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Great news from the annual AACTA Awards , Australia's version of the Oscars : Leo and Gatsby win top honors !!!!

With the time difference , this event took place Thursday night in Sydney, it is already early Friday morning there.

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Baz Lurhmann's glittering 3D spectacular scooped up six of the seven major awards announced at the star-studded Star Event Centre ceremony in Sydney - including best film, best director, best actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), best supporting actor (Joel Edgerton) and best supporting actress (Elizabeth Debicki) - taking its total haul to 13.

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New Leo interview with L.A. Times

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It wasn't always wine, roses and 'Wall Street' for Leonardo DiCaprio

The actor takes a stroll down memory lane to a childhood on then-crime-ridden Western and Hollywood in defense of his 'Wolf' role.

Driving to Silver Lake the other day to visit his father, Leonardo DiCaprio passed through the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue, the neighborhood where he spent the first nine years of his life. Back then, DiCaprio says, he'd be in the car, riding to and from school, and see micro-skirted prostitutes on every corner. In the alleyway near his home, he'd occasionally notice people smoking crack and shooting heroin.

"I try to tell my godson, who lives close to that area, what it was like, how there used to be a major prostitution ring on my street corner, crime and violence everywhere. It really was like 'Taxi Driver' in a lot of ways," DiCaprio says, puffing away on an e-cigarette. "And I'm not sure he believes me. It's hipster central, totally gentrified now. The Waterbed Hotel?" DiCaprio laughs. "I don't think that's there anymore."

We're meandering down this memory lane on a mild winter afternoon, DiCaprio talking about his long-standing fascination with the world of wealth and excess, subjects explored with manic energy and unbridled irreverence in "The Wolf of Wall Street," the actor's fifth collaboration with director Martin Scorsese. The movie, nominated for five Oscars, including best picture and a lead actor nod for DiCaprio, has won both raves and outrage over its exuberant and aggressive depiction of the financial depravity of former stockbroker Jordan Belfort and his merry band of idiot scam artists at the Stratton Oakmont brokerage firm.

Some of the harshest criticism has focused on whether "Wolf" exalts the excesses it depicts. DiCaprio took pains to defend and define the movie's tone shortly after its Christmas Day release, including an interview with The Times. That media offensive added more fuel to the fire for some who questioned what right a wealthy Hollywood star like DiCaprio had to address the subject of income disparity in America.

"Who am I to talk about this?" DiCaprio says, opening a second bottle of Coke, warming to the subject. "It goes back to that neighborhood. It came from the fact that I grew up very poor and I got to see the other side of the spectrum."

That happened when DiCaprio won a scholarship to University Elementary School (now known as the UCLA Lab School). Each day, DiCaprio's mom drove him 10 miles to Westwood, a fairly short journey that crossed a great economic and cultural gulf.

"It was like this little Garden of Eden," he remembers. "There was a park and kids were playing in the sunshine and everything was multicultural, everything was peaceful, every religion and race and attitude was respected equally. And if I went to play with my friends, I would drive to Beverly Hills and go in their backyard and there'd be a waterfall there. I mean, a waterfall! In the backyard? What the ... .

"When I went back to the public school system," DiCaprio continues, "it was like — boom — this is reality. I got beat up the day I arrived because I had the attitude," and here the 39-year-old actor shifts into a blissed-out hippie voice, "of everyone living harmoniously with one another." He laughs. "That was the motivational thing that happened to me in my life. I was 15, and I said to my mom, 'I want to be an actor. Please take me to auditions.' Because I had to get out of that public school system."

DiCaprio attributes his success mostly to timing, saying we wouldn't be having this conversation today if Robert De Niro hadn't picked him from a few hundred young actors auditioning for "This Boy's Life" in 1992. But from the start, he has kept his eye on the prize, typically opting for the challenge over the paycheck. (Right after "This Boy's Life" and still in his teens, he chose "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" — for which he earned his first Oscar nomination — over the mainstream kiddie comedy "Hocus Pocus.") And while he did his fair share of partying as a young man, moments that were occasionally captured on camera, DiCaprio says he has never indulged in drug use, reinforcing the notion that, in the words of longtime friend Kevin Connolly, DiCaprio is a "painfully normal guy."

"Never done it," DiCaprio says emphatically, talking about drugs. "That's because I saw this stuff literally every day when I was 3 or 4 years old. So Hollywood was a walk in the park for me.... I'd go to parties and it was there and, yeah, there's that temptation. Hollywood is a very volatile place where artists come in and they essentially say they want to belong. It's incredibly vulnerable to be an actor and also get criticism at a young age when you're formulating who you are. We've seen a lot of people fall victim to that, and it's very unfortunate."

DiCaprio relates these stories not, he says, to give anyone a song-and-dance act about his roots or change anyone's perception about him, which he calls a "profound waste of time." From our multiple conversations, you can also sense in him a certain fatigue with the campaign to convince naysayers that "Wolf" isn't out to celebrate greed and debauchery. Maybe that reluctance to keep spelling things out can be attributed to Scorsese's influence.

