficient vehicles, said Aronin.

 

Other celebs who have lent support to Global Green include Salma Hayak and Jake Gyllenhaal, who were members of a delegation to the Arctic Circle on Earth Day to create awareness about the effects of climate change; Josh Lucas, who has served as a presenter at awards shows; and Cameron Diaz and Toby Maguire, who have participated in fund-raising events.

 

Of course, not every celebrity who lends his or her name to the environmental movement has the same level of involvement. “The challenge to be honest is found where their schedules are beyond their control,” Aronin said. “They’re straight with us in terms of saying, ‘I’ll be there for you if I can.’”

 

Living the life

Two celebrities in particular represent the old guard and the young turks of Hollywood’s gang green. Ed Begley Jr., 58, is the granddaddy of all celebrities involved in environmental causes. Amy Smart, 32, has been participating since she was a high-school student volunteer for Heal the Bay, helping to clean the beaches in Southern California.

 

“Ed is amazing,” said Debbie Levin, president of the Environmental Media Association, a group that specializes in serving as a liaison between the entertainment community and the environmental movement. Begley is a board member, as are such Hollywood notables as Smart, Darryl Hannah, Norman Lear, Paul Haggis, Laura Dern and Blythe Danner, among others.

 

Hannah, like Begley, lives the life. “She lives more rustically than Ed,” Levin said. “She’s been off the grid for years. She has a small home in Colorado and a place in the mountains of Malibu. Her shower is outside. Her living room is outside. It’s a small cabin. She’s 100 percent organic. She grows her own food.

 

“But she’s not nuts. She gets dressed up, goes out, travels and doesn’t fly private unless she absolutely has to.”

 

Norton also works with EMA on its solar energy program. “He just finished shooting ‘The Incredible Hulk,’” Levin said. “I got an e-mail from him months ago when he was working on a rewrite of the film. He said, ‘We want to make this the greenest Hulk ever.”

 

‘All citizens have a responsibility’

Naturally, there is a recruitment function to all celebrity involvement. Smart said that many are eager and willing, but for those who are not, she takes it in stride.

 

“I have talked to some young celebrity environmentalists,” she said via e-mail, “and I’ve actually been so surprised to hear of all the ways they are participating in walking their talk. Solar panels on their houses, composting, hybrids, canvas bags at the store, eco-friendly cleaning products, compact florescent lightbulbs and lots of other ways.

 

“Occasionally, I do find some people who are half-hearted and, in that case, I try to inspire them to do it for the fun of it. To me, it’s like a domino effect.”

 

Begley sounded a cautionary note about celebrity involvement, however. “I think all citizens have a responsibility to get involved, but with celebrity, you have an added responsibility,” he said via e-mail. “You need to seek out the best science and get your facts straight before you ever approach a mic or a camera.”

 

In that category — doing homework before going public as a celebrity in the spotlight on environmental issues — Julia Louis-Dreyfus is either at or near the top of the class. The former “Seinfeld” star and current star of “The New Adventures of Old Christine” has been a prominent force in Heal the Bay’s efforts for more than a decade, going beyond the expected.

 

 

“She has been very selective as to what she works on,” Gold said. “She’s not a cliché in that she only wants to represent the organization at a press conference or an awards dinner. She’s been involved in fund-raising strategies and in interviewing candidates for a development director position. How many celebrities go to the point of getting involved in administrative tasks?”

 

Gold said Heal the Bay, as well as other organizations, don’t necessarily attract a lot of celebrities. But the ones that do tend to make a significant mark on the causes.

 

“Celebrity involvement,” he said, “has been instrumental in the success of our organization.”

 

Michael Ventre is a contributor to msnbc.com and a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.

 

© 2008 MSNBC

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Leo's Court Shot Hits the Rim

E!

 

Leonardo DiCaprio won't be able to split this bill—if, in fact, he ends up being billed.

 

A judge dismissed part of the actor's pending lawsuit against a contractor who built a retaining wall for his Hollywood Hills neighbor, whom DiCaprio is trying to hold at least partly liable for damage to their respective properties.

 

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Tricia Ann Bigelow officially ruled yesterday that Exterior and Garden Designs by David Jones could not be sued for contribution, meaning the company will not have to share in the cost of any judgment if DiCaprio is found to be at fault.

 

His neighbors, the Linclaus, sued the Titanic star last year for at least $250,000 in damages, claiming a basketball court he had installed on the property (which he leases from a cousin who's the legal owner of the property) in 2004 undermined their slope and the foundation underneath their pool.

