Please note! All movie news, including The Aviator, will be redirected to those movie pages. I have also created a separate page for the Roger Wilson "fiasco" which is being described as a "case" in the news media. It's official! The Roger Wilson 'case' is over - the news there has been updated.. There will be no more additions to that page.

• October 2005 - From EMPIRE online:
  
  Djimon Signs For Diamond Role
  Hounsou joins Connelly and DiCaprio
  
  Djimon Hounsou has joined Ed Zwick's next film, The Blood Diamond. As we reported two days ago here, it is the story of a diamond smuggler (Leonardo DiCaprio) engaged in taking "conflict diamonds" out of war-torn Sierra Leone in 1999.
  
  Hounsou will play the indigenous farmer whose son has been drafted into an army of child soldiers. Filming is due to start early next year. Housou is currently finishing work on fantasy film Eragon, in which he plays Ajihad, leader of human rebels against a despotic king.
  
  We talked to Hounsou recently about making films in Africa, and he said, "It's a difficult thing. The whole point of making movies is that you want to make movies that will get seen, and I want to do movies that are international, multicultural, that brings different parts of the world together. So when you go into a slightly confined area like African films, you are limited to that world. "I think it's important – and I've had the luxury of succeeding outside that world – to show Africans in the world as well, and make sure that the characters are portrayed with dignity. So I have a desire to do contemporary films about Africa and Africans, but right now I have some things I need to do first."
  
  
• September 2005: Bayou Buzz
  
  Buzzing in movie news….. We are still waiting for the release date of Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed,” starring Leo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg etc. which is on our “must see” list. Who cares what it is about, just look at the cast!
  
  Speaking of Leo DiCaprio, (The Aviator, Basketball Diaries), his production company, Appian Way, is scheduled to produce, “Cat’s Cradle,” the adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel about Ice-Nine, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature.
  
  Also included on DiCaprio’s workload is the movie, “Blood Diamond,” about an American diamond smuggler. Currently, Jennifer Connelly, (A Beautiful Mind, Dark Water, Requiem for a Dream), is in talks of becoming DiCaprio’s co-star.
  
  If there was a Hollywood award given out called, “The most deserving actor to get an Oscar who has never gotten one,” DiCaprio would be numero uno on the list of nominees.
  
  Since the age of 14, Leo DiCaprio has chosen only complex roles with deep-seated troubles and external hardships, adding to the creation of his characters´ many faces. With such raw performances, he may be too good to receive recognition as an actor because we forget that he is, in fact, acting. Hopefully someday, Leonardo DiCaprio will get the Academy’s recognition, which he continuously deserves.
  
  
• August 2005: Hollywood Reporter
  'Diamond' sparkles for Connelly
  
  By Tatiana Siegel
  
  Jennifer Connelly is in negotiations to star opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Warner Bros. Pictures' drama "Blood Diamond."
  
  Edward Zwick will direct the film, which centers on a poor African farmer who gets caught up in a conflict between an American diamond smuggler (DiCaprio) and the syndicate that controls the local diamond mining industry.
  
  The story is by Charles Leavitt and C. Gaby Mitchell, with a screenplay by Leavitt and Zwick & Marshall Herskovitz.
  
  Producers are Paula Weinstein, who developed the project, Zwick, Herskovitz, Graham King and Gillian Gorfil. Len Amato also is likely to take a producing credit.
  
  Polly Cohen is overseeing for Warners.
  
  The studio is aiming to begin shooting early next year and is eyeing locations in Africa.
  
  Connelly, whose credits include "House of Sand and Fog" and "Requiem for a Dream," recently wrapped Todd Field's "Little Children." She won an Academy Award for her supporting role in Ron Howard's "A Beautiful Mind."
  
  
• August 2005: Variety - Scorsese's DiCaprio starrer on the 'Rise'
  By MICHAEL FLEMING
  
  Paramount Pictures has optioned the Pulitzer Prize-winning Edmund Morris book "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" and will develop it for Martin Scorsese to direct and Leonardo DiCaprio to star as the 26th U.S. president.
  
  Nicholas Meyer is writing the script.
  
  Pic will chronicle the formative years of Roosevelt as he reinvented himself from a slight and privileged New York politician with a Harvard degree to the burly commander of the Rough Riders, a track that would lead him to the New York governorship, the vice presidency and the White House, when William McKinley was assassinated.
  
  Daniella Taplin, who controlled the book, will produce with Scorsese and Appian Way's DiCaprio and Brad Simpson.
  
  "From the first page of the book, ... his life reads like a movie that requires a big bag of popcorn," Meyer said. "...We start at 25, as he begins to transform himself through sheer force of will from this asthmatic, nearsighted 125-pounder to this Sherman tank of a man so tough that he once got shot on the way to make a speech and completed his talk, bleeding with a bullet in his chest."
  
  The deal comes as DiCaprio and Scorsese are in the midst of their third film together, "The Departed," the Warner Bros. remake of the Hong Kong crime drama "Infernal Affairs." The duo also made "Gangs of New York" and "The Aviator" together.
  
  Meyer, whose most recent credits are "The Human Stain," an adaptation of the novel "The Crimson Petal and White" for Curtis Hanson and a just-completed rewrite of "Escape of the Pacific Clipper" for Fox, honed the young Teddy take with Taplin before enlisting DiCaprio and Scorsese, the director who, like Roosevelt, overcame childhood asthma.
  
  Paramount senior vice president of production Pam Abdy is overseeing the project.
  
  
• July 5, 2005 - Variety: 'Cradle' to rock with DiCaprio
  Vonnegut novel to be adapted by father-son scribe duo
  By CLAUDE BRODESSER
  
  Kurt Vonnegut's 'Cat's Cradle' is being developed as a feature project by Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production shingle.
  
  Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production shingleshingle will develop and produce a feature film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's classic dystopian novel "Cat's Cradle," in partnership with manager-producer Hillard ElkinsHillard Elkins' Elkins EntertainmentElkins Entertainment.
  
  Project will be written by James V. HartJames V. Hart ("Sahara") and his son Jake Hart ("Glengarry, Bob Ross").
  
  Vonnegut's "Cradle" is an apocalyptic tale about the planet's ultimate fate and a race to recover the world's most dangerous substance, Ice-Nine, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature.
  
  DiCaprio's Appian Way has a first-lookfirst-look arrangement with Initial Entertainment Group, whose founder, Graham King, also has a first-look deal with Warner Bros. Pictures. While King is a producer on DiCaprio's forthcoming pic "The Departed," it's not yet clear if Warner's will ultimately scoop up "Cat's Cradle."
  
  Scribe James V. Hart, who recently adapted Clive Cussler's bestselling novel "Sahara" for Par and Baldwin Entertainment, also is adapting Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" for Baldwin Entertainment.
  
  "Cradle" marks the second collaboration between Hart and his son: Pair are co-writing the feature "The Omega Stone" for Critical Mass Entertainment.
  
  
• June 22, 2005: Cops Say Leo Attack Was No Accident
  
  "CJ" has got the goods on Leonardo DiCaprio's street combat with an angry female, and it appears he was just trying to stay out of the line of fire.
  
  According to police, DiCaprio was trying not to get caught in a woman's raging attack when he left a party at a Hollywood Hills home on June 17th. It was around four in the morning when Leo and his friends were leaving the home of Rick Solomon.
  
  Solomon is infamous for his pornographic pairing with Paris Hilton in the wildly popular sex tape, "One Night in Paris." And profits from the tape no doubt helped Solomon pay for the gorgeous party pad, which he bought earlier this year.
  
  As Leo left the house, cops tell us the woman was outside the home, relentlessly shouting profanities at Leo. Cops will not reveal the woman's name; they will only describe her as black and age 35.
  
  DiCaprio told cops he knew the woman -- she is the girlfriend of one of his pals who was reportedly inside the party. Leo also told cops he tried to walk away from the screaming woman, but when he did, she smashed a glass -- not a bottle, as was previously reported -- into the side of his face. He suffered lacerations on his ear and neck.
  
  DiCaprio was taken to the hospital by friends and treated. He was expected to return to Boston to continue shooting a new film called "The Departed" with director pal Martin Scorsese.
  
  But DiCaprio doesn’t seem willing to forget the attack. The LAPD told "CJ" that DiCaprio called long distance to file a police report, which was done by conference call.
  
  
• June 2005: Jeff Wells - Hollywood Elsewhere
  
  Leonardo DiCaprio was assaulted early Friday morning at a party at the Hollywood Hills home of Rick Salomon, PEOPLE reports exclusively.
  
  In a statement released to PEOPLE, the Oscar-nominated actor's publicist, Ken Sunshine, says: "While leaving a small private gathering, Leo was attacked by a woman who was trespassing and had been repeatedly asked to leave the property. The attacker struck him with a glass object before being restrained by witnesses. The woman was reportedly looking for an ex-boyfriend, who she had apparently physically assaulted on prior occasions."
  
  DiCaprio was at the party hosted by Salomon (Paris Hilton's ex, who starred with the hotel heiress in their notorious sex video), when at around 4 a.m., the woman hit him in the face with what appeared to be a beer bottle, a source reports. After the incident, an ambulance wasn't called but friends took him to a hospital for medical attention, where he received about a dozen stitches near his ear, says the source.
  
  The actor, who is in Los Angeles on a break from shooting the Martin Scorsese-directed movie The Departed in Boston and New York, is not expected to have the incident affect his return to the set.
  
  Law enforcement authorities have begun a criminal investigation into the matter, according to DiCaprio's publicist.
  
  
• June 9 2005: The Sunday Times - THE actor Leonardo DiCaprio has been wounded by a woman wielding a beer bottle at a Hollywood party, receiving head and facial injuries that required 12 stitches.

  The star of Titanic and The Aviator did not know the young woman, who gatecrashed the event looking for a former boyfriend in a highly agitated state; at 4am on Friday.

  DiCaprio, 30, was at the party hosted by the Hollywood restaurant-owner Rick Salomon, who made headlines last year when a home-made sex video he made with Paris Hilton, the hotel heiress, appeared on the internet.

  Ken Sunshine, DiCaprio's spokesman, said the actor was in Los Angeles during a short break from filming The Departed. While leaving a small private gathering Leo was attacked by a woman who was trespassing and had been repeatedly asked to leave the property, he said.

  The attacker stuck him with a glass object before being restrained by witnesses. She was reportedly looking for an ex-boyfriend who she had apparently physically assaulted on prior occasions, said Sunshine.

