8th February, 2000
Charitable Leo
Source: Seventeen

Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath, Limp Bizkit singer Fred Durst, Lukas Haas, and Juliette Lewis were among the celebs who partied with Leonardo DiCaprio Wednesday after the Los Angeles premiere of The Beach. It was not all fun and games at the actual screening, though. The New York Daily News reports that execs threatened to roll the film before Leo made his way down the press line. Leo's publicist flipped, saying the Titanic star wouldn't speak with anyone if the movie started without him. However, when Leo showed up, he told them to roll the film while he talked to the gaggle of reporters outside. What a guy!

In other Leo news, animal rights activists are trying to get the star to declare Earth Day -- April 22 -- meat-free, MSNBC reports. He's the chairman of Earth Day this year, so he's got the power to do it. The folks at PETA have written to him, hoping to influence his decision. "The meat industry's factory farms pollute our waterways more than all other industrial sources combined," the letter reads in part. Even Woody Harrelson is trying to get Leo to jump on the veggie bandwagon.

8th February, 2000
In Love With Leo... But Virginie Ledoyen Insists It's Only On Film
By LOUIS B. HOBSON -- Calgary Sun
MAUI, Hawaii -- Millions of girls around the world would have loved to be in Virginie Ledoyen's sandals last year. She's the 23-year-old French actress who plays Leonardo DiCaprio's love interest in the drama The Beach,opening Friday. This story of a young American's search for a modern utopia was filmed in Thailand. Ledoyen plays the French girl who becomes the obsession of DiCaprio's traveller. They have several romantic trysts, including a passionate encounter in a secluded lagoon. Ledoyen insists she was underwhelmed by the experience of kissing one of the world's leading heart-throbs. "I've had better kisses. I've had worse. That's probably because we were acting. "It will never be the same as when you are actually romantically involved with the person," explains Ledoyen, who insists she was never anything but DiCaprio's co-star. "There were all these stories that said Leo and I became lovers during the filming of The Beach. That is not true.
"I hope it looks as if we are very much in love in the movie, but there were no off-screen sparks between Leo and I. I had my boyfriend with me and he had his girlfriend." Ledoyen says DiCaprio "is just a really nice, normal 25-year-old boy. He's sweet and playful. He likes to party and hang out with his friends. For such a huge star, there is no pretense about him. "That is what impressed me most about him. People keep asking me what is sexy about him. I guess it's his expressive eyes or his personality." Ledoyen didn't meet DiCaprio until she arrived in Thailand. Director Danny Boyle auditioned her in Paris, choosing her from over a dozen actresses who read for the role. "I met Leo on a beach in Phuket. He was saying hello to everyone, so it was a very brief meeting. "He had impressed me as an actor because in all his roles he is so different. There is something magical about him on camera. "Having worked with him, I know what it is. He is an amazing actor. He is not timid about expressing emotions." DiCaprio is also a bit of a daredevil. In a key scene, he is supposed to jump from a high cliff into a lagoon. The daring plunge was accomplished by a stunt diver. "Leo pleaded with Danny to let him do the jump, but they wouldn't let him. "They were very protective of Leo's safety." But not even Boyle's diligence could completely protect DiCaprio from his legions of young female fans. "They'd try to sneak onto the set to get pictures of him. I've had a bit of celebrity in France, but nothing like what he has to put up with. I can't even imagine what that must be like."

9th February, 2000
DiCaprio Beached In London
Source: BBC News

Leonardo DiCaprio mania is set to hit London on Wednesday evening - when thousands of fans are expected to turn out for the European premiere of his latest film, The Beach.
The 25-year-old publicity-shy heart-throb slipped into the UK on Tuesday - his face hidden under a hooded top.
The last time he was in London, he was mobbed by thousands of fans at the premiere of The Man In The Iron Mask.
Also expected to be at the event at the Empire cinema, Leicester Square, is his co-star, 23-year-old French actress Virginie Ledoyen. This is her first role in a Hollywood film.
DiCaprio plays a traveller named Richard, who loves video games and Vietnam War films.
While staying at a hotel in Bangkok, he finds a map left by a neighbour, who has just committed suicide.
The map is believed to lead to a legendary island paradise where other lost travellers have settled - but when they find it, the reality is very different.

9th February, 2000
Cruise, DiCaprio Head Glittering Berlin Line-Up
Source: Yahoo! News

The Hollywood glitterati will be out in strength for the 50th Berlin Film Festival beginning Wednesday, with Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio heading a line-up whose combined earning power would rival that of a small state.
Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow are all due in the German capital and can be expected to outshine their European counterparts who include Charlotte Rampling, Jeanne Moreau, Johnny Hallyday and Virginie Ledoyen.
As usual, Berlin provides a judicious mix of star-powered American productions and recondite arthouse and world movies.
Thus the latest Cruise vehicle, Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia," which has already racked up nearly 20 million dollars at the US box-office, will be competing for the Golden Bear against the likes of "Nebeska udica" (Sky Hook) by the Macedonian Ljubija Samardzi, of whom your average popcorn-crunching movie-goer is unlikely to have heard.
Di Caprio, star of Danny Boyle's "The Beach", will likely be rubbing shoulders with the leading actors of "Wo de fu qin mu qin" (The Road Home), the latest by China's Zhang Yimou.

9th February, 2000
''Beach'' Bows Balmy, But ''Toy 2'' Sweltering
By Mark Woods

SYDNEY (Variety) - In a weekend when a slew of top-drawer titles got shunted to a lower shelf at the overseas box office thanks to "Toy Story 2", Leonardo DiCaprio's "The Beach" got a first-class international sendoff.
"The Beach" stepped ashore with great strides in South Korea ($1.05 million), Taiwan ($368,720) and Singapore ($316,198). It also grabbed $140,812 in Malaysia and $238,164 in Hong Kong ahead of its U.S./U.K. bows Friday.

10th February, 2000
DiCaprio Attracts The Big Names
Source: The Times

Martine McCutcheon at the premiere at the Empire, Leicester Square, last night. Thousands of fans went wild when DiCaprio arrived. THE magnitude of Leonardo DiCaprio's stardom prompted a massive celebrity turn out at the European premiere in London of his new film The Beach. Among the celebrities, who joined him at The Empire cinema in Leicester Square were the Spice Girl Emma Bunton, All Saints, who provided the film's theme tune and Mick Hucknall of Simply Red.
Other guests included the Radio One DJ Zoe Ball and her husband, Norman Cook, who arrived with Ball's Breakfast Show replacement, Sara Cox, and her fiancé, Leeroy Thornhill of the dance band Prodigy. Faye Tozer and Claire Richards of Steps were also among the pop contingent, along with Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran with Yasmin Le Bon and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson.

