Leonardo DiCaprio hopped on his bicycle for a ride in NYC on Tuesday.

He’s in the states enjoying some downtime with friends after a few weeks of work on the Paris and London sets of Inception.

Leo was supposedly asked by producers to get in shape for his role in the film, so his eco-friendly mode of transportation is also good for getting exercise.

Judging by Leo’s recent shirtless escapades in the South of France, it doesn’t seem like he has too much work cut out for him.

Leonardo DiCaprio loosened up his collar on the Paris set of Inception Thursday, looking happy after his long week of work.

He’s focused on his current project, but Leo’s also dealing with his future and past films — Shutter Island’s release has been pushed back from October to next February.

Also, his production company just signed Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke to get behind the camera on their upcoming The Girl With the Red Riding Hood. The remake of the classic story will also feature an angsty teenage love story, which sounds like familiar territory for Catherine.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page walked the streets of Paris yesterday while filming Inception.

They worked on a few dramatic scenes earlier this week, though Leo’s also had a chance for some on-screen romance with Marion Cotillard.

Leo’s not lacking for love interests in his real life, but on set he’s all about business.

Leonardo DiCaprio continued the good times in Ibiza yesterday, hitting the beach alongside Lukas Haas and other friends.

While Leo has many new projects in the works, he’s currently all about enjoying some R&R with his bikini-clad model companions.

His abs are becoming a usual sight, and his fine form has brought him into the second round of our Hottest Shirtless Guy contest.

He’s now facing stiff competition in Ryan Phillippe, so make sure to cast your votes for Leo if you want him to stay in the race.

Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Lakers put on quite a show for their fans, confidently beating Orlando in game one of the NBA finals last night.

The celebrity contingent was strong at the Staples Center for those lucky enough to score seats including season-long supporters Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Kevin Connolly.

Blond beauties Jessica Simpson and Lauren Conrad accompanied their boyfriends Tony Romo and Kyle Howard to watch the game.

Leonardo DiCaprio told Zac Efron to stay off drugs.

“17 Again” star Zac was given a stark warning by his acting peer on the dangers of substance abuse, which left a lasting impression on him.

Zac said: “It was kind of his way-out-the-door, last-minute advice. He said, ‘Oh, by the way, if you really want to mess this all up, try heroin.’”

“I said, ‘Thanks’, and he said, ‘No, seriously, that’s pretty much the only way you’re going to screw this up, and you shouldn’t go down that road – it will mess you up without fail. Do not do drugs.’”

“That was enough for me; that’s all I needed to hear.”

The 21-year-old actor – who shot to fame in the hit “High School Musical” films – added his strict upbringing meant he didn’t get into the same kind of trouble as his friends growing up.

Rather than misbehave Zac channeled all his energy into skateboarding.

He added: “I could never get into trouble like the rest of my friends. My parents were very strict and taught me good values, whenever I did anything wrong my mom would somehow know it.”

“I started skateboarding as a kid – it’s like surfing on the sidewalk. I love it. It’s a Zen thing, so much better than walking. It’s almost spiritual.”

“17 Again” is released across Europe from April 10.

The Israeli-born supermodel’s father, Rafael Rafaeli, has reportedly forbidden Bar from marrying outside her faith.

A source said to the New York Daily News newspaper: “He told me that if Leonardo doesn’t convert to Judaism, there will be no marriage.”

The “Revolutionary Road” actor, who has been dating 23-year-old Bar since 2005, recently revealed he wants to wed her.
Leonardo, 34, said: “I absolutely believe in marriage. In saying that I realize I am contradicting everything I’ve said before. Yes, I want to get married and have children.”

“It sounds like the ignorance of youth to me. When did I say those things? Three or Four years ago? Hey, we grow up real fast.”

But if he does pop the question, Leonardo won’t tell anyone about it – he is notoriously secretive about his private life, something he claims is essential to his career.

He said: “Defining yourself to the public on a consistent basis is death to a performer. The more you define who you are personally the less you are able to submerge into the characters you do, and people will think, ‘I don’t buy him in that role.’”

Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio is back on the singles’ list once again after splitting from model Bar Refaeli.

Last week the ‘Titanic’ actor was spotted with Josh Hartnett at the ‘Sweet Paradise’ on Orchard Street checking out the beautiful women at the after-party for the new film ‘Nothing But the Truth’.

Interestingly, Refaeli’s new beau is surfer Kelly Slater, who dated Bundchen after she and Dicaprio, broke up.

On the work front, the three-time award-winning actor has teamed up with Martin Scorsese for a film called ‘Shutter Island’, which is based on Dennis Lehane’s novel.

The plot has DiCaprio’s character investigating the disappearance of a murderess, who escapes from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.

Leonardo DiCaprio has apparently been seen getting close to model Petra Nemcova.

The actor, who is rumored to be engaged to model Bar Rafaeli, partied with Petra at New York’s Marquee nightclub on Friday (April 27, 2007).

A source told the New York Daily News newspaper: “He looked like he was all over her. They were together from before 12.30 a.m. to around 2.30 a.m.. He was holding her waist and touching her arm.”

Leo was celebrating the launch of new movie “Gardener of Eden” – which he produced – at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The “Departed” actor also partied with Diddy, “Gardener of Eden” director Kevin Connolly, “Entourage” star Adrien Grenier, and tennis ace Andy Roddick.

Leo was alleged to have proposed to Bar, 21, during their recent trip to Israel. It is believed they plan to marry in the Middle-East country this summer.

Earlier this month, the 32-year-old dismissed rumors Bar was expecting their first child in autumn as “100 per cent made up.”

Petra split from British singer James Blunt in February, following a year-long romance.

Leonardo DiCaprio has branded rumors he is to become a father ”100 per cent made up b*****ks.”

It was reported yesterday (04.12.07) his Israeli model girlfriend Bar Rafaeli is expecting their first child in the autumn, but Leo says the story is false.

A representative for the actor said: “The story is totally b**l s**t. 100 per cent made up b*****ks.”

It was claimed the 32-year-old actor felt the fatherhood urge after his “Spider-Man” star friend Tobey Maguire became a dad last November.

A source said: “He dotes on Tobey’s little girl Ruby and has been asking him all about what it’s like to being a dad.”

The “Titanic” star was alleged to have proposed to Bar, 21, during their recent trip to Israel. Rumors were rife the couple held a secret engagement party in Tel Aviv.

It is believed they plan to marry in Israel this summer, with a larger celebration in the US later in the year.

Leonardo DiCaprio is to become a dad.

The 32-year-old actor and his Israeli model girlfriend Bar Rafaeli, 21, are reportedly expecting their first child together this autumn.

Friends of the couple – who have been dating for 15-months – claim the pair are absolutely “delighted” with the news.

Leo reportedly felt the fatherhood urge after his friend, “Spider-Man” star Tobey Maguire celebrated the birth of his first child last November.

A source told Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper: “He dotes on Tobey’s little girl Ruby and has been asking him all about what it’s like to being a dad.”

The couple’s happy news comes shortly after reports Leo proposed to Bar, followed by a secret engagement party in Tel Aviv.

It is believed Leo and Bar will marry in a private ceremony in Israel followed by a larger celebration in the US later in the year.

Leo has already contacted a number of exclusive venues in Israel, including the five-star Dan Accadia Herzliya Hotel and the plush King David Hotel.

The “The Departed” actor started romancing Bar shortly after he split from supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Bar Rafaeli are to marry this June, it has been reported.

The “Titanic” star is said to have secretly proposed to the Israeli model and they are already planning their big day.

A source told the National Enquirer magazine: “Leo and Bar are ecstatic, as are both their families. Bar’s mom and dad think Leo’s a total gentleman and love the way he’s treated their daughter.”

“Although it may be a bit of a rush, they’re thinking about getting married this June. That’s when Bar turns 22.”

“They say they’ll probably have a private ceremony in Israel, then a big ring ceremony and party in the US towards the end of the year.”