  According to witnesses another guest, Jonah Blechman, who acted alongside DiCaprio in the film This Boy's Life, shouted out: "My God, she has slashed open his face."

  Blechman and another friend propped up the star, who was in shock as blood streamed from his head, bundled him into a car and drove him out of the Hollywood Hills to the nearby Cedars-Sinai hospital for emergency treatment.

  Blechman then drove DiCaprio back to the star's home in the Hollywood Hills above Sunset Strip, where neighbours include other members of his party bratpack including Tobey Maguire and DiCaprio's girlfriend Gisele Bundchen, the Brazilian supermodel.

  "Leo's been attacked. She smashed his face in and we rushed to help" Blechman told the News of the World.

  A close friend told the paper: "He's obviously still very shocked over what happened to him. One minute he was enjoying the party and the next he was hit in the head. We can't believe what's happened. He's recovering but he's still in pain."

  The attack could have been more serious. Victor Storey, a doctor from Havering in Essex, said: "It sounds like Leonardo's a very lucky man indeed. If the bottle had severed the main artery in the side of the neck, the carotid artery, he'd have been dead in seconds.

  "It's almost impossible to staunch an injury like that. And just beside it is the jugular vein. If that gets cut you have to have immediate treatment otherwise you'll just black out and die within minutes from loss of blood.

  "Twelve stitches could well cover up to 2 inches of Leonardo's face and shows that he must have been hit with some force."

  DiCaprio tries to avoid physical confrontations, not just to protect his boyish face, his most important asset as a film star, but also following a tangled lawsuit five years ago. Then it was alleged that he became involved in a street brawl with a scriptwriter who complained he had made advances in his girlfriend.

  The scriptwriter, Roger Wilson, claimed DiCaprio had asked his friends to assault him. Wilson sued the actor, claiming a blow on his throat had broken his career as a singer. A judge dismissed the case.

  The following year DiCaprio was involved in another brawl, in London during a pop launch at Soho's Chinawhite club. Since then DiCaprio has become more active in environmental causes and has said he loathes all violence.

  The assault is not expected to affect DiCaprio's return to work on The Departed for director Martin Scorsese. Los Angeles police are investigating the crime, said Sunshine, but no arrests had so far been made.
  
  

• June 2005 - Variety: DiCaprio Negotiating 'Blood Diamond'
  By Brad Brevet
  
  Variety is reporting that Leonardo DiCaprio is currently in negotiations to star in the dramatic thriller The Blood Diamond for Warner Bros. and writer/director Ed Zwick. If DiCaprio signs on this will become his next feature as he is currently filming The Departed, his third film with director Martin Scorsese.
  
  The Blood Diamond is set in Sierra Leone circa 1999, a time when the nation was in the midst of a horrific civil war. DiCaprio would play the role of a smuggler who specializes in the sale of "blood diamonds," also known as "conflict diamonds" -- the precious stones used to finance rebellions, privateers and terrorists.
  
  When the smuggler encounters an indigenous Mende farmer whose young son has disappeared into the RUF's army of child soldiers, the two men's fates become linked.
  
  Filming on Blood Diamond is currently eyeing an early 2007 start so that DiCaprio can then turn his attention to the Warner remake of For Whom the Bell Tolls.
  
  
• May 2005 - Hollywood Reporter: Golden Globe-winner Leonardo DiCaprio is in talks to star in a Warner remake of Sam Wood’s 1943 For Whom the Bell Tolls based on Ernest Hemingway's novel.
  
  The 30-year-old actor and producer is to be the next to say the famous line: “A man fights for what he believes in, Fernando!”, as he may portray Robert Jordan, the young expatriate, who has been given a high-risk assignment up in the mountains, after he had joined an anti-fascist Spanish militia.
  
  Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman co-stared in the 1943 movie, that Sam Wood directed on Dudley Nichols’s script based on Hemingway’s novel, derived from the writer’s own exploits.
  
  Leonardo DiCaprio, who is currently shooting for Martin Scorsese’s new film “the Departed”, has to prepare for Ed Zwick’s "The Blood Diamond" project, scheduled for an early 2006 shoot, according to Variety. DiCaprio plays a smuggler who trades diamonds used to finance rebellions, privateers and terrorists.
  
  
• May 2005 - Empire-Online: Bell Tolls For DiCaprio
  Leonardo Considering role in new Warner Bros Movie
  
  Superstar, Oscar nominee and lead in that little-known Jim Cameron boat film, Leonardo DiCaprio is keeping his eyes on that elusive little golden statue by planning another Oscar friendly role. He's in talks to play Robert Jordan, an idealistic American high school teacher in the adaptation of Ernest Hemmingway's classic For Whom The Bell Tolls.
  
  Not to be confused with the fantasy author of the same name, the film charts Jordan's life after he joins one of the International Brigades fighting for the Republic during the Spanish Civil War. He ends up deep in the mountains, at odds with one of the other members over loyalty, honour and (of course) a woman.
  
  The Hemmingway novel is being reworked for the big screen by Troy screenwriter David Benioff, but as yet no director has been attached to the piece, which is why Romeo – sorry, DiCaprio – hasn’t signed on the dotted line.
  
  DiCaprio seems to have taken the Gene Hackman approach to movie making of late and said yes to almost every project thrust in front of him, having signed up to The Chancellor Manuscript, Infernal Affairs remake The Departed for favourite helmer Martin Scorsese and clean-cut good friend Matt Damon, and possibly Drunken Angels, again with Scorsese.
  
  As for the project itself, the first time the book was turned into a film was in 1944, starring Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman. Their performances earned them both Oscar nods. Let's hope that Leo follows their example and lands another Oscar nod for his role.
  
  
• May 2005 - Variety: Studio buys 'Chancellor' rights for $4 mil
  By MICHAEL FLEMING, DAVE MCNARY
  
  Paramount is spending $4 million for Robert Ludlum's political thriller "The Chancellor Manuscript" to adapt into a feature to star Leonardo DiCaprio. Pic will be produced by Douglas Wick and Lucy Fisher, whose Red Wagon will produce with DiCaprio's Appian Way and the Ludlum estate.
  
  Deal is expected to be completed early this week.
  
  The buy, executed on Par Pictures prexy Gail Berman's second day at work, is the biggest book deal of the year so far. Along with $4 million for the book, studio will be spending more than $1 million for an adaptation by Michael Seitzman, who scripted the Charlize Theron starrer "Class Action."
  
  DiCaprio will play Peter Chancellor, who turns in a novel about D.C. power brokers who are blackmailed into altering U.S. policies. When some operatives get hold of the manuscript, they think he has uncovered their actual scheme and they try to hunt the author down.
  
  Paramount's paying an astonishing amount of money for a book by an author who died in 2001 and published in 1977. Catalyst was Seitzman, who also wrote Brad Pitt vehicle "The Sparrow" and will direct his script "Storming the Court" for Warner Bros. He decided that the Cold War paranoia could be easily be updated to reflect the current political climate.
  
  Seitzman brought his idea to Red Wagon prexy Bobby Cohen, and they got the blessing of the Ludlum estate and worked up a take with Wick and Fisher. DiCaprio and his Appian Way prexy Brad Simpson soon came aboard. Mindful of the success and sophistication of Ludlum's "The Bourne Identity" with Matt Damon, studios were eager to grab a DiCaprio thriller with a romantic element.
  
  "The original was a paranoid thriller about intelligence agency abuses from the J. Edgar Hoover era, but intelligence groups have gotten more power and surveillance technology has become so sophisticated," Wick said. " (With) Leonardo in the role of a man of action -- and a romantic element thrown in -- it becomes a very attractive film."
  
  Warner Bros, Sony and Paramount each got the pitch Tuesday and Wednesday. Berman and Par co-prexy of production Allie Shearmur -- the latter of whom oversaw the "Bourne Identity" pics while an exec at Universal -- moved quickly.
  
  Deal will likely have other studios combing the Ludlum backlist for more than two dozen other political thrillers whose premises can be updated and tailored as star vehicles. The estate, which was repped by ICM in the deal, will have Jeffrey Weiner and Henry Morrison involved in producing capacities.
  
  The rich deal was blessed by Par Pictures chairman-CEO Brad Grey, who has managed to put together two consecutive DiCaprio vehicles. While at Plan B, he made an equally aggressive buy for the remake rights to the Hong Kong thriller "Infernal Affairs," which has turned into the Martin Scorsese-directed "The Departed," a film that stars DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg for Warner Bros.
  
  
• May 13, 2005 - The cream of the New York and Hollywood elite came together in lower Manhattan last night in a star-studded event honoring Nelson Mandela. Among the luminaries gathered to fete the former South African president at the Tribeca Grill were actors Sean Penn, Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Richard Gere and Matt Damon, along with one of the evening's hosts, Robert De Niro.
  
  Co-host and hotel tycoon Jerry Inzerillo thanked Mandela for "spreading your humanity and message of hope throughout the world."
  
  The frail 87-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who first visited the restaurant during a trip to New York in 1990, hammed it up with heavyweight legend Muhammad Ali, who pretended to box with him.
  
  Ali also mugged it up with actor Leonardo DiCaprio and CBS head Les Moonves, and even performed a magic trick for "Saturday Night Fever" star Travolta.
  
  Others in attendance included billionaire Donald Trump, musicians Dave Matthews, Jon Bon Jovi and Quincy Jones, supermodel Naomi Campbell, hip-hop master Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, and directors Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee.
  
  Actresses Glenn Close, Kelly Preston and Carey Lowell and Vanity Fair honcho Graydon Carter also turned out to pay homage to the legendary apartheid opponent
  
  
• July - November 2004: Leonardo has been all over the country campaigning for Kerry/Edwards and participating in "Rock the Vote Campaign" urging young Americans to vote in this election and make their voices heard. The Rock the Vote Camapign was Leo's brainchild in an election that he says is "the most important election of our lifetime"
  Related pictures can be viewed by clicking this link
  
  
• October 2004: DiCaprio Thanked in Newspaper Advertisement - Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio has been publicly thanked by the con man he played in Catch Me If You Can - in a full page newspaper advertisement. Former serial con artist Frank Abagnale Jr was left so impressed with DiCaprio's portrayal of him in the 2002 movie, when he heard the actor was recently named Actor Of The Year at the Hollywood Film Festival he decided to show his appreciation. The advertisement, placed in a prominent Hollywood trade paper, described DiCaprio as: "A fantastic actor, an extremely talented and compassionate individual and friend."
  