10th February, 2000
Leo-Mania Set To Strike In The West End
Source: ITN Online

Hundreds of screaming fans are set to swamp Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio in London's West End, when he arrives for the European premiere of his new thriller The Beach.
The 25-year-old superstar will set hearts fluttering at The Empire, Leicester Square. He will be joined by co-star Virginie Ledoyen.
DiCaprio was mobbed at his last appearance in the UK for the first screening of The Man In The Iron Mask.
The Beach, which tells the story of a young backpacker's adventures in a Thai travellers' community, has already drummed up a huge amount of publicity. Unfortunately not all of it was good. The film company was slammed for causing environmental damage to the island where it was filmed. And DiCaprio's booming star status left many of his co-stars feeling left out in the cold.
The movie itself tells a story of distrust, infighting and death, as DiCaprio and two French travellers head for an idyllic island community that is not quite what it seems.
The £30 million movie was originally expected to feature Ewan McGregor, a frequent collaborator of Trainspotting director Danny Boyle's, in the main role.
However DiCaprio was chosen, not least because the Titanic star will create a whirl of publicity around the movie. He will receive a £12 million pay cheque for his efforts.
All-girl British pop group All Saints are also expected to turn up for the premiere. Their single Pure Shores is the theme tune to The Beach.

10th February, 2000
Fans Go Wild For Beach Star Leo
Source: ITN Online

Thousands of screaming fans lined London's Leicester Square on Wednesday night to catch a glimpse of heart throb Leonardo DiCaprio as he arrived for the European premiere of his latest movie.
Admirers were up to 10 deep in places, jostling to get a better spot for the arrival of the 25-year-old super star and chanting "Leo" in anticipation. 'The Beach' is his new £30 million blockbuster in which he stars as a backpacker whose dream of Utopia turns sour.
Barriers were erected for 200 yards either side of the entrance to the Empire Cinema to control the crowds.
Young fans waved banners saying "Leo, kiss me quick" as celebrity guests filed in.
Among the early arrivals was one of the stars Virginie Ledoyen wearing faded jeans.
The crowd's constant chants became a deafening, high-pitched shrill as DiCaprio stepped from his limo in front of the cinema.
The actor went for a more formal approach than his co-star by dressing in a smart mid-grey suit with a pale shirt and matching tie.
DiCaprio looked slightly bemused by his rapturous reception, but smiled obligingly for photographers and made an okay sign to the crowd before heading inside.
However, the crowds continued chanting his name long after he had disappeared, in the hope he might return.
Inside he said: "It's weird these crowds - you have to go through the motions. I try my best, I pose for the cameras, but it's almost like it's not me out there.
"But I'm a very lucky person, I don't complain." The magnitude of DiCaprio's stardom prompted a huge celebrity turnout for the event.
Among those at The Empire cinema were Baby Spice Emma Bunton, All Saints, who provided the movie's theme tune and Simply Red star Mick Hucknall. Robert Carlyle, who often shuns celebrity gatherings, attended with his wife Anastasia.
The film is based on a best-selling novel by Alex Garland about a group of travellers who head to an idyllic secret beach on a Thai island.
However, the carefree community soon descends into near anarchy and a blood thirsty conclusion.
The film opens in cinemas across the UK on Friday.

10th February, 2000
Life's a Beach for Hollywood Heartthrob DiCaprio
Source: Reuters

He may have lost his privacy in his Hollywood rise, but fame and stardom have made his life a day at the beach, ''Titanic'' star and international heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio said Wednesday.
In London for the European premiere of his new film "The Beach", DiCaprio said fame and stardom enabled him to choose the roles he plays and gave him control over his career.
"There's a lack of privacy I have nowadays, that's for sure, but the pros (of stardom) far outweigh the cons," DiCaprio said as he arrived at Leicester Square in London's fashionable West End for the star-studded premiere, deafened by the screams of adoring teenage girls.
"I'm a lucky guy, I have a great opportunity to really do what I love and mold my career more so than ever, especially after 'Titanic.' I can choose what I want now, which is fantastic. This is what I want to do, it's my passion. This is it."
DiCaprio, 25, rocketed toward the top of Hollywood's earner list after his starring role in the blockbuster Titanic.
He is reported to have been paid $20 million for his leading role in "The Beach", based on Alex Garland's cult novel of the same name about a young traveler who finds a utopian paradise in Thailand that turns into a hellish nightmare.
But while the "The Beach" is expected to be a box office success, the movie was hit by some controversy.
Demonstrators staged protests during filming, saying the production had ruined the Thai island paradise where it was set.

10th February, 2000
At The Movies: 'The Beach'
Source: Matt Wolf - Associated Press
"The Beach" is a mediocre movie, to be sure, but it would be a shame if blame were laid exclusively at the sandy feet of its titanic star, Leonardo DiCaprio.
Skeptics scoffed when the quintessentially American "Leo" - as DiCaprio, post-"Titanic", is now known around the world - was cast as Richard. The sought-after role is that of an English drifter at the unnerving heart of the 1996 best-seller published when author Alex Garland was a scant 26. But DiCaprio isn't British, which seems to have necessitated a shift in tone from the unsparing nihilism of the novel. Americans, or so the thinking goes, don't do bleak.
Then there was the McGregor factor. Whereas Ewan McGregor was key to the earlier films of the creative team behind "The Beach" - "Shallow Grave", "Trainspotting" and "A Life Less Ordinary" - even the Scottish actor's newfound status as a "Stars Wars" icon wasn't enough to displace DiCaprio when it came to casting.
So how is Leo? Not bad actually, which is more than can be said for a script from John Hodge that ditches most of the novel's tension. While the book may not quite be the modern-day "Lord of the Flies" that admirers have claimed, Garland nonetheless proved on his debut outing that he can write a page-turner with the best of 'em. It's a clipped, often violent, ultimately very chilling novel about a time-honored topic - paradise postponed - here reinvented anew. A 20-something drifter in search of utopia, Richard finds himself a near-casualty of an impossible ideal in a community that could not be more dystopian.
"I carry a lot of scars," Richard reports twice in the last page of the book. And so he does, even if readers are likely to be most disturbed by the matter-of-fact blankness that is the narrator's principal means of reportage. From its opening moments - "my name is Richard," we are told, "so what else do you need to know?" - the film sounds as if it wants to catch that moral aphasia.
The surprise, then, is how quickly the script lapses into cliche. "We were headed for the great unknown," says Richard, as he and two newly acquired French friends, Francoise (Virginie Ledoyen) and Etienne (Guillaume Canet), abandon their Bangkok dive for a mysterious island locale mapped out for Richard by the haunting Daffy (Robert Carlyle, reprising the psycho turn he perfected last year in "The World Is Not Enough").
They encounter sharks, waterfalls and gun-toting Thais before arriving at an island retreat overseen by Sal (Tilda Swinton), the beach's resident despot, whose officiousness co-exists with a strong sexual appetite.
Does the beach offer any kind of balm? Not much, although Danny Boyle's direction is at its strongest juxtaposing the supposed idyll with a return visit to mainland Thailand - here seen as urban life at its most disorienting and jagged.
For that sequence, all credit goes to cinematographer Darius Khondji, whose images are every bit as jarring - and, when need be, alluring - as they were in "Evita" and "Seven".
In the novel, readers felt each incremental step in the breakdown of "society" into its component savage parts, many of them embodied by Bugs, Sal's supposed main squeeze.
But as the movie progresses, it seems to have other interests, from a soft-core underwater tryst involving our leading man to evoking the odd twinge of "Jaws" that comes with fending off fins.
And although DiCaprio is certainly a good enough actor to suggest goodness gone AWOL, no one should have to deliver musings like "I tried to remember the person I used to be, but I just couldn't do it."
DiCaprio is far more effective in off-the-cuff moments - hissing, shockingly, at a newly arrived American tourist whose tenancy on the beach will be brief, indeed. Or in his sweaty realization, at the eleventh hour, that even paradise exacts its own horrific price.
That glimpse into the abyss echoes "the horror! the horror!" of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", one of "The Beach's" numerous literary antecedents.
"The Beach" is a 20th Century Fox release of a Figment Film, produced by Andrew Macdonald. In a move sure to frustrate DiCaprio's teeny-bopper brigade of fans, the film has been rated R. Running time: 120 minutes.

