I could write an easy 5,000 words about R.D. Robb‘s Don’s Plum, the black-and-white, John Cassevettes-like, unreleased- on-these-shores acting-exercise movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Kevin Connolly, Jeremy Sisto and Ethan Suplee that you can buy or rent on DVD in Europe.

In fact, I did write 5,000 words about Don’s Plum in ‘late 97 for Mr. Showbiz, only the piece has been deleted and presumably trashed — but the backstory boils down to this: Robb and cohorts Dale Wheatley. David Stutman and John Schindler should have gone along with requests from DiCaprio and Maguire and made a short film instead of a feature, and used it as a calling-card thing.

But they didn’t, DiCaprio and Maguire felt betrayed and thereafter went to court to stop the film (which I saw two or three times and liked) from being released, and succeeded.

I also know this: Judge Mary Murphy‘s decision last Thursday to dismiss a December 204 lawsuit filed by Schindler against DiCaprio and Maguire, claiming the two Hollywood stars conspired to block distribution of Don’s Plum, does not reflect the truth of the matter.