LOL: Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar Campaign Has Been Turned Into A Playable Video Game
If there's one story even casual moviegoers have heard about this year's Oscars, it's — okay, it's actually probably #OscarsSoWhite, the uncomfortable but desperately necessary conversation about race in the movie industry. But if there are two stories they've heard, the other is probably about Leonardo DiCaprio. Namely, the fact that he's never won an Oscar and he would really, really, really like to. He ate raw bison liver for The Revenant, you guys. If that's not enough to get a guy an Oscar, what is?
The good news for DiCaprio this year is that he's already cleared the first hurdle — getting nominated, which he's already done four times before — and the conventional wisdom is that 2016 will, finally, at long last, be the year he gets to take home one of those little gold men. We won't know until February 28 how that theory actually pans out, but while we wait you can "help" "Leo" "win" the "Oscar" via a hilarious new video game, Leo's Red Carpet Rampage.
Made by The Line Animation, Leo's Red Carpet Rampage is an arcade-style scrolling game that lets you control a little tiny Leonardo DiCaprio on his race down the red carpet in pursuit of Oscar. Along the way, you'll want to keep an eye out for Emmys and Golden Globes, which help little Leo in his quest, while avoiding icebergs, the paparazzi, and maybe worst of all, that dreaded Lady Gaga. Other challenges include out-sprinting fellow Oscar nominees Michael Fassbender and Eddie Redmayne, crawling to the car a la The Wolf of Wall Street, and picking out the black person in a sea of lily-white faces.
If you're more of a cinephile than a gamer, that's okay. The gameplay here isn't exactly sophisticated; it's a button-masher in the most literal sense. It's more about skewering the ridiculousness of Oscar season. Whether or not you think DiCaprio has "earned" an Oscar — and whether or not you think The Revenant is the movie we should be giving him one for — it's been entertaining to watch him throw himself into the campaign. Now you can actually make yourself part of it. Check out the gameplay video below, and then click here to try it for yourself. Not so easy to get that gold, is it?