Hail, Hail, 'Gangs' Is Here

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12.12.02_tn.jpg

12.12.02 - USA Today

NEW YORK -- Leonardo DiCaprio (news), a smart little goatee on his handsome chin, beamed as he watched U2 perform, Bono's voice soaring to the rafters of the New York Public Library as he sang The Hands That Built America.

"Now that's dope!" Leo told his dad at the party that followed the premiere of his movie Gangs of New York.

His Gangs co-star Cameron Diaz (news) took advantage of a bitter cold night to stand out in a neon-violet hat.

Guest Nicole Kidman (news) showed off a head of short golden curls, a new do she cut herself. "Not much hair left!" she said.

And director Martin Scorsese (news) seemed to be pals with Miramax Films' Harvey Weinstein after all their battles over Gangs.

No, it wasn't your average movie premiere as Scorsese's bloody epic of New York, set against the Civil War and draft riots, finally took its bow. It opens Dec. 20.

Daniel Day-Lewis (news) shunned the media, skulking about with a shaven head. As the truly frightening Bill the Butcher, both mentor and nemesis to DiCaprio's Irish gang leader, Day-Lewis is responsible for much of the movie's gore.

Scorsese said: "It's not like the violence of my other films. The violence is natural. It comes out of the world they're in. They're in the middle of the Civil War. And it's implied more than actually shown graphically, through the editing, the camera moves, music and sound effects." Bono wrote some of that music, including Hands.

Diaz, as a skilled pickpocket in her first period piece, does a lot of biting/kissing with DiCaprio. "It was a very physical film for everyone, and the guys had to endure this old-style boxing."

Of her role as a loose but loyal woman, she said, "I have to tell you, playing Jenny, I didn't really corset up my corsets very tight. I cheated!"

At the library party, Tim Robbins (news) enjoyed the ham, joking that it came from Bill the Butcher, who uses a pig carcass for knife practice. Baz Luhrmann (news) and wife Catherine Martin basked in the good reviews for La Bohame on Broadway.

Copyright © 2002 USA Today. All rights reserved.

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This page contains a single entry by Jonathan published on December 12, 2002 5:22 PM.

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