X17 News

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Leonardo DiCaprio's maternal grandmother Helene Indenbirken died at age 93 in a hospital in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, according to a local paper, the Recklinghauser Zeitung.

The Oscar nominated actor was very close to his grandmother, whom he often referred to as "Oma." Indenbirken often accompanied him to movie premieres, including The Aviator in 2005.

In a 2004 interview with Vanity Fair, he said, "I love spending time with her because she is gangsta, with an 'a.' She will tell people exactly what she thinks to their face."

According to People, DiCaprio is due back in Oer-Erkenschwick, to attend a small memorial service.

CLICK HERE to see all of X17online's stories on Leonardo DiCaprio

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Though a source for X17online exclusively reveals that Rihanna and her entourage left West Hollywood hotspot Villa with Leonardo DiCaprio last night, the 20-year-old singer and the Oscar-nominated actor are just friends. Rihanna started off the night at Coco de Ville and headed to Villa lounge, where she was then met up with DiCaprio, and went to his Hollywood home shortly after 2 a.m.

Rihanna has reportedly been dating fellow musician Chris Brown for over six months now, and Star is reporting that the two are ready to move in together. According to a source for the magazine, Rihanna has recently been looking at condos in the Los Angeles area to share with Brown, and she has even checked out units in Beverly Hills' Sierra Tower. "She and Chris want to live together," says the source. "They play their music loud though, so they want a condo that's soundproof."

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Leonardo DiCaprio is bringing together some of his A-List Hollywood friends to produce a Public Service Announcement urging people to register and to vote in November's upcoming election.

A number of celebrities including, Jennifer Aniston, Tobey Maguire, Kate Bosworth and veteran TV Producer Norman Lear, gathered at Leo's Hollywood Hills home on Sunday to record the PSA.

Representatives for DiCaprio say the video will be posted on the internet.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Leonard DiCaprio is changing his tune when it comes to marriage. The once proudly single star tells Parade magazine that's he's ready to settle down.

"I want to get married and have children," the 33 year old says. "In saying that, I realize I am contradicting everything I've said before," adding, "I absolutely believe in marriage."

That's quite a change from statements Leo's made in the past where he's proclaimed to have "never been in love" and adamantly professed that he "didn't believe in marriage."

When asked about those former statements, the three-time Oscar nominee blames "the ignorance of youth."

"What I definitely feel a need for is to make my life about more than just my career." he continues.

"Just last night I was thinking to myself how little of my life has been lived normally and not spent on some far-off movie location. I want to get married and have children. In saying that, I realize I am contradicting everything I’ve said before."

Leo has had a string of high profile relationships, most notably with Brazilian supermodel Giselle Bundchen. He's been dating Israeli model Bar Refaeli for the past two years.

The interview is very revealing for the intensely private actor who seems very aware of the potential pitfalls of his privileged life.

"I hope I never get cynical. I think you need youthful energy, excitement and optimism in life."

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Leonardo DiCaprio, Forest Whitaker, Tobey Maguire, and will i. am today launched the first of a series of public
service announcements to encourage American youth to register to vote in partnership with Google, YouTube, Declare Yourself, and MySpace. The non-partisan PSA's, produced by DiCaprio's Appian Way, were created to engage and inspire young people to register and vote and participate in the upcoming election.

Celebrities appearing in the PSA's include: Amy Adams, Tatyana Ali, will.i.am, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Bacon, Maria Bello, Halle Berry, Selma Blair, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Connolly, Courteney Cox, Ellen DeGeneres, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jaime Foxx, Jonah Hill, Djimon Hounsou, Dustin Hoffman, Anthony Kiedis, Ashton Kutcher, Adam Levine, Laura Linney, Eva Longoria, Tobey Maguire, Demi Moore, Esai Morales, Natalie Portman, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman, Ethan Suplee, Kyra Sedgwick, Michelle Trachtenberg, Usher, and Forest Whitaker.

According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, only about half of eligible voters under the age of 30 were registered to vote in 2006, and only about half of those who were registered actually voted.

