DiCaprio Climate Change Doc Could 'Change the World'

Leonardo DiCaprio with President Obama. For two years, Leonardo DiCaprio has criss-crossed the planet in his role as UN messenger of Peace on Climate Change. This film, executive produced by Brett Ratner and Martin Scorsese, follows that journey to find both the crisis points and the solutions to this existential threat to human species. The climate change feature documentary ‘Before the Flood’ airs globally on the National Geographic Channel October 30.  (photo credit: © 2016 RatPac Documentary Films, LLC and Greenhour Corporation, Inc.)

National Geographic CEO Courteney Monroe told TheWrap she believes Leonardo DiCaprio‘s “Before the Flood” documentary “has the potential to change the world,” which isn’t surprising, considering her cable channel owns the rights. But that doesn’t mean she is wrong.

“Before the Flood” is a very powerful climate change film starring the Hollywood heavy hitter, who has made global warming education a very personal cause for decades. DiCaprio, who also produced the film alongside Fisher Stevens, is even the United Nations Messenger of Peace on the subject — though that post has recently been called into question by one Swiss organization over the star’s ties to an ongoing embezzlement investigation.

Without Leo’s involvement, TheWrap wouldn’t be covering the film, Monroe said during our conversation — and she’s probably right. “I think it would be night and day,” Monroe added, in terms of the movie’s potential cultural impact otherwise.

Also Read: Director of Leonardo DiCaprio's 'Before the Flood' Doc Blasts 'Insane' Donald Trump (Exclusive Video)

“First of all, he brings authenticity … you don’t get named the U.N. Messenger of Peace for climate change if you aren’t genuinely committed to the issue,” she said. The film is even screening at the U.N. on Thursday night.

Plus, there’s that whole mega-celebrity thing: “When that guy gets out of a car, it’s unbelievable — the number of people, the enthusiasm,” Monroe continued.

That certainly doesn’t hurt the attention factor. You’re welcome, planet Earth.

Also Read: 'Before the Flood' Toronto Review: Leonardo DiCaprio Brings Star Power to the Climate-Change Wars

Much like it did this writer, the doc hit Monroe hard at home, which is exactly its goal.

Monroe has an 11-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter, and the executive planned to use the film as a teachable moment. The good news is, she really didn’t have too — her kids are already learning about these environmental issues in school.

“When I started to talk about it [with my kids], I thought I was introducing the idea of climate change, of global warming to them — and in fact, I wasn’t at all,” she said. “[That’s] incredibly encouraging.”

Also Read: Leonardo DiCaprio Pressured to Step Down from UN Climate Change Post

“Before the Flood” shows dramatic changes occurring around the world due to climate change, and demonstrates actions individuals and society at large can take to prevent what the film argues could be catastrophic disruption of life on our planet. DiCaprio travels to five continents and the Arctic in the documentary, speaking to scientists, world leaders, activists and local residents to better understand the issue, and search for possible solutions.

Beyond just buying the movie’s rights and voluntarily paying some carbon tax, Nat Geo is putting its money where its mouth — err, your TV speaker — is: for every use of hashtag #BeforeTheFlood and/or phrase “Before the Flood” across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram from Oct. 17 through Nov. 8, a $1 donation will be triggered from NGC and 21st Century Fox to Pristine Seas and the Wildlife Conservation Society, up to $100,000 ($50,000 to each organization).

“Before the Flood” will be in theaters in New York and Los Angeles starting Oct. 21 and air globally on National Geographic Channel (in 171 countries and 45 languages) on Oct. 30.

18 Things You Didn't Know About 'The Departed' for Its 10th Anniversary (Photos)

Now that 10 years have passed since it entered theaters, "The Departed" fits comfortably among the canon of all-time great films. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Vera Farmiga, the gangster film and story of its making are filled with little known facts. Here are a few of them.
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1. It Took DiCaprio and Scorsese Only One Day to Decide to Do It
"We read the script in one day and called each other the next day and said 'Let's do this,'" recalled Leonardo DiCaprio in an interview. He said William Monahan's script "was so well-written."
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2. Nicholson Didn't Want His Role at First
The three-time Oscar winner initially declined the role of Boston gang boss Frank Costello. "I always give a fast no when it's no, and originally there wasn’t a part there," Nicholson told New York Magazine. "I said, 'I'd love to work with you, Marty, I've always wanted to work with you -- and Leo -- but I just can’t do something because I like the idea. I gotta have a part that I’m interested in.'" Scorsese, along with DiCaprio and Damon -- who were already cast -- agreed to expand the part.
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3. Dead Guy Easter Eggs
Scorsese put a subtle "X" in the frame whenever anyone was killed onscreen as an homage to the 1932 version of "Scarface," which is one of his favorite films and first employed the X factor.
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4. Sex Scenes Were Invented
Nicholson suggested his character have sex scenes. "These kind of monsters, they don’t usually have a sex life onscreen, so I wanted to bring that to the part," he said in a 2006 interview. "I pushed that side pretty good. He's a mad, bad nut job, so he's evil sexually too."
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5. Robert De Niro Was Initially Cast
The actor, a Scorsese mainstay going back to 1973's "Mean Streets, eventually decided to ditch "The Departed" to direct "The Good Shepard."
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6. A First-Time Heavyweight Team-Up
While it was highly publicized at the time, it's still hard to believe the film marked Nicholson and Scorsese's first ever collaboration. Unlike DiCaprio, who has done five Scorsese films, the two haven't worked together since. Hey, there's still time.
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7. Brad Pitt Was a Producer
Pitt was initially attached to either one of the two lead roles eventually played by DiCaprio and Damon. Pitt eventually served as a producer on the film, one of the first projects out of his Plan B Entertainment.

