What's new

Leonardo DiCaprio On A Roll (1 Viewer)

Edwin Pereyra

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 26, 1998
Messages
3,500
First, there’s the upcoming Gangs Of New York with Martin Scorsese, which is now being positioned to possibly open at nest year’s (2002) Cannes Film Festival.
Next comes his teaming with Tom Hanks in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can, which is set to shoot in early January.
Now there are talks about a potential second collaboration with Martin Scorsese, a film that would chronicle the life of Alexander The Great ( Link Removed
~Edwin
 

Tom-G

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 31, 2000
Messages
1,750
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Real Name
Thomas
I question whether Scorsese wanted to work with DiCaprio in the first place. Miramax was probably pulling the strings on that casting decision hoping to get some mainstream box office appeal from DiCaprio. Working with Scorsese is better for Leo than it is for Scorsese having Leo in one of his movies.
Leo has been very uneven in his career. He has shown some signs of being a good actor, e.g. "This Boy's Life" and "Marvin's Room," but he's not an actor's actor, that's for sure.
Despite this, Martin Scorsese always seems to get great performances from his actors. I'm sure it's no different for "Gangs of New York."
------------------
As for the bad rap about the characters--hey, I've seen space operas that put their emphasis on human personalities and relationships. They're called "Star Trek" movies. Give me transparent underwater cities and vast hollow senatorial spheres any day. --Roger Ebert on The Phantom Menace
AIM: Aureus91 / DVDs / ICQ: 58566493
 

PhilipG

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2000
Messages
2,002
Real Name
PhilipG
Leonardo DiCaprio on a roll? Where's a hungry cannibal when you need one?!
biggrin.gif
 

Ted Todorov

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2000
Messages
3,706
Leo has been very uneven in his career. He has shown some signs of being a good actor, e.g. "This Boy's Life" and "Marvin's Room," but he's not an actor's actor, that's for sure.
Not an actor's actor? I'm not sure what that is suposed to mean, but you couldn't have seen What's Eating Gilbert Grape if you are questioning DiCaprio's acting ability. My initial reaction to hearing about Titanic was: "What is a first rate actor like DiCaprio doing in Hollywood junk like this?"
Ted
 

Tom-G

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 31, 2000
Messages
1,750
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Real Name
Thomas
but you couldn't have seen What's Eating Gilbert Grape if you are questioning DiCaprio's acting ability.
But I have seen said movie. It was an oversight not to include it in with other two, but yes, I am questioning DiCaprio's acting ability.
He gave an absolutely wretched performance in Man in the Iron Mask in which he couldn't separate the two characters he played. He was also awful in The Beach in which he constantly looked bored and uninterested.
Uneven? Yep. I've seen some good performances, but overall, I'm not ready to deem him a great actor. Not yet.
------------------
As for the bad rap about the characters--hey, I've seen space operas that put their emphasis on human personalities and relationships. They're called "Star Trek" movies. Give me transparent underwater cities and vast hollow senatorial spheres any day. --Roger Ebert on The Phantom Menace
AIM: Aureus91 / DVDs / ICQ: 58566493
 

Brian_J

Second Unit
Joined
Mar 3, 2001
Messages
418
I wish they'd roll him straight down a hill. Metaphoricly speaking.
Brian
------------------
Zed's Dead Baby...
 

Ted Todorov

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2000
Messages
3,706
He gave an absolutely wretched performance in Man in the Iron Mask in which he couldn't separate the two characters he played. He was also awful in The Beach in which he constantly looked bored and uninterested.
All this proves is that he isn't any good when it comes to choosing his projects (although in the case of the Beach his 20M salary is a perfectly good explanation) and needs to work on how to phone in his performances when involved in wretched projects. DiCaprio is certainly not to blame for how lame those movies were.
I have heard the phrase "actor's actor" plenty of times, but would like to know what YOU mean by it. For instance can you give me some examples of "actor's actors" in DiCaprio's age group?
Ted
 

Sam E. Torres

Second Unit
Joined
May 31, 1999
Messages
436
alright, i just searched catch me if you can and i was just curious if hanks was already signed? imdb doesn't have him listed, but it does have james gandolfini...anyone want to clarify this? sorry that this isn't exactly on par with the rest of the good news about leonardo dicaprio's post titanic career but i just didn't want to start up a whole new thread for a stupid question.
crazy.gif

------------------
signature.jpg

[email protected]
 

Edwin Pereyra

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 26, 1998
Messages
3,500
IMDB just updated its listing. Tom Hanks is definitely on board along with Christopher Walken.