10th February, 2000
A Starry Night At The Beach

DiCaprio's fans gather for British premiere of his latest movie.
Nigel Reynolds reports.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

With a premiere and a spectacular party costing £500, 000, The Beach, the first super-hyped film of the year, was launched in Britain tonight. Hopes of a brief sighting of Leonardo DiCaprio and his on-screen lover Virginie Ledoyen, brought thousands to fans to Leicester Square in London, many brandishing Valentine's Day messages. Some had camped overnight to claim a space by the crush barriers and were rewarded with glimpses of Noel Gallagher, George Michael, John Cusack and members of the pop groups Steps and All Saints, who provided the film's soundtrack. But the turnout of about 3,000 fans was several thousand fewer than gathered for the British premiere of DiCaprio's 1998 film, The Man In The Iron Mask. After the premiere, DiCaprio led the celebrities to a five-storey warehouse in Covent Garden which had been expensively refurbished for the party. Each floor was decorated with a different "theme" from the film, which is about backpackers on the hippie trail in Thailand in search of an idyllic beach. One floor became a Bangkok nightclub, complete with under-dressed Oriental dancers and attendants. Another was designed like a beach, with bar staff working in several inches of water. The £25 million film began life four years ago as a debut novel by Alex Garland, son of The Daily Telegraph cartoonist Nicholas Garland. The book became a best-seller and the fortunes of the film, backed by a huge marketing and publicity campaign, rest heavily on the superstar status of 25-year-old DiCaprio - heart-throb to teenage girls and one of Hollywood's highest earners. It is his first major role since Titanic, the first film ever to gross $1 billion. And the actor's salary accounts for half of the entire budget of the film. London's hot reception for the film last night may read as a typical sign of British forgiveness. Ewan McGregor had been due to play the role of the central character, Richard, but was dropped to make way for DiCaprio, an American, because 20th Century Fox wanted a globally bankable star. The Beach has been made by director Danny Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald and screen writer John Hodge, the close-knit all-British team that made Trainspotting and Shallow Grave with McGregor. McGregor was furious with his friends. "I think it wasn't handled very well," he said after learning he had been dropped. "I wasn't told what was going on nearly early enough. I was led to believe I was playing the part for a long time." McGregor did not attend last night's premiere. "His name is not on the invitation list I have been given" said a spokesman for the film. "It may be that he's abroad, but I really don't know why he's not coming." The Beach was shot on the Thai island of Phi Phi Leh. But the scenery was not quite idyllic enough for the film-makers. Some bushes were removed - which caused well-publicised protests and demonstrations by environmentalists - and many scenes have been created by computer animation to turn a bay into a lagoon and to remove the white trails left by aircraft flying overhead. The Beach, which opens tomorrow, is likely to be the making of DiCaprio's co-star Virginie Ledoyen. Little-known outside France, the advance publicity is billing her as a new Brigitte Bardot. She arrived as if going to a hippie beach party in pearl-embroidered jeans and a grey chiffon bikini top. Ledoyen, who was stung by a jellyfish during filming, said of working with DiCaprio: "He's a very playful person, a sweet guy and he's very clever. He's not looking for fame. He's a real actor." To the doubtless astonishment of many of the girls in Leicester Square, she said that spending the rest of her life with DiCaprio on an idyllic island was not her idea of paradise. Instead, she claimed: "To find paradise I would want to be with my family and friends." Other celebrities attending included Sir Richard Branson, Jade Jagger, Emma Bunton of the Spice Girls and the Chemical Brothers.

11th February, 2000
Beach Party As Stars Shine For DiCaprio
Source: Tim Cooper - Yahoo! News

There were even bouncers inside the cinema as Leonardo DiCaprio came to town for his latest film premiere.
Outside the Empire cinema, thousands of fans thronged Leicester Square for a glimpse of their baby-faced idol. Inside, security men lined the walls in case guests leapt from their seats to accost the star of The Beach.
It was outside, however, that the threat of "Leomania" getting the better of people was greatest. The crowd's constant chants reached a crescendo as DiCaprio stepped from his chauffeur-driven car in a sober ensemble of grey suit, grey shirt and grey silk tie, and sporting a little goatee beard.
Among the waiting crowd were a small number of protesters from the Campaign For Ethical Filmmaking, wearing "Leo" masks. Angered by the environmental implications of filming The Beach in Thailand, the group is calling for a boycott of the film when it opens in cinemas this Friday.
The film's makers, led by Trainspotting director Danny Boyle, suffered severe eco-criticism during the shoot of their £30 million picture, based on Alex Garland's bestseller about a group of travellers who head to an idyllic secret beach, only for their paradise to descend into near-anarchy. DiCaprio, 25, himself seemed almost embarrassed about last night's reception. "This is really surreal," he said. "I feel like I have to become someone else on occasions like this."
Questioned about the pressures of fame, he replied: "The downside is that I have no privacy any more, but the pros far outweigh the cons. I am a lucky guy because this is what I want to do."
Meanwhile, the Covent Garden party where DiCaprio spent the evening after the screening was themed to resemble beach life at a cost of £500,000. Celebrities in attendance included Chris Evans, Robbie Williams, Jade Jagger and Frank Leboeuf. Evans seemed determined to spark rumours of another new romance by kissing TV presenter Melanie Sykes whenever photographers approached.

11th February, 2000
This Weekend At The Movies: The Return Of Leo
Source: Bob Tourtellotte - Reuters

Leonardo DiCaprio, the screen idol at the heart of many a teenage girl's fantasy, faces his first major box office test since 1997's mega-hit "Titanic" when his new film "The Beach" hits theaters around the country on Friday.
DiCaprio may find the road to blockbuster ticket sales daunting -- much like his trip to paradise in "Beach" -- however, as he faces the second week of horror hit "Scream 3," which competes for much the same audience. Moreover, the early reviews for "Beach" are, well, less than titanic in their praise of the film. The film is the first he has made since "Titanic" although "The Man In the Iron Mask" came out afterward it was made before the tale of the great ship's sinking and DiCaprio's superstardom. Paul Dergarabedian, who heads up box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Inc., said. "'The Beach' is really going to be a test of Leo's box office drawing power."
He added that it was lucky for DiCaprio that "Scream 3" and "The Beach" "aren't opening on the same weekend because they would be fragmenting the 18-to-24-year-old audience."
DiCaprio also faces lesser threats from the Chevy Chase comedy "Snow Day" and Disney animated film, "The Tigger Movie," which also open around the United States on Friday.
By now, most movie fans know that "Titanic," in which DiCaprio made his breakthrough to superstardom playing a wanderlustful painter traveling on the ill-fated cruise liner, became the highest-grossing movie of all time with a worldwide haul of around $2 billion.