  
• October 4 2004 - Liz Smith: BIG STARS were real people at the Noche de Niños (Night of Children) in L.A. over the weekend. This event to help sick children brought out the gentle side of such big stars as Leonardo DiCaprio. He ignored big wheels like MGM's Alex Yemenidjian to chat with 11-year-old cancer patient, Paige Peterson. Leo, who knew the child was suffering a high fever, never left her side, saying, "You look so beautiful. Like a little doll!" Paige's mom was so overwhelmed by Leo's kindness, with tears in her eyes, she approached his mom and said simply, "You have a wonderful son."
  
  
• September 27, 2004 - Oscar(R)-Nominated Actress Annette Bening Will Get the 'Hollywood Actress of the Year Award' and Academy Award-Nominated Actor Leonardo DiCaprio Will Receive the 'Hollywood Actor of the Year Award'
  
  HOLLYWOOD, Calif./PRNewswire/ -- The Hollywood Film Festival's Board of Advisors is proud to announce that this year's festival will honor Oscar®-nominated actress ANNETTE BENING with its "Hollywood Actress of the Year Award" and Academy Award-nominated actor LEONARDO DICAPRIO with the "Hollywood Actor of the Year Award."

  The awards will be bestowed upon Ms. Bening and Mr. DiCaprio as part of the Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony on Monday evening, October 18, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Other industry professionals who will be honored for their achievements at the Awards Gala Ceremony are John Travolta for lifetime achievement, Mel Gibson for producing, Michael Mann for directing, Bob Berney for leadership, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Dean Robert Rosen for film preservation, John Logan for screenwriting, Caleb Deschanel for cinematography, Sally Menke for editing, Thomas Newman for film composing, John Dykstra for visual effects, Albert Wolsky for costume design, Stuart Craig for production design, Ve Neill for make-up, Debra Zane for casting, and DreamWorks' "Shrek 2" for animation. In addition, Jamie Foxx and Keira Knightley will be honored with the festival's Breakthrough Acting awards, and Zach Braff with the "Hollywood Breakthrough Director of the Year Award."

  "Annette Bening and Leonardo DiCaprio represent excellence in the art of acting and it gives us great pleasure to honor these talented professionals and their accomplishments at this year's festival," said festival founder Carlos de Abreu.

  ANNETTE BENING was nominated for a 2000 Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Actress-Drama for her role opposite Kevin Spacey in "American Beauty." She received an Academy Award nomination and was named Best Supporting Actress by the National Board of Review for her role in "The Grifters." Ms. Bening also earned Golden Globe nominations for her performances in Rob Reiner's "The American President," opposite Michael Douglas, and Barry Levinson's "Bugsy." Most recently, she stars in "Being Julia," due for release in October, which also stars Jeremy Irons and is directed by Istvan Szabo.

  Ms. Bening's motion picture credits also include Kevin Costner's "Open Range," opposite Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall; Neil Jordan's "In Dreams"; "The Siege," opposite Denzel Washington; Ian McKellen's adaptation of Shakespeare's "Richard III"; Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks!"; "Love Affair," with Warren Beatty and Garry Shandling; "Bugsy," also with Warren Beatty; "Guilty By Suspicion," opposite Robert De Niro; Mike Nichols's "Regarding Henry," opposite Harrison Ford; and Milos Forman's "Valmont." Ms. Bening also appeared in Mike Nichols's "Postcards from the Edge." She made her feature film debut in "The Great Outdoors," opposite Dan Aykroyd and John Candy. Ms. Bening's work on stage has brought her a Tony Award nomination and the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Outstanding Debut Performance of the Season for her role in "Coastal Disturbances" and critical acclaim and an Ovation Award nomination for Best Actress as Hedda Gabler in a recent revival of the Ibsen classic.

  LEONARDO DICAPRIO is an Academy Award-nominated actor, and also the star of the top-grossing movie of all time - "Titanic." In 1994, he earned both Oscar® and Golden Globe nominations for his role as a mentally handicapped young man in Lasse Hallstrom's "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." His performance also brought him awards from the National Board of Review and the Chicago Film Critics Association. He received his second Golden Globe nomination in 1997 for his starring role in James Cameron's Academy Award-winning Best Picture "Titanic." Mr. DiCaprio will next be seen starring as Howard Hughes in Martin Scorsese's biopic "The Aviator," which is due for release in December.

  Born in Hollywood, California, Leonardo DiCaprio began performing while still in elementary school. Following work in commercial and daytime television, he landed regular roles on the series "Parenthood" and "Growing Pains." His first major feature film part was in director Michael Caton-Jones's "This Boy's Life," starring opposite Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin. "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" came next, followed with starring roles in three films released in 1995: Sam Raimi's western "The Quick and the Dead," with Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman, Jim Carroll's "The Basketball Diaries," and Agnieszka Holland's "Total Eclipse." The following year, he starred opposite Claire Danes in Baz Luhrmann's updated screen adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Romeo + Juliet." He then joined an all-star ensemble cast, including Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton and Robert De Niro, in "Marvin's Room," which was followed by "Titanic." His subsequent film credits include Woody Allen's "Celebrity," "The Beach," "The Man in the Iron Mask," and starring in two films released last year: Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can" and Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York."

  The 2004 Annual Hollywood Film Festival, which will take place from October 12 to 18, incorporates in its activities the HOLLYWOOD FILM CONFERENCE, HOLLYWOOD FILM SCREENINGS, and HOLLYWOOD FILM AWARDS. The screenings and conference will take place at the ArcLight Theatres in Hollywood. The Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Monday, October 18.
  
  

• September 2004 - People Magazine - BOUGHT: Leonardo DiCaprio, 29, who stars as Howard Hughes in the upcoming biopic The Aviator, has bought into one of Hughes's old haunts, Las Vegas, with the purchase of a $1.5 million apartment in the gaming capital, the Wall Street Journal reports. The new pad, actually two apartments put together for 3,300 square feet of space, is in a 33-story glass high-rise called Panorama Towers. Meanwhile, in the Vegas suburbs, Siegfried Fischbacher has taken down the for-sale sign from the $2.9 million, 22,000-sq.ft. home he shares with Roy Horn, because of a cooling of the market for $1-million-plus homes.
  
  
• August 13 2004 - Believe in America Speech by Leonardo DiCaprio. Attended by more than 50,000 people, the rally on August 13, 2004 was the largest one ever in Portland, Oregon.
  
  
• August 2004 - Bob & Leo kitchen klatsch
  
  Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio haven't started filming on "The Good Shepherd," in which they portray CIA founder James Wilson at different ages. But they already seem to playing spy games.
  
  Diners at Fresco by Scotto could barely touch their fettucine the other night when the two Italian-American screen gods came into the E. 52nd St. restaurant.
  
  The pair sat down with their manager, Rick Yorn, and DiCaprio's spokesman, Ken Sunshine. Then things got mysterious.
  
  Bob and Leo suddenly got up and disappeared into the kitchen. It was over an hour before they reappeared.
  
  "Nobody in the restaurant wanted to leave until they came out of that kitchen," one diner tells us. "They were either cooking or having some kind of a super-secret meeting."
  
  No doubt in the meat locker.
  
  De Niro, who co-starred with DiCaprio in "This Boy's Life" and who is directing "The Good Shepherd," left before dessert.
  
  
• August 24 2004 - One of Hollywood’s highest paid actors, Leonardo DiCaprio, arrived as a tourist in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, aboard a Maya Island chartered flight late last Friday afternoon, August 20. “Leo”, accompanied by a female friend, was on his way to the exclusive private island resort of Cayo Espanto, located west of San Pedro Town.
  
  DiCaprio’s arrival at the Phillip Goldson International Airport in Belize City was filmed exclusively by 7NEWS as a camera team was at the PGIA when “Leo” arrived on an American Airlines flight from Dallas, Texas last Friday afternoon. DiCapprio refused to talk to 7News, and he quickly made his way to the airport’s VIP room, accompanied by a female and a special branch police officer in tow. At the VIP room, Leo filled out his customs and immigration forms, and after about 20 minutes, he and his female companion (Brazilian girlfriend, Gisel Bundchen, Victoria’s Secret Supermodel), exited and headed back onto the tarmac where they boarded a chartered Maya Island Air flight to San Pedro.
  
  While staying at Cayo Espanto, DiCapprio and his female companion had the opportunity to visit the world-famous marine parks of Lighthouse Reef, the Blue Hole, Hol Chan and Shark-Ray Alley, well-known for pristine snorkeling and scuba-diving. DiCaprio’s visit to San Pedro, Belize, places him on the list of other famous celebrities who have visited the island as tourists, including Harrison Ford, Benjamin Bratt, Julia Roberts, Jimmy Carter, Cameroon Diaz, Brooke Burke, Snoop Doggy Dog, Lennox Lewis, Tiger Woods, Armand Assante, and the late Tupac Shakur.
  
  Leonardo’s brief Bio
  Well-known as a successful and highly-paid actor, Leonardo DiCaprio commands a cool US$20 million per movie. His name allegedly derives from his German mother Irmalin’s having experienced a sudden kick from her unborn boy while enjoying a DaVinci painting at the Uffizi in Italy. In the year following his birth, she and his Italian father George were divorced. Leonardo grew up in Echo Park, then a particularly seedy, drug-dominated area of Los Angeles. At five, he appeared on his favorite TV show, “Romper Room,” and was nearly thrown off for misbehaving. After a string of commercials, educational films, occasional parts in TV series, a debut film role as Josh in “Critters 3” (1991), a continuing role as the homeless boy Luke in the TV series “Growing Pains”, he got his break-through part as Toby in “This Boy’s Life” (1993), co-starring with Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin. The part led the New York Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics to name him runner-up for Best Supporting Actor. His first Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations came for the difficult role of Arnie in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (1993). He had the male lead in a very updated “Romeo + Juliet” (1996), but Superstardom came to DiCaprio when he played the role of Jack Dawson in “Titanic” (1997), the highest grossing film ever, tied with “Ben-Hur” (1959) for most Academy Awards nominations- though Leo himself was not nominated.
  
  DiCaprio’s has been chosen twice by People Magazine as one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in the World”, in their 1997-98 issues. In 2003, he was ranked #6 in Star TV’s Top 10 Box Office Stars of the 1990s. He was childhood friends with Tobey Maguire, of “Spiderman” fame.
  
