I have always loved Leonardo DiCaprio.

My age has a lot to do with it.  I was seventeen when Titanic was released and I saw it six times in the theatre (I love movies).  How any 17-year-old didn’t fall a little in love with him is beyond me … he was downright irresistible.

And my love and respect has spanned all these years as he’s fought his pretty boy image and taken role after role in search of his illusive Oscar.

Let me tell you that I don’t usually miss the live Oscars broadcast, but ironically, my old boss scheduled a “team-building” dinner the night Leo finally won, and I was devastated to miss it.  (Just ask John, who had to hear me complain about it leading up to it and then deal with me missing Leo’s acceptance speech … not my best self).

I share this because I have recently been reading a book dedicated to the mountain men of the early 1800s American West and I read some tales of Hugh Glass.  His bear attack survival, but also just …. his life, in general.

The Revenant doesn’t really do him justice.  The man was a legend in his own time.  (To be fair, many of the mountain men were … and also, effing insane, but that seems to be the trend of the time).

I sort of love that Leo won his Oscar portraying Glass.  It seems fitting to me.

But, in case you were curious, the true story of Hugh Glass is better than the story that is told in The Revenant.  And if you want to hear a good interview about it, you can find it on the Meateater podcast; Steven Rinella talks with the author of the book The Revenant.  And gets very candid about his (many) beefs with liberties taken in the movie regarding Hugh Glass’ life.  It’s really interesting.

So yeah.  That’s what’s on my mind tonight.

And PS.  Titanic holds up.  In case you were wondering.  John and I watched it at the height of Covid last year, and were actually impressed with how well it held up.   (A movie that doesn’t =Zorro with Antonio Banderas & Catherine Zeta-Jones.  I was shocked at how it DID NOT hold up.  At all).  

Xox, g