Was Leonardo Robbed?

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That comes as cold, icy comfort for his fans, but they can be proud that their devotion to Titanic — nearly $403 million worth to date domestically — means DiCaprio will never travel steerage again. Although he earned one of his heftiest paychecks ($2.5 million, plus 5 percent of the net profit) playing the romantic vagabond Jack Dawson, that's a pittance compared with what he'll get for his next project.

Thanks to Titanic, DiCaprio's asking price has zoomed to $20 million, making him the newest member of the exclusive club where the Astors and Gettys of Hollywood, including Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, and Tom Cruise, now hang. And his dash into the VIP lounge may justify itself the weekend of March 13, when his next movie, MGM's The Man in the Iron Mask, based on the Alexandre Dumas novel, opens. "What he does is give it youth appeal," says MGM Distribution marketing honcho Gerry Rich. "Without him, the movie would skew older." If the fancy-pants costume drama ends up anywhere near the top of the box office, Leo will get the lion's share of the credit.

Then again, it's possible DiCaprio may be about to break Hollywood's heart. Primarily an indie-film actor, the baby-faced performer reportedly doesn't want to be a mainstream movie star and currently has no plans to make another movie until early '99. Except for a role in the upcoming Woody Allen film, he's got nothing lined up, and he's met with execs only to discuss one movie, Laws of Madness, an Imagine Entertainment project about a schizophrenic law student.

No matter how long it takes for DiCaprio to find his next job, his fans claim their devotion will remain as deep as the Titanic's watery grave. "He's a great actor, he's really beautiful, he's passionate," says L.A.'s 14-year-old Sasha Bass. "There isn't any role or any movie I wouldn't go see him in." Words like that have left Hollywood with its own case of Leo-itis.

(Additional reporting by Degen Pener)

Originally posted Mar 06, 1998 Published in issue #421 Mar 06, 1998 Order article reprints

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