Official DiCaprio Webiste:
4/27/01
Books Reviewed on O site

We here at LeonardoDicaprio.com are always looking for new ways to get the word out on creative people and works. Novels have always been such a resourceful harbor for the imagination, often digging deep into the impulses and complexities of the human condition. We figure it's time for a good old fashioned, monthly book review. It is our intention to present works that are considered to be mind expanding and thought provoking, what we've come to label, "Works in Progress." Welcome. We hope you will enjoy our new attraction.

Checkout the reviews here
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New York Times:
4/26/01
From Falstaff to Flopsy

If Shakespeare were alive today, he might write that all the world is not only a stage but a movie set as well. Filmmakers have certainly enjoyed transporting his works to a variety of periods and places, and on Sunday families will be invited to see the results. They will also have their exits and their entrances, and in 90 minutes play at least a few parts. All this comes courtesy of the Lincoln Center Film Society, which will present "The Bard's Birthday Bash" (Monday was his 437th), the latest program in "Reel to Real," a series of filmed and live performances. "We'll kick off with Shakespearean film highlights and then we'll get into language and how Shakespeare invented more words than anyone could imagine," said Alina Bloomgarden, producer of "Reel to Real." (The examples include tattletale and hobgoblin.) "Hopefully, our birthday present to him will be to invent a few words." On the big screen, theatergoers will watch Mel Gibson as Hamlet and actors from Leslie Howard to Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo. Onstage the actors Steven Andresen, David Snizek and Lisa Harrow will offer scenes, along with the Merry Band of Rag Tags, a troupe of 11- to 13-year- olds. The performances will include the opening of "Romeo and Juliet," in which Mr. Andresen will duel with Heather Foley, a young actress. "We'll get the audience to be the Montagues and the Capulets, creating all that intensity and fervor," Ms. Bloomgarden said. Volunteers will also join Mr. Andresen onstage for a speech from "Henry V." "They will be part of his army," she said. Alas, seats at the birthday bash are limited. But there is plenty of room at May's "Reel to Real," a salute to Beatrix Potter called "Pas de Deux Potter: Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter en Pointe." For once, even pesky Peter will be on his toes. "We're focusing on dance," Ms. Bloomgarten said. As well as excerpts from the Royal Ballet's film "Tales of Beatrix Potter," the program will feature the Movita Dance Company in "Jemima." This event will also be interactive, so be prepared to trade those Shakespearean swords for rabbit ears. "The Bard's Birthday Bash," Sunday, and "Pas de Deux Potter," May 20, at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street, Manhattan, (212) 875-5370. Tickets: $15; ages 4 to 14, $7.50. Reservations required.
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New York Observer
4/25/01
DiCaprio Hangout Moomba Closes and the Investors Are Furious

by Deborah Schoeneman

Four years ago, the name Moomba epitomized fin-de-siècle New York nightlife. It was the place where the celebrity of that moment, Leonardo DiCaprio, often celebrated his post-Titanic fame in the ridiculously exclusive third-floor V.I.P. room; the place that a steady stream of gossip-column items depicted as almost too hip and happening to be true.

But none of those past glories were reflected in the terse recorded announcement that played for anyone who dialed the nightclub-restaurant’s phone number on April 22. Moomba had abruptly and unceremoniously closed its doors. “If you have reservations for a future date, we apologize for any inconvenience,” a man’s voice said on the machine before the line went dead. That same day, an item in the New York Post’s Page Six column offered little additional explanation, except to note that Moomba’s front man, Jeff Gossett, had moved to Los Angeles to open up a branch in West Hollywood.

Mr. Gossett’s sudden decision surprised and angered more than just the former hot spot’s New York regulars and its employees (who, a source close to the situation said, were informed of the closing on April 20 and given no severance pay). A number of investors in the nightclub, which was located on Seventh Avenue South between Charles and West 10th streets, told The Transom that Mr. Gossett never notified them he was shuttering the place.

