Leonardo DiCaprio—the founder of Appian Way Productions. Alongside producing many of the company's films, he also played roles in a few of them
Kevin Connolly, a close friend of DiCaprio, directed Appian Way's next film—the comedy dramaGardener of Eden (2007), which, according toThe Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck, "lack[ed] the necessary dramatic urgency or black humor to connect with audiences".[12] A few months later, Appian Way releasedThe 11th Hour, a documentary aboutglobal warming. The film, featuring 50 experts who suggested solutions to various environmental problems, won theEarthwatch Environmental Film Award through theNational Geographic Channel in March 2008.[13] DiCaprio wrote a three-season television seriesGreensburg (2008–10) which was produced by the company.[14]
Appian Way later produced another biopic,Public Enemies (2009), aMichael Mann-directed mob drama starringJohnny Depp andChristian Bale.[15] Following the final years of the notorious bank robberJohn Dillinger (Depp) as he is pursued by FBI agentMelvin Purvis duringGreat Depression, the film was an adaptation ofBryan Burrough's non-fiction bookPublic Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933–34. A commercial success, it also received generally positive reviews, though critics found historical inaccuracies in the film.[16][17] The company, along withDark Castle Entertainment, released the 2009 psychological horror filmOrphan, which told the story of a couple who, after the death of their unborn child, adopt a mysterious nine-year-old girl. The film was considered by the adoption community to promote negative stereotypes about orphans.[18] Although the film received mixed reviews, it was a commercial success.[19]
Scorsese reunited with the company to make the filmShutter Island (2010), a psychological thriller based on the2003 novel of same name byDennis Lehane. DiCaprio played U.S. Marshal Edward "Teddy" Daniels, who investigates a psychiatric facility located on an island but eventually comes to question his own sanity. A commercial success, the film received generally positive reviews; Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian praised the film's direction and performances but criticized its "silly twist ending", calling it "supremely exasperating".[20][21]
Red Riding Hood, directed byCatherine Hardwicke, was Appian Way's first release in 2011. The film, set in a village haunted by werewolves, follows a young girl who falls in love with an orphan woodcutter, much to her family's displeasure. Earlier in production, the film was titledThe Girl with the Red Riding Hood.[22] Although it was poorly received by critics—Mary Pols ofTime named it one of the Top 10 Worst Movies of 2011—it had moderate box-office returns.[23][24] The company's second release in 2011 wasDetachment, aTony Kaye-directed drama about the high school education system.[25]George Clooney directed and co-produced the company's final film of the yearThe Ides of March, which is based onBeau Willimon's playFarragut North. StarringRyan Gosling, Clooney andPhilip Seymour Hoffman, this political drama takes place during a presidential primary, when an ambitious press secretary (Gosling) becomes embroiled in a political scandal. The film received positive reviews;[26] one fromThe Guardian praised the direction and the performances of the cast.[27]
Three films were produced by Appian Way in 2013; the first wasRunner Runner, an ensemble crime thriller, whichThe Guardian's Xan Brooks described as "a lazy, trashy film that barely goes through the motions".[28] The thrillerOut of the Furnace, the company's second release, was also negatively received by critics and was abox office bomb.[29] Scorsese directed the company's final film in 2013—The Wolf of Wall Street, a biopic on the life ofJordan Belfort (DiCaprio), a New York stockbroker who runs a firm that engages insecurities fraud andmoney laundering onWall Street in the 1990s. The screenplay was adapted byTerence Winter from Belfort'smemoir of the same name.[30] The film was banned in Kenya, Malaysia and Nepal for its controversial depiction of events, explicit sexual content, profanity, and hard drug use.[31][32] Nonetheless, it was a commercial success, becoming the 17th-highest-grossing film of 2013.[33] The film was nominated for several Academy Awards, includingBest Picture and Best Actor, although it failed to win in any category.[34]
In 2015, DiCaprio produced and co-starred withTom Hardy andDomhnall Gleeson inThe Revenant, directed byAlejandro González Iñárritu. This biographical western thriller is based on in part on Michael Punke's2002 novel of the same name, which itself was inspired by the frontiersmanHugh Glass's survival after being mauled by agrizzly bear in 1823. Co-produced withRegency Enterprises,RatPac-Dune Entertainment,Anonymous Content and M Productions, the film was well received with particular praise for the performances, direction and cinematography. "Bleak as hell but considerably more beautiful, this nightmarish plunge into a frigid, forbidding American outback is a movie of pitiless violence, grueling intensity and continually breathtaking imagery", according to Justin Change ofVariety.[35] Built on a budget of $135 million, the film earned $533 million worldwide.[36]The Revenant received 12 nominations at the88th Academy Awards, and won three, includingBest Director andBest Actor.[37]
In May 2016, Appian Way Productions signed a three-year, first-look production deal with Paramount Pictures.[38] In December 2016, the company releasedLive by Night, based on the 2012novel of same name byDennis Lehane. Directed by, written by and starringBen Affleck, thisProhibition-era gangster drama received largely unenthusiastic reviews and failed to recoup its $65 million production budget.[39] Also that year, the company produced four documentaries,Davi's Way,The Last Shaman,The Ivory Game andBefore the Flood, the last of which won theEvening Standard British Film Award for Best Documentary.[40][41]
In 2017, Appian Way producedUnder the Bed, atelevision film thriller about a young woman trying to get over a breakup, while befriending a stalker on social media.[42] In association withBlumhouse Productions andGK Films, the company later producedDelirium, a supernatural horror film which was released later that year.[43]
James Rollins's Sigma Force techno-thriller novels are getting the small screen treatment. A television adaptation of the book series is in development from Absentia creator Matt Cirulnick, Amazon MGM Studios, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions, Oakhurst Entertainment and Talaria Media.[citation needed]
^Dunkley, Cathy; Brodesser, Claude (August 5, 2001)."IEG, DiCaprio gang up".Variety.Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. RetrievedNovember 4, 2021.
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