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DICAPRIO - "THE BLOOD DIAMONDS FINDS PROVINCE
December 13, 2005.
The subtropical coast of South Africa southeastern KwaZulu-Natal province, will stand in for the West Africa state of Sierra Leone in Leonardo Dicaprio, the Blood Diamonds, says Variety. The feature, helmed by Ed Zwick, is set in 1999 Sierra Leone, a period when the country was engulfed in a vicious cival war. Leonardo plays the smuggler who deals in conflict diamonds, which are commonly used to finance wars and rebellions in Africa. The project is scheduled to start shooting at a coastal resort in the province on February 4, 2006.
Blood Diamonds
Cut up over diamond film October 23, 2005 By Chiara Carter A Hollywood film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, set to be shot on location in Africa - possibly even in South Africa - has rung alarm bells for local diamond moguls. The international star is signed to play the role of a smuggler in Warner Brothers's new production, The Blood Diamond, with filming scheduled to start early next year. According to the internet Movie Data Base, the film is about a farmer, a smuggler and a syndicate of businessmen who match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond. The action takes place in the midst of the bloody Sierra Leone civil war - a conflict where fighters mutilated opponents and miners with a view to gaining control over the lucrative diamond trade. The role played by such diamonds, dubbed conflict or blood diamonds, in bloody civil wars and human rights violations has been repeatedly exposed by international human rights organisations. The illicit trade made headlines when it was linked to the funding of Al-Qaeda. Big diamond companies say that, at the time, such diamonds made up about 4% of the rough diamond trade, but human rights organisations claim it was closer to 25%. That changed somewhat with the introduction of a certification process known as the Kimberley Accord, pushed by diamond giant De Beers, which has been concerned with restoring public confidence in the industry. The accord aims to end the trade in illegal blood diamonds which De Beers now estimates to be as little as 1% of the rough diamond trade. However, recently activists have argued the accord should be extended to include areas where diamond mining is based in "systematic violation of human rights". The legal diamond industry's concern is readily understood. After all, these are the stones that are associated in the public mind with romance, glamour and eternal love - not severed limbs and massacres. And glittering rocks have long been de rigueur in the world of Hollywood superstars. But, along with ongoing human rights groups' concern over aspects of the diamond trade, have come movies that depict a less glitzy image.
Filmmaker Ed Zwick’s upcoming film has the diamond industry worried.
September 6, 2006
Ads go up in major papers on Wednesday from the diamond industry, attempting to reassure customers that conflict diamonds are being squeezed out of the marketplace. Daily Variety reports the diamond industry is pre-emptively defending itself before the Warner Bros. film The Blood Diamond makes it to the screen in mid-December. The Ed Zwick film starring Leonardo Di Caprio depicts how smuggled diamonds have financed brutal dictatorships and atrocities in Africa. The diamond industry is claiming that the circumstances depicted in the film are old news, and that the industry has worked hard to eliminate smuggling of conflict diamonds, with the help of the Kimberly Process that fingerprints individual stones. Eli Izkahoff, chairman of the World Diamond Council claims that their efforts have reduced conflict diamonds to one percent of the marketplace, down from four percent in the 90’s. Warner Bros. comment was to applaud efforts to educate the public, and to add that The Blood Diamond is a fictional account, and no doubt added names of the cast, the date the film opens and links to the website. Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but a movie’s best buddy is publicity…of any kind.
2006/02/05 - South Coast hosts DiCaprio Print Send to a friend SUBASHNI NAIDOO
A QUAINT little town in KwaZulu-Natal is playing host to one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Leonardo DiCaprio. This week visitors to Southbroom were viewed with suspicion by staff at the R8-million home where DiCaprio is staying. A Southbroom resident, who did not want to be identified, said she saw DiCaprio sitting at a restaurant one night, wearing a baseball cap and playing a video game. “He did not communicate with anybody. He just came in, ate, played with the little machine and left,” she said. The actor arrived at the luxury holiday home, which is owned by a Johannesburg information technology millionaire, last Sunday afternoon to film The Blood Diamond. In the Warner Brothers film, which has a budget of more than R1.4-billion, DiCaprio plays a smuggler specialising in “blood diamonds” used to finance rebellions and terrorists. DiCaprio is filming with Djimon Hounsou, who featured in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, at a resort on KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast. The set constructed at the Wild Coast Sun includes a 42-ton bridge, a diamond mine, houses, roads and refugee camps. DiCaprio spent two days filming in Maputo this week. The Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly, who co-stars with DiCaprio, is expected to arrive in South Africa next month. A fleet of four-by-four vehicles transported the movie big wigs as well as DiCaprio and the award-winning director Edward Zwick from the set to a party at the holiday home on Monday. Southbroom was abuzz as locals reported spotting the star at various restaurants last week. The manager of Trattoria la Terrazza, Lungi Mncube, said he served the casually dressed DiCaprio, who visited the Italian restaurant with a party of 12. “He started with sesame peppered prawns and a salad,” said Mncube. “He seemed to like bruschetta sliced Italian bread dressed with olive oil and garlic, and topped with a tomato salsa and pecorino cheese.” Mncube said DiCaprio’s main course was a T-bone steak, which was complemented with Glen Carlou Classic red wine. “Although I was excited I had to remain professional. I was very well tipped.”