One of those investors, 27-year-old Chris Barish, the son of movie producer (and Moomba investor) Keith Barish and an owner of the midtown lounge Light, told The Transom: “I was very surprised, as an initial investor in Moomba, to read about the closing on Page Six. It’s unusual not to tell your investors that you’re closing, but I’m sure Jeff has his reasons.”

Mr. Gossett did not return phone calls, but Moomba’s publicist, Lizzie Grubman, said Mr. Gossett “sent” a letter to each of his investors on April 20, announcing that the club would be closed the following night.

At least one investor found this statement infuriating. “How the hell would we get it by Saturday?” demanded the investor. “That’s bullshit!”

In addition to the Barishes, Moomba’s financiers, who each put up between $25,000 and $100,000, include director Oliver Stone, art dealer Larry Gagosian and actor Laurence Fishburne. Mr. Stone’s assistant said that the director didn’t find out about the closing of Moomba New York until The Transom called him on April 23 seeking comment. Ironically, Mr. Stone, along with Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Hurley, attended the celebrity-studded opening of the L.A. branch of Moomba on April 1. (A spokesman for Mr. Fishburne said the actor was on location and could not be reached for comment.)

Meanwhile, Chris Barish said that his father and Mr. Gagosian were unaware of Moomba’s closing when they dined together at Mr. Gagosian’s East Hampton estate on April 21. (A source close to Mr. Gagosian said his investment of between $25,000 and $50,000 was, essentially, “popcorn.”)

One investor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that he was more upset about being left in the dark on the club’s closing than about the fate of his investment.

“Moomba was making no money,” said the investor. “It grossed about $5 million in the first year, and out of that [netted] only $400,000.” As for Mr. Gossett’s rash decision to shut the club without consulting any of his investors, the investor said: “At best, he’s stupid; at worst, he’s a thief.” (Ms. Grubman said she could not reach Mr. Gossett for comment on this article.)

Mr. Gossett, 31, is no stranger to controversy. In 1996, he was sued by his former partners in Spy Bar for allegedly violating his contract as a promoter, part owner and host at the now-defunct Soho nightclub. The suit was settled out of court six months later.

On the last night of Moomba New York’s existence, Mr. Gossett was hanging at the new $3 million Moomba in L.A., partying with Rod Stewart and members of the band Sugar Ray. But one investor who ran into him there said Mr. Gossett didn’t say a word about the fate of the East Coast venue. “I was surprised to hear about the closing, because I ran into Jeff Gossett in Moomba L.A. this weekend and he didn’t mention anything about it,” said the investor, Gerrity Lansing, 28, managing partner of the stock trading firm Madison Trading. “He acted totally normal. He said ‘Hi, nice to see you.’”

Mr. Lansing found out about the closing of the New York club on Sunday night from a friend who was also an investor. “We were both in complete shock,” Mr. Lansing said. “I didn’t expect this to happen. It was a little embarrassing to hear it from someone else.”

Andy Russell, a 29-year-old venture capitalist, his older brother, Chris, a restaurateur, and a group of fellow investors owned 65 percent of Moomba when it opened, but sold off most of their stake in December 1999. “All of our investors who got out with us made money,” Andy Russell said. (According to Chris Russell, all of the investors who sold off their interests in December 1999 made their original investments back plus 20 percent.)

As of April 23, however, Mr. Russell said he was still waiting for a call from Mr. Gossett about the fate of his remaining 10 percent stake in Moomba.

Despite his surprise at the way Mr. Gossett handled Moomba’s demise, Chris Russell said: “I think people saw the writing on the wall.” A year and a half ago, when the Russell brothers sold their stakes, “Moomba was still the top of the mountain,” Chris Russell said. But despite vigorous item-placing by Ms. Grubman’s firm, the buzz in town was that Moomba—which had opened on Nov. 1, 1997—had begun its descent.

In April 1998, the premiere of James Toback’s Two Girls and a Guy found Warren Beatty sharing a booth with Mr. DiCaprio and Madonna, who was sporting a shiner courtesy of, she said, her daughter Lourdes. But a month later, Mr. Gossett raised some eyebrows when he sent out business cards that gave him the silly title of “Moombassador” and a private number for reservations.