Also Read: Fireworks, Pranks and Pot: ‘Stand by Me’ Stars Look Back on River Phoenix After 30 Years
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8. Boston Gangster Whitey Bulger Served as Inspiration
Years before Johnny Depp signed on to play Bulger in a biopic (and five years before he was caught hiding out in California), Nicholson used the infamous gangster -- and FBI informant -- as a blueprint for the ruthless Costello.
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9. It Got Scorsese His Only Oscar
Scorsese, one of the all-time greatest filmmakers, has won only one Academy Award in his six-decade career -- for directing "The Departed."

Also Read: ‘Stand By Me’ Stars Share 25 Memories of 1986 Classic (Photos)
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10. Nicholson Went Off Script -- a Lot
"You never never know what to expect from him because he can go off the cuff and just say anything or do anything," DiCaprio said in an interview, recalling Nicholson's many improvisations during filming. "In character, it instills this constant fear in you."
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11. It Owes a Huge Debt to Another Movie
Andy Lau's 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller "Infernal Affairs," released four years prior to "The Departed," bears some uncanny similarities to the Oscar-winning Scorsese film. Like "The Departed," it is centered on a police officer who infiltrates organized crime, and also a dirty copy working for the same gang.

“'Infernal Affairs' is a very good example of why I love the Hong Kong Cinema, but 'The Departed' is not a remake of that film," Scorsese has said. "Our film was inspired by 'Infernal Affairs,' because of the nature of the story. However, the world Monahan created is very different from the Hong Kong film."

Said Lau: "Of course I think the version I made is better, but the Hollywood version is pretty good too."
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12. There Was a "Basketball Diaries" Brotherhood
DiCaprio said that knowing Wahlberg since their time working together on 1995's "Basketball Diaries" (pictured) made it easier to "rough each other up" in some scenes. "Although he is a big dude," said the actor of Wahlberg. "No joke. As much as I tried to work out and make myself hard-core for this film, that's a solid man."

Also Read: 30 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Top Gun’ as It Turns 30
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13. The Boston Celtics Were Banned
Famous for being a diehard Lakers fan, Jack Nicholson reportedly banned all rival Celtics merchandise during filming.

Also Read: ‘Top Gun’ 30th Anniversary: Anatomy of the Iconic (and Homoerotic) Volleyball Scene
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14. Nicholson Also Refused to Don a Red Sox cap
"First of all, they wanted me to wear a Red Sox hat," the actor grumbled during an interview with New York Magazine. "But I said, all things being equal, I don’t want to. My Yanks, they came before the Lakers, of course." Nicholson is originally from New Jersey.
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15. Nicholson Didn't Like Ray Winstone, Apparently
"Me and Jack did not seem to get on too well," Winstone said in 2014. He played Arnold "Frenchy" French, right-hand man to Nicholson's crime boss Costello. "Maybe he was going through a funny time ... Everyone else loves him to death -- I just wanted him to be a great guy. ... We just did not click."
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16. It Marked a Departure for Both Actor and Director
"I got to play somebody who was constantly in angst, having 24-hour panic attacks, which is something I never got to do before," said DiCaprio, who argued the film also marked a departure for Scorsese because it involved "intelligence, counter intelligence, the police department, FBI, Irish mobsters in Boston as opposed to Italian guys in New York."

Also Read: ‘Thelma & Louise’ 25th Anniversary: 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Classic Movie (Photos)
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17. Mark Wahlberg's Boston Roots Helped
"My growing up there has an affect on everything that I do," said Wahlberg. "The only difference was I was playing one of the cops [like the ones] that used to arrest me all the time. You usually become a crook or a cop in Boston -- or a construction worker. There's not much in between."
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18. There Has Been Sequel Chatter for Years
Dating back to shortly after the release of "The Departed," reports have swirled that a sequel starring Robert De Niro was in the works. In 2011, screenwriter William Monahan reignited the idea when he described his concept for a followup film in an interview with Collider. So far, nothing has been greenlit, as Scorsese has been kept busy with acclaimed films including "Hugo," "The Wolf of Wall Street," several other producing projects and his upcoming film "Silence," about 17th century Jesuit priests, starring Adam Driver, Liam Neeson and Andrew Garfield.
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Martin Scorsese’s Boston gangster movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg hit theaters in 2006

Now that 10 years have passed since it entered theaters, "The Departed" fits comfortably among the canon of all-time great films. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Vera Farmiga, the gangster film and story of its making are filled with little known facts. Here are a few of them.

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