There have been times over the years when DiCaprio has asked the director if a certain beat should be made clearer for the audience. In "Wolf," it came during that crazy Quaalude scene when Jonah Hill's character chokes on a piece of ham and, for a brief moment, DiCaprio's Belfort considers not doing anything to save him.

"I'm always a bit more, 'Let's make sure people get that moment,' and Marty says, 'No kid. We don't need a voice-over there. Just let the audience sit with that,'" DiCaprio says. "And that's been the great learning experience for me with him. You're always looking for that one, definitive answer, but it's always more satisfying if you let people do the work themselves and reach their own conclusions. That doesn't mean the answer's not there. It's just not obvious."

In other words: Remember that final shot in "Wolf," the one in which the camera gently floats up and reveals a sea of expectant faces waiting for Belfort to reveal the secrets of success?

Don't be like them.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-leonardo-dicaprio-20140130,0,611473.story#ixzz2rtVYomyR

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Great news from the annual AACTA Awards , Australia's version of the Oscars : Leo and Gatsby win top honors !!!!

With the time difference , this event took place Thursday night in Sydney, it is already early Friday morning there.

rhythm%20is%20a%20dancer.gifrhythm%20is%20a%20dancer.gifrhythm%20is%20a%20dancer.gifrhythm%20is%20a%20dancer.gif

 

Baz Lurhmann's glittering 3D spectacular scooped up six of the seven major awards announced at the star-studded Star Event Centre ceremony in Sydney - including best film, best director, best actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), best supporting actor (Joel Edgerton) and best supporting actress (Elizabeth Debicki) - taking its total haul to 13.

 

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Comments from Matthew M when asked about being up against Leo at Oscars at last night's London/DBC premiere

Matthew McConaughey stars in six-time Oscar nominee movie Dallas Buyers Club (WENN)

Matthew faces stiff competition in this year's Best Actor's Oscar race though with 12 Years A Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor, American Hustle's Christian Bale, Bruce Dern for Nebraska and his good friend Leonardo DiCaprio all in the running.

So how does Matthew feel about being up against Leo, who he shares a memorable scene with in The Wolf of Wall Street?

"Would I like to see him win? Listen, that guy's been doing work that's deserving of being in the conversation and of winning for some time, Matthew told EntertainmentWise at Dallas Buyers Club's London premiere last night.

"He's one of our generation's best actors".

Read more at http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/139499/Leonardo-DiCaprio-Is-One-Of-Our-Generations-Best-Actors-Matthew-McConaughey-Talks-Oscar-Rivalry#9DsWIyrPIhwlBRPZ.99

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Can't say much more other than thank you all for the updates Flower%20for%20you.gif I wonder if he is on his way back from Japan/already left?

DiCaprio Reminds Tokyo Bourse about Investor Greed

On the day that Japanese investors celebrated the biggest stock market gain in five months on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Leonardo DiCaprio was front-row center, making a personal pitch for his latest movie that’s an indictment of investor greed.

Mr. DiCaprio was there Wednesday to tout his controversial but critically-acclaimed movie, “The Wolf of Wall Street.” He was the first Hollywood star to use the 135-year-old hub for all stock trading in the world’s third-largest economy to pitch a movie.

“It’s amazing to be here, especially to present this film, which is about the direction not to go in in the stock market,” Mr. DiCaprio said.

Mr. DiCaprio was visiting Tokyo in the final leg of a promotional tour with acclaimed director Martin Scorsese and costar Jonah Hill. All three–as well as the film itself–have been nominated for Academy Awards for their roles in the three-hour movie based on the true story about convicted stock tycoon Jordan Belfort.

Since its release in the U.S. a month ago, the movie has drawn criticism for its depiction of the graphic excesses at Belfort’s brokerage firm as well as complaints that its glorifies the criminal actions of Mr. DiCaprio’s character.

But Mr. DiCaprio’s passion to expose the most egregious side of corporate America may not have been fully grasped by the Japanese press, as reporters focused their questions on why he would be do a movie with such a deeply flawed amoral protagonist and not on its underlying message of the dangers of capitalism. In Japan, Mr. DiCaprio’s films are well known but his performance in the 1997 blockbuster “Titanic” is what people associate him with.

“You have to take risks,” Mr. DiCaprio said emphatically. “How would any artist expect to entertain an audience if the person doing the work was bored and uninspired themselves?”

“Repeat yourself, and it is ultimately a long road to not being able to work. People would lose interest.”

Asked about what he would buy in Japan if he had billions of dollars, Mr. DiCaprio said he would buy endangered natural habitats and create a nature reserve.

Mr. Scorsese said the movie’s underlying message is a critique of the Wall Street culture that gave rise to the 2008 U.S. financial crisis. Providing graphic details, the creators say, was necessary to convey the environment that led to the problems that almost brought the U.S. economy down.