The PSA's encourage voters to visit Google's voter information site where voters can find out if they are registered,how to register, registration deadlines and where to vote.

The site links to Google's Election page that features candidate videos from YouTube, the latest election headlines from Google News, political iGoogle gadgets and more.

Additional versions encourage young potential voters to visit the voter registration sites at YouTube, MySpace and Declare Yourself.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Leonardo DiCaprio's production company Appian way has purchased the rights to "Beat the Reaper" for the actor to star in, Variety reports.

The novel tells the story of a New York City emergency room doctor who was a former hit man for the mafia.

The film will be co-produced with New Regency headed by DiCaprio's former manager Rick Yorn.

The novel was written by Josh Bazell, a medical intern. This is his first novel.

A screenwriter for the project has not yet been announced.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - While many celebs like to promote environmental causes, the readers of Dailygreen.com say Mariah Carey is anything but green.

In a poll for the site, Carey is singled out for her gas-guzzling and emission-expelling lifestyle that includes flying her private trainer on a private jet from New York to St. Barths.

But other celebs earn their "green-cred" by practicing what they preach.

Leonardo DiCaprio was named the best male celebrity for his ongoing activism and the creation an environmental foundation. He also co-wrote, co-produced and narrated a documentary about the dangers of global warming.

Oprah was singled out as the woman doing the most to protect the environment and often features important environmental issues on her talk soon.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Legendary director Martin Scorsese has his eyes on Leonardo DiCaprio to play Frank Sinatra in an upcoming film. But Leo, who certainly isn't known for his crooning voice, won't be expected to sing. Scorsese says that most likely, audio recordings of Sinatra will be used throughout the film.

DiCaprio and Scorsese have had a string of successes together including The Departed, Gangs of New York and The Aviator, in which DiCaprio played legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes.

The two recently teamed up for the thriller Shutter Island, currently out in theaters. Although Leo seems to be a sure thing for the film, the final script for the Untitled Scorsese Project has yet to be completed.

Click here for all of X17online's Leonardo DiCaprio stories.

Click here for all of X17online's Leonardo DiCaprio videos.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Bradley Cooper is attached to Disney's upcoming still-untitled baseball movie based on the book Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps by Allan Loeb.

The plot focuses on a pro baseball player, played by Cooper, who gets injured and is forced to go back to the minors. While there, his character finds lodging at a senior citizens' home, which is where he finds inspiration to return to the major leagues.

In other casting news, Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum are attached to the love story, The Vow.

The story revolves around a newleywed couple who are involved in a car crash, putting McAdams into a coma. The husband, played by Channing Tatum is forced to regain her love.

Leonardo DiCaprio is in negotiations to play J. Edgar Hoover in the yet-to-be named biopic. Clint Eastwood is said to be directing the film. The project is said to begin production later this year.

And finally, Alexander Skarsgard will play opposite Taylor Kitsch in Universal's Battleship, based on the Hasbro game.

The movie is said to be about "an international fleet coming together to battle a water-bound armada of otherworldly origin." This will be Skarsgard's first studio movie since starring in HBO's True Blood.

Battleship begins shooting in late August in Hawaii, and has a release date set for June 18, 2012.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Aretha Wilson, the woman who is accused of slashing actor Leonardo DiCaprio with a broken wineglass, has been ordered to stand trial.

A producer friend of the actor testified in court saying, "There was an extreme amount of blood."

The incident, that took place back in 2005 outside of a party, forced DiCaprio to get 18 stitches in his left ear and neck.

If Wilson, 40, is found guilty, she could face seven years behind bars.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - After spending three years on the New York Times bestseller list and selling more than 2.3 million copies, Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City will be developed into a film. Leonardo Dicaprio is set to direct and star in a yet-unwritten film adaptation of the novel based on a true story, through his Apian Way production company, according to a Variety report.

The book centers around the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, and the lives of two very different men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor who is believed to be responsible for countless murders near the fair.

Dicaprio will play Holmes, who planned and built the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber near the fairgrounds. He used the hotel to lure young women to their death.