As for Mr. DiCaprio, a source close to the actor said he hasn’t been in the place since he left for Rome in September to film Martin Scorsese’s The Gangs of New York.

But, Chris Russell opined, maybe too much attention was paid to celebrities. “There are only so many superior A-list people in New York City,” he said. “You can’t run a business catering to Leonardo and Madonna.”

While the rest of the week became increasingly hit or miss, karaoke-themed Monday nights, which were hosted by D.J. Samantha Ronson, remained the nightspot’s biggest draw, attracting such exhibitionists as designer Shoshanna Lonstein; junior socialites Casey Johnson and the Hilton sisters; models Frankie Rayder, James King, Carmen Kass and, occasionally, Gisele Bundchen; hip-hopsters Sean Combs and Damon Dash; and others. But some regulars said that even that night was starting to lose steam.

As of April 23, Ms. Ronson had yet to hear from Mr. Gossett, even though she had D.J.’d, gratis, on April 21 for a celebrity-free crowd. Ms. Johnson told The Transom that she arrived at 1 a.m. and left at 1:15.

“Jeff never mentioned it,” Ms. Ronson said. She was clearly perturbed. “I don’t think anyone knew. The people who were the most surprised were the busboys and the bartenders who had 24 hours to find a new job.”

On the afternoon of April 21, Ms. Ronson had decided to move her karaoke party to Suite 16, a new bar on 16th Street and Eighth Avenue. By April 23, new invitations were being printed and an e-mail with the party’s new location was being forwarded to Ms. Ronson’s regulars. She even imported the waiters and Moomba’s karaoke machine. Mr. Gossett was not around to protest.
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U-Wire:
4/24/01
Art not to blame for violence

On April 20, 1999, two boys entered their high school and opened fire on students and faculty, leaving dozens dead. The word "Columbine" will forever remain in the minds of Americans as one of the country's worst days in modern history. In the wake of the tragedy, fingers were pointed and blame was placed. But was blame placed on the students who committed the crime? No, other kids made fun of them, so it's understandable. Was blame placed on their parents? Well, for some part, but they are busy people, and they didn't know what their kids were doing. Was blame placed on the arts? Why, yes it was. It was Marilyn Manson's music that caused these boys to do what they did. Oh wait, it was that movie The Matrix, which glamorized violence by dressing the actors in black leather and dark sunglasses. Or maybe it was the scene in The Basketball Diaries, in which Leonardo DiCaprio had a dream about killing his teacher. Yeah, that was it. It was Leonardo DiCaprio's "dream sequence" that inspired the mayhem. Either way, it certainly wasn't the parents or the kids themselves, or the fact they committed mass murders on the same day that Adolf Hitler was born. No, it was the influence that art has on the youth of America today. Sens. John McCain and Joseph Lieberman championed the cause to blame movie studios for violent nature in today's films. Both Republicans and Democrats agreed on an issue for the first time ... ever ... to point the finger at artistic endeavors. But why is America so sensitive? It's a movie. That's all it is. You know it's a movie when you walk into the theater and purchase the ticket and see how badly Keanu Reeves can act on a 20-foot screen. You know it's a rated-R film when the box office person asks the teenager for his or her I.D. before the ticket is sold. The problem here is simple. Censorship. It is censorship when you blame a piece of art, whether it be a song, a movie or even whatever you call what Keanu Reeves does, for influencing the psyches of two deranged boys with too much money and time on their hands. This is just another excuse to not actually put the blame on the parents. And because parents are not being blamed, the finger is being pointed at influences, such as video games, music and movies. Film studios are already feeling the pressure from America's newfound hypersensitivity. Teaching Ms. Tingle was originally titled, Killing Ms. Tingle, but after the Columbine tragedy, the title was changed because it could have been considered offensive. Also, the Catholic religion-inspired satire Dogma was not released by Miramax Studios because Disney, the film studio's parent company, was getting pressure from religious groups boycotting the film. The troubles that these films ran into may serve as a precursor for what is to come. Even the release of the new update O, based on William Shakespeare's play Othello, which has a high school setting, is being delayed because of the recent school violence in America. The insistence that art is to blame for violent acts sets a precedent that Hollywood, along with the U.S. government, believes that the people of America are too sensitive for their own good. Hollywood produces violent films because art reflects life, and if violence did not exist in society, then Hollywood wouldn't make films with violence. It's that simple
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LA Times:
4/23/01
Earth Day Turns 31