The couple – who have been dating for 15 months – recently went on holiday together to Bar’s home country of Israel.

The source added: “The reason they made the trip to Israel is that Leo wanted to get Bar’s parents’ approval before he popped the question. Now they are busy making wedding plans.”

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, who made history and chemistry together in “Titanic,” are coming back to the silver screen.

The pair, sources say, have signed on for Winslet’s husband Sam Mendes’ film version of Richard Yates’ classic novel of unhappy domesticity in the suburbs.

No, it’s not called “American Beauty.” Mendes already made that movie, and it won the Oscar. It’s “Revolutionary Road,” the 1961 novel many people thought “American Beauty” was based on or borrowed from in the first place.

I do recall asking “American Beauty” screenwriter Alan Ball back when his movie was coming out if he’d been influenced by the Yates novel. He professed to not having read it.

So the idea that Mendes is now going to officially make “RR” is a little weird. He’s a terrific director and all that, but hasn’t he actually made this movie? And how will he feel directing his wife as Leo’s unhappy spouse? And how will “Titanic” fans take seeing Leo and Kate as the morose, bitter Frank and April Wheeler, the main characters?

Trust me, if you haven’t read Yates’ work: these people are not “the kings of the world.”

If you don’t know who Richard Yates was — and my guess is you don’t — here’s just a little recap. On par with John Cheever and John O’Hara, Yates meticulously dissected suburban life, married life and the effects of alcoholism and madness on both.

Those two things were either caused by marriage and settling down, or came to underscore life after World War II.

Yates’ great novels include “The Easter Parade” (not the Judy Garland movie), “Liars in Love” and “Disturbing the Peace.”

And here’s a little factoid: he became very friendly with Kurt Vonnegut when he was his student at the Iowa Writers Workshop.

Among Yates’ own students was David Milch, the highly respected TV writer. Yates pretty much drank himself to death in the early ’90s. But he is a superior artist and much missed. Hopefully, this time around Mendes et al will do him justice.

Leonardo DiCaprio has met with Israeli leaders to help promote peace in the Middle East.

The “Blood Diamond” star was invited to meet with Israeli Vice Premier and former Prime Minister Shimon Peres within hours of arriving in Tel Aviv on March 11.

Leonardo visited the country with his Israeli girlfriend, model Bar Refaeli.

An aide to Peres said: “The meeting was pleasant and interesting. Shimon told Leo about his Peace Valley project – a joint Israeli-Jordanian-Palestinian economic development plan – and Leo spoke about ‘11th Hour’ his documentary on the environment.”

Representatives for Leonardo, 32, confirmed the meeting but refused to comment further.

The “Titanic” star, who was on his first visit to the country, stayed at 21-year-old Bar’s family home in the capital. During his stay he made good friends with Bar’s ten-year-old brother On.

Leonardo left Israel on Thursday (Mar 15, 2007), after an emotional farewell to Bar at the airport.

A source said: “They were hugging and kissing until the last minute when he had to go on the plane. It looked liked it was really hard for them to stay apart.”

Meanwhile, Israeli police announced on Thursday they were considering charging two bodyguards involved in a scuffle with photographers during Leonardo’s visit to a holy site during his trip.

Israeli police arrested on Monday two members of actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s security team after they clashed with photographers during a visit to Jerusalem by the star and his Israeli girlfriend Bar Refaeli.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said DiCaprio and supermodel Refaeli were taking a private tour of the Western Wall tunnels, next to the Western Wall which is Judaism’s holiest site, in Jerusalem’s walled old city.

Rosenfeld said the photographers waited outside the tunnels for the couple to emerge.

“Two of his (DiCaprio’s) security guards were arrested by police after being involved in a fight that broke out,” Rosenfeld said. “They are being questioned.”

Covering their faces after the tour, DiCaprio and Refaeli were whisked away in a waiting white van.

The couple arrived in Israel earlier this week for a visit amid much fanfare by the Israeli media.

DiCaprio recently starred in Oscar winning crime drama “The Departed.”

