All the memes were worth it, then. After 35 years as an actor and five Oscar nominations, Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his first Academy Award for his role as bear-mauled Hugh Glass in The Revenant. But you already knew that. You may not have known that a bunch of London-based fans had planned to celebrate his win late on Sunday/early on Monday, in London's Leicester Square.
According to Facebook, 11,000 people were meant to be there, before the event time was changed last-minute to make it a Monday evening celebration. So much for the Sunday die-hards. We headed over to the barren scraps of the "party," at about 2 AM on Monday morning, and found two street cleaners and one guy lingering outside the rebranded "Leodeon" cinema. There were more fans inside the cinema, passing the time before the best actor award announcement—but first, we quizzed the lone guy hanging about outside.
Advertisement
VICE: So how did you hear about this celebration of Leo?
Alexander: I stumbled across it amongst many other stumblings [laughs for a bit]…Do you think he's going to win, then?
I hope so. Yeah he's Leo—he's got to. Leos always win. Leos are like lions, and lions are important—that's why there are lions in Trafalgar Square, that's why there are lions all over the place.He deserves to win because of lions?
Not really, but that suggestion… you know what I mean.Thanks! Inside, I found actors Joe, Amy, and Simeon sitting in the front row, watching the last 10 minutes of Titanic.
Alexander: I stumbled across it amongst many other stumblings [laughs for a bit]…Do you think he's going to win, then?
I hope so. Yeah he's Leo—he's got to. Leos always win. Leos are like lions, and lions are important—that's why there are lions in Trafalgar Square, that's why there are lions all over the place.He deserves to win because of lions?
Not really, but that suggestion… you know what I mean.Thanks! Inside, I found actors Joe, Amy, and Simeon sitting in the front row, watching the last 10 minutes of Titanic.
Amy, Joe, and Simeon, from left to right
VICE: So what do you think the outcome will be? Sixth time lucky for Leo?
Joe: I mean, it's gotta be—it's long overdue. But not only that, The Revenant itself was astonishing.
Simeon: Yeah—Leo's year. Leo's year!
Amy: I'll cry if he doesn't get it.Why do you think the Oscar has eluded him for so long?
Simeon: Well, I think the Academy itself has a certain bias toward particular actors…Isn't Leo the kind of guy you'd imagine the Academy would love?
Simeon: No. I don't know why, but I don't think he is. I think it would be fantastic if he won this year, but if he didn't, again, I wouldn't be surprised. It's like the whole thing about black actors not being nominated for any acting awards this year. I'm not surprised by it because I think the Academy has been overdue a shake-up for quite a while. This just goes to show that you can have a guy who's acted his ass off in so many films and still is yet to achieve this ultimate accolade.
Joe: I mean, it's gotta be—it's long overdue. But not only that, The Revenant itself was astonishing.
Simeon: Yeah—Leo's year. Leo's year!
Amy: I'll cry if he doesn't get it.Why do you think the Oscar has eluded him for so long?
Simeon: Well, I think the Academy itself has a certain bias toward particular actors…Isn't Leo the kind of guy you'd imagine the Academy would love?
Simeon: No. I don't know why, but I don't think he is. I think it would be fantastic if he won this year, but if he didn't, again, I wouldn't be surprised. It's like the whole thing about black actors not being nominated for any acting awards this year. I'm not surprised by it because I think the Academy has been overdue a shake-up for quite a while. This just goes to show that you can have a guy who's acted his ass off in so many films and still is yet to achieve this ultimate accolade.
Advertisement
The cinema staff kept us updated with the award wins as the night wore on.
Then—elation. News of Leo's win came in, and people clutched their cell phones and looked at their screens in excitement.
Bella and Paris took some time to chat to me about it.VICE: There we go. Was that worth it?
Bella: I mean, the group reaction of Leo winning is just… It's better than sitting at home on your laptop alone in your room.
Bella: I mean, the group reaction of Leo winning is just… It's better than sitting at home on your laptop alone in your room.
Paris, on the far left, and Bella, giggling center right
Were you expecting the celebration to be a bit bigger?
Bella: I was actually surprised—I was expecting a big party. We came here at 8 PM because we expected there to be people. We expected to line up, and then its like…
Paris: The doors didn't open until midnight either, so we were just sitting in the cold.VICE: How do you feel about the exciting news now, though?
Bella: Great! We can now say "Academy Award WINNER Leonardo DiCaprio."
Paris: I definitely need to celebrate. I'm glad I brought my rum with me, so I can celebrate on the way back.
Bella: Yeah, I'm going to bed.Me too.Follow Theo McInnes on Twitter.
Bella: I was actually surprised—I was expecting a big party. We came here at 8 PM because we expected there to be people. We expected to line up, and then its like…
Paris: The doors didn't open until midnight either, so we were just sitting in the cold.VICE: How do you feel about the exciting news now, though?
Bella: Great! We can now say "Academy Award WINNER Leonardo DiCaprio."
Paris: I definitely need to celebrate. I'm glad I brought my rum with me, so I can celebrate on the way back.
Bella: Yeah, I'm going to bed.Me too.Follow Theo McInnes on Twitter.