 

DiCaprio countersued in January, maintaining it was their contractor who fouled up the land. That portion of his lawsuit is still intact, and the entire case—including all countercomplaints—is scheduled to go to trial July 21

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DiCaprio game for biopic of Atari founder

 

 

Leonardo DiCaprio has more fake IDs than Fletch.

 

The actor will star in and produce "Atari," a project about the godfather of the video game industry, Nolan Bushnell.

 

The engineering student, puzzle-lover and game enthusiast went from fixing broken pinball machines to launching Atari Corp., a video game manufacturer, in the early '70s. Its first product was a little game called Pong that transfixed kids in suburban rec rooms across the country and led to hundreds of millions of dollars worth of video game sales.

 

Within a few years, he sold the company to Warner Communications for $28 million. During the next three decades, Bushnell started many other tech ventures and also created Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theaters.

 

Bushnell is only the latest real-life personality in which DiCaprio has found grist for his creative mill. The Oscar-nominated actor has inhabited author Tobias Wolff ("This Boy's Life"), poets Jim Carroll ("The Basketball Diaries") and Arthur Rimbaud ("Total Eclipse"), master counterfeiter Frank Abagnale Jr. ("Catch Me If You Can") and aviator-recluse Howard Hughes ("The Aviator"). He's also attached to films in development about flashy Wall Street felon Jordan Belfort and James Bond creator Ian Fleming.

 

DiCaprio's Appian Way shingle is producing "Atari," which the filmmakers hope will play with elements from "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "Tucker: The Man and His Dream." Writers Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman sold their pitch to Paramount on Friday

 

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

[BobbyD 2]

Will Smith, Cameron Diaz Named Top Hollywood Moneymakers

By Stephen M. Silverman

 

It's been a very good year for Will Smith. Not only is his Hancock a runaway box-office hit, but he also banked an impressive $80 million – making him Hollywood's top money earner last year, according to a new ranking from Forbes.

 

Cameron Diaz is no victim of the current economic pinch, either. Making $50 million last year, the Shrek and What Happens in Vegas star was Tinsel Town's top-earning female, reports the business publication.

 

Among others in the financial stratosphere: No. 2-ranked Johnny Depp, with a $72 million paycheck, and, tied for third place, Eddie Murphy and Mike Myers, with $55 million each – even though Myers's recent The Love Guru tanked.

 

Leonardo DiCaprio, with $55 million, rounded out the top five.

 

And while Atonement leading lady Keira Knightley earned $32 million, and Jennifer Aniston pulled in $27 million, Forbes notes that, once the gold dust settles, men make twice as much as women in Hollywood.

 

In terms of media personalities, Oprah Winfrey still owns the bank. Her earnings last year were a staggering $275 million.

 

As for other TV stars, Charlie Sheen was the top-earning male ($20 million), while Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl – who's also been stepping into big-screen roles – deposited $13 million, making her the top-ranking female.

[BobbyD 2]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_pi...ussell-cro.html

 

New Russell Crowe & Leonardo DiCaprio film project: 'Will Work for Food'

01:23 PM PT, Oct 13 2008

 

We all know that the stock market has been plummeting in recent weeks. But what's dropping even faster is the stock Hollywood studios put into the value of movie stars. This past weekend's disastrous opening of Warners' costly "Body of Lies" was just another nail in the coffin. Buoyed by the presence of two mega-stars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, with Ridley Scott in the director's chair, the Middle East spy thriller was supposed to easily win its weekend. Instead, it finished No. 3 -- behind "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," a Disney talking dog movie, and "Quarantine," an anonymous low-budget thriller from Screen Gems -- grossing a paltry $13.1 million. (My colleague John Horn was one of the few box-office experts to predict the movie's collapse before it happened.)

 

The math is ugly. In the past, Warners had spread the risk around. If you look back at other expensive Warners flops, the studio was always shrewd enough to recruit a partner who put up a hefty piece of the budget, as it did with "Speed Racer" (co-financed by Village Road Show), "Poseidon" (co-financed by Virtual Studios) and "Lady in the Water" (Legendary Pictures). But for "Body of Lies," which Warners insists cost less than $100 million (rival studios say higher), Warners had no safety net--it put up all the money, which means the studio could take a substantial loss, even if the politically themed film performs somewhat better overseas.

 

Warners isn't dumb. It didn't have a partner on the picture because it believed that a Ridley Scott film with two giant movie stars was a pretty good bet. It wasn't. There are always a thousand explanations bouncing around Hollywood when a movie fails (e.g., no one wants to see movies about politics or the Middle East, studios are cannibalizing the market by releasing too many movies, moviegoers are distracted by the bad economy and the dramatic presidential race). But guess what? That didn't stop "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" from opening well--or the sci-fi thriller "Eagle Eye" just before it.

