DiCaprio Unchained

Leonardo Dicaprio on set in New York City
this month

Here are photos on set from The Wolf of Wall Street, taken a little over a month ago. New Yorker Martin Scorsese is diving into a milieu which is surprisingly fresh territory for him and perhaps his own personal version of Oliver Stone's Wall Street. (Though, the latter was a little more tapped into the zeitgeist, as his movie opened just two months after Black Monday almost exactly quarter-of-a-century ago, compared to this film coming four years after the 2008 meltdown).  It also marks the fifth (!) match-up between him and Leonardo DiCaprio. As you may recall, out of their previous collaborations (Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island) have resulted three Best Picture and Director nominations, with The Departed taking both awards home. DiCaprio has enjoyed one nod as a result from working with Scorsese (he also got nominated for Blood Diamond the same year The Departed came out). He tends to get recognized for only some of his attempts at awards grubbing, like playing real-life people or attempting an accent. The last time he shot for gold, he employed both, as well as portraying a closeted gay--serious super-bait. But, even with Clint Eastwood at the helm, his J. Edgar left much to be desired. His need to be validated by the AMPAS seemed a little desperate that time, no? I miss young DiCaprio who was more willing to take challenging roles for the sake of the craft and stretching his abilities as an actor. His turn in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? is still my favorite of his, and, frankly, one of the best performances in the 1990s. In his late teens/early 20s, he was so much more interested in delivering the goods with his Shakespearean rebel Romeo and his conflicted young Jim Carroll.

Matthew McConaughey as Mark Hanna in
Wolf (who I couldn't locate any pictures of);
I can't recall a deliberate weight loss/gain
preparation for a certain role (in this case,
The Dallas Buyer's Club) where the
transformation carried over into another film.
Can you?

Titanic changed everything, of course. And, in an attempt to permanently rip his image off the Teen Pop covers like a bandaid, he kissed his romantic appeal goodbye and did The Beach. He was a "serious" actor now and couldn't be bothered to do anything but "mature" roles. Too much self-importance for me.  And, as much as he wants to be a big boy, he still has that baby face.  He'll be portraying real-life white-collar criminal wolf Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio has played no less than nine [!] non-fictional characters), which may or may not be a similar role to his morally ambiguous Frank Abagnale, Jr.  However, it's with his upcoming villainous supporting role in Django Unchained I'm thinking that we could finally see greatness from him again (granted, he was quite good in The Departed). DiCaprio has his pick of directors, and out of the relevant legends still working today which he has professionally partnered up with, there is more potential excitement with Tarantino than what we've seen with Steven Spielberg, Chris Nolan, Eastwood, Sam Mendes, Ed Zwick, Ridley Scott, and Baz Luhrmann.  The dude has worked with the best, but, unfortunately, the results haven't produced any quintessential DiCaprio a la Arnie Grape.  I can't think of a better director in the mainstream to help him get over himself and start creating compelling characters again.  

As for Wolf, Terence Winter (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire) adapted Belfort's book.  It also stars Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill, Kyle Chandler, Jean Dujardin, Jon Favreau, and Rob Reiner.  Gene Hackman (!) will narrate, though, sadly, not appear in the film.  Many of Scorsese's peops are returning behind the scenes: Thelma Schoonmaker, Sandy Powell, and Howard Shore.  However, he'll be joining forces with cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Brokeback Mountain and Alejandro González Iñárritu alum) for the first time, which should stir things up a bit.

Fun fact, did you know that DiCaprio is stepping up his producer game with Ben Affleck (Runner, Runner) and Christian Bale (Out of the Furnace) starring in his sloppy seconds?  He was also behind the camera with Red Riding Hood, The Idea of March, and Akira, if it ever gets green-lighted.  There's not doubt DiCaprio is vital to the film industry and Django may get a whole new generation interested in him again.  

[Photos via IndieWire]