Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Perfect PR: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Presidential, Er, Oscar Campaign Brings Him to the Pope

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Leonardo DiCaprio’s Presidential er Oscar campaign is in full force.

Gone are the model girlfriends. Also gone is Helly Nahmad, Leo’s BFF art dealer pal who did a jail stint last year in a federal case. If Helly is around, he’s been cropped from the picture, so to speak.

The latest on Leo’s Oscar PR trail? Pope Francis. DiCaprio got a private visit with him on January 28th. He brought his father and another odd duck BFF, a curious dark haired man named Milutin Gatsby.

That’s not his real name, of course. Leonardo DiCaprio played “The Great Gatsby.” This Milutin is Serbian, and has been turning up in Leo stories for several years. Little is known of him except that he jet sets around and is always at amFAR events. He’s been mentioned in passing in items in Vanity Fair and the New Yorker, with the great writer Bob Colacello actually wondered aloud whether he was on the level.

Well, the brilliant PR man Ken Sunshine is busy in the background keeping Leo looking presidential. A couple of years ago Angelina Jolie screened her “Unbroken” for the Pop and had a short meeting. It didn’t help with the Oscars. I doubt Leo screened “The Revenant” for Pope Francis. No bear in the Vatican. But it’s a great move on the way to the podium at the Dolby Theater. According to Sunshine’s reports, Leo and the Pope discussed the environment– the Oscar environment!

Milutin

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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