 

So what's going on here?

 

All the explanations have a ring of truth, but the real sea change here involves Hollywood movie stars. This isn't movie fatigue. This is movie star fatigue. Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio (and Johnny Depp and Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt et al) get paid huge sums of money because they are supposed to open movies. Period. When you sign a contract with Crowe, it doesn't have an asterisk next to the $20-million salary commitment, saying, "Oh, by the way, this doesn't apply to Middle East thrillers, period boxing dramas, westerns or cute comedies set in the South of France " (just to name a few Crowe movies that--ahem--haven't been gigantic box-office successes). It would be like paying a baseball player $20 million, only to find out that he could only hit home runs against left handers, or only throw strikes during day games. Stars are supposed to deliver. Period.

 

Paying a movie star $20 million is supposed to be a high-percentage bet, a way of giving studio chiefs a reasonable chance at getting a good night's sleep in the weeks before a film's release. But there's a growing tension today between the kind of material movie stars want to do and the kind of material studios want to build their slates around. Having spent years honing their craft and building an image, most stars want a dramatic challenge--they don't want to stand in front of green screens for three months doing a special-effects thriller.

 

Warners may want George Clooney to continue starring in its "Oceans" franchise, but Clooney is more challenged by films like "The Good German" or "Leatherheads." Everyone would love Reese Witherspoon to do another "Legally Blonde" sequel, but she clearly prefers taking parts in meatier projects, be it the period drama "Vanity Fair" or the terrorism thriller "Rendition." From a financial standpoint, the results have not been pretty. Most movie star pet projects are risky business. With the adult drama being a genre that's almost dead at most studios, it's increasingly hard to find a common ground where stars can jump into challenging material that studios see as marketable material at the box office.

 

Studio chiefs know all too well how perilous it can be to try to find material that satisfies movie stars' desire to stretch their acting skills while still serving the studio's need to turn a profit. I'd look like a hypocrite to criticize Warners for making "Body of Lies" after endlessly complaining that studio slates are dominated by so much popcorn schlock. But where is the middle ground? Warner Bros. chief Alan Horn gently chided me today for being the first to call when the studio has a failure with a challenging film.

 

"I know we get criticized for doing mindless popcorn pictures--and that's fair to a point," he told me. "But this was our opportunity to step out and try to do something bold, that's more than the easily digestible fare that all studios, including us, tend to do. 'Body of Lies' had a great script, a classy director and a really interesting take on our country's role in world events."

 

Horn took issue with my theory that the actors, not the studios, want to make challenging fare. "We all wanted to do this film, starting with [studio production chief] Jeff Robinov and myself," he said. "This wasn't the actors coming to us, begging us to do it. We believed in this movie. We weren't saying, 'Oh, we've protected ourselves by having the comfort of a couple of movie stars, so we'll come out OK.' Russell and Leonardo were cast because they are great actors who happen to be movie stars, not the other way around. They were right for the material."

 

Horn says each actor took a "substantial reduction in his fee" to do the film. "They did it because they really liked the story." Though he wouldn't divulge its budget, he said the biggest chunk of "Body of Lies' " budget was spent in below-the-line production costs, largely because of Scott's desire to shoot in Morocco and deliver a film with a bigger-than-life size and scale. Horn also cautioned that "Body of Lies" could perform better overseas, noting that the 2006 DiCaprio thriller "Blood Diamond" made roughly twice as much money overseas than it did in its U.S. theatrical run.

 

Fair enough. We'll acknowledge that the final box-office jury hasn't rendered a verdict. But I've talked to a growing number of industry experts who worry that movie star stocks are still overpriced, making a persuasive case that younger audiences are far less loyal and far more immune to movie star charms than past generations. Media savvy, marketing resistant, these kids simply have less emotional investment in movie stars than ever before. Star power will be put to the test a number of times in the coming months: Will audiences go see DiCaprio in the period drama "Revolutionary Road" later this fall? Can Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. draw a crowd for the story of a homeless musician and a journalist in "The Soloist"? Can Brad Pitt wow moviegoers, as well as critics, going backward in time in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"?

 

For now, most studio slates are increasingly being built around movies that are movie star-free zones. With the exception of hiring Johnny Depp to helm its "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, Disney rarely uses top stars, preferring to build its business around animated pictures and modestly budgeted family fare that is sold on concept, not star power, like "Beverly Hills Chihuahua."

