While I still maintain that Leonardo DiCaprio’s Oscar campaign could use an injection of humor, I have to admit… I enjoyed this new Variety cover story with Leo. I think it helped that the interview was conducted with Alejandro Inarritu sitting right there – it saved Leo from pontificating on and on about the journey to make this film and nothing has ever been like this, and on and on. They also use this opportunity to address the Hollywood Reporter story several months ago about how The Revenant’s production became an utter disaster where the budget bloated past $100 million. You can read the full Variety piece here. Some highlights (these are all quotes from Leo):

Eating a raw slab of bison’s liver for The Revenant: Leo had to clear it with his lawyer and agent before they filmed the scene where he ate the real thing. Leo says: “The bad part is the membrane around it. It’s like a balloon. When you bite into it, it bursts in your mouth.”

The craziness of the production: “I just want to set the record straight. There’s been a lot said about the movie and the difficulties making it, and how meticulous Alejandro is with his vision. But to me, that’s the sh-t that should be praised. I don’t want to work with somebody who isn’t thinking of every possible aspect of what’s up on the screen. I think there’s a hunger for audiences to see something completely extreme and difficult.”

Leo was never injured on the film but he did get sick: “I got the flu quite a few times.”

It got much warmer in Canada while they were filming during the spring: “That’s what climate change is.”

His gross beard: “I had that beard for a year and a half. It becomes like a spouse. You sleep with it. It was like shaving off dreads.”

Leo doesn’t do sequels: “To me, every movie I’ve done has been its own piece of individual art. You read a script — it’s got a beginning and an end. It’s hard to envision that being resurrected again.”

The rash of superhero films: “It might actually get better. When you don’t rely on studio systems, there are the subscriber-based networks like Netflix or Amazon. Who knows what the hell the future of theatrical releases will be? But right now, certainly a film like this is a rarity.”

[From Variety]

First of all… I know what Leo was trying to say about climate change, like he was making a statement about the radical change in weather, where there’s a blizzard one week and 65-degree temperatures the next week. But the way the quote is placed in the story, it makes it sound like Leo thinks “winter turning into spring” = climate change. It’s funny. As for Leo saying that Inarritu should be “praised” for going tens of millions of dollars over budget on a film that’s basically Boy Drama In the Woods, and all of it just because Inarritu wanted to use natural light? No, I don’t think Inarritu should be praised for that.

There are only two parts of the Variety story devoted to Tom Hardy. It’s almost as if a potential Tom Hardy Oscar campaign has no place in the “Let’s Finally Get Leo An Oscar” movement! Tom tells Variety that he was upset with the neverending production, especially since he had to drop out of Suicide Squad. He said: “Was I bummed? Of course I was. I hate f—king losing work. I kept bemoaning they were losing me significant money on a daily basis. Actually, it was good for my character.” Hardy also took a moment to refute the blind item about him hitting Inarritu, saying: “If you hit somebody, you’d know about it. That didn’t happen.”

Photos courtesy of Variety, Fame/Flynet.