  
• August 2004 - DiCaprio Knows His Mann
  
  Leonardo DiCaprio teams with Michael Mann on an adaptation of Bryan Burrough's Public Enemies.
  
  Leonardo DiCaprio and Michael Mann are headed back to the Depression. The pair will collaborate on an adaptation of Bryan Burrough's bestselling novel Public Enemies, which Mann will direct and produce and DiCaprio will star in and produce. Mann will produce through his Forward Pass and DiCaprio through his Appian Way, with Kevin Misher also producing through his Misher Films. Tribeca Films partners Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro executive produce.
  
  The story, set during the Great Depression, centers on the great crime spree of notorious gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during 1933-34. J. Edgar Hoover's battle to bring down these mobsters helped transform the FBI from a powerless agency into the federal police force that it is today. It's still unclear which character DiCarpio will portray.
  
  Universal Pictures acquired the screen rights for the project from HBO, where Rosenthal and De Niro had originally set it up. Scott Stuber and Dylan Clark will now be the executives in charge of production for Universal.
  
  DiCaprio will next be seen in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, which will hit theaters in December. He's also attached to star for De Niro in The Good Shepard and will then reteam with Scorsese to star with Matt Damon in The Departed. His more recent credits include Catch Me If You Can and The Gangs of New York.
  
  Mann, who most recently helmed Collateral, will likely direct another project while the adaptation of the novel is being completed. His other credits include The Insider, Ali and Heat, among others.
  
  
• August 2004 - Mann, DiCaprio plan Depression-era FBI feature
  By MICHAEL FLEMING
  
  "Collateral" director Michael Mann and Leonardo DiCaprio will collaborate on a drama about the great crime wave of 1933-34. Universal Pictures has purchased screen rights to "Public Enemies," the bestselling book by "Barbarians at the Gate" author Bryan Burrough. Kevin Misher will produce.
  
  Pic will tell the story of how the government's attempt to stop Depression-era criminal legends John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd transformed J. Edgar Hoover's FBI from a powerless agency into the country's first federal police force.
  
  It is unclear yet which role DiCaprio will take, or even which side of the law his character will be on.
  
  Pic will be a co-production of Mann's Forward Pass, DiCaprio's Appian Way and Misher Films, with Tribeca partners Jane Rosenthal and Robert De Niro exec producing. That duo originally optioned the Burrough book and set it up at HBO, which let its option lapse. CAA brokered the book deal.
  
  Scott Stuber and Dylan Clark will shepherd the project for Universal.
  
  Mann is expected to direct another film while the crime saga is being scripted. DiCaprio is starring in the De Niro-directed "The Good Shepherd" and will follow by starring with Matt Damon in Martin Scorsese's "The Departed."
  
  
• August 2004 issue of HOLLYWOOD LIFE (thanks to Chrismtl for typing the article and to Peanut for the alert)

  HOLLYWOOD INK by Murgatroyd

  Murg fearlessly predicts that this year and the next will see Leonardo Dicaprio finally sinking TITANIC - that is restoring his reputation of movie star to one of the most daring and compulsively watchable actors around. Whether or not the 30 year old actor knows it, he may be courting at the very least one Oscar nomination by starring in 4 juicy, fact-based period epics in a row. First up, for director Martin Scorsese, Dicaprio captures 2 decades in the life of dashing young billionaire - aviator - inventor - moviemaker - playboy - eccentric Howard Hughes in THE AVIATOR, which begins 1930 when Hughes ws directing newcomer Jean Harlow ( played by Gwen Stefani ) in the aerial epic HELL'S ANGELS, then continues through the years with his relationships with such beauties as Katherine Hepburn (Cate Blanchett) and Ava Gardner (Kate Beckinsale) and ends in 1947 when he disastrously tries to make a splash with the massive flying boat the Spruce Goose.

  After that, Dicaprio tackles THE GOOD SHEPHERD, a tale of 40 years in the C.I.A.., as seen through the eyes of one of its founders. James Wilson. Leo plays the younger man with Robert deNiro playing the older version (in a reversal of his Godfather turn). DeNiro also directs the spy saga, his first time behind the camera since his 1993 debut. A BRONX TALE. If all goes according to plan, DiCaprio will enventually hook up with director Baz Luhrmann on that massive biomovie about the Macedonian King and world conqueror ALEXANDER THE GREAT, perhaps to co-star Nicole Kidman. Sounds spectacular to us. But more likely before that, Dicaprio will hang 10 as the legendary surfer MIKI DORA, who helped launch the Malibu beach culture in the 60's in ALL THE PERFECT WAVE, which the actor will co-produce.
  
  

• July 2004 - NY POST - HOT RUMOR: That Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp plan a movie based on Ellis Amburn's controversial biography, "Subterranean Kerouac," which focused on the intense relationship between Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation author of "On the Road," and his muse, Neal Cassady, a cowpoke-carjacker-dope dealer.

  Cold fact: The book has long been optioned by Leo's company, but lies abornin', and does not look to be activated. So say Leo's people. We say: Bet this movie comes to fruition with Leo as producer, not the star
  
  

• July 2004 - From Variety: Damon joins DiCaprio in gangster pic 'Departed'
  By CLAUDE BRODESSER, CATHY DUNKLEY
  
  Matt Damon is going back undercover. Damon is set to star opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's police thriller "The Departed" previously known as "Infernal Affairs" at Warner Bros....
  
  From The Hollywood Reporter: Matt Damon, who hits theaters today in "The Bourne Supremacy," is in negotiations to star opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Departed," Warner Bros. Pictures' English-language remake of "Infernal Affairs" that Martin Scorsese is directing. Based on a trilogy of popular Hong Kong crime films directed by Lau Wai-keung and Mak Siu-fai, the story revolves around a gangster who infiltrates the police department and a cop infiltrates the gangs at the same time. The two find out that a mole is in each organization and race to find each other's identity.
  
  
• July 21, 2004 - Teen Hollywood - Dicaprio's Back On The Beach
  
  World Entertainment News Network: Leonardo DiCaprio is set to become a surfing professional after his production company, Appian Way, bought the rights to the biography of American surf legend Mickey Dora.
  
  Dora, who sparked Malibu, California's wave-riding sub-culture in the '50s and '60s, was commonly known as Da Cat and was famous for his eccentricities and anti-establishment attitude, as well as for his superb surfing skills.
  
  DiCaprio is set to take on the role of Dora in All For a Few Perfect Waves, which means a welcome return to the bronzed and buffed DiCaprio from the 2000 hit adventure film The Beach.
  
  
• Jul 16, 2004 - Philanthropy News & Notes
  PINUPS
  
  A dozen celebrity philanthropists will be featured on the Giving Back Fund's new "12 Reasons to Give" 2005 calendar. All of the celebrities featured have been chosen because of their history of generous giving to the tune of $1 million or more. Scheduled to appear are Andre Agassi, Tyra Banks, Leonardo DiCaprio , Angelina Jolie, Sarah McLachlan, Alonzo Mourning, Edward Norton, Rosie O'Donnell, Christopher Reeve, David Robinson, Sting and the late Ray Charles. All of the calendar's net proceeds will be distributed to the celebrities' nonprofits of choice, which include the Rainforest Foundation, the United Nations' Refugee Program and Rosie's Broadway Kids, among others. The "12 Reasons" calendar will be available at all major booksellers and online at www.amazon.com
  
  
• July 15 2004: Liz Smith: LESS LURIDLY, Leonardo DiCaprio was spotted at an L.A. laundromat, sitting with a pal who was doing his weekly washing. When asked for autographs, Leo sweetly obliged. And when asked why in the world he was hanging around an ordinary wash 'n' dry spot, the superstar replied, "Oh, well, I had nothing better to do!"
  
  Leo's work on Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" is done, and he's been left somewhat in the lurch by Baz Luhrmann's sudden postponement of his Alexander the Great movie, which was to have also starred Nicole Kidman as Alexander's sexy snake-worshiping mom, Olympias. Perhaps this is for the best. The Oliver Stone-Colin Farrell version of Alexander's life of world conquering opens this fall. However that fares, there'll be enough time between the Stone and Luhrmann pics to judge them individually. Two years, at least. Leo is not without project potential, however. He seems pretty much set for "The Good Shepherd," to be directed by Robert De Niro, sometime in 2005.
  
  
• July 2004 - Gisele Bundchen mixed business with a little pleasure while on a shoot for Vogue in the Hamptons this week. She was joined by beau Leonardo DiCaprio.
  
  The lovebirds shacked up at tony waterside Sag Harbor Inn and tooled around in a pickup truck. Tuesday, they stopped by the East End Clam Bake in Southampton for Maryland-style crab cakes and fried shrimp. DiCaprio was also spotted at various East End gas stations dressed down in a baseball cap, flip-flops and surfer shorts, stocking up on cigarettes.
  
  
• July 2004 - Leo speaks about the late Marlon Brando: "It is a rite of passage for every young actor to study Marlon Brando's performances in films like On the Waterfront and A streetcar named desire. At first, his films were charged with with a sense of brilliant defiance. This eventually changed, mostly through a manical restlessness, and he created a series of unpremediated characters in films like One Eyed Jack and Last Tango in Paris. It is especially these later characters that I'm drawn to the most. Brando begins the first scene in One Eyed Jacks with the main character tossing a banana peel onto a gold-scale during a bank robbery - a telling gesture in a movie that he directed. In last tango in Paris, he seems to improvise the character of Paul. His portrayal of a contemporary young man living in an indifferent Paris, seems to be as close to being Brando's self portrait as any. His paradoxical balcony death scene which climaxes with an oddly funny offbeat move of thumbing a gum under a railing steals the scene's drama and replaces it with a numbness. For me these simple gestures are examples of what made Brando the unpredictable and truly existential actor of our time.- Leonardo DiCaprio"
  
  
• July 2004 - NY Times on the death of Marlon Brando: Marlon Brando, the rebellious prodigy who electrified a generation and forever transformed the art of screen acting, yet whose erratic career, obstinate eccentricities and recurring tragedies prevented him from fully realizing the promise of his early genius, is dead. He was 80.
  
  His lawyer, David J. Seeley, said Mr. Brando died on Thursday at a Los Angeles hospital that Mr. Seeley did not identify, The Associated Press reported. The cause of death was being also withheld, Mr. Seeley said.
  