 

The Disney formula hasn't gone unnoticed. I was on the phone last week with a rival studio chief who said that once you got past Will Smith, it was hard to list one major movie star that could open both popcorn fluff and more serious dramatic pictures. It was Smith, after all, who opened both the lightweight thriller "Hancock" as well as the rough-edged "Pursuit of Happyness," which audiences still flocked to, despite the downbeat subject matter. Every studio head has to be rethinking the movie star issue right now, having seen film after film fail to open, despite the presence of major stars.

 

Universal Pictures, for example, has been poised to greenlight "Nottingham," an expensive period Robin Hood film that would reteam Crowe with Ridley Scott and producer Brian Grazer. But you have to imagine that the studio is seriously rethinking the film's commercial prospects. It wouldn't come as a surprise to see "Nottingham" go back to the drawing board, with Scott being forced to re-imagine its scope to keep its budget at a more manageable level.

 

No one's saying Hollywood is going to suddenly end its love affair with movie stars. In a business built far more on perception than reality, they are the grease that keeps the wheels spinning, the straw that stirs the drink. But after openings like "Body of Lies" had this past weekend, it's time for a market correction. The value of movie stars is a lot like most entertainment stocks today--it's in serious decline.

 

Photo of Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe in "Body of Lies" from Warner Bros.

[BobbyD 2]

Anne Thompson

 

Hollywood's A-list losing star power

Film industry forced to change business model

By ANNE THOMPSON

 

In defense of movie stars -- yes, Hollywood still needs them. But the opening of the Ridley Scott-directed thriller "Body of Lies" provides a vivid reminder that stars do have the potential to boost any movie ... as long as they don't cost too much.

 

Suppose Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio had been paid a third of their going rate, and the movie had cost a third less. Would the pic's $13 million opening frame have been seen as such a disaster?

 

Hollywood's problem is that once costly stars climb aboard a project, studios tend to ratchet up the scale with stunts and effects. They wind up trying to turn every movie into a tentpole.

 

Sure, the studios have pots of money to play with. But just like the world economy, the film industry has burgeoned out of control. It's inflated and overblown. It needs to let some air out of the bubble and return to a more reasonable size and scale.

 

For starters, Hollywood ought to throw everyone out of the $20 million club.

 

Warner Bros. insists it didn't pay full freight for DiCaprio and Crowe; they share the pic's adjusted backend gross. The CIA actioner, set in Iraq and Jordan, cost more than $100 million, not including worldwide marketing costs. Warners should have thought twice when it couldn't find a partner for the film. But execs thought they had star insurance; the studio could write off as much as $100 million on this picture.

 

The brutal truth about today's Hollywood is that the majors have been releasing too many films that cost too much money. Disney, notably, has gone the other way. Not only has the studio scaled back its releases, it's refusing to pay backend gross participants on its tentpoles until after the studio recoups its costs.

 

Paramount, in the wake of its DreamWorks divorce, plans to scale back to 20 films a year.

 

"What's going on in the economy on a global basis has an impact on every business," says studio chairman Brad Grey. "We're streamlining the company to make it as lean and agile as possible. You can be sure we will deploy our capital in a diligent and prudent fiscal way."

 

While Grey is still pushing forward with tentpoles like "Star Trek," "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers 2," he says he's "aggressively restricting backend deals," with first-dollar gross capped at 25%.

 

"It's incumbent upon everyone in the industry to look at our economics," he says.

 

The entertainment biz may be resistant to economic downturns, but studio owners are not. They're all carrying increasingly expensive debt. Paramount's owner, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone, was forced to sell National Amusements stock to meet his margin calls. And Warren Buffet bought stock to bolster NBC Universal owner General Electric's fortunes.

 

This is the perfect time to fix the studios' broken economic model. The studios have to just say "no."

 

"We're at a crossroads," says producer Mark Johnson. "So much of what we've counted on isn't working. It's not a question of old school vs. new school. It's Lewis and Clark time, the things we're not sure about, that we hang our hat on, like movie stars."

 

Today's astronomical price inflation basically starts with nervous studio heads overpaying for movie stars.

 

Twentieth Century Fox was the first studio to top the $1 million payday mark with Elizabeth Taylor on the 1963 mega-flop "Cleopatra," which, with inflation, is still the most expensive movie of all time.

 

And back in 1988, there was much handwringing when Fox paid $5 million to Bruce Willis (who had made just one film, "Blind Date") to star in "Die Hard."

 

"This throws the business out of whack," MGM chairman Alan Ladd protested to the New York Times. "Like everybody else in town, I was stunned."