TEENAGERS SWOON
Much of the movie's box office success owed to repeat visits from young women who swooned every time DiCaprio took off his shirt or brushed his lips against co-star Kate Winslet's.
Fox, the studio behind "Beach," is counting on much the same drawing power this time around and DiCaprio, ever mindful that his Hollywood star will shine only as long as his box office muscle still flexes, said he chose this part carefully.
"I wanted my next film to be something I felt strong about, and 'The Beach' and the character of Richard were the first things I felt some kind of connection with," he said.
DiCaprio plays an idealistic, twentysomething American who leaves the United States and heads to Thailand looking for experience that will enrich his life.
He finds it fast, in a rundown hotel in Bangkok where he encounters a loopy British chap named Daffy who carries a hand drawn map to what he claims is an island paradise.
Daffy's story of a group of 20-year olds living off the land and smoking dope all day at "The Beach" entices Richard and a suave young French couple (Virginie Ledoyen and Guillaume Canet) to find the island.
It's only after the trio swims for miles across open sea and find the other beautiful dope-smoking hipsters that Richard learns important -- and hard -- lessons in life.
In terms of the movie's box office draw, Dergarabedian said "The Beach" has the advantage that horror films historically open big, then drop off quickly. "Scream 2," for instance, hauled in $32.9 million over its initial weekend only to see its ticket sales drop by 65 percent the second weekend. "Scream 3" took in $35.2 million last weekend.

POOR EARLY REVIEWS
But working against DiCaprio and his group of bikini-clad women and bare-chested men, are early reviews by veterans like the NBC "Today Show"'s Gene Shalit who said he never hoped to see a sequel, much less one titled "Son of The Beach."
Still, teenagers and young adults -- DiCaprio's primary audience -- rarely listen to critics, so industry watchers are anxiously watching to see how the film fares at box offices.

11th February, 2000
Virginie Ledoyen Talks About Co-Star Leonardo
Source: Excerpt from ENTERTAINMENT WIRE
Virginie Ledoyen, who appears on the cover of GLAMOUR magazine for March, candidly talks about fashion, subways, olive oil and Leonardo DiCaprio, her heartthrob love interest in the upcoming blockbuster "The Beach." About DiCaprio, she admits, "Well, he's great. I expected him to (act like) this Hollywood superstar, but he's nothing like the spoiled brat the tabloids make him out to be. In reality, he's generous, simple, charming and lots of fun." Although the two stars worked together for four months on a deserted island, Ledoyen claims that their relationship is strictly professional. "There are still a lot of personal things we don't know about each other."

11th February, 2000
Hanging With Leo - The Rolling Stone Interview
Source: LWD Zine

At twenty-five, Leo's old enough to know better and is just beginning to care. He also knows you probably won't believe him.
Claire Danes said that you're either completely transparent or the most complex person she's ever met, and she can't figure out which. Do you have an idea what she means?
LD: I think she's essentially saying that we didn't get to know each other that well [laughs]. No, What am I going to say? That I'm complex? I think it's hard for people who see you running around like a kid with your friends to know where your performances come from. I'm just able to walk away from the characters I play. I just walk away. It's as simple as that. That's just how I do it. I don't know how else to explain it.
If you want to see the full interview go to this web site:
http://homepages.go.com/~lovelc/articles/rollingstone0300.html

11th February, 2000
DiCaprio Thrills Fans At The Beach Premiere
LONDON (AP) -- Thousands of waiting fans shrieked in adoration Wednesday night as Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio stepped from a limousine for the star-studded European premiere of his latest movie, The Beach.
Admirers gathered 10 deep in places chanting "Leo!" "Leo!" and jostling to get a better view from behind the police barriers at the Empire Cinema in Leicester Square. Young fans waved banners saying "Leo, Kiss Me Quick" as celebrity guests filed in.
DiCaprio, wearing a gray suit and matching tie, looked slightly bemused by his rapturous reception, but smiled for photographers before heading inside.
Long after he disappeared from view, the crowd chanted on in hope he might return.
”It's weird, these crowds," DiCaprio said once inside. "You have to go through the motions. I try my best, I pose for the cameras, but it's almost like it's not me out there.
"But I'm a very lucky person," he added. "I don't complain."
The 25-year-old actor's co-star, Virginie Ledoyen, arrived in a pair of faded jeans. Robert Carlyle, another co-star, brought his wife, Anastasia, to the premiere.

Baby Spice Emma Bunton and All Saints, who provided the movie's theme tune, appeared, as did Mick Hucknall, the star of the band Simply Red.
Steps stars Faye Tozer and Claire Richards were among the pop contingent, along with Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon and Nick Rhodes and their partners Yasmin Le Bon and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson.
The film is based on a best-selling novel by Alex Garland about a group of travellers who head to an idyllic secret beach on a Thai island and find that their piece of paradise isn't what they expected.
The film opens across Britain on Friday.
Protesters from the Campaign for Ethical Filmmaking, wearing "Leo" masks, staged a demonstration over the environmental controversy that has surrounded the film. A spokesman for the group called for a boycott of the film when it opens.
Thai villagers, local officials and environmentalists have filed a $2.6-million US lawsuit against 20th Century Fox, a Thai production company and the Royal Forestry Department, accusing the filmmakers of destroying a pristine beach in making the movie. They contend the sands of Maya Bay washed away during the monsoon season because of changes made to shoot the movie.

12th February, 2000
Leomania - A Titanic Reception As 2,000 Screaming Fans Welcome DiCaprio
Source: The Daily Mail

Leomania returned to London last night at the European premiere of The Beach. Some 2,000 fans - mostly female - screamed hysterically and waved banners as the film's star Leonardo DiCaprio stepped form his limousine outside the Empire Leicester Square. The 25-year-old actor wearing a black suit with grey shirt and tie, walked out to the crush barriers, shaking hands and signing autographs. The scenes echoed DiCaprio's last appearance in London - the March 1998 premiere of The Man In The Iron Mask. That event, just after the colossal success of Titanic, saw 10, 000 screaming fans pack Leicester Square. Some of last night's crowd had been waiting 36 hours to meet their idol. DiCaprio, who has grown a sparse goatee beard, said he was 'flattered' by the adulation. Looking slightly bemused by his rapturous reception, he smiled obligingly for the photographers and gestured to the crowd, who chanted his name, before heading inside. "It's very neat and kind of flattering and it's great that they are here to support me and the film," said DiCaprio. "I do feel slightly disconnected with it. "It's weird. It's almost like it's not me out there. It feels as if it's happening to somebody else. I don't feel like they could be screaming for me. "But I'm a very lucky person, I don't complain." Co-star Virginie Ledoyen arrived wearing a grey chiffon bikini top with scarf and a pair of jeans with elaborate silver beading. She confided that she had not found it exciting to kiss DiCaprio. "He's a great actor and it was very helpful to work with someone so talented but I don't remember about the kissing what it was like. It was not like kissing my boyfriend. "Filming was like paradise and it was exciting doing the movie, working with Leo. We all got on very well together. "He is a very good actor but as far as the kissing goes it was nothing - it isn't like I'm in love with him". Other members of the film's cast at the premiere included Robert Carlyle, who arrived with his wife Anastasia, and Victoria Smurfit, who looked stunning in a tight purple dress and striped cardigan. Celebrity guests included singer Mick Hucknall, footballer Frank Leboeuf and former EastEnder actress Martine McCutcheon., who arrived on her own in a chocolate brown halter-neck dress with beaded see-through skirt. All Saints whose single Pure Shores is on the movie's soundtrack, were also there was Spice Girl Emma Bunton. After the screening, DiCaprio was among 1,300 guests at the £500, 000 party in Covent Garden. He was paid about £13 million to star in the film, an adaptation of Alex Garland's book about an idyllic commune in Thailand which descends into terror. DiCaprio said he had enjoyed exploring his 'dark side' in the movie, directed by Danny Boyle who made Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. The Beach opens across Britain tomorrow.