  Young audiences who knew Mr. Brando as a tabloid curiosity with his own private island off Tahiti, or simply an overweight target for late-night comics, might be surprised to learn that at one time, he was a truly revolutionary presence who strode through American popular culture like lightning on legs.
  
  Certainly among the handful of enduringly great American film actors — some say the greatest — he has also been, without question, the most widely imitated. Virtually all of the finest male stars who have emerged in the last half-century, from Paul Newman to Warren Beatty to Robert De Niro to Leonardo DiCaprio, contain some echo of Mr. Brando's world-shaking paradigm.
  
  
• Jun 13, 2004: Variety - Col, DiCaprio to tell grizzly story
  
  Leonardo DiCaprio (news)'s Appian Way has teamed with Columbia Pictures to produce the biopic "The Man Who Loved Grizzlies." The project will be developed with an eye toward DiCaprio starring as Tim Treadwell, an environmentalist who was fatally mauled by the bears he wanted to protect.
  
  Project is based on Ned Zeman's article published in the May issue of Vanity Fair. Zeman will adapt the script with Daniel Barnz.
  
  Treadwell was a controversial and charismatic figure, one Zeman described as the bears' self-appointed goodwill ambassador who looked like a Malibu surfer. Spending months at a time in the wilds of Alaska, he took the anti-poaching cause as his own -- even appearing on David Letterman's show -- but had no training beyond his talents as a photographer and naturalist.
  
  When Treadwell and his partner, Amie Huguenard, were killed in October, they came under criticism for what some viewed as willful naivete, an insistence on viewing the bears as a natural friend rather than potential predator.
  
  Appian Way partner Brad Simpson told Daily Variety: "He was a classic existential outlaw. There was a Peter Pan quality to him, (but) he won a lot of converts because he really walked the walk."
  
  DiCaprio, who knew Treadwell, was also a supporter of his charities.
  
  Zeman and Barnz are writing "Under and Alone" for Mel Gibson (news) and Warner Bros. Pictures. They also wrote "Emperor Zehnder," another adaptation of a Zeman Vanity Fair piece, which is set up at Touchstone Pictures with Richard Gere as star. ICM repped the writers in the deal.
  
  Said Barnz, "We're always drawn to these all-or-nothing eccentrics who are willing to die for something they love passionately."
  
  Col execs on the project are Matt Tolmach and Shannon Gaulding. DiCaprio and Simpson produce, with Zeman and Barnz as executive producers. Jewel Palovak, co-founder of Treadwell's educational foundation, Grizzly People, will also serve in a producing capacity.
  
  
• June 2004 - Ted Casablanca: Leonardo DiCaprio, providing scrumptious eye candy fer idlers and staffers at Chateau Marmont. Sunset Strip. No maybe-fiancée Gisele in sight, this to-do was bidness-oriented. Sporting a backwards Lakers cap, too-fab sunglasses and cargo shorts, Leo-babe struggled to remain interested in a script three studio-types were helping him thumb through.
  
  
• June 22 2004: Yahoo News - Affleck will be among the celebs participating at the Disney Concert Hall fundraiser for John Kerry and the Demo National Committee. It is a sellout ... Leonardo DiCaprio will team with Robert De Niro at the event -- to introduce Barbra Streisand. Leo, who attended the L.A. and N.Y preems of Michael Moore (news)'s "Fahrenheit 9/11," is hot to make more appearances for the pic -- and John Kerry -- before heading out on his own agenda, p.a.s' for "The Aviator," which doesn't bow until well after the election, Dec. 17 ... Leo was also on hand Saturday afternoon at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica for HBO's All Star Family Sports Jam benefiting Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. HBO's Chris Albrecht, leadership chair for the New Hospital at Children's Hospital L.A. campaign, was event chair with Mary Hart co-chairing/ Robert Wuhl (news) m.c'd. and Billy Crystal (news) was live auctioneer. It was a perfect teaming of showbiz and sports stars. Crystal, of course, represented baseball, having exec produced and directed HBO's "61*," the story of the Roger Maris-Mickey Mantle home run race. The event raised more than half a million-$ for the new 280-bed expansion of the Children's Hospital.
  
  
• June 2004 - Los Angeles Times: Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry is up for a Hollywood sequel. Just a few weeks after Kerry was feted by Barbra Streisand, Billy Crystal and other entertainers at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood crowd is coming out in force tomorrow for another fundraiser, this time at the Music Box Henry Fonda Theater.
  
  The cast of this week's event includes actors Jack Black, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, Christina Applegate, David Spade and William H. Macy.
  
  
• June 8, 2004 - Leo walked the red carpet for the second screening of Michael Mann's controversial film Farenheit911 in LA
  
  
• June 2, 2004 - Kindly recall I am the first to have clued you about John Kerry's June 10 fund-raiser. I now tell you more. It's called "A Change Is Going to Come." It's 6 p.m. Two hours. Radio City Music Hall. Stars Bette Midler, who's a friend of Teresa Heinz Kerry, Whoopi Goldberg, who's a friend of William Jefferson Clinton, Robin Williams, who's a friend of anyone not Republican. Also Jon Bon Jovi, Wyclef Jean, John Mellencamp and Kerry's longtime Boston pal James Taylor. Exec producer is Jann Wenner, the Creator and Lord God Almighty and main man behind Rolling Stone magazine.
  
  So why him?
  
  Says Jann: "John's my friend from the old days. We both have homes in Sun Valley. We ski together, lunch together. We're neighbors. We discussed this six years ago but Al [Gore] ran. So, two years ago, after John said he's definitely running, we talked about organizing two concerts. Both needed to be done before the convention, so planning started in March. I told him: 'It's time to have a snowboarder in the White House.' "
  
  The first production is June 7 in L.A. at Disney Hall, featuring Barbra Streisand, Neal Diamond, Willie Nelson, Billy Crystal. "It took several calls to get Barbra. I know her and John himself called her. Then came Neal. Then Willie and Billy. One manager won't commit until another confirms. Lots of egos have to be checked at the door. I had to say, 'Look, don't do it for me. Do it for the country.' The hosts are Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Ben Affleck, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman. No speeches, just intros.
  
  They figure to raise $7 mil. Orchestra seats are $1,000. For 25G, you can get in on the post-concert dinner for 150 VIPs at a "to be decided" venue.
  
  

  LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - By Tamara Conniff
  
  The Los Angeles show also is being produced by Miramax co-chair Harvey Weinstein, Streisand's manager Marty Erlichman and special-event producer Ken Ehrlich. The host committee includes Rhea Perlman and Danny DeVito, Laurie and Larry David, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck and Rita Wilson.
  
  

• May 26 2004: Sean Penn and Naomi Watts costar in 'The Assassination of Richard Nixon.'
  CANNES - Ever since the Cannes Film Festival was started in 1939 to give filmmakers an alternative showcase to the Fascist-dominated Venice festival, it has attempted to steer clear of politics.
  
  But the 57th edition of the festival, ending today, has been dominated by politics. Striking hotel workers, marching part-time arts workers and, of course, Michael Moore's anti-Bush film, "Fahrenheit 9/11," have all helped raise the political temperature.
  
  Several other films benefited from the attention paid to Moore's film. They included "Bush's Brain" (about presidential strategist Karl Rove), "Uncovered: The War on Iraq" and the independent feature film "The Assassination of Richard Nixon." The latter was directed by Niels Mueller, backed by Leonardo DiCaprio among others, and stars Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Don Cheadle.
  
  Though set in 1974, the film strongly echoes the 9/11 terrorist attacks in its story about a troubled furniture salesman who intended to hijack a plane and fly it into the White House during Nixon's presidency.
  
  
• May 26 2004: Rush and Molloy, NY Daily News - Some of rock's baddest bad boys were up late Wednesday. But, sorry to say, they were all behaving.
  
  The evening started at Roseland, where former Stone Temple Pilot Scott Weiland and Guns N' Roses vets Slash, Matt Sorum and Duff McKagan unveiled their band Velvet Revolver.
  
  After the show, Gina Gershon, Sean Penn, Andy Hilfiger and others moved on to the party Tony Theodore prepared for Arista chief Clive Davis on the roof of the Gansevoort Hotel. Some got tired of waiting for the band. (Penn moved on to Marquee, where he hung with Leo DiCaprio and Gisele Bundchen.)
  
  
• May 24 2004 - Review journal Las Vegas Sightings:
  
  Leonardo DiCaprio, Maguire, Juliette Lewis and Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano from "Survivor" at the Palms' ghostbar on Saturday.
  
  
• May 24 2004 - LAS VEGAS: ParadisePoker.com, world leader in the fast-growing online poker sector, are proud to announce that 100+ players have qualified on their site to play on behalf of the Million Dollar Team ParadisePoker.com in the World Series of Poker Championships, taking place at the legendary Binion's Horseshoe through May 28, 2004. The Team is known by its Million Dollar nickname due to the total value of their $10,000 a head entry fees -- each being won online in $25 qualifying tournaments on ParadisePoker.com.
  
  Also playing as part of the Team are newly engaged million dollar "Survivor" winner Amber Brkich and her former competitor Rob Mariano (Boston Rob). Rob is participating in the Championships, along with Amber's dad (Val Brkich), while Amber cheers them on from the sidelines.
  
  To celebrate their prized million dollar group of players, ParadisePoker.com sponsored a kick-off celebrity charity weekend at the Palms Casino Resort. Among the celebrities who attended include LEONARDO DICAPRIO, BEN AFFLECK, TOBEY MAGUIRE, DAVID SPADE, MEKHI PHIFER, JOY BRYANT, DANNY MASTERSON, SIMON REX, TARA REID, MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ and the Survivor All-Stars couple, AMBER BRKICH and "BOSTON" ROB MARIANO. The highlight of the weekend was the ParadisePoker.com Celebrity Challenge Poker game, won by Survivor All- Stars champion Amber Brkich. A donation in the amount of $25,000 was made to Multiple Sclerosis charities, Amber Brkich's charitable cause.
  
  
• May 2004: Hollywood.com:
  Bet for Your Favorite Celeb Poker Player
  
  Place your bets! Online bettors have a chance to prognosticate which of their favorite actors or pros will win at the prestigious 35th World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, which runs May 22-28. Leonardo DiCaprio is near the head of the celebrity pack at 425-to-1 odds. Matt Damon is holding at 450-to-1, besting good friend Ben Affleck and actors Lou Diamond Phillips and Ed Norton, all with 500-to-1 rankings. James Woods recently pulled slightly ahead of that trio at 490-to-1. On the other end of the spectrum, long-time player Larry Flynt, stuck in a 700-to-1 long shot, is ranking lowest among the entire list of players. You've got until midnight to ante up at Pokertropolis.com, an online betting Web site.
  