 

Paying a relative novice like Willis such a sum meant that all the other stars, such as Dustin Hoffman, who had scored $5.5 million for "Tootsie," had to get a boost. Indeed, there was nowhere to go but up during the boom-boom '80s and '90s, as upstart players like Cannon and Savoy paid hefty premiums to land stars such as Sylvester Stallone.

 

Then in 1996, Columbia Pictures, desperate to nail hot comedian Jim Carrey for "The Cable Guy," paid him $20 million. That meant all the other top stars, from Tom Hanks to Tom Cruise, had to get that sum, too. When Demi Moore landed $12.5 million for 1995's Striptease, the men had to get that much more. When Universal gave away first-dollar gross to Arnold Schwarzenegger on "Twins," it opened another Pandora's box.

 

After a long list of stars routinely commanded $20 million vs. 20% of the gross, studios even started sharing more of their DVD revenues with certain stars. Eventually, global action heroes like Harrison Ford and Mel Gibson were commanding $25 million, forcing other actor and director salaries up in relation. Even a midrange star like Kurt Russell was earning $15 million.

 

The movies that had to carry these fees became safer, more formulaic and less interesting, and to make their money back they needed to perform on a global scale. "The bigger the movie stars become," says Johnson, "the more constricting their roles and the scope of their roles."

 

Sequelitis contributed to boosting star fees. Once stars got paid a higher figure, agents would demand it again.

 

Studios vied for the stars and used paydays and perks (such as overpaid hair and makeup people, entourages, nannies, and chartered jets) to sweeten the pot. They indulged monstrous behavior and demands.

 

Finally, after Schwarzenegger collected $25 million to play Mr. Freeze in "Batman & Robin," Intermedia and C-2 paid the muscled star an unprecedented $30 million for "Terminator 3." Schwarzenegger may well be remembered in the record books as the highest-paid star of all time.

 

Today, new production company MRC, trying to compete with the studios, is offering talent like Sacha Baron Cohen not only a hefty upfront fee but an ownership stake in movies like "Bruno." "They're sharing our revenues," says president Tory Metzger, a former CAA agent. "Our upside is their upside."

 

But the overdue market correction on star salaries is already trending down. The studios are capping backend grosses at 25%. And they're insisting on recouping costs before delivering gross payouts, and they're putting overage limits even on top directors.

 

Viacom's Redstone signaled a seismic shift when he angrily ousted Tom Cruise from his Paramount deal after the star made more money than the studio on "Mission: Impossible 3" -- even after Grey had altered the backend formula.

 

Marvel is hanging tough with deals on its "Iron Man" sequel and was willing to walk away from Terrence Howard's pay demands to play War Machine, casting Don Cheadle instead. Marvel is investing in its characters and properties and isn't playing the studio game.

 

Lionsgate's Joe Drake ("Juno") is also hoping to eschew business as usual. But when he visited a major agency recently to discuss a slew of new projects, they asked: "Will you pay our clients' full freight?" While he doesn't see wholesale reform, Drake says, by giving talent more creative say in upside success, "there is an opportunity for the talent and the creative side to align their interests with the distributor, without the traditional push-pull relationship."

 

The studios don't have to play the same old game, either.

 

Bring costs down and they'll gain more flexibility to make better, more interesting and varied movies. They could lure adults back to theaters and appeal to niche markets without having to play it safe with four-quadrant pics.

 

If stars and studios want to make different movies, the studios don't have to indulge the stars: Let them go to the indies.

 

"Everybody's been riding the gravy train and nobody wants to get off," says one agent.

 

There are other ways to make studio movies on a slimmer scale.

 

Consider the George Clooney model: "Syriana," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "Michael Clayton" and "Burn After Reading," like the "Ocean's" series, all featured multiple stars working for less than their usual fees.

 

There's also the Clint Eastwood paradigm: His films are always produced with modest upfront costs.

 

"Going forward with anything execution-dependent," says one Warners exec, "we will try different formulas. The world has shifted."

 

Producers describe a distinct industrywide course change since the writers strike. Unfortunately, that often means studios shelling out for top talent while cheaping out on everything else. "Everyone is refusing to pay for anything," says one producer. "With the economy tanking it has gotten worse, with people walking away from deals: 'We're not paying your quote. Take it or leave it.' It's really scary. People who are trying to make a living are not making a living."

 

Ironically, Carrey, whose asking price has been in the toilet lately, stars in a Warners comedy that may hit the zeitgeist on the nose: In "Yes Man," he plays a negative guy who makes a pact to say yes to everything. Carrey said yes to not getting his usual price in a mainstream comedy. And if the movie hits, he collects -- bigtime.