While Martin Scorsese is feted by Hollywood for his Oscar-winning film “The Departed,” relatives of people killed or tortured by the real-life Boston Irish mobster on which the movie is based are not applauding.

Some say they feel exploited by the film that won best picture and best director in last month’s
Oscars, or that it stirred up painful memories or glossed over crucial facts.

Others simply refuse to see Hollywood’s version of the life of fugitive gangster James “Whitey” Bulger

“The movie gives this hero worship to this creature,” said Christopher McIntyre, 47, whose brother was murdered by Bulger’s gang in 1984. He said he has not seen the film because it would be “very painful.”

“For eight hours, they strapped him in a chair and cut pieces off him. He begged for a bullet in the brain,” McIntyre said, adding that he personally still feels threatened by remnants of Bulger’s gang and plans to leave Massachusetts.

Indicted for 19 murders, Whitey Bulger has eluded police since December 23. 1994, when the convicted bank robber and government informer with ties to corrupt federal agents vanished and sparked a manhunt with unconfirmed sightings spanning nearly every continent.

He is listed alongside Osama bin Laden as one of America’s most-wanted fugitives.

McIntyre’s family filed a federal lawsuit in 2001 that alleges FBI agents at the top levels of the Boston office knew of Bulger’s crimes but protected him from prosecution because they were informants against the local Italian Mafia.

The FBI has declined to comment on the case, saying its investigation into Bulger is ongoing.

Tim Connors, 32, whose father was gunned down by Bulger’s gang in 1975, said he did not like the way Hollywood portrayed Bulger and his notorious Winter Hill gang which generated more than 60 convictions in about 30 cases.

“It glorified things way too much,” he said. “Everybody is just trying to cash in on that story.”

Howie Carr, author of the “The Brothers Bulger,” said that although the movie was set in the insular Irish-American South Boston enclave where Bulger lived, it missed a few salient points in the Bulger story.

He said in real life there were few if any redeeming characters such as the policeman played by
Leonardo DiCaprio who infiltrates the gang and forms a close relationship with the larger-than-life mobster played by Jack Nicholson.

“There were no good guys in this saga,” said Carr.

Carr’s book explores how much state and city politicians knew about Bulger’s gang, and whether they tolerated its years of bookmaking, drug peddling, extortion and murder while Bulger’s brother, William Bulger, was a dominating force in state politics as Senate president.

David Wheeler, whose father was shot and killed by a hitman on Bulger’s orders in 1981, criticized the film for glossing over the government’s involvement in Bulger’s gang.

“In my opinion it’s a revisionist history that protects the guilty,” he said. “I cannot see this movie. It would just be too painful.”

In a 21-minute documentary on Bulger included in the DVD version of the film, which was released by Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. Pictures, Scorsese puts some distance between the character of Frank Costello played by Nicholson and the real-life Boston gangster.

“In no way do we say that Francis Costello is patterned after Whitey Bulger. But let me put it this way: We felt comfortable in the character and in the situation because we know it to be true,” he said.

Beyonce Knowles may have gotten more than flowers for Valentine’s Day.

According to TMZ, the Yonce possibly picked up a side of Hep A at a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue party. The singer — who is on this month’s cover — was the guest of honor at the February 14th bash catered by famed chef Wolfgang Puck.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed that an employee of Wolfgang Puck Catering was recently diagnosed with the disease, and has strongly urged anyone who attended the SI party, or any of the 13 other events catered by Puck between Feb. 1 – 20, to get an immune globulin shot by this afternoon to prevent illness from attacking their system.

The list of potentially exposed guests also includes Leonardo DiCaprio’s girlfriend, Bar Refaeli, and dozens of models.

A rep for Beyonce, 25, told TMZ that they “were looking into it.”

And by “looking into it,” they mean that Mathew Knowles is currently tearing the offending sous chef limb from limb.

Meanwhile, the swimsuit models probably don’t have anything to worry about. It’s not like they ate anything.

Martin Scorsese’s mob epic “The Departed” won best picture at the Academy Awards on Sunday and earned the filmmaker the directing prize that had eluded him throughout his illustrious career.