But when the film opens this week, will Japanese audiences get what is being conveyed?

“Why should it be polite,” Mr. Scorsese asked, in depicting people willing to do anything for money–lying, cheating and stealing. “They are not polite … Why should we be restrained in terms of projecting on the screen how they lived?”

Mr. DiCaprio concurred. “I thought a little bit of controversy is a positive thing,” he said, “because it creates dialogue. That’s one of the main motivations for us to do this film.”

While DiCaprio’s presence might have provided some moral support to a market that saw a jump, investor saw a 2.5% drop in the benchmark Nikkei Stock Average Thursday as demonstrating the pitfalls that can come from playing the stock market.

 

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2014/01/30/dicaprio-reminds-tokyo-bourse-about-investor-greed/

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The pix I posted this morning from new Leo interview with L.A. Times was part of the photo shoot mentioned that took place on Jan 23rd in article with coments from photographer

The opening statement is so true about Leo being one of the most recognized stars in the world ; plus I loved the two photographers comment about Leo's graciousness

Make sure to click on article link below as they have some great pix of Leo from past years with the article

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Leonardo DiCaprio through the years

I imagine you could go to just about any developing or developed country and say “Leonardo DiCaprio” or at least mention the movie “Titanic” and you’re likely to get some sort of confirmation that indeed Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the most familiar and recognizable actors on the planet.

Early on, when he made an appearance on the sitcom “Growing Pains,” it was evident that young girls in America had a new up-and-comer to crush on, but it wasn’t until “Titanic” that he became a household name with a true artist level of credibility.

Throughout the years, starting in 1997, to promote the mega film “Titanic,” Leonardo DiCaprio has been photographed by several staff photographers.

Check out the portraits to see how this talented young actor has morphed throughout the years, and read below commentaries by staff photographers Jay Clendinin and Kirk McKoy.

Jay L. Clendenin: I’ve had the chance to shoot Leo three times over the last six years and each time has been a great experience, with collaboration being key. My first shoot was for “Body of Lies,” with director Ridley Scott in 2008, where I dragged out my large-format, 4×5 camera. DiCaprio seemed genuinely excited by the “old school” technology and gave me the extra time to capture a few frames on film. When I photographed him again a couple months later for “Revolutionary Road,” he walked in and remembered me as that guy with “that old camera,” which we laughed about and then I proceeded to torture him again for a few extra minutes with that same camera! My last time shooting him was for “J. Edgar,” where my time with him was shorter, as I was shooting other cast members. Even after being jet-lagged, flying back from Australia (shooting “Gatsby”), he gave me 100% of his energy as we shot for an Envelope cover. A true professional and great collaborator who appreciates a photographer’s attention to detail.

Kirk McKoy: Seventeen years ago I was given the assignment to make a portrait of an actor who was highly touted for his good looks and great acting ability. The photo eventually made the cover of People magazine. On Jan. 23, I was again given the task of photographing the same actor who has grown into, in my opinion, one of the top actors of his generation. Leonardo DiCaprio was gracious with his time and showed up early for the shoot — ready to go. With a few suggestions of what I needed, Leo took over the shoot, doing poses and expressions and made the entire session run like a well-oiled machine. And, at the end of the shoot, he thanked me and said, “It was good to see you after all these years!”

http://framework.latimes.com/2014/01/30/leonardo-dicaprio-through-the-years/#/0

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Fash

No, the one last night were strictly for Australian made films, and the international one was held on Dec 13th in L.A.

Below is another article about last night's awards

And , personally, I'm glad to see Gatsby recognized for its acting , sets , costumes, well deserved (Y)

As to the mindset that they mainly give to the film that has the highest grosses , a film may have a high gross and be quality as well as per Titanic , or this year's top Oscar nominated grosser Gravity

It won the AACTA for top international film, and may well do so at our upcoming Oscars having already taken the PGA & DGA

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/30/aacta-awards-2014-baz-luhrmann-gatsby

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Fash

To me it comes down to whether you thought the movie was a quality movie with quality performances, sets, costumes, and I did , so , therefore, I don't find it odd that it would win awards in those categories, whereas, if I felt the performances, etc were not good I would not agree with it winning the awards .

Who is worthy of any award be it Oscars, Baftas, GG, BFCA is always based on 'subjective' opinions

I'm sure there are people who don't feel Leo should have won the GG for BA , to me that doesn't mean they are unbiased and I'm not, just differing subjective opinions :)

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Tweet by DJ at one of the well known Tokyo nightclubs (New Lex) from Thursday night /Japan time

One person did tweet a pix of Lukas and Vinny at the club, but unfortunately no twit pix of Leo :/

 

 

DJ AZUSA ♡ New Lex ‏@DJAZUSA83 9m

@LeoDiCaprio , Lukas Haas & @JonahHill were coming to New Lex Tokyo Lounge bar "939" last night! Thank you for coming to New Lex!

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