“I think that a guy who is that intelligent and that charismatic is nothing less than complex, and it’s that complexity that (DiCaprio) is drawn to, and because people don’t know much about (Holmes), it makes it even more interesting.” Says DiCaprio's Appian Way partner Jennifer Killoran

Leonardo Dicaprio is currently working on Clint Eastwood's Hoover, a Biopic on FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, focusing on his scandalous career and controversial private life as a homosexual and rumored cross dresser. Dicaprio will play the title role.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - 40 year-old ex-model Aretha Wilson has been sentenced to two years in prison after attacking mega-movie star Leonardo Dicaprio at a Hollywood party in 2005.

Wilson's attack was so severe, the Inception star needed emergency surgery to the gashes, including 17 stitches to his face and ear. Wilson told police she had mistaken Dicaprio for a former boyfriend whom she believed had been bad-mouthing her.

Wilson fled to Canada after the attack in 2005, but she will get a shorter sentence after agreeing to admit to the charges under a plea deal. She is also likely to receive credit for the 330 days she has already spent in jail while waiting to be extradited from Canada to the US.

Wilson will be sentenced later this month.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Aretha Wilson, 40, pleaded no contest to smashing a glass into Leonardo DiCaprio's face at a party five years ago, causing the actor to have 17 stitches. She was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday.

Wilson's lawyer Freddy Sayegh, told reporters Wilson was pleased with the outcome, and a prosecutor said DiCaprio was happy the case was resolved before it went to a full trial.

Wilson was given credit for the nearly one year already spent in jail and with time off for good behavior, her lawyer says she may only serve six months behind bars.

Wilson, a Canadian citizen, will be turned over to federal officials and deported to Canada after finishing out her sentence in the US.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Ben Affleck is out of director Baz Luhrmann's 3D retelling of The Great Gatsby.

The director offered Affleck the role of Tom Buchanan a few weeks ago, but the Affleck couldn't fit the film into his schedule. Affleck is directing Argo, about the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, in the Middle East and Gatsby will shoot in Australia.

Luhrmann, whose past films include Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet, co-wrote and is directing the adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel. He has signed Leonardo DiCaprio to play Jay Gatsby, Carey Mulligan to star as Daisy Buchanan and Tobey Maguire to play Nick Carraway.

Affleck has several projects in the works, including a rumored film with frequent co-star and close friend Matt Damon.

Tyler Perry has topped Forbes Magazine’s newly released list of Entertainment’s Highest-Paid Men.

The writer/director/producer/actor earned an estimated $130 million from film and television projects between May 2010 and May 2011.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer was the second highest earning man in Hollywood this past year, raking in $113 million from film and television projects, including Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and the CSI franchise.

Leonardo DiCaprio is the only dedicated actor on the list, having earned $77 million from blockbuster films Shutter Island and Inception.

Here is Forbes’s full list of Entertainment’s Highest-Paid Men:

1. Tyler Perry - $130 million
2. Jerry Bruckheimer - $113 million
3. Steven Spielberg - $107 million
4. Elton John - $100 million
5. Simon Cowell - $90 million
6. James Patterson - $84 million
7. Dr. Phil McGraw - $80 million
8. Leonardo DiCaprio - $77 million
9. Howard Stern - $76 million
10. Tiger Woods - $75 million

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Leonardo DiCaprio has assisted the Oscar Academy in the purchase of a pair of Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz.

Through his Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, the A-list actor made a generation donation to help in the acquisition of the famous footwear, along with contributing donations made by director Steven Spielberg and LACMA co-chair Terry Semel.

The Academy CEO Dawn Hudson could not be more grateful for the J. Edgar star's generosity. "Leo's passionate leadership has helped us bring home this legendary piece of movie history. It's a wonderful gift to the Academy museum project, and a perfect representation of the work we do year-round to preserve and share our film heritage," she said in a statement.

Although there are four original pairs of the shoes in existence, this specific pair is said to be in the best condition, and the plan is to display them in an upcoming Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, currently in development with the LACMA.