  
• May 18 2004 - From www.gamingtoday.com by David Stratton

  The world’s most prestigious poker game, the World Series of Poker’s championship event, kicks off at Binion’s Horseshoe on Saturday and continues for seven days as a record number of players battle for a purse that could exceed $10 million for the first time.

  Last year’s championship finals, the $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold ‘em event, attracted a record 839 players who generated a prize pool of nearly $8 million. The winner, Chris Moneymaker, took home the first place prize of $2.5 million.

  Although a final count won’t be available until Saturday, tournament officials estimated that the number of entries could easily top 1,000 players, and may reach as high as 1,500-1,600.

  With 1,000 players, first place would pay about $2.75 million, but the prize would skyrocket to $3 million if 1,500 players enter. In addition, a full field of 1,500 would generate cash payoffs through 135^th place.

  The championship event culminates a record-breaking run for the 35^th annual World Series of Poker, which drew more players and generated more prize money than any previous World Series.

  In addition to the record number of players, fueled in part because of a television-induced, world-wide interest in poker, this year’s tournament has several story lines: The return of world-class players to the tables; a new generation of players spawned by online gaming; and the entry of celebrities into the competitive arena.

  In the tournaments leading up to the championship event, former world champs have thrown their weight around in winning and challenging for gold bracelets. Top players who have competed include Phil Hellmuth, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, T.J. Cloutier, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Chris Ferguson and Carlos Mortenson, to name a few.

  Because of the tournament’s "open" format, anyone with $10,000 can enter. Even without the $10,000, players can qualify by winning smaller tournaments or "satellites," which have been held at Binion’s as well as poker rooms across the country for the past several weeks.

  The satellite system has proved particularly lucrative to online poker rooms, which have conducted their own satellites and other promotions in the months leading up to the World Series.

  The result has been an astonishing number of players – perhaps in the hundreds – who will have secured their seat in the championship event by winning an online poker tournament.

  That was the path followed by last year’s eventual winner, Chris Moneymaker, a poker amateur from Tennessee who won an online tournament (at a cost of less than $30), which he parlayed into a $2.5 million payday.

  Finally, several celebrities will compete in this year’s event. They include Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Lou Diamond Phillips, Ed Norton, James Woods and Gabe Kaplan of the hit 70s show, Welcome Back Kotter.

  Most of the celebrities "won" their seats in televised celebrity tournaments, or by playing in tourneys sponsored by the World Poker Tour.

  The World Series championship event will be recorded by ESPN for broadcast later this summer.
  
  

• May 12 2004: Leo catches 'Waves'
  DeVincentis to adapt surf bio for Appian
  By DANA HARRIS
  
  Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way banner has optioned feature rights to "All for a Few Perfect Waves," David Rensin's upcoming bio of surfer Miki Dora, with DiCaprio eyeing the central role. "High Fidelity" scribe D.V. DeVincentis will adapt the oral biography. Appian optioned the book from a proposal that Rensin, author of "The Mailroom," sent to publishers earlier this month. Book will be published by William Morrow in 2006.
  
  Project falls under Appian's first-look deal with Initial Entertainment. DiCaprio and Appian prexy Brad Simpson will produce, with Rensin as co-producer and Barry Rosen as exec producer.
  
  Dora, who was credited with sparking Malibu's surfing subculture during the 1950s and '60s, was also a seductive prankster who had a fickle relationship with his public persona. Frustrated with the exploitation of the surfing lifestyle, he dropped out at the end of the 1960s. In the early 1980s, he was arrested for check fraud and spent time in French and American jails.
  
  Simpson described Dora as "part Marlon Brando in 'The Wild Ones,' part Sid Vicious and part Cary Grant, all in board shorts. He would crash Hollywood parties, charm all the guests and leave with the most extraordinary girl on his arm and a collection of filched credit cards in his pocket."
  
  Filmmakers such as Art Linson and John Milius previously have tried to bring Dora's story to the screen. However, the surfer made a habit of teasing producers, announcing that he was ready to see a film made of his life and entertaining offers, only to later pull away. Dora died of cancer in January 2002.
  
  Rosen brought the project to Appian, which worked with the Firm to persuade Rensin's William Morris agents to show them his proposal before it went to publishers. Appian optioned the proposal through its deal with Initial and immediately approached DeVincentis, an accomplished surfer, to handle the adaptation.
  
  
• May 12 2004: From thehill.com
  
  A horde of celebrities has asked if they can help the Kerry campaign defeat Bush in November. There were so many requests, in fact, that it’s almost more celebrity help than the Kerry campaign needs or can use. Both actor Danny DeVito and actor Leonardo DiCaprio have told the Kerry campaign that they are eager to travel with and stump for the candidate.
  
  
• May 10 2004: From Access Hollywood:
  Leonardo and Keanu Reeves to attend a HBO Charity Event for the benefit of the Children's Hospital in Santa Monica, LA on June 19th.
  
  
• May 10 2004: Variety:
  Crystal, DiCaprio on charity team
  HBO fundraiser to benefit new children's hospital
  By ADDIE MORFOOT
  
  Billy Crystal, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jamie Lee Curtis will take part in the inaugural HBO "All Star Family Sports Jam" to benefit the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles on June 19 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.
  
  The hangar will be transformed into a sports fantasyland featuring interactive games such as a golf chipping and putting contest, batting cages and a virtual arcade.
  
  Crystal will co-host a live auction in order to raise funds for the construction of a new 280-bed children's hospital.
  
  
• May 5 2004: Premiere's Top 100 Most Powerful:

  50 - Leonardo DiCaprio
  Rank last year: 42
  Title: Wing Leader
  Career Domestic Box Office: $1 billion
  2003 Box Office: $0
  Status Report: Colin Farrell beat him into Alexander the Great's sandals, mothballing his competing Baz Luhrmann epic. Channeling Howard Hughes for Martin Scorsese in "The Aviator" and taking first producer credit under Appian Way Shingle.
  Next: Playing a cofounder of the CIA in "The Good Shepherd", directed by Robert De Niro.
  Yes, it's true: Launched "e-Activism Zone" with his name on it at National Resources Defense Council offices in Santa Monica.
  
  

• May 12 2004 - Ted Casablanca:
  
  Leonardo DiCaprio, holding back from scooting out of a packed theater at the Grove. Hell-Ay, remember? After a screening of Denzel's Man on Fire, Leo-babe and a guy-pal wanted to play it risk free (read: screaming-fan-freaks free) and stuck around at the top exit to sneak onto the balcony. Caught ya! L.D. was looking très scruffy in khakis and a nondescript tee. Perfect recipe, indeed, and a coupla studs boldly emulating it were...
  
  
• April 24 2004: Leo helps Tobey celebrate his girlfriend's birthday at Six Flags Amusement Park - Many thanks to Gabi for the pics!
  
  
• April 21 2004: (See also Environment Updates.) MTV News.com: "Tom Hanks, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Leonardo DiCaprio and Meg Ryan are among the celebrities scheduled to appear at "Earth to L.A.!," a benefit for the Natural Resources Defense Council at the Wadsworth Theater in Los Angeles on May 6. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be the keynote speaker, Sheryl Crow will perform, and Larry David will do stand-up."
  
  
• April 21 2004: Billboard Bits: 'Earth To L.A.,' QOTSA, Bonnaroo & More
  
  CrowSheryl Crow, Willie Nelson and Jack Black are among the artists scheduled to appear at the Natural Resources Defense Council's (NRDC) biennial fundraiser "Earth to L.A.! -- The Greatest Show on the Earth," scheduled for May 6 at the Wadsworth Theatre in Brentwood, Calif.
  
  The evening of music, message and comedy will also feature Tom Hanks, who will serve as "ringmaster," and keynote speaker Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Also scheduled to appear are Leonardo DiCaprio, Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton, Larry David, Will Ferrell and Ali G.
  
  NRDC is an environmental advocacy group with offices in New York, Washington, D.C, San Francisco and Santa Monica, Calif. The organization plans to raise $2 million from the event to advance its mission to safeguard the Earth's natural resources. Tickets, which start at $500, are available by calling Harvey Rogas at 310-559-9334 ext. 162.
  
  
• April 20 04 - New York Daily News Page Six: TOBEY Maguire, Heather Graham, Sean Hayes, Owen Wilson and Ellen DeGeneres watching Leonardo DiCaprio get out-bluffed by Jack Black in the poker final at Amanda Scheer-Demme's tournament benefitting the Peace Games in Los Angeles . .
  
  
• April 20 2004 - Las Vegas journal: Seems that one of the new investors in the property (Bourbon Street casino in Las Vegas) is Los Angeles resident Reagan Silber, a professional poker player of substantial means -- and substantial Hollywood connections.
  
  We called Silber on Wednesday to talk about his new Vegas venture, but the generally reclusive potentate didn't return the message.
  
  Last weekend Silber had some new Vegas friends and some old Hollywood pals over to his Bel Air mansion for a little no-limit hold 'em.
  
  At the end of the $10,000 buy-in charity tourney benefiting Peace Games (a part of the national service network AmeriCorps), it was Leonardo DiCaprio getting out-bluffed by Jack Black.
  
  
• April 17 04: Excerpt from Canadian TV Guide cover story for Earth Day 2004: Passion is also the right word for Leonardo DiCaprio , who’s hosting and executive Producing the American version of THE GREAT WARMING, to air on PBS in the fall. Coshof still marvels at the coincidence that brought DiCaprio on-board. While CMIYC was filming in Montreal in 2002, one of the crew, Rick Nish, mentioned he’d been hired for an environmental documentary. “Middle of the night, “recalls Coshof, “some- body said: Leonardo wants to see you.” The star peppered Nish with questions and the rest is history. “We’ve been working on the project ever since.” Said Coshof .”He really cares about getting the message across. This really is his issue. “
  
  
• April 9 04 - Washington Post: At a Beverly Hills fundraiser for Democratic nominee John Kerry last month, held at supermarket mogul Ron Burkle's mansion, Brad Pitt walked in looking for his other half, Jennifer Aniston -- who was somewhere in the crowd that included Ben Affleck, Meg Ryan, Barbra Streisand, Tobey Maguire, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu and Sharon Stone. Coming to the rescue was none other than Vanessa Kerry, the candidate's daughter: "Vanessa noticed Brad looking lost, so she grabbed him and brought him to Jen," a fellow partygoer told Us Weekly . . . Oh, and don't be surprised if you see Leo DiCaprio taking an active part in the Kerry campaign. The senator gave some one-on-one time to the environment-conscious actor . . .
  
