I tweeted this out the night of the Golden Globes. Got a few questions, so I thought I’d explain a bit more. Here’s the story:
Note to self: when you interview @LeoDiCaprio in 1993 on Oscar weekend & ask him if he'd like to someday win one, keep the tape. 1/4
— Stacey Simms (@staceysimms) February 1, 2016
I was in college, reporting on weekends. Running late & missed event for "This Boy's Life." @LeoDiCaprio was still at the mall arcade. 2/4
— Stacey Simms (@staceysimms) February 1, 2016
He laughed & said Oscars weren't the goal, acting was. I cut a terrible, cheesy report for WSYR (I used a clip of Jon Lovitz "ACTING"). 3/4
— Stacey Simms (@staceysimms) February 1, 2016
So while it would be great to have that audio, it's probably better that my horrible reports are lost somewhere. Fun memory, though. 4/4
— Stacey Simms (@staceysimms) February 1, 2016
This Boy’s Life is an adaptation of a memoir by author Tobias Wolff. The movie feaures Robert De Niro, Ellen Barkin and DiCaprio, in one of his first big-screen roles. Wolff was teaching at Syracuse University when the movie came out, which is why one of the premieres was held at a Central New York movie theater.
As I remember, DiCaprio’s dad was the person who pointed him out to me. Could have been a PR flack. The event was over and I must have looked pretty pathetic with my bulky tape recorder slung over my shoulder, running late and trying desperately to give off the aura of a professional reporter. I was a senior at SU, working weekends at the NewsTalk station in town.
I first looked through my stuff for this story after Titanic came out and I realized it might be nice to have. But no luck. WSYR certainly has no record of it (right, guys? we looked, didn’t we?). This was way before digital – I may have edited it on reel-to-reel – and we didn’t keep quite as much.
I hope DiCaprio wins the Oscar this weekend. I have a fun little story here and that’ll be a cherry on top. Maybe someone will ask him if he dreamed of winning way back when. And if they’re really good, when they put the story together, they’ll use that Lovitz drop.