Stuck in Italy for his current film, Leonardo DiCaprio has temporarily dropped out of his next scheduled movie, the DreamWorks action comedy Catch Me If You Can, putting the future of that project in jeopardy.

Based on the bestselling 1980 memoir about the youngest fugitive ever to land on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List, Catch Me was supposed to be a big-time feature for DreamWorks, especially with DiCaprio playing the lead and Sopranos star James Gandolfini in a key costarring role. The studio had planned on getting the picture up and running before the expected actor and writer strike next spring.

DiCaprio had committed to star in Catch Me contingent upon his completion of Gangs of New York, Martin Scorsese's 19th century gangster saga that's now shooting in Rome.

However, Gangs has fallen way behind schedule with no end date in sight, meaning the chances of getting Catch Me into production before the looming strike are slim. Even if Scorsese manages to wrap Gangs quickly, Leo has said he needs to take a vacation after the film's epic 16-hour work days over the course of what will likely be a six-month shoot.

He also has said he doesn't want to rush into a picture just to beat a deadline imposed by his own union. "He just doesn't believe that the creative process should be held hostage to a strike deadline," a source in the DiCaprio tells Daily Variety. DreamWorks is now trying to hash out a deal whereby the 25-year-old thesp will make Catch Me his first film after the strike. But even if DreamWorks manages to corral DiCaprio (who also has Eck, a film about a deformed actor and his normal twin brother, in the works), it is unlikely the project will retain its other key talent.

Gandolfini, who signed for a reported $5 million, would probably drop out, since he can only film while on hiatus from The Sopranos and would have a hard time re-juggling his schedule. Another casualty could be director Gore Verbinski (Mouse Hunt). Having just wrapped The Mexican with Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt, Verbinski was eager to helm another movie before the work stoppage and his availability afterward is a question mark. Adapted by Rush Hour scribe Jeff Nathanson, the project is based on Frank Abagnale's Catch Me If You Can: The Amazing True Story of the Most Extraordinary Liar in the History of Fun and Profit. The story follows Abagnale's real-life adventures impersonating a doctor, an airline pilot, a history professor and an assistant attorney general and getting away with writing more than $2.5 million in fraudulent checks in 26 foreign countries. After finally being nabbed by the FBI, Abagnale was recruited as a consultant for the bureau.

Growing Pains
November 4, 2000

Tomorrow, on Sunday November 5, 2000 at 7 pm, ABC will be broadcasting the special Growing Pains Reunion. Don't hold your breath for Leonardo DiCaprio though.

*I think it kinda sucks he's not in it. It woulda been great*

They Aren't Even Dating!
MSNBC
October 27, 2000

Leonardo DiCaprio and Gisele Bundchen not only aren't engaged -- they're not a couple, sources say. Reports circulated recently that the "Titanic" star proposed on bended knee and that the model accepted the $500,000 ring he gave her. Don't believe it, say the insiders. The stories of their romance are being spread by people close to them, who figure it's good for both their careers, the sources say, but, explains one, "the reports of a romance were greatly exaggerated. . . . the engagement stuff was too much." Both sides have denied it, but "the media wants them engaged, and keeps insisting they are." Bundchen refuses to discuss the relationship, although she allows that they're not engaged, and DiCaprio's spokesman didn't return calls for comment, though in the past he has told The Scoop that the two are not heading to the alter.

Leo's Publicist Has Something to Say
October 26, 2000

Some sensational, and occasionally unflattering, pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio have been reported from the set of his new movie "Gangs of New York," being directed in Rome by Martin Scorsese. But gossip columnist Liz Smith says DiCaprio's publicist is taking pains to shoot them down. The "Titanic" star's representative told Smith she could "go to the bank" with five statements about Leo: He's absolutely not engaged. He's not partying. Scorsese did not scold him on the set. He looks terrific. And he's working out everyday. Some observers have noted that DiCaprio's body has been, you might say, filling out. His publicist told Smith: "There's more of Leo, but it's not fat. He's a 25-year-old man now, not a boy. We should all be in such shape.

Dicaprio Snubbs Cameron
Star Magazine
October 25, 2000

Cameron had asked Leo to do a cameo on his series Dark Angel, but not only did the actor refuse, but he also made his reps tell Cameron for him.

Kinda rude, dontcha think?