The 31st celebration of Earth Day on Sunday has taken on a starkly different tone than in recent years with U.S. activists using the event as a platform to decry Bush administration policies they view as dangerous to the environment. Since President Bush took office in January, advocates for any number of clean air, land and water issues have risen to battle against decisions by the White House. Upmost in their minds are Bush's withdrawal of U.S. support for the Kyoto global warming treaty, backing logging in national forests, plans for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and suspension of rules approved by former President Bill Clinton to cut arsenic in water. What a difference a presidential election makes. Just last year, in a special 30th rendition of Earth Day, the biggest controversy swirled around movie star Leonardo DiCaprio and his Earth Day interview with Clinton. Journalists scolded the ABC television network for using the teen idol as a reporter for a prime time Earth Day program.

Full story
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Salon:
4/23/01
Leo goes the green mile

We had planned on mocking the boyish screen god for his part-time activism. He proved us wrong. This time last year, professional actor and part-time environmental crusader Leonardo DiCaprio was vigorously promoting the 30th anniversary of Earth Day. He wrote an essay for Time magazine, conducted a very green and widely ridiculed interview with then-President Clinton for a special ABC News Earth Day special and headlined the Washington Earth Day celebration on the National Mall. In a speech there, DiCaprio warned the hundreds of thousands gathered on the Mall: "Our planet's alarm is going off, and it is time to wake up and take action!" Well, is Leo taking action? In a Yahoo Internet chat conducted in November 1999, DiCaprio promised he would do his part to improve the environment, "not only for the future of mankind, but for all living things," by buying a hybrid car, one that runs on both gasoline and electricity, within the year. Feeling cynical and petty, we decided to find out whether he kept his promise, expecting to catch another full-time celebrity, part-time activist whose commitment had the weight of a faxed press release. We expected to mock him. Turns out he actually did buy a hybrid car, says his spokesman, Ken Sunshine. "He bought one and his father bought one," Sunshine declares. Since last summer, DiCaprio has been the proud owner of a Toyota Prius, which has earned California's "super ultra low emissions vehicle" rating and the "Award for Excellence in Environmental Achievement" from the Sierra Club. Though Sunshine is unsure how much DiCaprio paid for his Prius, Toyota lists its starting sticker price as $20,450. The color of DiCaprio's car can't be released "for security reasons." Aside from driving a clean machine, DiCaprio hasn't had a lot of time to repeat his big Earth Day crusade of last year, Sunshine says. For the last eight months, he has been in Rome starring in the forthcoming Martin Scorsese drama "Gangs of New York." But even though he's not on American soil, he's still trying to do his part, devoting a choice hunk of his official Web site to encouraging Earth Day. Go to LeonardoDiCaprio.com, and you're greeted -- center screen -- by a bouncing image of our planet. In the background, the screen scolds: "Celebrate the Earth this month by challenging yourself. Make or break a habit that you think will help the Earth. If you don't, the Earth will eventually go crazy and start bouncing around like this ... and we'll all fall off!" OK, mock him if you must. But you can't say he hasn't paid a price for his activism.
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San Jose Mercury News:
4/23/01
DiCaprio finishes movie, considers pre-strike plan

Leonardo DiCaprio finally wrapped Martin Scorsese's ``Gangs of New York'' last week, but he still hasn't decided what project he'll try to squeeze in before the pending strike. DiCaprio was at one point expected to segue from ``Gangs'' to ``Catch Me If You Can,'' a film that would be a tour-de-force role for the ``Titanic'' star. The DreamWorks project is based on the bestselling 1980 memoir of Frank Abagnale Jr., who from 1964 to 1966 successfully impersonated an airline pilot, a doctor, an assistant attorney general and history professor and cashed more than $2.5 million in fraudulent checks in 26 foreign countries. His rep says ``Catch'' could still be DiCaprio's next film, but right now ``he's weighing lots of projects, and nothing is formal yet.''
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leonardodicaprio.com:
4/18/01
Art Gallery sportlight: Robert Williams

