Word: diamond
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...Beers, which produces more than 40% of the world's diamonds, argue that they have largely fixed the problem of conflict, or "blood," diamonds--gems mined illegally by warlords and sold to buy weapons and pay soldiers. And they intend to ensure that the movie--which ties together the stories of a diamond-smuggling mercenary (DiCaprio) chasing a rare pink diamond, a fisherman (Hounsou) searching for his kidnapped son, and a reporter (Connelly) after a scoop--is viewed as a fictitious take on history...
Human-rights campaigners, however, welcome Hollywood's focus on the issue and say it has helped tighten industry oversight even before the film's release. In the run-up to the holiday period--peak season for diamond sales and blockbuster movies--the public spat makes an interesting study of how a big studio movie can threaten a $60 billion-a-year global retail industry, one that has previously thrived on its association with all things Hollywood, and how that business can fight back...
...emphasize that "first and foremost, this is intended to be an entertaining and dramatic movie." At the same time, the man behind thirtysomething and The Last Samurai takes a storyteller's pleasure in his exploration of Sierra Leone's bloody conflict, which ended in 2002, and the way illegal diamond mining fueled that war. "The issues it evokes are universal, both personally and politically. You can't tell a story about Sierra Leone without thinking about child soldiers. You can't tell a story about Sierra Leone without thinking about refugees. You can't tell a story about Sierra Leone...
...watching a 4-min. DVD featuring child soldiers and the aftermath of their battles that the director had patched together. Before shooting began, DiCaprio spent a month in South Africa meeting former mercenaries, undergoing military training and learning the local accent. Although he talked with several ex-mercs and diamond experts, it was a military adviser on the film, a Rhodesian (as some white citizens of Zimbabwe still call themselves) named Duff Gifford, who captivated him. "He's really the man who brought me to the understanding of what this culture was like, what it was like to fight...
...movie follows the fortunes of a soldier turned diamond smuggler who works with both warlords and an international diamond corporation. He gets into a scrape and needs to find a huge pink diamond hidden by a fisherman in forced servitude to said warlords. And he meets a gorgeous crusading journalist who knows he can help her blow the story wide open. Along the way, many unromantic acts are perpetrated in the pursuit of the gemstones...