Leonardo DiCaprio and Alejandro G Inarritu were in Mexico yesterday continuing to promote The Revenant. Leo’s Oscar for Best Actor has been secured. But they also want The Revenant to take Best Picture (with an asterisk, because let’s face it, the winners this year will be overshadowed by #OscarsSoWhite). Last weekend, however, the Producers Guild awarded Best Picture to The Big Short. Between The Big Short, The Revenant, Spotlight, and maybe The Martian, it really is a race this year – if anyone’s paying attention in the wake of the bigger conversation.
Curiously there is actually another conversation that’s been happening where Leo is concerned. Have you heard of Don's Plum? Don's Plum is a film that Leo and Tobey Maguire and their friends were in before they became LEO and Spider-Man. It was shot almost 20 years ago about a group of friends talking sh-t at a diner. Most of you haven’t seen Don's Plum because Leo and Tobey successfully sued the filmmakers to block its release in North America. They claimed that they only agreed to appear in the film on the condition that it would not be seen in the US and Canada. The film’s producer has been trying for years to make it available. And he’s now letting you stream it, for free, online.
Once you watch Don’s Plum you’ll understand immediately why Leo and Tobey don’t want you to. A lot of the dialogue was improvised which, you could argue, is about as close as we’ll ever get to observing what the Pussy Posse was really like. They’re punks. They’re rude, misogynistic, incredibly selfish, and terribly insecure. In other words, it feels really, really real. It feels like a close representation of who they were, and could still be. Leo in particular is mouthy and annoying. He’s basically Justin Bieber. Seriously Justin Bieber, and not the serious actor’s actor, environmental crusader you’ve come to know. And still…wouldn’t you rather know the other guy?
The other guy, the one in Don’s Plum, is a dick, sure. But he’s also, like 21, Justin Bieber’s age, and living in LA – arrogant and foolish but also authentic and vulnerable, a lot more recognisable than the humourless Oscar campaigner who only bonafides models.
Well no wonder he and Tobey are so against this. And if it was just “acting”, in their youth, why are they so against it? You should watch it to find out. But don’t wait. Because I’m not sure how long you’ll be able to before they get their lawyers to take it down. Click here.