~Edwin
 

Rob M

Grip
Joined
Dec 16, 1999
Messages
19
Not for nothing, but I'll trust Scorsese's judgement over anyone's here on Leo's acting ability. Plus, I've read and heard numerous interview of Scorsese saying that his choosing of DiCaprio was because he felt that he was in the tradition of great actors he's worked with before like Deniro.
I'm not saying that people's opinions are not credible here, but I don't think it's any coincedence that he's working with the likes of Spielberg and Scorsese. I don't see any other actors of his age getting any such opportunity and respect.
Just my .02;)
 

Chuck Mayer

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2001
Messages
8,515
Location
Northern Virginia
Real Name
Chuck Mayer
I also consider DiCaprio one of the finest actors working today. While I can agree that The Man in the Iron Mask is pretty dull performance-wise, I thought he has been exceptional in everything else, including The Beach, which I did not care for. He was incredible in both Gilbert Grape and WS Romeo+Juliet, among others. I have never been certain why he was reviled in some "circles" for Titanic. He gave a very solid performance. He didn't overact or flash, he just embodied the character. He could have sold out after that, and cashed in on high-paying "safe" roles for himself, but he didn't. He's made all of one movie since 1997 (Iron Mask doesn't count, it was in production before he exploded). He has taken roles that challenge him, and offer him the opportunity to work with great directors. Fairly admirable, I think.
Take care,
Chuck
 

Chuck Mayer

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2001
Messages
8,515
Location
Northern Virginia
Real Name
Chuck Mayer
Sure. Titanic cast him as a romantic lead, with no character growth, and it went on to demolish the box offices and make him millions of fans around the world. Do you doubt the thousands of scripts he was sent? Or the fact that ninety-nine percent of them dealt with young-adult romance?

So he chose The Beach. He didn't get the girl, it was violent, and a downer. Not at all what "made" him famous. An anti-hero role. Long shoot as well.

The he chose a Scorcese period piece where he had to look like crap, taking away his looks. Long shoot as well.

Next he'll be in Catch Me If You Can, where he plays a con-artist. I can only assume it is not a romantic comedy.

It's just my opinion he takes tough roles, instead of two easy romantic comedies/dramas a year, which would net him about $50M/annually...if he had chosen that.

Take care,

Chuck
 

Tino

Taken As Ballast
Premium
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Apr 19, 1999
Messages
23,568
Location
Metro NYC
Real Name
Valentino
Well said Chuck. Leonardo is one of the best young actors working today and that "pretty boy" excuse is just that, used by those who simply want to dismiss his talents.
Spielberg, Scorsese, Luhrmann, Cameron, etc...what do they know, right?:)
 

Terrell

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Messages
3,216
Never thought Leo was a great actor, but he's not all that bad either. But he is on a big roll.
 

Scott Weinberg

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2000
Messages
7,477
I think it's very easy to allow someone's "look" or "image" tarnish the evidence of their skills. Say the name "DiCaprio" to your average movie fan and they'll probably go "Ugh", but I simply can't figure that out!
With the likes of Chris Klein, Freddie Prinze, Heath Ledger, Matthew Lillard and Josh Hartnett getting paid for their blank, vapid visages, I'd think a talent like Leo's would be fairly evident.
Like any other actor, he's made a few bad choices. The Man in the Iron Mask was an awful film and LC was pretty lost in it. The Beach, while not an awful flick, was terribly muddled despite Leo's strong performance. Take a look at LC's work in The Basketball Diaries, What's Eating Gilbert Grape? and This Boy's Life and tell me another "young actor" who has delivered the goods so reliably. (I'd contend that LC also gave a great performance in the criminally underrated The Quick and the Dead.)
He's not one of my all-time favorites, but Leo's presence in a movie will generally make me look twice.
 

Guy_K

Second Unit
Joined
Aug 14, 2001
Messages
470
Average film-goers say ugh to DiCaprio because of Titanic, and the fact that all the girls love him.

I think he, Jude Law, Norton, and Ewan McGregor are some of the talented younger actors of their generation.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Forum statistics

Threads
356,814
Messages
5,123,641
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top