Robert Williams was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, went to art school in L.A., and then, in the sixtees went to work for Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, the hot-rod T-shirt king and creator of the "Rat Fink." It was here that Williams' great cartoon images began to get wide circulation in print, and he was already deep into his studies of the origins of the universe, evolution of the species, and history of civilization. In his early twenties he had already developed his drawing style and ironic humor to an advanced degree. He was also taking psychedelic drugs, and by 1968 found himself inevitably a part of the underground comix culture, first appearing in Zap Comics in 1968.

He continued to maintain his love for custom cars and hot-rods, and does beautiful detailed paintings on this subject which are made into posters and sold through car magazines. Williams himself is the proud owner of a customized '34 Ford, which he takes out for a cruise now and then on the streets of L.A.

See Robert Williams works here
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Washington Post:
4/18/01
For NBC, The Week That Wasn't

Although ABC came in second for the week with a 9.8 million average, Saturday was its least-watched regular season night ever. "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet," starring Leonardo DiCaprio, drew just 3.4 million to ABC (though the network did win the night among 12- to 17-year-olds). The movie ranked ahead of only the XFL on NBC among the four major networks. Leonardo is bad news for ABC in April. A year ago the actor's notorious interview with President Clinton during ABC's "Planet Earth 2000" special was watched by a mere 4 million people, making it the second-least-watched program of the week on the major broadcast networks.

Full story
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Salon:
4/17/01
All's fair in love and the fashion media

Meanwhile, even über-super-mega-model Gisele Bundchen is finding the screws tightening around her. Sure, she nabbed Leonardo DiCaprio as a boyfriend, but last week the happy couple had to put their upcoming nuptials on hold: Her modeling contract forbids her from marrying Leo for another five years, according to Fashion Wire Daily. (Which is, of course, good news for both teenage girls and the lingerie-catalog-reading men of the world.)
Story source
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MSNBC:
4/16/01
What’s wrong with this picture?

Guess what’s missing from the summer release schedule: Movie stars. After years of complaint about the spiraling cost of talent — as frenzied bidding drove top box-office draws like Will Smith and Mike Myers to the $20 million mark, while sophisticated supporting players like Robert Duvall saw salaries rise first to $3 million, and then beyond — the studios have apparently learned to do without...

...47 major studio pictures are likely to be released from May through August of this year. Of those, at least 32 have no A-list star of the kind who are conventionally said to be capable of carrying a big-audience film. (And this doesn’t even count a handful of star-free summer pictures due from independents and quasi-independents like Lions Gate, Fox Searchlight or Miramax.)...

...Looking for big-name drama, like last year’s showdown between “The Patriot” and “The Perfect Storm”? Not from the likes of Tom Hanks, Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Russell Crowe, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Michael Douglas, Sean Connery, Leonardo DiCaprio, Woody Harrelson, Matthew McConaughey, Richard Gere or Kevin Spacey.

Full story
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JAM Showbiz:
4/16/01
'Joe Dirt' actress has identical twin

Brittany Daniel, who stars as David Spade's love interest in Joe Dirt, is an identical twin...

...When she was 16, Brittany starred in the New York-based TV series Swan's Crossing, which also featured Mira Sorvino and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Daniel made her film debut in Basketball Diaries playing the young coke addict who seduces Leonardo DiCaprio.

Full story
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Montreal Gazette:
4/13/01
Gisele Bundchen tries for film role

Reports from Brazil say model Gisele Bundchen, who's engaged to Leonardo DiCaprio, is trying hard to win a role in a new Brazilian movie about a 19th-century sect in Brazil. Made up of German immigrants, the sect known as the Muckers was led by a woman called Jacobina, who was killed by soldiers in some kind of shootout. See if you can guess which role the Brazilian-born, German-heritage Bundchen would play. Filming starts in July; a casting decision is due any minute now.
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NY Post
4/13/01
DiCaprio to play Hughes?