  
• March 18 2004: Rush & Molloy - Meryl Streep should produce more often. Her first theater project, Sarah Jones' one woman show "bridge & tunnel," has roped in A-list audiences including Leonardo DiCaprio and mom Irmelin, James Earl Jones, Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, Matthew Modine and Jeff Daniels.
  
  
• March 18, 2004 - The Vine: All-star lineup seduced by 'Sin'
  (Robert Rodriguez last directed Johnny Depp and Antonio Banderas in Once Upon a Time in Mexico City)
  
  Robert Rodriguez is packing up a U-Haul with a host of top talent in hopes that they'll move into "Sin City," which he is directing for Dimension Films. According to multiple sources, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Willis, Elijah Wood, Mickey Rourke, Brittany Murphy, Kate Bosworth and Jaime King have been targeted for the film, an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel series.
  
  Some of the actors have already signed on for parts in the pic, while others are only in discussions or have just received offers to join the cast. Other names being bandied about include Benicio Del Toro and Maria Bello, though offers had not yet gone out to either as of late Wednesday. Set to start shooting shortly, "Sin City" will be composed of three intertwining vignettes revolving around a dark set of characters that call the fictional corrupt town home. (Chris Gardner)
  
  Note - Variety:
  All that's certain is that Mickey Rourke will anchor the story segment that will begin shooting Monday. The remaining cast will draw from those who are available for a reasonable price to work a short shift in a cool film.
  
  
• Variety - Kevin Connolly will make his feature directorial debut with "The Gardener of Eden" for Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way, the shingle based at Initial Entertainment Group. Appian optioned the project as a spec from scribe Adam "Tex" Davis.
  
  DiCaprio will produce the pic with Initial's Graham King. Initial Entertainment Group is financing.
  
  Story concerns a ne'er-do-well college dropout who returns to his hometown and receives unexpected accolades when he inadvertently saves a local's life. This inspires him to set up more would-be disasters so he can again benefit from saving the day.
  
  
• 4/Mar/2004 - From moviehole.net
  Inside word on Infernal Affairs remake
  
  According to insider `Aero', Leonardo DiCaprio has near officially signed for the "Infernal Affairs" remake.
  
  "Leo's going to be playing the undercover cop who wins a pass in the gang. He's just waiting on the revamped script - but seems happy. Pitt's signed to play the gang member who infiltrates the cops - great fit for both", he says. "It'll be a two-hander".
  
  "They're transporting the action to Boston, and in essence, combining elements of all three Infernal Affairs movies. If this one's successful, then of course there will be a sequel, but as it stands, it's just going to be written as a stand-alone movie. Bill Monahan who did Jurassic Park 4, is the scribe. He's juggling both jobs at the moment".
  
  
• Variety - March 1 2004: DiCaprio investigates 3rd pic with Scorsese
  Thesp eyes role in Infernal Affairs remake
  
  After collaborating on back-to-back pictures, Leonardo DiCaprio may not be ready to part with helmer Martin Scorsese. Even as Scorsese's reps are busily trying to negotiate the helmer's deal to direct a remake of "Infernal Affairs" at Warner Bros., insiders say the director already has DiCaprio in mind for one of the two starring roles. Both leading roles give new meaning to the cliche "good cop/bad cop"
  
  Based on the original Chinese-lingo gangster pic of the same name ("Wu jian dao"), "Infernal" will be reset in Boston, amid tough Irish-American mobsters and cops who are their constant nemeses. Pic would be produced by Scorsese as well as Brad Grey, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt's Plan B shingle, with Pitt considering a starring role in the film, too.
  
  Scorsese and DiCaprio just finished Howard Hughes biopic "The Aviator," also at Warner Bros. Prior to that, the two collaborated on Miramax's "Gangs of New York," which earned Scorsese an Oscar nomination for best director.
  
  
• Hollywood Reporter excerpt

The Vine: DiCaprio eyes Scorsese film

Leonardo DiCaprio might reteam with Martin Scorsese, his director on "Gangs of New York" and the upcoming release "The Aviator." Sources said DiCaprio is in talks to star in "Infernal Affairs" for Warner Bros. Pictures. Based on a trilogy of Chinese-language gangster movies, "Infernal" is being produced by Scorsese as well as Brad Grey, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt's Plan B shingle.

Sources said Pitt most likely will star in the picture as well. DiCaprio is repped by the Firm and by Steve Warren of Hansen, Jacobson, Teller & Hoberman. Warners declined comment.

• Marty loves Leo

Devin Faraci - contributing sources: Variety

Step aside, Bobby Deniro, Marty has found a new leading man-Leonardo DiCaprio.

Sources say that after finishing two back to back films together - Gangs of New York & The Aviator - Scorsese is looking to cast Leo as one of two leads in his remake of the Asian film Infernal Affairs.

While the director is not fully attached to the project yet, things are looking good. Brad Pitt`s production company is on board and he`s looking at possibly starring alongside Leo.

If they add Orlando Bloom to this cast it could have grave effects on the sexual development of millions of American teen girls.

Scorsese would move the film from it`s Chinese locale to Boston, where it would be set among the Irish mobsters who pahk their cahs by the pahk....

• Mar 1, 2004 - Leo and Marty: Triple Play?

  by Sarah Hall of Entertainment Weekly Online

  Looks like Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese may suffer from a bit of separation anxiety.

  The duo worked together on 2002's Gangs of New York and just wrapped The Aviator, a biopic of Howard Hughes' life.

  
  Now trade reports indicate that DiCaprio may be teaming up with Scorsese again for a remake of a trio of Chinese gangster films, all known as Infernal Affairs, or Wu Jian Dao.

  While Scorsese's reps are reportedly still in talks negotiating his deal with Warner Bros., insiders say the helmer is already determined to attach DiCaprio for one of the lead roles.

  The film would be reset in Boston and center on the tumultuous relationship between Irish-American gangsters and corrupt police officers.

  Scorsese, Brad Grey, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt would share producing credits on the film. Pitt would also likely play the other starring role opposite DiCaprio.

  While DiCaprio may be enjoying a professional affair with Scorsese, he's dabbling in other directors as well. He's set to play Alexander the Great opposite Nicole Kidman's Olympias in an as-yet untitled picture to be directed by Baz Luhrmann. The film is in production and is due to bow sometime next year.

  Also on DiCaprio's slate is The Good Shepherd, a history of the CIA to be directed by Robert DeNiro. The film is listed in pre-production and is supposed to premiere later this year.

• A simple twist of fete
  Casual gathering attracts a super-sized celeb crowd
  By TIMOTHY M. GRAY, KIRSTIN WILDER
  
  Hollywood loves sequels, and the second edition of the Night Before proved more boffo than the first. Call it "The Return of the Fling." The dress was casual, the mood was upbeat and the cause was terrific: For the second year, the event benefited the Motion Picture & Television Fund and raised more than $3.5 million -- a nice jump from last year's $2.5 mil.
  
  The pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel was covered, so guests at Saturday's soiree were figuratively walking on water as they dined on sushi, prime rib, the new Diet Coke with lime and Krispy Kreme doughnut sundaes.
  
  No press members were allowed inside and invitations read "no cameras please," to ensure the guests' privacy. Guests had raw elbows from rubbing them with celebs. The turnout included Oscar nominees Shohreh Aghdashloo, Alec Baldwin, Patricia Clarkson, Clint Eastwood, Marcia Gay Harden, Djimon Hounsou, Holly Hunter, Ben Kingsley, Jude Law, Bill Murray and Renee Zellweger.
  
  And guests Hank Aaron, Tom Arnold, Kate Beckinsale, Maria Bello, Thora Birch, Jack Black, Kate Bosworth, Adrien Brody, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Michael Chiklis, Kristen Davis, Laura and Bruce Dern, Roma Downey with Mark Burnett, Aaron Eckhardt, Cedric the Entertainer, Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, Sean Hayes, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Bonnie Hunt, Elton John, Nick Lachey, Michael Mann, Camryn Manheim, Debi Mazar, Isaac Mizrahi, Carrie-Anne Moss, Megan Mullally, Dermot Mulroney, Gary Ross, Alicia Silverstone, Molly Sims, Sylvester Stallone, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, Martin Short, David Spade, Ben Stiller, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Ted Turner, Donald Trump, Nia Vardalos, Jack Valenti, Peter Weir, Luke Wilson and Oprah Winfrey. The fete's host committee in attendance were Jennifer Aniston, Kate Capshaw, Steven Spielberg, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie, Rita Wilson, Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas.
  
  Hollywood's studio chiefs and execs were equally plentiful with the likes of Sherry Lansing, Amy Pascal, Jeff Blake, Dan Feldman, Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, Chris McGurk, Frank Mancuso, Sumner Redstone, Richard Parsons, Alex Yemenidjian, Harvey Weinstein, Howard Stringer and Tom Sherak.
  
  Presenting sponsors were Coca-Cola, Ford, Hewlett-Packard, Marilyn & Jeffrey Katzenberg, Krispy Kreme and Reed Elsevier. Music was provided by Andy Marx and Marty Greenberg.
  
  
• Teen Choice Awards - thanks to Chris!

  ::: MOVIES :::
  
  Drama
  Matrix: Reloaded
  
  Male Comedy
  Jim Carrey (Bruce Almighty)
  
  Female Comedy
  Queen Latifah (Bringing Down..)
  
  Villian
  Colin Farrell (Daredevil)
  
  Hissy Fit
  AdamSandler (Anger Mgt)
  
  Breakout Female
  Hillary Duff (Lizzie McGuire)
  Comedy
  Sweet Home Alabama
  
  Horror
  The Ring

  Male Drama
  Eminem

  Female Drama
  Jennifer Aniston
  
  Liar
  Leonardo DiCaprio

• From Army Archerd's column, Variety, Feb. 24, 2004 (thanks Peanut!).

