NEW YORK (Variety) - Leonardo DiCaprio has agreed to make ``The Beach'' his next starring vehicle. The teen heartthrob will play a rootless traveler who is given a map to paradise, which was scrawled by a madman. The project is based on the novel by Alex Garland. Filming will begin in January. Never in recent memory has a next acting assignment created such a media guessing game as has DiCaprio's ``Titanic'' follow-up. Leomania roared with reports about numerous films he was supposedly doing for salaries as high as $22 million. In heading for ``The Beach,'' DiCaprio turns his back on a glamorous vehicle in favor of one that recalls his work in such films as ``The Basketball Diaries,'' ``This Boy's Life'' and ``What's Eating Gilbert Grape.''

-- Dan Draghici (ddraghic@sprint.ca), July 11, 1998