Leonardo DiCaprio is always rumored about to do any and everything. So don't be surprised at the whisper that he'll star in "Hughes, the Secret Life," which is the Charles Higham biography of the late Howard Hughes. And evidently Michael Mann is set to direct such a production. What would DiCaprio play, the kid who parks Howard's Bugatti - surely not the tall, dark, surly Hughes himself! But never mind. Speaking of author Higham, who has scanned the lives of everyone from the Duchess of Windsor to Kate Hepburn to Orson Welles, there will be a stage adaptation of his book "Martinis Before Breakfast" about Marlene Dietrich. Greta Thyssen portrays the legendary diva in the drama, which opens at the Theatre Studio on April 25 and is directed by A.M. Raychel.
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Guardian/Observer:
4/12/01
GONY shoot about to wrap

Miramax chairman Harvey Weinstein arrives in Rome this morning to oversee the final days of Martin Scorsese's turbulent production of The Gangs of New York. "It's the most expensive movie ever made by Miramax - $90m (£62.64m)," Weinstein told reporters, although many insiders privately estimate that the film's cost has far outstripped its agreed budget. A tale of Italian immigrants and the genesis of the American Mafia, The Gangs of New York has been hit by on-set accidents and rumoured tensions between Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio. The film finally wraps on Friday and is due for a US release this Christmas. "On Saturday we go to the synagogue and pray we have a hit," says Weinstein.
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Variety:
4/11/01
Miramax wrapping its most expensive movie

It'll really be good Friday at Miramax, Harvey Weinstein said as he again boarded a plane for Rome Tuesday night. He remains until the wrap of Martin Scorsese's ``Gangs of New York,'' Friday. ``It's the most expensive movie ever made by Miramax: $90 million,'' he averred, though others feel it went higher. There were 127 first-unit shooting days; the film started Sept. 18. The main unit of the pic wrapped two weeks ago, with 150 members of the main unit having been sent home to the U.S. Cameron Diaz wound her role four weeks ago, Daniel Day Lewis completes his scenes Thursday, and Leonardo DiCaprio, Friday. The men have been working in final action sequences of the draft riots of 1862 in N.Y. Scorsese has been directing these second-units as well. Harvey enthused about Scorsese's savvy working with huge crowds, as well as the intimacy of the scenes with his principals. ``I might hire him (Scorsese) to direct second unit in other Miramax movies,'' laughed Harvey. After the final day, Good Friday, what will Weinstein do? ``On Saturday,'' he said, ``we go to the synagogue to pray we have a hit.'' The movie opens at Christmas.
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Kansas City Star:
4/11/01
Titanic exhibit unveils mystique of victims through their items