“Could you double-check the envelope?” said Scorsese, who had been the greatest living American filmmaker without an Oscar. He also had never delivered a best-picture winner before, despite crafting such modern masterpieces as “Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas.”

Scorsese received his Oscar from three contemporaries and friends, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. “So many people over the years have been wishing this for me,” Scorsese said.

In an evening when no one film dominated as the Oscars shared the love among a wide range of movies from around the world, three of the four acting front-runners won: best actress Helen Mirren as British monarch Elizabeth II in “The Queen”; best actor Forest Whitaker as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in “The Last King of Scotland”; and supporting actress Jennifer Hudson as a soul singer in “Dreamgirls.”

The other front-runner, Eddie Murphy of “Dreamgirls,” lost to Alan Arkin for “Little Miss Sunshine.”

“For 50 years and more, Elizabeth Windsor has maintained her dignity, her sense of duty and her hairstyle,” said Mirren, who has been on a remarkable roll since last fall as she won all major film and television prizes for playing both of Britain’s Queen Elizabeths.

“She’s had her feet planted firmly on the ground, her hat on her head, her handbag on her arm and she’s weathered many many storms. … If it wasn’t for her, I most certainly wouldn’t be here. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the queen,” Mirren said, holding her Oscar aloft.

“The Departed” led the evening with four Oscars, also winning for adapted screenplay and editing.

The Oscars had their most diverse and international scope ever, with wins for two black actors and global dramas that included “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Babel” and “Letters From Iwo Jima.”

The soft-spoken Whitaker won for an uncharacteristically flamboyant role as the barbarous yet mesmerizing Amin.

“When I was a kid the only way I saw movies was from the back seat of my family’s car at the drive-in movie,” Whitaker said. “It wasn’t my reality to think I would be acting in movies, so receiving this honor tonight tells me it’s possible. It is possible for a kid from east Texas, raised in south-central L.A. and Carson, who believes in his dreams, commits himself to them with his heart, to touch them and to have them happen.”

Arkin played a foul-mouthed grandpa with a taste for heroin in “Little Miss Sunshine,” a low-budget film that came out of the independent world to become a commercial hit and major awards player.

“More than anything, I’m deeply moved by the open-hearted appreciation our small film has received, which in these fragmented times speaks so openly of the possibility of innocence, growth and connection,” said Arkin.

Hudson won an Oscar for her first movie, playing a powerhouse vocalist who falls on hard times after she is booted from a 1960s girl group. The role came barely two years after she shot to celebrity as an “American Idol” finalist.

“Oh my God, I have to just take this moment in. I cannot believe this. Look what God can do. I didn’t think I was going to win,” Hudson said through tears of joy. “If my grandmother was here to see me now. She was my biggest inspiration.”

“Little Miss Sunshine” also won the original screenplay Oscar for first-time screenwriter Michael Arndt.

The film follows a ghastly but hilarious road trip by an emotionally messed-up family rushing to get their darling girl (10-year-old supporting-actress nominee Abigail Breslin) to her beauty pageant.

“When I was a kid, my family drove 600 miles in a VW bus with a broken clutch,” Arndt said, describing a road trip that mirrored the one in the film. “It ended up being one of the funnest things we did together.”

The nonfiction hit “An Inconvenient Truth,” a chronicle of Al Gore’s campaign to warn the world about global warming, was picked as best documentary.

“People all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It’s not a political issue. It’s a moral issue,” Gore said, joining the film’s director, Davis Guggenheim, on stage.

“An Inconvenient Truth” also won original song for Melissa Etheridge’s “I Need to Wake Up.”

“Mostly, I have to thank Al Gore for inspiring me, showing me that caring about the earth is not Republican or Democrat, it’s not red or blue. We are all green,” Etheridge said.

The openly gay Etheridge kissed her partner Tammy Lynn Michaels on the lips when her name was announced and onstage referred to Michaels as her wife. The couple held a commitment ceremony in 2003 and are the parents of twins.

