From a Dutch Newspaper


Here's a recent article that was sent to me from a Dutch newspaper..

The question is asked...Is it possible for an international megastar to lead a normal life?

LdC: My idea of paradise? To be in a spot on earth where I can put on my pants in peace every morning.

Berlin - The screaming of the fans sounds like a plea. Incessantly they're shouting ''Leo, Leo, Leo!''. Leo is their mantra. After half an hour the enthusiasm lessens. But Leonardo DiCaprio is in Berlin to be present at the premiere of his new movie The Beach. His coming here is very good news for festival manager Moritz de Hadeln, who said in an interview that he would ''jump out of the window'' if the megastar didn't show up.

His act of despair is not necessary. In the company of his mother and grandmother, both of German origin, DiCaprio arrived, in a private jet, right on schedule (Friday night at 6.22 pm at Schoenefeld Airport near Berlin). But than a game of hide and seek began. In which hotel is the star from Titanic staying?

His film company has booked him in 4 different hotels to put his fans on the wrong foot. There's only a handful of autograph hunters in front of the Hotel Kempinski in the morning. There are more police and camera people than screaming girls. This is the hotel where DiCaprio will be all day. With his fellow actors, a.o. the British actress Tilda Swinton, and director Danny Boyle (maker of Trainspotting) he is giving interviews all day...television in the morning and the writing press in the afternoon. You are lucky to get on the list. Fox got hundreds of requests. Only a few of those requests could be complied with. But the interviews are not that exclusive... 25 people at the same time are forced into a small room, in it a table with 4 microphones.

That doesn't look good! We soon find out that DiCaprio will not be there alone. He is accompanied by Andrew MacDonald and directory Boyle. Not the best circumstances to ask the MOST IMPORTANT FILMACTOR OF THE MOMENT questions.
In the movie DiCaprio plays a backpacker who thinks he's found paradise, but it turns out to be hell. When he comes in, surrounded by publicity people and bodyguards, it shows that he's still suffering from jetlag.

He sports a little goatee. It seems as if he wants to get rid of his boyish looks. He is dressed in a grey shirt and a black suit. During the half hour of the interview all rumours that have come up during the shooting of The Beach are refuted.

No, he dídn't make his co-star Virginie Ledoyen pregnant. No, he was not bitten by a shark and the story about his 'food-tester' is absolutely not true. The most important questions are about the way DiCaprio handles the troubles and delights of fame.

He acts indifferent.

He doesn't read all the rubbish that is written about him. "Ï'm not being followed around by paparazzi all the time. Only when I'm working or at premieres, things get hectic. I try to lead a normal life. Sometimes it works."

DiCaprio wants to be judged by his ability as an actor and not as some teen idol.

The question is if he will get that chance after the success of Titanic. Everybody is scrutinizing his every move.

His new movie didn't get good reviews in the US. Only his performance is appreciated. Friend and foe agree that DiCaprio is a talented actor. His colleague, Mark Wahlberg, with whom he made Basketball Diaries 4 years ago, said a day earlier in Berlin: "Leo is having a hard time. What more is there to achieve in his life? He wants to be acknowledged as a serious actor. But will he get that chance? He has the bad luck that he is prettier than most of the actresses in his movies. People are looking at him in a 'weird way'.

All his fellow actors in The Beach point out his professional attitude. Tilda Swinton, who plays a hot lovescene with DiCaprio states: Ï'm probably the only person on this planet who didn't see Titanic. I only know his other movies. He has an unmistakable talent. You're asking me how it felt to make love to him in front of the camera? VERY NICE!!

After the interviews the company is moved to the Berlinale Palast for the official press conference. The room is packed and the temperature is tropical. The atmosphere is gloomy. DiCaprio doesn't get any serious questions about his work as an actor. A Bosnian journalist asks him to donate $ 10.000 for aid. An English tabloid 'journalist' asks about the romance between DiCaprio and a British girl he's been seen with at the London premiere. All questions are about his private life. At a certain point festival manager De Hadeln intervenes. He grabs the microphone and tells everybody to ask questions about the movie only.

It doesn't get any better. Can he say a couple of things in German? DiCaprio, who does not lose his patience, tries his best. Boyle and the others don't seem to exist. After half an hour the embarrassing exhibit is over. Leonardo is obviously relieved.

At night he's able to have some fun at the Dresdner Bahnhof where there's a big party for about a 1000 people, they even created an artificial beach. After seeing all this, a peek in the life of a megastar, it is easy to understand the statement of Mark Wahlberg, fellow actor and of the same generation, that he wouldn't like to trade places with Leonardo for the world. (he was in Berlin because of the movie 'Three Kings') "I would suffer from persecution complex. It is such a shame, Leo is a very nice guy. I hope he will be able to cope with all this madness."



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