AceShowbiz -

Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio is in talks to lining up his next film project, which is a dramatic thriller titled "The Blood Diamond." The film, written by Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, is set in Sierra Leone around 1999, a period when the region was in the midst of a civil war. "The Blood Diamond" would reportedly begin shooting early next year.

In the film, DiCaprio will play a smuggler who specializes in the sale of "conflict diamonds" or "blood diamonds," which commonly used by the warring parties to fund their operations. When the smuggler meets a local Mende farmer whose young son has been forced into the RUF army, the two men's fates become intertwined.

In related news, DiCaprio is reported to open an eco-hotel after buying the 104 acre Blackadore Caye in the Caribbean sea, which is only a 25 minute boat ride away from the Central American country's top-class diving site of the Belize Barrier Reef. Bringing it to life, the star will work with the team from the nearby Cayo Espanto Island to develop an airstrip, infrastructure and top quality accommodation.