“Maybe someone at home is going, `Did she say wife?’” Etheridge said backstage. “I was kissing her because that’s what you do, you kiss your loved one when you win an Oscar, that’s what I grew up believing.”

Earlier, Gore appeared with best-actor nominee Leonardo DiCaprio to praise organizers for implementing environmentally friendly practices in the show’s production.

DiCaprio set up a gag with Gore, asking the 2000 presidential candidate if there was anything he wanted to announce.

“I guess with a billion people watching, it’s as good a time as any. So my fellow Americans, I’m going to take this opportunity right here and now to formally announce my intentions …,” Gore said, his voice trailing away as the orchestra cut him off.

Composer Gustavo Santaolalla won his second straight Oscar for original score for “Babel,” a film “that helped us understand better who we are and why and what we are here for,” he said. He won the same prize a year ago for “Brokeback Mountain.”

The dancing-penguin musical “Happy Feet” won the Oscar for feature-length animation, denying computer-animation pioneer John Lasseter (”Toy Story”) the prize for “Cars,” which had been the big winner of earlier key animation honors.

“I asked my kids, `What should I say?’ They said, `Thank all the men for wearing penguin suits,’” said “Happy Feet” director George Miller.

The savage fairy tale “Pan’s Labyrinth” took three Oscars. The Spanish-language film won for art direction, makeup and cinematography.

“To Guillermo del Toro for guiding us through this labyrinth,” said art director Eugenio Caballero, lauding the writer-director of “Pan’s Labyrinth,” the tale of a girl who concocts an elaborate fantasy world to escape her harsh reality in 1940s Fascist Spain.

Germany’s “The Lives of Others,” about a playwright and his actress-girlfriend who come under police surveillance in 1980s East Berlin, won the foreign-language Oscar, the films it beat including “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

“Letters From Iwo Jima” won the sound-editing Oscar for Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman. Murray’s father was an Iwo Jima survivor.

“Thank you to my father and all the brave and honorable men and women in uniform who in a time of crisis have all made that decision to defend their personal freedom and liberty no matter what the sacrifice,” Murray said.

The record holder for Oscar futility, sound engineer Kevin O’Connell, extended his losing streak to 19 nominations without a win. This time, O’Connell and two colleagues were nominated for sound mixing on “Apocalypto,” Mel Gibson’s portrait of the savage decline of the ancient Mayan empire, but they lost to another trio of sound engineers that worked on “Dreamgirls.” “Apocalypto” lost in all three categories in which it was nominated, all for technical achievements.

Once an evening of back-slapping and merrymaking within the narrow confines of Hollywood, the Academy Awards this time looked like a United Nations exercise in diversity.

The 79th annual Oscars feature their most ethnically varied lineup ever, with stars and stories that reflect the growing multiculturalism taking root around the globe.

“What a wonderful night. Such diversity in the room,” said Ellen DeGeneres, serving as Oscar host for the first time, “in a year when there’s been so many negative things said about people’s race, religion and sexual orientation.

“And I want to put this out there: If there weren’t blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars,” she said, adding: “Or anyone named Oscar, when you think about that.”

Leonardo DiCaprio wanted to give up acting for a time after the hit movie “Titanic.”

DiCaprio was back to being considered a “another piece of cute meat” after the 1997 film’s spectacular box office success, an image he had wanted to get away after his days on the cover of teen magazines, he told Newsweek for editions on newsstands on Monday.

“It was pretty disheartening to be objectified like that. I wanted to stop acting for a little bit,” he said at the magazine’s Oscar panel discussion with other actors. “It changed my life in a lot of ways, but at the same time, I can’t say that it didn’t give me opportunities. It made me, for the first time, in control of my career.”

After many successful movies and critical acclaim, DiCaprio said he loves acting.

“There’s no other art form in the world that affects me more. There’s nothing that I walk away from feeling transformed by the way I do with cinema,” he said.

DiCaprio starred in a cast featuring Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and others in “The Departed,” which earned Martin Scorsese a Golden Globe for best director.