[sanlee 49]

Leonardo DiCaprio's Marriage Wish

 

Leonardo DiCaprio wants to get married.

 

The 'Revolutionary Road' star previously maintained he doesn't believe in marriage, but has now changed his mind and "grown up."

 

Leonardo, 34, said: "I absolutely believe in marriage. In saying that I realise I am contradicting everything I've said before. Yes, I want to get married and have children."

 

The US actor - who is reportedly dating Israeli model Bar Rafaeli - puts his previous views down to inexperience.

 

He added: "It sounds like the ignorance of youth to me. When did I say those things? Three or Four years ago? Hey, we grow up real fast."

 

Leonardo also said the media attention and scrutiny which came with his huge success as an actor in films such as 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Titanic' had a huge impact on how he saw the world around him.

 

He continued: "'Titanic' was a period of rebellion for me. I was portrayed as the world's number one poster boy, a heart-throb. It wasn't what I wanted to be at 24.

 

"It was never the recognition I wanted. The whole experience was so shallow and empty. That's why I took a break. I was conscious that I needed to do something different."

 

'Revolutionary Road' is released in European cinemas this month.

 

Source: monstersandcritics.com

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Leonardo DiCaprio Was 'Horrified' By Ledger And Phoenix Deaths

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Leonardo DiCaprio has never been tempted to dabble in drugs after growing up on a heroin-riddled neighborhood - and was left horrified when fellow actors Heath Ledger and River Phoenix died from overdoses.

 

The Titanic star was brought up by his mother in a Los Angeles suburb that was rife with drugs and prostitution. And being exposed to substance abuse from an early age put DiCaprio off ever experimenting for himself.

 

He says, "I knew drugs were bad, even as a little kid. Seeing the effects that drugs had on my block, seeing heroin addicts, it made me think twice about ever getting involved in drugs. I was so horrified by what I saw drugs do to people that I never wanted anything to do with them. It's evil. Once you take that step and experiment, drugs take over your life. You are not yourself any more. That's something I never wanted."

 

And he cites the 1993 death of Phoenix from a heroin and cocaine overdose - and last year's passing of Ledger from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs - as lasting reasons to steer clear of narcotics.

 

He adds, "Then, when I was a young actor, I saw other actors die of drugs. I watched what happened to River Phoenix, who was such an influence on me as a young actor. Now Heath Ledger has died young. It is such a horrifying thought to know that those guys aren't around any more. Every person has demons. We all have horrible fears and insecurities that we need to overcome."

 

Source: starpulse

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Leonardo DiCaprio's 'Twisted' Family

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Leonardo DiCaprio says starring in 'Revolutionary Road' was like being in a "weird, twisted family".

 

The 34-year-old actor - who reunites with Kate Winslet in the new drama - insists filming love scenes with Kate felt "completely natural and comfortable", even though the actress' husband Sam Mendes directed the film.

 

Speaking at the European premiere of the movie in London's Leicester Square, Leonardo told BANG Showbiz: "I was entirely used to kissing Kate after making 'Titanic' with her 10 years ago. It was completely natural and comfortable. It felt like kind of a family - a weird, twisted family."

 

Leonardo added Kate - who won a Golden Globe Award for her role in the film - is no different from when they first worked together.

 

He explained: "She has not changed at all. She's one of the most real people I've ever met and such a great friend. We've been support mechanisms for each other for a long period of time and will continue to be."

 

Leonardo added both he and Kate are more "experienced" since they first appeared on the big screen together, which he believes helped them give such strong performances in 'Revolutionary Road'.

 

He said: "Both of us, I think, have got more experience in this industry and taken more command of the specific projects and characters we play. We're no longer young 20 year olds looking up to directors and producers as parental figures. We're now adults who are taking command of our careers in a different way."

 

'Revolutionary Road' is released in the UK on January 30.

 

Source:monstersandcritics.com

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Leonardo DiCaprio's Judaic Religious Ultimatum

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Leonardo DiCaprio must convert to Judaism if he wants to marry Bar Rafaeli.

 

The Israeli-born supermodel's father, Rafael Rafaeli, has reportedly forbidden Bar from marrying outside her faith.

 

A source said to the New York Daily News newspaper: "He told me that if Leonardo doesn't convert to Judaism, there will be no marriage."

 

The 'Revolutionary Road' actor, who has been dating 23-year-old Bar since 2005, recently revealed he wants to wed her.

 

Leonardo, 34, said: "I absolutely believe in marriage. In saying that I realise I am contradicting everything I've said before. Yes, I want to get married and have children.