12th February, 2000
Eat Your Hearts Out Girls, I Kissed Leo And Honestly Can't Remember A Thing
Source: The Express

The thousands of screaming girls who packed London's Leicester Square last night would have given their right arms to kiss Leonardo DiCaprio. But they might only have been disappointed. For the one woman there who has kissed him was so thoroughly unimpressed by the experience that she can't even remember what it was like. Beautiful French actress Virginie Ledoyen, who co-stars with DiCaprio in his new blockbuster The Beach was the envy of all the fans stuck outside the cinema where the film received its European premiere. In the movie she shares passionate love scenes with the 25-year-old heart-throb, including one celebrated underwater kissing sequence. But the 23-year-old starlet made it clear that rumours of a romance between the pair are untrue - because she simply wasn't interested. "I think Leonardo is a great actor. He's a nice guy, playful, sweet and normal," she said of her so-star, who was paid £12 million for his role as a backpacker whose dream of Utopia in Thailand turns sour. "But I did not want him as a lover. I am very happy with my boyfriend. Believe me, there was no tete-a-tete between us, despite what people might say. And I am definitely not carrying his baby.! Virginie, a former child star who turned up at last night's premiere wearing faded jeans that turned into lace, can't even recall if Leo was a good kisser: "Kissing an actor as a part of the script is nothing like being in bed with a real lover. There is no honest passion. No real sensitivity. In our love scene underwater; all I could think of was not drowning. You can't breathe. it's hard not to panic. We had to shoot the underwater kiss seven times before it was right." Virginie's cool approach was confirmed by Titanic star Leonardo himself. "She simply wasn't interested in me," he said. "The fact I was a Hollywood star meant nothing to her, and rightly so. She's a very sophisticated European lady." Director Danny Boyle, the British film-maker who enjoyed a worldwide hit with Trainspotting, said he picked Virginie for her role in The Beach precisely because of her cool and level-headed attitude. "We felt most other actresses her age might be overwhelmed by sharing the lead with the world's No 1 movie star." DiCaprio said he chose to do the film because he identified with the character he plays. "It's darker than Titanic," he sad. "It's different. It struck a chord with me. My character is desensitised. I can understand that. I myself have been through a lot of changes. I've really grown up on screen - I guess people will see that in the film." He added that he was not bothered by the 4,000 screaming fans and that he just tried to shut it all out. "It's weird. You go through these motions at these kind of things. I try my best, I pose for the cameras, but it almost feels like its not me standing out there. But I'm not going to complain. I'm very lucky. I'd rather take the cons and keep the pros."

12th February, 2000
Leo's Latest All Gloss And No Substance

Leonardo DiCaprio may have more fans than you can shake a stick at but that doesn't mean film critics like his new film, 'The Beach'.
To be fair it isn't really the actor's fault, with the majority of reviewers praising his talent. What they seem to be unhappy with is the lack of substance in the movie. Variety comments that, 'its narrative waters become rather muddy in the late going, and its currents finally don't run very deep.' E! Online agrees proclaiming the movie to be, 'beautiful to watch, but this paradise is just a mirage - ultimately there's nothing there. Well, except a shirtless Leo, of course.'
Respected US critic Roger Ebert decries the fact that while the film begins in a true 'Apocalypse Now' fashion, in the end everything has been diluted to keep DiCaprio's fanbase (16-year old girls) happy. Ebert concludes that 'in a smarter film Richard would have been revealed as a narcissistic kid out of his depth.'
Mr Showbiz agrees with Ebert summing up their review with, 'the movie is an experience, of a sort they had a name for in the '60s: bummer'
There are one or two positive reviews, although they are mainly from the UK.
Empire describes Leo's co-star Virginie Ledoyen as 'sparkling', the cinematography as 'lush' and the soundtrack as 'perfectly complementing the photography.' But in the end even they admit that the overall creation is 'not exactly dazzling.'
Jonathan Ross says 'The Beach could never look anything but great,' praising cinematography and the cast, but echoes Empire when he says it never approaches Danny Boyle and Andrew MacDonald's Trainspotting for 'innovation, energy and sheer razzle-dazzle.'
All in all reviewers on both sides of the Atlantic praise single elements from the movie, mainly its look, but the sum of the whole simply doesn't add up. The Guardian rounds up the general consensus when it writes, 'it all ends very tamely indeed and has nothing of interest to say about the modern western experience of Asia, either as a paradigm of pure hedonism or a heart-of-darkness encounter for the Nintendo generation.'
Leo can rest in peace though as the film will undoubtedly be a box office hit this weekend with so many loyal fans willing to see him in a tea bag advert if necessary.

12th February, 2000
Beach Party Pooper
DiCaprio Film Just A Buff Version Of Gilligan
By BOB THOMPSON-Toronto Sun

In The Beach, it's not what Leonardo DiCaprio has on, it's what he has not.
DiCaprio's topless through much of Danny Boyle's melodramatic thriller.
And let me tell all you Leo-ettes out there, he's gone from boyishly bone-like to pump-it-up hard in this paradise lost yarn.
Yes, DiCaprio's got the look. The Beach, on the other hand, is in need of a makeover.
It goes from mysterious cool and groovy to simpering and silly at the drop of a painfully ridiculous line.
A complete escape package? Not even close.
And that's a disappointment, since the Trainspotting team of director Boyle, producer Andrew Macdonald and screenwriter John Hodge are on The Beach.
Unfortunately, The Beach is more like their Plainspotting.
Based on the Alex Garland novel, the movie version tries to be a fancy and stylish examination of a bored soul's (DiCaprio) journey through heaven then hell on a forbidden island off the coast of Thailand.
He treks there from Bangkok with two French friends shortly after meeting up with a demented Scottish hotel mate (Robert Carlyle) who slips him a map to the alleged lotus-land island.
So, let's see. After the crazy Celtic guy kills himself, the American feels compelled to discover what all this paradise stuff is about? Some recommendation. Whatever.
When they arrive unannounced for some beach time, the three who dare get mixed up with pot farmers and a commune of folks dedicated to sex and drugs, and from the sounds of things, hardcore dance music.
Call it Club Meds.
This is when we discover something else. Boyle seems obligated to litter The Beach with all kinds of references - from Lord Of The Flies, The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, Jaws and Beach Blanket Bingo. Beach Blanket Bingo? There's a long-shot volleyball sequence, okay.
And despite Di Caprio's Titanic talent, he mostly seems out of touch with his boy-man-versus-evil challenge. Even his dalliance with the French Francoise (Virginie Ledoyen) is forced and unconvincing. But then so is Ledoyen's Francoise.
What's maddening is that DiCaprio and The Beach do have clear and present moments depicting danger and extreme scenes of tautness and tension.
What a tease.
On other occasions, The Beach comes across more like a soap opera, like sands through the hourglass, like a sombre Gilligan's Island days of their lives.
(This film is rated R)