Before the movies, the books and the cliches, an iceberg sank a grand ship called the Titanic. More than 1,500 people died, most of them poor immigrants who could not escape the ship's lower levels. Their stories, Michael Rudd believes, often are lost in the blur of hype and Hollywood. "They've been exploiting this story since day one," Rudd says of those who have picked apart and sold the Titanic's tale since journalists descended on the New York dock as the survivors arrived. The Lenexa resident is a Titanic buff who speaks around Kansas City and the nation about the sinking. He knows how the disaster has been portrayed at times, and he believes "Titanic: The Exhibition," which opens this weekend at Union Station, is different. It, too, is meant to turn a profit. But it offers dignity as well as details, allowing viewers to understand that real people died, he said. "Somebody picked this spoon up," he said before a preview Tuesday of the exhibit. "Somebody ate off that plate. "It's a silent tribute." The exhibition opens Saturday, the 89th anniversary of the day the ship hit the iceberg. The Titanic sank early the next morning, April 15, 1912. The exhibition, which organizers say has been viewed by more than 7 million people around the world, features artifacts brought up from the ship, as well as re-creations of parts of the ship and actors in period costumes. Viewers see a linear view of the Titanic -- its proposal, construction, send-off, journey and demise. "Titanic had a beginning, a middle and an end," said Mark Lach, the exhibition's creative director. "That's how we tell it." They tell it through artifacts brought up by RMS Titanic, the company that owns the rights to the wreckage and puts on the exhibits. They also tell it through re-created rooms, including a first-class hallway, and first- and third-class cabins. Some other tributes have not been as impressive, said Carolyn Elwess, Park University's archivist. Shortly after the disaster, many wanted to capitalize. "Everyone wanted to make a buck," said Elwess, who researched the university's link to the Titanic. "I have a book that was written after the disaster -- a sensational account, mostly untrue." Elwess always knew that Park University had a connection. The Caldwells, husband-and-wife missionaries from the college, and their infant son were one of the few families to survive intact. Nobody at the school had done a great deal of research on the Caldwells. Then several years ago the school was flooded with requests for information on Kansas City survivors. Not by coincidence it was around the same time a blockbuster movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio was released. "For a good three months in a row, we were inundated, pardon the pun," she said. "We received calls from school groups and other amateur historians. Practically every television channel came out here." So she put up a small display about the Caldwells. And she began researching. Several years later she has drawn a detailed picture of the Caldwells. Albert Caldwell climbed into a lifeboat when no more women or children could be found at their part of the ship. He might have been holding his son, although Elwess cannot be sure. Sylvia Caldwell published a book, The Women of the Titanic, shortly after the accident. It deals mostly with her experience on the ship that rescued the survivors and what Caldwell called the "incidents of fortitude and bravery of the women" who could hear the screams of their husbands, sons or brothers, but who carried on. "Sylvia thought that was quite heroic," Elwess said. Such stories still amaze people, Rudd believes, largely because they mix so much -- proud, heroic moments with utter arrogance and human fault. There is the arrogance of building the grandest ship in the world, the ship that could not sink. Although, Rudd said, the "unsinkable" label was given by the press, not the ship's builders. But the builders did not complain. Mixed with that is the story Rudd tells of the boy who had just turned 16 -- the age when a boy became a man for purposes of "women and children first" -- and was offered a spot on a lifeboat. "I'm a man," Rudd says the boy responded. "I'll stay with the men." Those stories make people wonder about what they would have done, Rudd said. That wonder helps the mystique of the Titanic to endure. On Tuesday, Rudd, Elwess and others got to see tangible evidence of the mystique as they previewed the exhibition. Viewers walked through exhibits and saw passengers and crew members of the Titanic in the items that had come from the bottom of the ocean and the re-creations of where and how they had spent their last days. "When you see the articles, it becomes so real," Rudd said. "It's hard to perceive how grand it really was."
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Il Messagero, April 7th 2001
4/9/01
HOLLYWOOD AT THE PRENESTINO

DiCaprio hurts his finger

Quickly to hospital in the night

by GERMANA CONSALVI

Leonardo DiCaprio like in a film: dust of stars, at the Prenestino. It is in the evening, a special car crosses the crowded road in the outskirts at high speed. It doesn't pass unnoticed. And you can easily understand why: inside, there is a movie star. Rather, a superstar: it is him, Leonardo DiCaprio. A secret meeting far away from the paparazzi? A "trip" to the discovery of the Rome (spartanic?) not mentioned in the tourist maps? No, something very different: Leo has hurt his hand and he needs the care of a hospital that, at least in its name, has a "famliar" look for the American actor: it is the Rome American Hospital, which is located in the Via Prenestina, a stonesthrow from the Raccordo Anulare.

This happened Thursday evening, at about 22.30. A few minutes before, the actor, 26 years, hurt his right hand while he was shooting a scene of "Gangs of New York", the new film of Martin Scorsese, who has chosen the set of Cinecittà to reconstruct the New York of the nineteenth century. Followed by the inevitable bodyguards, DiCaprio got into a big Mercedes, directly to the hospital. In the district, the luxurious car has aroused curiosity. And the glances were attracted magnetically when it was revealt that one of the passengers was no less a person than the hero of "Titanic". Who has seen him noticed that DiCaprio was very tensed, perhaps he feared having a serious damage.