 

"It sounds like the ignorance of youth to me. When did I say those things? Three or Four years ago? Hey, we grow up real fast."

 

But if he does pop the question, Leonardo won't tell anyone about it - he is notoriously secretive about his private life, something he claims is essential to his career.

 

He said: "Defining yourself to the public on a consistent basis is death to a performer. The more you define who you are personally the less you are able to submerge into the characters you do, and people will think, 'I don't buy him in that role.' "

 

Source:monstersandcritics.com

[sanlee 49]

DiCaprio, Whitney Port 'Not Dating'

 

Leonardo DiCaprio has reportedly dismissed rumours that he is dating Whitney Port.

 

According to Us Weekly, a source close to the Shutter Island star has insisted that DiCaprio and Port are not dating.

 

The source said: "It's about as true as The City - it's made up! They don't know each other. They never exchanged numbers."

 

The 34-year-old Hollywood actor has previously dated models Gisele Bundchen and Bar Rafaeli.

 

Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese, is scheduled for a February 2010 release.

 

Source digitalspy.co.uk

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DiCaprio Spends $1,400 On Beauty Products

 

 

Leonardo DiCaprio apparently spent $1,400 (£843) on beauty products at Los Angeles' Blue Mercury store recently.

 

The 35-year-old actor, who has reportedly been asked to lose 30lbs to star in new movie Inception, allegedly bought face mask, eye cream, anti-wrinkle lotions, soap, moisturisers and toners in the department store.

 

Fellow shopper Bonnie Lockhart is quoted by New magazine as saying: "Leonardo asked a lot of questions and seemed to be most concerned about wrinkle creams."

 

DiCaprio's publicist later insisted that the he was buying the products as a gift for someone else.

 

Source digitalspy.co.uk

[sanlee 49]

Dicaprio Gets Animated

 

LEONARDO DiCAPRIO is set to get animated for the first time - he's signed on to voice a character based on Jack Frost.

 

The Titanic star will make his debut in the cartoon world with The Guardians, about a group of superheros who join forces to fight an evil spirit called Pitch.

 

The DreamWorks venture will see popular childhood characters Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman transformed alongside Frost into an elite power squad.

 

Castmembers for other roles have yet to be announced, reports trade paper Daily Variety.

 

Source contactmusic

[sanlee 49]

Dicaprio And Refaeli Back Together

 

LEONARDO DiCAPRIO has reunited with his supermodel ex-girlfriend BAR REFAELI, according to U.S. tabloid reports.

 

The pair ended their three-year on-off romance in June (09).

 

DiCaprio has since been linked with a string of single ladies, including British actress Sienna Miller, while Refaeli was most recently rumoured to be dating Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford.

 

But sources tell Us Weekly the former couple has grown close again, after the 24-year-old model reached out to her ex - and reportedly enjoyed a secret romantic break in the Bahamas together late last month (Nov09).

An insider says, "She was really upset over the break-up and hasn't stopped calling him.

 

"They aren't full-on monogamous but are seeing each other again."

 

Source contactmusic

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Leonardo DiCaprio holidays with Bar Refaeli

 

Leonardo DiCaprio has fuelled reports he's reunited with his supermodel ex Bar Refaeli after enjoying a sunshine getaway in Mexico over the holidays.

 

The couple dated for three years before splitting in June, but the stars were rumored to have rekindled their romance in late November.

 

And they sent gossips into a spin on Sunday when they were snapped holidaying together in Riviera Maya for the festive season.

 

DiCaprio allegedly agreed to give their relationship another go after the 24-year-old Israeli beauty reached out to the actor.

 

 

source: http://www.sfgate.com

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His movie comes out in February. Then she can go back to her normal life again.

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Leonardo DiCaprio to Propose to Bar Refaeli — on Valentine’s Day

 

 

LEONARDO DiCaprio is set to propose to his on-off girlfriend Bar Refaeli — on Valentine’s Day!

 

DiCaprio will apparently go down on one knee on Feb. 14 after his mom, Irmelin, convinced him he should marry the Israeli-born beauty.

 

“Leo’s mother never forgave Leo for missing the boat with his ex-girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen,” a source told American tabloid the National Enquirer.

 

“Irmelin told Leo before Christmas, ‘You had better not let this one get away!’

 

“Leo had been toying with the idea of proposing to Bar on Valentine’s Day. But he told his mom the deciding factor would be how they got along during their Christmas vacation in Cabo.

 

“His mother called him on New Year’s morning and said, ‘Well?’

 

“Leo told her, ‘You’re right, as usual. I don’t want to let her go.’