12th February, 2000
Lovers Strolling To 'Beach'

A box-office battle is brewing for the loyalties of young women on this Valentine's Day weekend. The combatants will be Fox's "The Beach," which debuts in national release today, and Dimension's "Scream 3," the horror hit that opened to nearly $35 million last weekend. Both features are exhibiting extraordinary appeal to women, but "Beach" must be made the preflight favorite on two counts: The pool of potential patrons is deeper because it is new to the marketplace, and its perceived payoff is the theatrical equivalent of flowers and candy. Valentine's Day falls on Monday, of course, but many couples will celebrate this recognition of the rites of romance today or tomorrow. If the cinema has a role in this ritual, figure that either "Beach" or "Scream 3" will be the preferred picture. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in "Beach" as an American in Thailand searching for a vaguely defined spiritual awakening but finding instead a lush paradise fraught with potential peril. Robert Carlyle, Virginie Ledoyen and Tilda Swinton co-star in the film from "Trainspotting" collaborators Danny Boyle and John Hodge, who directed and wrote, respectively. DiCaprio, coming off his women-wowing performance in "Titanic," is unquestionably the lightning rod for the intense female involvement in "Beach." All demographic segments are engaged, moreover, setting up the prospect that "Beach" will kick sand in the face of all competitors.

12th February, 2000
Leo Mania - 10, 000 Go Potty At DiCaprio Premiere
Source: The Sun

Movie hunk Leonardo DiCaprio sparked a fan frenzy last night at his new film's star-studded premiere in London. Hysterical girls standing ten-deep screamed his name as 10,000 people showed up to see the heart-throb at the opening of The Beach. One fainted and was hauled to safety by sobbing pals. The scenes amazed Leo, 25 - who was joined by a host of stars at the Empire cinema in Leicester Square.
BEACH BABES Gorgeous Virginie leads army of stunners dying to see Hollywood hunk. The stars shore came out for Leo DiCaprio's new film last night - including a stunning bevy of Beach babes. Leo's gorgeous co-star Virginie Ledoyen led the way in a revealing outfit with bare midriff. The sexy French actress - who joked she "couldn't remember" kissing the world's No1 heart-throb in the film - wore jeans with a blue halter. Other beauties who turned out for the European premiere of The Beach included pop group All Saints, who sang its theme tune Pure Shores. The VIP guests also included Baby Spice Emma Bunton, telly presenter Melanie Sykes, supermodel Kate Moss, chart stars Steps and Ballykissangel actress Victoria Smurfit.
Banners - Up to ten thousand ecstatic fans had begun queueing overnight to catch a glimpse of Leo, who became a world wide sensation when he starred in Oscar-winning Titanic. The opening of his new £30 million film about a backpacker trip to a paradise Thai island was the biggest showbiz event of the year so far. By the time the stars began arriving the fans were lined up ten-deep in places, screaming and jostling for a view as they chanted "Leo, Leo". Barriers were erected for 200 yards either side of the entrance to the Empire cinema. Young fans waved banners saying "Leo, kiss me quick". Leo, 25, plays American backpacker Richard in the flick. He teams up with a French couple, played by Virginie and Guillaume Canet, in Bangkok. Leo is given a map by a mad Scotsman, played by Robert Carlyle, which leads the trio to an island housing only travellers and a marijuana farm. But their heaven soon turns to hell. In Alex Garland;s book, on which the film was based, Leo's character was British. And the American star tweaked the story still further by demanding he got a steamy scene with Virginie, who plays Francoise. Virginie, who snogs Leo passionately underwater in the movie, shattered his image last night by saying that kissing him was instantly forgettable. She said: "I don't remember what it was like to kiss him. It wasn't like kissing my boyfriend, so there's no reason why I should remember. It was exciting to work with a great actor but I was not in love with him". When told of Virginie's blank memory, Leo replied: "That's very funny - that makes me laugh. "I had the best time I've ever had shooting a movie. They allowed me to get really involved in making the film and to give it my own input". The star who lost 2st preparing for The beach and now plans to build his weight back up again, disappointed 5,000 fans still waiting at the end by sneaking out a cinema back entrance. Co-star Robert Carlyle revealed he would have preferred his fellow Scot Ewan McGregor to have got Leo's role. He said: "I would have loved it if Ewan had got the part but there was nothing I could do about it." Th film's British director Danny Boyle, of Trainspotting fame, and author Garland were also due to attend the premiere and a £500, 000 party afterwards. Other guests included TV presenter Tania Bryer, Radio One's Zoe Ball, singer Beverly Knight, top DJ Pete Tong, socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, Simply Red's Mick Hucknall, Richard Branson, Jamie Theakston, and Hornblower star Ioan Gruffudd. Martine McCutcheon - ex-EastEnder Tiffany, with boyfriend Jonathan Barnham - said: "I have never seen a crowd like the fans waiting for Leo."

13th February, 2000
DiCaprio Says His Celebrity Image Is Out Of Control
By Erik Kirschbaum

BERLIN (Reuters) - Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio feels that his celebrity image is at times out of control and he wishes he could escape from the spotlight to a secret island.
"Sometimes I have no control over all this," DiCaprio said after a screening of his new film "The Beach" at the Berlin Film Festival. "This image is separate from me. I try to detach myself from it as much as possible."
The full force of "Leo Mania" in Germany was on display at the Berlinale, the 50th annual Berlin Film Festival, where more than a thousand teenage fans crowded behind police barricades for a glimpse of the 25-year-old star of the 1997 blockbuster "Titanic".
Not only was a news conference that DiCaprio gave for the film broadcast live on local television, but a Berlin tabloid newspaper offered 1,000 marks (317 pounds) in a page one challenge for any Berlin girl who manages to steal a kiss from the American actor.
DiCaprio, whose grandmother is German, was on the cover of the country's best-selling magazine this week, Stern.
"The love I have for acting far outweighs all that," he said at the news conference. "What remains is the work you do as an actor. In 20 years I hope people will see my work."
In Danny Boyle's film, which is based on Alex Garland's 1996 novel "The Beach", DiCaprio plays a bored American backpacker addicted to electronic games and devoid of values in search of adventure. DiCaprio and two fellow travellers learn about a secret island in Thailand unspoilt by tourism.
"This is a character who doesn't know what real emotion is," said DiCaprio. "He wants to get away from it, from conflict, from the world, from tourists. It was a fascinating role for me. I felt very much connected to it."
But the paradise on the island doesn't last. The evil sides of the characters emerge in the second half of the film - DiCaprio even kills a fellow tourist -- to give the film by Boyle the dark edge the director of "Trainspotting" is famous for.
DiCaprio as an unfaithful, spoilt, self-absorbed ingrate who coldly helps eject an injured friend from the beach community is a far cry from his starring role in "Titanic". But the baby-faced actor said he preferred making macabre films to mainstream Hollywood productions with happy endings.
"Titanic was actually a huge departure for me," he said. "It was different from the types of movies I was doing at the time. As a young actor I want to stay open to as many possible genres as possible. Titanic was a huge challenge and a huge film. But I don't want to stay close to one genre."
"The Beach" is one of 21 films from 16 countries in competition for the Golden Bear to be presented on February 20.