• February 19 2004 - Celebs turn out for Las Vegas nightclub celebration
  ASSOCIATED PRESS
  LAS VEGAS (AP) - Tennis star Anna Kournikova turned heads Saturday night when she walked the red carpet with actor Mickey Rourke to celebrate Light nightclub's second anniversary at the Bellagio resort...
  
  The two weren't the only stars to make the swelling crowds inside the casino let out screams of adoration. Some stars bypassed the red carpet and came incognito. Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg both donned baseball caps and avoided the throngs of admirers.
  
  ....After leaving Caramel, they headed off to Light with DiCaprio and Lucas Haas. As Kournikova and Wahlberg waited for the car, they declined having their photos taken. They were among almost 30 celebs flown in by private jet by Light for the party and a celebrity poker tournament won by actor Ethan Suplee, of "Cold Mountain" and "The Butterfly Effect" fame. Suplee won a $25,000 seat in the Bellagio World Poker Tournament in April.
  
  We'll be seeing a lot more of DiCaprio, according to the buzz. He's reportedly purchased a penthouse suite at the new hip Strip-side Panorama residential tower due to open in 2006 at Industrial and Harmon. The tower is being built by nightclub honcho Andrew Sasson, whose string of hot clubs in Europe and the United States include Light, and partner Lawrence Hallier.
  
  

  ---

  
  
  February 25, 2004: VIVA LAS VEGAS
  
  Tobey Maguire turned down his invitation to last weekend's Screen Actors Guild Awards, choosing instead to pull two back-to-back all-nighters in the poker room at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. The Seabiscuit star began on a roll, raking in more than $10,000 playing No Limit Hold 'Em with pal Leonardo DiCaprio until 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. But Maguire's lucky streak came to an abrupt halt when he was quickly eliminated from the inaugural celebrity poker tournament sponsored by the hotel's Light nightclub. The victor? Cold Mountain's Ethan Suplee, who took home the grand prize: a seat on the World Poker Tour worth $25,000.
  
  

  ---

  
  
  From the Las Vegas Sun, February 19 2004.
  
  The Bellagio hot spot Light celebrates its second anniversary over the weekend, and a nice slice of Hollywood's A-list is coming to help Andrew Sasson celebrate at a big party Saturday night.
  
  Among the notables who have booked rooms at the hotel for the weekend include Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Mark Wahlberg, Lukas Haas, Luke Wilson, Estella Warren and Jason Sehorn and his wife, Angie Harmon.
  
  And, of course, Paris Hilton.
  
  For those celebs who can get up early enough Sunday, Light is also having its inaugural Light Poker Tournament that afternoon.
  
  

  ---

  
  
  Special delivery The kitchen at N9NE, the Palms steakhouse, had just shut down late Friday night when a midnight phone call sent chef Barry Dukake back into a high-heat mode.
  
  Palms owner George Maloof was on the telephone to Michael Morton, co-owner of N9NE restaurant with a VIP order: two large chilled shellfish platters, two double rib-eyes, two 2-pound Australian lobsters, two New York sirloins sliced, four garbage salads, two cream corn, two asparagus and two skinny fries.
  
  Leonardo DiCaprio and his posse, including Tobey Maguire, had just arrived on a private jet and wanted their favorites from N9NE.
  
  Dukake and N9NE exec Gina Boccadoro delivered the special order to the Bellagio by 1 a.m., serving it on Palms china.
  
  
• February 9 2004 - Leo and Gisele attend a fundraiser starring the legendary Stevie Wonder on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood
  
  
• February 1 2004 - Leo in Vegas from The Las Vegas Review Journal
  
  Sightings
  
  New York Yankees star Derek Jeter, hanging out with Leonardo DiCaprio and Charles Barkley at Light (Bellagio) in the wee hours Saturday. Also there: "The Bachelor" Andrew Firestone. ... DiCaprio, scarfing down stone crabs, lobster and ribeye steak at N9NE late Friday with a half-dozen pals, including actor Luke Haas. Also dining at N9NE: Chicago White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman and Ed Kowalczyk, lead singer of the rock group Live. ... Jeter and entourage at Rain (Palms) on Friday. ... Nick Warnock, a contestant on NBC's "The Apprentice," in the VIP room at Studio 54 (MGM Grand) on Friday. ... Rocker Tommy Lee, with almost a dozen Hawaiian Tropic contestants in tow
  
  
• February 1 2004 - Leo in Vegas from Ted Casablanca - Much more important would be chasing after Leonardo DiCaprio, who slid in and out of the superhappening (per usual) Miramax soiree faster than you could say, "Are you marrying Giselle?"
  
  And I did. And he did. But not before saying he kinda actually couldn't talk about the G-word. Giselle, that is. "You know I can't go there," he semi-pleaded. Now, as to the other G-word, Globes, he elaborated a little more...
  
  Wondering if Liz Taylor's notorious screaming ending to the Globes a couple of years ago had left producers nervous, I asked L.D. if he was given any notes on how to wrap up the show. "Not at all, man," he explained. "It was all me." Of course it was! He was quick. Fast. Firm. And then, poof, he was gone! Vintage Leonardo.
  
  
• January 29 2004: The Golden Globes 2004:
  
  NY Daily News Catching DiCaprio with guard down:
  
  Is the elusive Leonardo DiCaprio finally coming out of his shell?
  
  There was a time, not so long ago, when the 29-year-old movie star would sooner perform an appendectomy on himself than mingle with gossip columnists and other characters.
  
  When he was compelled to sit down with Barbara Walters last year for the release of "Catch Me If You Can," DiCaprio brought co-star Tom Hanks and director Steven Spielberg to run interference with the nosy ABC diva.
  
  But on Sunday night, there he was at the Miramax bash post-Golden Globes - approachable, friendly and looking happily settled down after his recent hiking vacation with longtime girlfriend Gisele Bundchen.
  
  When I spotted him - minutes after he presented the Best Dramatic Picture Golden Globe to "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson - DiCaprio was standing by himself in a corner, quietly enjoying a cigarette.
  
  No hulking bodyguards. No J.Lo-worthy posse. Just Leo.
  
  "I remember when the tabloids would write something about me every day - it was crazy," he told me, shaking his head at the notion that perfect strangers might know as much about his private life as they did about their own.
  
  He chatted on about finishing "The Aviator," the Howard Hughes biopic, and bantered with Miramax production chief Meryl Poster.
  
  "What's that cologne you're wearing - it smells nice," she told him after giving him a kiss.
  
  "I can't tell you - it's my secret."
  
  Okay, so he's not about to give everything away.
  
  
• From USA Today - Leonardo DiCaprio looked to be enjoying himself, too, as he stopped by for a moment at Weinstein's table. Moments earlier, as he was talking to Cold Mountain nominee Jude Law, he had a Hollywood moment. His cell phone rang, he answered, "Where are you?" and then whirled to face the caller, Cold Mountain's Ethan Suplee, just 30 feet away.
  
  
• January 29 2004 - Roger Friedman.....talking to Matt Drudge said, "the real surprise of the night was seeing Leonardo up there...giving away best picture honors to Peter Jackson.."
  
  Then Richard Johnson of the NY Post Page Six dropped this dime on the public the next morning:
  
  JOE Roth, the head of Revolution Studios, was furious Leonardo DiCaprio was a presenter at Sunday's Golden Globes. Roth, who is producing next month's Academy Awards, has been trying to persuade DiCaprio to hand out an Oscar. "Leo had never been a presenter at any awards show," our spy said, "Joe has been wooing him forever - and Leo has ignored him." Roth is said to be blaming Harvey Weinstein for steering DiCaprio to the more comfortable Globes show. DiCaprio is tight with Miramax, which backed both "Gangs of New York" and his upcoming movie, "The Aviator."
  
  
• January 21 2004: Thanks to Cora for finding this article from The Washington Post
  
  The Water of Human Kindness
  
  * The scene: Somewhere in the Peruvian Andes. A family from Washington is on a strenuous days-long hike, what they thought would be just another holiday adventure tour. But in a world where tragedy can strike at any moment . . .
  
  
  Cue intense jangly music: They're running low on water!
  
  The hero, just like in a movie: Leonardo DiCaprio. Out hiking in the wilds with his supermodel girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen, Leo comes upon the strangers and gladly offers his own water supply.
  
  The grateful Washingtonians don't want to be identified, for fear of seeming to exploit their brush with celebrity. But Leo's PR man, Ken Sunshine, says the actor was in Peru last month and confirms: "This sounds like something he would do. He does a lot of really nice things."
  
  Only the mystery of product placement remains: Does our hero hydrate with Fiji, Voss or Evian?
  
  
• January 20 2004: The Leonardo DiCaprio e-Activism Center is opened at 1314 Second Street in downtown Santa Monica, California.
  
  
• January 8 2004: Leo's Film the #2 Top Home Rented Video of 2003!
  
  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The Bourne Identity," an espionage thriller starring Matt Damon as a CIA assassin on the run with amnesia, was the top-renting U.S. home video of 2003, according to year-end figures issued on Thursday.
  
  Combined revenues from DVD and VHS rentals of "Bourne Identity," released on video last January, totaled nearly $79.2 million for the year, said Rentrack Corp., which tracks point-of-retail data for the industry.
  
  Close behind at No. 2 for the year was the Leonardo DiCaprio con-artist caper "Catch Me If You Can," which was released on video in May 2003 and generated rental revenues of $75.5 million, Rentrack said.
  
  
• Leonardo DiCaprio attended the Norah Jones' concert in Montreal. A quote from Jones' business manager:
  
  "He was a real nice guy. He came to the show with his grandmother and a bunch of friends," Cleland says. "He was polite, introducing his grandmother to everybody."
  
  
• CMIYC received a Grammy nom for Best Score Soundtrack Album and Gangs received two Grammy noms, one for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album and the other for Best Song Written For A Motion Picture. The Grammies will be telecast on CBS on February 8 2004
  
  

• There has been a lot of news of Leonardo's visit to Chile and Peru. Related pictures can be found on Just Leo Page 38 and News media clips can be viewed on our sister Multimedia site, Suzanne's Leoclips.de Danke Suzanne!
  He arrived in Santiago Chile very early on December 22 2003.
  He spent Christmas being a tourist, riding horseback, rafting and exploring the country with his girlfriend Gisele and her family.
  He left Chile for Peru on Boxing day, and then back to LA on Tuesday to spend New Year's at home.
  There have been reports that his brother Adam was there with him along with his Mom Irmelin as well as Gisele's mother and sisters.
  
  The following are some translated news reports about his holidays.