 

“Then Leo told his mom about their romantic New Year’s Eve dinner, and how they took a walk down a secluded beach at sunset.

 

“He said that he was truly in love and couldn’t wait to become engaged to Bar. ‘That is,’ he said, ‘if she’s willing to accept my proposal!’

 

“Now that he’s decided to marry Bar, Leo is planning on buying a rare canary yellow diamond ring that caught his eye recently.

 

“Bar was hoping for a ring around the holidays, but Leo thought it would be a better idea to surprise her on Valentine’s Day.”

 

Source showbizspy.com

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Leo DiCaprio Slashing Suspect to Face Trial

 

A former model accused of attacking Leonardo DiCaprio has finally agreed to face the music -- five years after she allegedly slashed his face open with a drinking glass .. and fled the country.

 

The woman -- 39-year-old Aretha Wilson -- is accused of hitting DiCaprio in the face during a house party in the Hollywood Hills in 2005. The party was at the home of Rick Salomon -- Paris Hilton's sex tape partner.

 

Authorities claim Leo needed 17 stitches to close up his face and ear.

 

Wilson -- who had been arrested in L.A. and charged with assault with a deadly weapon -- fled the country after the alleged attack.

 

But Wilson was finally taken into custody in Ontario last week -- and has agreed to be extradited back to the U.S.

 

And get this -- a year after the DiCaprio incident, Wilson smashed a glass bottle over her ex-boyfriend's head and was convicted for that.

 

As for Leo, he's reportedly expected to testify in the case against Wilson.

 

Source TMZ

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DiCaprio Gathers Stars for Green Campaign

 

Environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio has gathered stars including Edward Norton, Forest Whitaker and Chace Crawford for an internet campaign in an attempt to change America's policy on pollution and climate change.

 

U.S. senators are set to vote on a piece of legislation called the Clean Energy, Jobs and American Power Act, which aims to cut U.S. reliance on foreign oil supplies, and pump up the use of sustainable energy sources.

 

And DiCaprio has filmed an online video urging the public to lobby politicians in a bid to push the bill through.

 

He has recruited Norton, Whitaker and Crawford, along with Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman, Justin Long and Emmy Rossum, who all address viewers in the short film for the This Is Our Moment campaign.

 

DiCaprio says, "There is a bill in the United States Senate that we need to pay attention to. Everyone as a nation. We're going to be watching all you senators, very closely."

 

The video provides viewers with a web link which they can use to email politicians to register their approval of the bill, as well as instructions how to pass on the message via social networking sites including Twitter and Facebook.

 

Source femalefirst

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Leonardo DiCaprio Wants Films Over Family

 

Leonardo DiCaprio is too busy with his career to have children.

 

The 'Revolutionary Road' actor - whose on/off relationship with model Bar Refaeli ended last year - insists he hasn't yet fulfilled his potential as an actor but admits his priorities may change eventually.

 

The 35-year-old star said: "I'm not that old, my biological clock isn't ticking yet. I'd like to leave it to fate if and when I'm going to be a father. A part of me has too many professional plans to even seriously consider it. When I see the children in my family though, the idea of having children doesn't seem too far-fetched."

 

While Leonardo's main focus is his career, he admitted he experiences feelings of loneliness when he is away working on movie sets.

 

He explained: "In this business nothing is as dangerous and as feared as loneliness. You shoot films in the most remote areas of the world; you're separated from your family and your friends. And at some point you're in your hotel room looking at yourself in the mirror and you realise how lonely you are and how far you are from leading a normal life. That is quite a punch in the gut."

 

In order to combat his unhappiness, the 'Shutter Island' actor does his best to keep all his attention on movies.

 

When asked how he copes with loneliness, he told Germany's OK! magazine: "Apart from my phone bill soaring? I generally concentrate on work and push any feelings of yearning away."

 

Source femalefirst

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Dicaprio's Reclusive Acting Method

 

LEONARDO DiCAPRIO becomes reclusive while he is filming emotionally-charged roles - insisting he likes to "isolate" himself for "months at a time."

 

The Hollywood actor stars in Martin Scorsese's new thriller Shutter Island, and studied mental illness for his role as a detective trying to solve a missing persons mystery in an asylum.

 

DiCaprio admits he shut his loved ones out while he was working on his character - because he prefers to be alone to perfect his acting method.

 

He says, "It is the nature of the character dealing with extreme emotional trauma and it's hard for those types of things not to rub off on you but for the most part I do like to isolate myself away from most people when I'm filming for months at a time, and so I wouldn't necessarily get a reaction from anyone else because I was mostly alone."

 

Source contactmusic