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Russian town in Siberia makes DiCaprio an ersatz Oscar

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FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016 file photo, actor Leonardo DiCaprio listens to a question over a translation earpiece during a press event to promote his new film "The Revenant," in Mexico City. Residents of a town in Russia’s Far East have been donating their gold and silver for something near and dear to their hearts: Leonardo DiCaprio. More than 100 hundred DiCaprio fans in the Siberian town of Yakutia have donated precious metals to make a statue - based on the Oscar award - for the film star who is nominated as best actor for his role in The Revenant. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, file)

MOSCOW – Residents of a town in Russia’s Far East have been donating their gold and silver for something near and dear to their hearts: Leonardo DiCaprio.

More than 100 DiCaprio fans in the Siberian town of Yakutia have donated jewelry and precious metals to make a statue — based on an Academy Award — for the film star who is nominated as best actor for his role in The Revenant.

Sardana Savvina, a member of the Oscar to Leo! initiative, said the group is hopeful that DiCaprio will walk away with two awards this year: a statue from Yakutia and a bona fide Oscar.

DiCaprio, whose grandmother was Russian, is extremely popular in the country and famously met with Vladimir Putin in 2010 to discuss tiger conservation in Russia’s eastern regions.

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