Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenent. Courtesy of  New Regency Pictures
Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenent. Courtesy of New Regency Pictures

Comment: Will Leonardo DiCaprio finally get his Oscar?



Could 2016 be the year that Leonardo DiCaprio finally gets his Oscar? His role in The Revenent, released in cinemas this on Thursday (January 7), certainly seems likely to score him another nomination, his fifth as an actor (he also received a sixth nod as a producer when The Wolf of Wall Street was up for best film in 2014), but so far, the coveted golden statue has eluded him.

The big question is ‘does DiCaprio really care?’ The internet certainly seems to think so, with various memes popping up suggesting the actor is desperate to end his apparent Oscar’s curse this year. Perhaps most notably, a self-declared, anonymous, former winner has been posting screenshots of DiCaprio in former roles with his own statue strategically positioned to make it look like DiCaprio is reaching out for it. Harsh.

It's been quite a wait, or should we a say a weight, for the undeniably gifted actor. DiCaprio was a fresh-faced 19-year old when he received his first in 1994, a supporting actor nomination for his role alongside Johnny Depp in the indie favourite What's Eating Gilbert Grape?

It was a meaty role for a teenage actor; he playing the learning disabled Arnie Grape, younger brother of Depp's titular Gilbert, but DiCaprio missed out at the first attempt to Tommy Lee Jones for his role in The Fugitive.

DiCaprio would have to wait 11 years for his next nomination — a decade and a bit which would include what was widely regarded as a snub in the form of Titanic.

James’ Cameron’s nautical epic was nominated for a whopping 14 awards, yet despite the film being nominated in almost every other category, including both actress and supporting actress, DiCaprio’s name was not among the nominations.

Instead, it was his portrayal of Howard Hughes in The Aviator that would finally put DiCaprio's name in the pot for Best Actor in 2005, but he once again missed out, this time to Jamie Foxx playing Ray Charles in the not fancied biopic Ray.

Two years later, DiCaprio was hotly tipped following his Best Actor nomination for his role in Blood Diamond. The movie had all the right ingredients for Oscar success — strong performances, a solid script and an anti-establishment political subtext that so often seems to appeal to an Academy that likes to imagine as a subversive gaggle of guerrilla artists — albeit very well-dressed ones — for one night of the year.

Sadly for DiCaprio, another Africa-set movie had the same set of qualities that year, and Forest Whitaker walked away with the award for his thunderous portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.

Fast forward to 2014, and DiCaprio was again in the mix for The Wolf of Wall Street. In fairness, DiCaprio and the movie itself, with a nod for Best Picture, were always outsiders this time around. It was an exceptionally strong year — the Academy's love of issues was well met with 12 Years a Slave (civil rights), Dallas Buyers' Club (HIV) and Philomena (child abduction by the Catholic church) all vying for attention, and Gravity was heavily fancied in several categories too. Wall Street was a great movie (though less so in the heavily cut version screened in local cinemas), but perhaps just a little too frivolous. The Academy proved true to form, and Matthew McConaughey took the actor gong for Dallas Buyers' Club, while 12 Years a Slave won Best Picture.

While the chatter surrounding DiCaprio’s Oscar drought has rarely abated over the years, there’s plenty of evidence suggesting he is more interested in his art than the glitzy trappings of Hollywood though.

It's worth noting that he almost turned down his most commercially successful role, in Titanic, because he felt it lacked gravitas. Director James Cameron told People at the time: "His character doesn't go through torment. It became my job to convince him that it was a challenge to do what Gregory Peck and Jimmy Stewart did in previous generations, to stand there and be strong and hold the audience's eye without seeming to do very much. Only when I convinced him that was actually the harder thing to do that he got excited."

DiCaprio himself tends to maintain a dignified silence on all things Oscar, though we’re sure he would be thrilled if he strolls down the aisles to collect his golden statue.

Equally, if he leaves empty-handed once more, we’re pretty certain his mission of making quality, artful cinema, his environmental work and, should all else fail, his multimillion dollar fortune, will act as a perfectly viable comfort blanket.

cnewbould@thenational.ae

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Scores in brief:

Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).