Chinese fans are particularly invested on whether 41-year-old DiCaprio, affectionately known as “Xiao Lizi” or Little Leo in China, will take home the coveted golden statue of the Academy Awards. (Photo : Getty Images)
Most of Leonardo DiCaprio’s films haven’t passed Chinese censors, but Chinese fans remain solid in support, especially now that awards season has come, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.
Chinese fans are particularly invested on whether 41-year-old DiCaprio, affectionately known as "Xiao Lizi" or Little Leo in China, will take home the highly coveted golden statue of the Academy Awards.
"Whether DiCaprio can win the award is definitely the hottest Oscar topic among Chinese this year," said Wu Renchu, a film critic based in Shanghai. Many articles have been published, complete with in-depth analyses on DiCaprio's chances of winning an Oscar.
Netizens have also taken up arms as Chinese social media sites have exploded with comedic memes and gifs, all in support for DiCaprio.
It's been a while since a movie starring DiCaprio has been screened in China. That doesn't mean, however, that Chinese fans haven't watched pirated copies of his films online. Wu said his Chinese fans were particularly impressed with his performance in "The Revenant" and "The Wolf of Wall Street."
Incidentally, "The Wolf of Wall Street" was the most illegally downloaded film in 2014, according to Excipio.
"He has a huge influence on Chinese people of any age--from the young to the very old--because of Titanic," said Wu in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. "He has been nominated by the academy five times [for acting], but he hasn't won one, so his fans think it's really unfair. They think the academy owes him a gold trophy."
With that said, The Oscars have little to no influence in China. Only one Best Picture nominee, "The Martian," was screened in China.
"That has weakened the Chinese audience's enthusiasm about the Oscars," said Wu. "The Oscars don't have the same influence in China as in the U.S. or Europe."
It's also rather difficult to watch the Oscars live in China. State-run CCTV does not broadcast the awards show in real time, and only an edited version is shown at a later time. This is due to an incident back in 1993, when Oscars presenter Richard Gere denounced China's human rights record in Tibet during the ceremony.
"I remember in 1993's ceremony, Richard Gere said something unfriendly toward the Chinese government and the interpreter suddenly stopped interpreting his speech. After that, all the ceremonies haven't been on live," said Wu.
