By MARLESSA STIVALA
STAFF WRITER
While this particularly cold winter seems to be dragging on without end, there can be no denying that it has been good to Fordham students who wish to catch up on homework or binge watch “House of Cards” on Netflix during the many snow days. What I did on the last Fordham snow day, however, was neither. Instead, I braved the slippery streets and frigid winds for a once-in-a-lifetime experience: I saw Leonardo DiCaprio in person at a live Q&A session at the Ziegfeld Theater in Manhattan.
If you are passionate about film, the opportunity to attend any Q&A session with an accomplished actor or director is exciting enough, but for me this was something much bigger. Leonardo DiCaprio has long been my favorite actor. He is also someone I deeply admire for how he combines his passion for film and various social causes.
The Ziegfeld Theater was hosting this event in celebration of DiCaprio’s famous collaborations with legendary director Martin Scorsese. The event had a particular emphasis on their most recent collaboration, the Oscar-nominated film The Wolf of Wall Street. Previously, they had collaborated on the critically acclaimed films, Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006) and Shutter Island (2010). Spanning Feb. 13 and Feb. 14, the Ziegfeld Theater screened all of these films, with the screening of The Wolf of Wall Street on the night of Feb. 13, following a Q&A session moderated by Kent Jones and featuring the film’s screenwriter Terence Winter, the film’s editor Thelma Schoonmaker and, of course, Leonardo DiCaprio.
What was perhaps most interesting about the event itself is that the theater did not have a special price for this Q&A session. All I had to do was pay the regular $14 for The Wolf of Wall Street screening itself. Tickets went fast and quickly sold out, making me feel all the more lucky to have been able to attend. Beginning with a brief clip that showcased all five of DiCaprio and Scorsese’s collaborative works, the lights dimmed as the crowd anxiously watched as the discussion began.
While much of the discussion naturally dealt with the making of The Wolf of Wall Street itself and DiCaprio’s thoughts on what it is like to work with Scorsese, there were definitely some other moments in the discussion that stood out to me. Upon sitting down, the very first thing DiCaprio did was thank everyone in the audience for attending. He soon asked the crowd who had already seen The Wolf of Wall Street, to which many people (including me) eagerly raised their hands. “Looks like we’ve got a bunch of hipsters in the house,” DiCaprio said with a smile in response to such enthusiasm, to which the crowd laughed.
On a more serious note, it was also fascinating to listen to DiCaprio discuss the differences between collaborating with Scorsese on a film such as The Aviator—a more historical film where Dicaprio played the famed 20th century businessman, filmmaker and aviator Howard Hughes—with the more modern The Wolf of Wall Street. Dicaprio’s personal passion and humility in regard to his own extraordinary talent were consistently apparent throughout the entire evening, proving why he is one of the best actors Hollywood has to offer. It was a wonderful night I will never forget, and if I am ever lucky enough to see DiCaprio in person again, I will be sure to thank him.