13th February, 2000
Life’s A ‘Beach’
Source: TV Times

He was last seen on movie screens turning blue in the cold waters of the Atlantic as the Titanic sunk spectacularly behind him. Oh, didn't the world weep as Leonardo DiCaprio slipped beneath the waves, frozen as a fishfinger. Titanic turned him into the world's most famous actor and the film became the biggest box office success ever. So how's a boy to follow that?
By getting wet again. But this time the location was Paradise and at least the water was warmer and there were blue skies plus a white sandy beach...
But Paradise can have its downside as Leo discovered when making The Beach, released in cinemas last week (Fri, 11th Feb). He was in a boat that capsized in shark-infested waters, he suffered food poisoning and then there were snakes, leeches, jellyfish, tropical storms and furious environmental activists...
So was it worth his £12 million salary? 'Oh, yes' says Leo, 25. 'I haven't enjoyed making a film like this in a long time.'
And there's no doubt his legions of fans are going to enjoy the film, too, for Leo's tanned, fit and handsome, and he gets his kit off for his steamiest sex scenes ever.
The hype about the film - an adaptation of Alex Garland's hip best-selling novel about a group of backpackers wand drifters who discover their Paradise and establish a community - has gone into overdrive.
In fact, Leo was so keen to star as Richard, an American backpacker who discovers a travellers' Utopia while trekking in Thailand, that he turned down other roles in big budget movies to make it. 'I wanted to find something I was truly in love with,' he explains.
It's a terrific tale of free spirits and adventure before the dream turns into a nightmare. With an absurd irony, when the movie-makers arrived to tell the story their efforts were seen as a mirror of the novel's storyline.
The fraught process of making the movie began with finding the right idyllic location. Eventually the team found Maya Beach on Phi Phi Le island in southern Thailand.
Only Maya Beach could give them the right dramatic seclusion of the novel's location but the production company first had to get a government go ahead to move onto the uninhabited beach, part of a National Park and in a special environmental zone.
But according to producer Andrew MacDonald, this particular section of Paradise looked nothing like heaven when they arrived. 'We removed three tons of rubbish from the island before we even started shooting,' says Andrew. He also paid Thailand's Forestry Department $100, 000 for permission to film and pledged a $200, 000 bond promising the beach would be returned to its former state - minus the rubbish - when they had finished. Palms would be replanted and sand dunes bulldozed back into pace.
But Hollywood's interference with the island's trees plus a bulldozer on an untouched beach was certain to fire up controversy. It did. Quickly.
The battle lines were in fact defined before Leo and the other stars - French actress Virgine Ledoyen, Victoria Smurfit, Robert Carlyle and Tilda Swinton - arrived in Thailand.
It was the film team versus environmentalists. They demonstrated on set wearing DiCaprio masks with fangs dripping with blood and waving 'Don't rape our beach, Leo' banners. The environmentalists' other gripe was about the film's cult effect. Even before its release, backpacking had become chic. Underwater sports businesses are promoting spear-fishing and snorkeling and tour companies plan a collection of Far East trips for those who want to follow 'The Leo Trail.'
But then finding heaven on earth on a tropical beach has always been the ultimate fantasy - as seen on C4's The Real Beach on Saturday. This eye-opening documentary that tells the true story of how, 10 years ago, a similar island paradise turned into a murderous hell for a group of young backpackers.
So could it be that the hot sun has a heated effect on the temper? Maybe - but despite all the trouble in Paradise, Leo's performance in The Beach has gone down well with test audiences in the US. Which was just as well because during the filming of The Beach, he became a target of criticism from Thai activists, and Leo complained that he was unjustly painted as an eco-villain.
'It's a stab on my reputation if I'm associated with a film that comes in and recklessly destroys things,' says Leo. 'We never intended to endanger anything, hurt anything - especially somewhere like Maya Beach, which to me is like everyone's dream of Paradise.
'We just wanted to make a wonderful movie...'

13th February, 2000
Leo Fans Flock To ‘The Beach’
Source: The Times

Thousands of screaming fans brought Central london to a standstill last night as they fought to glimpse Leonardo DiCaprio at the European premiere of the Hollywood heart-throb's new film The Beach - which goes on release tomorrow. Adoring teenagers had queued for up to six hours outside the Empire in Leicester Square to see DiCaprio. As he gave a brief wave and a smile before disappearing inside, they chanted and wailed his name. Some had scrawled "Leo" across their foreheads. Kate Moss, Noel Gallagher and the TV presenter Jami theakston were among the celebrities there. Emma Bunton was there, relaxing after a day in court. DiCaprio was paid £12 million to play a backpacker in the £30 million film - attacked by environmentalists because of disruption to its Thai location.

13th February, 2000
Blond Ambition: Is Leo DiCaprio Or Matt Damon The Smarter Actor?

With ''The Beach'' and ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'' competing in theaters, Mark Harris compares their hot young stars
Remember Highlights for Children, that strange little kids' magazine you used to read in the dentist's office when you were growing up? My favorite feature was always ''Goofus and Gallant,'' the cartoon tale of two brothers, one a model of good behavior, one a bad example in every way. The captions would always offer a one-two punch along the lines of ''Gallant shares his chocolate bar with a friend.... Goofus eats his with his mouth open, and doesn't even wash his hands!''
''G&G'' occurred to me while I was pondering the case of two of our brightest (in terms of talent, potential, and hair color) stars: Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon. DiCaprio and Damon both broke big within weeks of each other in December of 1997, one with ''Titanic,'' the other with ''Good Will Hunting.'' A little more than two years later, with ''The Beach'' about to open and ''The Talented Mr. Ripley'' nearing the $80 million mark in theaters, it's a little hard not to think of them as somehow joined. You know....
''Gallant wins a Best Screenplay Oscar, and goes right back to work.... Goofus spends all his time partying at Moomba!''
''Gallant has friends.... Goofus has a posse!''
''Gallant has made ''Rounders,'' ''Dogma,'' ''Saving Private Ryan,'' and ''Ripley,'' has ''All The Pretty Horses'' and ''The Legend of Bagger Vance'' in the can, and may make ''Minority Report'' with Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise.... Goofus went to the beach!''
Okay, maybe that's a little unfair. But underneath it resides a lesson for young actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, one of our very best, probably hasn't done himself any favors by waiting so long and working so little. DiCaprio's reps would doubtless say he was waiting so long because he's picky -- and he has a right to be. Good roles don't come along every day. (On the other hand, gimme a break -- DiCaprio clearly had first crack at every good script with a role for a man between 15 and 40 in the last two years.)
The point is that he didn't guarantee himself a better performance -- or a better movie - by not working. Damon, Edward Norton, Jim Carrey -- even less bankable actors like Wes Bentley, Giovanni Ribisi, Tobey Maguire, and Joaquin Phoenix -- seem to have had little trouble finding roles that challenge them and their audiences lately. Not every choice they've made has been great, but their choice to do the job is pretty unarguable. (It's not just a lesson for the young: Doesn't everybody wish that Stanley Kubrick had gotten ''Eyes Wide Shut'' out of his system around 1991 and moved on to something else?)
Which brings us to the opening of ''The Beach,'' a movie that few expect will be a blockbuster but that's being viewed as a test of DiCaprio's post-''Titanic'' drawing power. It's a question that the actor doesn't deserve to have to face -- every actor has hits and flops, and no actor gets drummed out of Hollywood after one of the latter -- but one that he's brought on himself. Regardless of which column ''The Beach'' falls in, it's time for him to get to work, and not just once every two years. It's not so hard: Do a comedy. Take a good supporting role. Work with a director you admire. Work with an actor you admire. Play someone ugly. Play someone ordinary. The options are limitless if you pay attention to them. That's why DiCaprio's next big decision will be his most important: Goofuses dither. Gallants act. Which one does he want to be?

