Leo DiCaprio's Climate Change Film Featuring Mayor Levine Screens in Miami Today

Update 10/5: DiCaprio was on hand last night for a screening at Miami Beach's New World Symphony.

#BeforetheFlood screening @nwsymphony @LeoDiCaprio @fisherstevensbk @BrettRatner @MiamiWaterkpr @MiamiBeachNews in #MiamiBeach pic.twitter.com/IYxDpQ64SL

— Mayor Philip Levine (@MayorLevine) October 5, 2016

Original Post:

Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine has shown two big talents in recent years: nabbing high-profile media attention for his attempts to save his city from climate change, and hobnobbing with A-list celebs. 

So when Leonardo DiCaprio began filming a documentary about global warning last year, you bet Levine made sure he and Miami Beach were showcased heavily in the film.

The movie, titled Before the Flood, will be shown in an advance screening at the University of Miami's Bill Cosford Cinema at 2:30 p.m. today. (DiCaprio won't be there, but director Fisher Stevens and producer Brett Ratner will be.)

A trailer for the documentary hit the web last week — in a few brief clips, Levine can be seen walking DiCaprio through a particularly battered area of Miami-Dade County. (It's unclear where.) The pair then chats in Levine's office.

"Why do you think there is such opposition about the science?" DiCaprio asks.

"I think it's politics," Levine responds, as flashes of climate-change deniers such as Gov. Rick Scott and Sen. Marco Rubio flash across the screen.

A Rolling Stone reporter accompanied the pair on their tour through Miami. Levine and DiCaprio hung out last November just as rumors were swirling that the actor's character in the Revenant was sexually assaulted by a bear. (DiCaprio vaped during the entire interview.)

The two exchanged pleasantries about some mutual billionaire friends before getting down to brass tacks. Levine said he didn't expect sea-level rise to kill Miami Beach's real-estate market, but DiCaprio disagreed, adding that he had already sold his Miami Beach home.

During the tour, DiCaprio spots a leathery old man hanging out on a Miami Beach balcony, and astutely describes about 95 percent of Miami's political problems in one quote:

"Look at that guy," says DiCaprio. "He has no idea what is going on." DiCaprio watches him with fascination for a moment and then makes a joke. "He probably knows that he'll be dead soon and won't have to worry about it."

(Later during DiCaprio's Miami trip, he hung out with some University of Miami scientists who warned that the next hurricane to hit the area will "shred" South Florida. Given the fact that a Category 4 hurricane might hit this week, this is not good news.)

Yesterday Levine attended a screening of the film at the White House. And in classic Levine fashion, he found the time to tweet out a selfie with Leo, while the Washington Monument jutted into the sky behind them.

With @LeoDiCaprio at @WhiteHouse for screening of #BeforetheFlood Tomorrow in #MiamiBeach @MiamiBeachNews @NatGeo pic.twitter.com/GDYywBbIf6

— Mayor Philip Levine (@MayorLevine) October 3, 2016

Here's Levine with Governor Scott:

@WhiteHouse South Lawn with Mr. @LEGO_Group @MiamiBeachNews pic.twitter.com/Xi1vp4JGr5

— Mayor Philip Levine (@MayorLevine) October 3, 2016

Say what you will about Levine: There's no doubt he's great at generating national PR for his city. And given the fact that plenty of Florida politicians won't even use the term "climate change," Miami Beach needs all the publicity it can get.