In the hospital, the mouths were shut, but the actor looked brightened up when he left the Rome American Hospital: in fact, it was a simple contusion of a finger. Comforted by the reassuring diagnosis, it seems that the beautiful Leo has even said some words in Italian. At the Prenestino, however, the curious people havn't lowered the antennas, and yesterday morning, they were rewarded: DiCaprio returned to the hospital for a control. Just arrived and left again, but worthy of Hollywood. One time not on the Tiber (as you said in the ,,golden epoch" of the Italian cinema), but at the Prenestino.

Article source
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LeonadroDiCaprio.com:
4/9/01
Earth Day Decree 2001

Earth Day is April 22, 2001 Checkout the Enviornment section of the Official DiCaprio site for more information.

LEONARDO DI CAPRIO.COM Earth Day Decree 2001

One of the more optimistic and naïve ideas I've ever had regards world peace and prosperity, and how to get it. Just imagine if NASA, that supersonically secretive inter-galactic diplomat, had the resources to send every last one of us up into orbit. One would be forced to see the earth for what it really is, a natural planet with no borders, unbounded and whole. The silence of space, the awe this meditation could provide would surely be beneficial and would cause us to, maybe if even just a little bit, see our ways and habits in a different light. Even if that never happens, the important thing is the idea that the nature of our planet is not and can not be governed by us. At some point down the evolutionary time-line, we decided to take on nature. Well I must assure you. It's a timed fight and if we could see the odds, we're looking to go down in the earliest of rounds.

With April comes Earth Day and with that, a moment to reflect on the state of the planet. Even if we change just a tiny bit, if we can see the earth for the precious life-giving ball that it is, we can shape destiny. Little things go a long way. One molecule in the rock of a mountain is no less important than any of the other molecules in that mountain. This is the essence that we must embrace. Whether it be you recycling for the first time, not littering around your home or in the wild, buying cleaner gas, or looking into buying electro-fuel hybrid vehicles, a small change makes the first and greatest step.

Not to put it in such apocalyptic, blood on the wall calligraphy, but our time is running out. The greenhouse effect is real and will cause further deterioration, changing our climate and our lives for the worse. The rainforest and animal species are shrinking daily, wreaking havoc on our oxygen supplies and eco-systems. Pretty soon the concrete jungle will be covering ex-jungles and the only lion you'll be able to see is the stuffed one you didn't win at your local amusement park. Please, the state of the earth is not a good one, and it's up to us, and us only, to nurse it back to health.

Click here for more Earth Day information
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With the lack of current Leo news let's take a look back at the headlines this time last year.
4/4/01
Looking back at last year Headlines

JAM Showbiz: 4/11/00 DiCaprio shooting Sci-Fi film in Romania Leonardo DiCaprio plans to shoot a science-fiction movie in Romania this summer, with parts to be filmed in the palace of former dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were executed in the bloody anti-communist revolt in 1989.

Lincoln Star Journal:
4/3/01
Commerce on a connected planet

Then there's the "Leonardo." In Kabul, the Afghan capital and headquarters of the anti-Western Taliban, the movie "Titanic" is wildly popular. A rickety old bus sports a picture of the ocean liner; when vendors are selling their last produce at day's end, they shout: "Titanic apples, Titanic oranges." But Leonardo DiCaprio haircuts were going too far, the Taliban said. So now, precautions are required. Barbers can do a Leonardo, but only for certain customers, at night, in a hidden room.

Full story
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JAM Showbiz:
4/2/01
Secret agent mom

You might not know her name. But you might recognize Carla Gugino's sweet face from seasons on TV's Spin City and Chicago Hope, as well as parts in movies from Snake Eyes to Troop Beverly Hills...

..."I love the idea of going to a new place and pouring myself into a character and being in that bubble, in that world, for three months and then moving on." She has moved on a lot, through projects such as Miami Rhapsody (also with Banderas, as well as Sarah Jessica Parker), Judas Kiss (Emma Thompson), The War At Home (Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez), Michael (John Travolta), This Boy's Life (Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio ) and Son In Law (Pauly Shore).