13th February, 2000
Berlin Girls Hunt DiCaprio For Lucrative Kiss

BERLIN (Reuters) - Adulation is nothing new for Leonardo DiCaprio, but a Berlin tabloid might make things even worse than usual by offering a cash bonus to the girl who can steal a kiss from the Hollywood sex symbol.
"He is here, 1,000 marks (317 pounds) for the Berlin girl who manages to kiss Leonardo DiCaprio," read Saturday's headline in the popular daily BZ.
The money will be paid immediately to the lucky fan who can produce a picture proving she has succeeded.
The paper said 25-year-old DiCaprio, greeted by teen frenzy scenes wherever he goes, arrived in the German capital on Friday to take part in the Berlin Film Festival which opened on Wednesday.
DiCaprio is in Berlin as part of an European tour to promote his latest film, "The Beach", in which he plays an American backpacker in search of an island paradise in Thailand.

13th February, 2000
The “Does Leo Sing?” Dilemma

The news going round for the last month or so has been that Leonardo sings one of the songs on “The Beach” soundtrack. This is false, but never fear! You still get cool dialogue from the movie, which recently opened in England and the US. Here is the play list again:
1)Snakeblood -- by Leftfield
2)Pure Shores -- by All Saints
3)Porcelain -- by Moby
4)Voices -- by Dario G
5)8 Ball -- by Underworld
6)Spinning Away -- Sugar Ray
7)Return to Django -- by Asian Dub Foundation
8)On Your Own -- by Blur
9)Yeke Yeke -- by Mory Kante
10)Woozy -- by Faithless
11)Richard, It's Business As Usual -- by Barry Adamson (feat. Leo dialogue)
12)Brutal -- by New Order
13)Lonely Soul -- by UNKLE
14)Beached -- by Angelo Badalamenti and Orbital (feat. Leo dialogue)

14th February, 2000
No Mania For Leo's 'The Beach'

To the surprise of many analysts, Leonardo DiCaprio's first movie in nearly two years failed to draw big crowds and wound up in second place behind the horror flick Scream 3 (2000), earning just $15 million. (DiCaprio's last movie, Man in the Iron Mask, The (1998), debuted with $17.2 million in March, 1998 and also opened in second place -- behind the thirteenth week of Titanic (1997).) "Leo is in for a salary reduction on his next picture," entertainment analyst Art Rockwell told Bloomberg News, referring to DiCaprio's reported $20 million fee for Beach, The (2000). "A lot of teenage girls want to see him, but their male counterparts are bored silly by a movie like this. It's a significant disappointment for Fox." On the other hand, Scream 3 (2000)'s plunge from 34.7 million last weekend to $16.4 million this weekend had been expected. The more-than-50-percent drop is almost identical to the slide experienced by Scream 2 (1997) in Dec., 1997. The biggest surprise of all may have been the strong performance of Snow Day (2000), released by Viacom's Nickelodeon unit. The kids flick earned an estimated $14.8 million, just $200,000 less than Beach, The (2000). Critics mercilessly attacked the Chevy Chase starrer on Friday (as they did The Beach).

14th February, 2000
Berlin Business Starts Slowly As Fans Lionize Leo
Source: Adam Dawtrey - Variety

The Leo circus hit Berlin over the weekend, with its usual supporting cast of hysterical teenage girls and equally excitable tabloid reporters.
The presence of Leonardo DiCaprio completely overshadowed that of his movie, "The Beach," which screened out of competition Sunday at the Berlin International Film Festival. While festival goers greeted the movie itself, directed by Danny Boyle, with ennui, the steps in front of the Berlinale Palast were packed all day long with German Lolitas hoping to catch the eye of their idol.
The press conference for the film was hijacked by British newshounds eager to grill DiCaprio about his amorous exploits a few days earlier in London. The hot-ticket party turned out to be a dismal affair in a chilly warehouse dressed incongruously as a tropical jungle, with exotic dancers wiggling and shivering in body stockings. If Leo was there, he was kept well hidden behind the screens that fenced off the VIP area.

14th February, 2000
'Scream 3' Drowns Out 'The Beach'

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Scream 3 shouted down Leonardo DiCaprio's new film to retain the top spot at the box office, industry estimates Sunday indicated.
The third movie in the horror franchise took in $16.4 million in its second weekend. DiCaprio's The Beach, about a backpacker's ill-fated search for paradise, opened in second place with $15 million, said Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc., which tracks movie ticket sales.
Two kid-flicks also debuted in the top five. Snow Day, a comedy about children wreaking havoc when a blizzard closes their school, grossed $14.8 million for third place. The movie co-stars Chevy Chase, Jean Smart, Chris Elliott and Pam Grier.
The Tigger Movie, Disney's animated Winnie the Pooh tale, was No. 4 with $9.2 million.
Last weekend's No. 2 film, the Oscar contender The Hurricane, dropped to fifth place with $3.6 million.
Ticket sales for Scream 3 dropped by 53 per cent from its $34.7-million opening last weekend. The movie has grossed $57 million in 10 days.
Panned by many critics, The Beach puts DiCaprio in a far darker role than the heroic heartthrob he played in Titanic, the all-time box-office leader.
Distributor 20th Century Fox said it was not disappointed by the film's No. 2 slot.
"Disappointing is when nobody comes to a movie. That's disappointment," said Tom Sherak, the studio's head of distribution.
The movie's R rating cut off some of DiCaprio's biggest fans, girls under 17 who would have to see the movie with a parent or guardian. Even so, women made up 57 per cent of the movie's audience and more than one-half of them were under 25.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theatres, according to Exhibitor Relations. Final figures are to be released today:
1. Scream 3, $16.4 million.
2. The Beach, $15 million.
3. Snow Day, $14.8 million.
4. The Tigger Movie, $9.2 million.
5. The Hurricane, $3.6 million
6. The Green Mile, $3 million.
7. Next Friday, $2.8 million.
8. Stuart Little, $2.7 million.
9. Galaxy Quest, $2.2 million.
10. Eye of the Beholder, $2.1 million.