You think Leonardo DiCaprio would be proud of any of his movies? No way! To make sure as few people as possible get to see “Don’s Plum,” the former superstar even went to court. Today, the indie production may only be shown in Europe.
Even fun can quickly become bitter seriousness. Leonardo DiCaprio (“Blood Diamond”) and Tobey Maguire (“Ride With The Devil”) also had to find that out. Together with a few other friends (including Kevin Connolly, Jeremy Sisto and Amber Benson), the duo made the indie film “Don’s Plum” in 1995. In it, everything revolves around a group of buddies who meet at their local pub and have to bring a young woman with them every time. The film describes one of these meetings.
Over a running time of just under 90 minutes, conversations are held exclusively about love and sex – often in a rather crude manner and far below the belt. The fact that the film has been largely forgotten today and has not been able to acquire cult status over the years is due to the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire did everything they could to ensure that “Don’s Plum” would never be released. Why? Well, the duo claimed that the film was never meant to be released …
..and were proven right in court. While director R.D. Robb still argued that DiCaprio and Maguire were paid for their participation in “Don’s Plum” (575 US dollars per day) and thus it should have been clear to them that the filmmakers wanted to earn money with the recordings, DiCaprio and Maguire explained that at that time it was exclusively about practicing acting methods. By that, they were referring to improvisation and the dynamics of long monologue and dialogue sequences. The end of the story: In the USA and Canada there is a strict ban on performances, but in Europe “Don’s Plum” may be shown (and can be ordered via Amazon, for example)
WILL LEONARDO DICAPRIO AND TOBEY MAGUIRE CHANGE THEIR MINDS ONCE AGAIN?
Seven years ago now, writer and producer Dale Wheatley made another attempt to bring “Don’s Plum” to a wider audience. As operator of the website “FreeDonsPlum.com”, he released the film via Vimeo. His point of view: If no money could be earned with the film anyway, then it could simply be made available online for free. So far, so good.
But the joy didn’t last long, because when Leonardo DiCaprio got wind of the matter, he had the video blocked immediately. Wheatley then set out once again to take action against the fact that he was not allowed to publish his own work on a global video platform – but so far without success. Instead, he now simply sends the film to interested parties via e-mail (through his website). Those who want to see “Don’s Plum” can go this way or have to come to Europe, where the film has just been released on DVD and can sometimes be found in grab boxes.
