Leonardo DiCaprio dines with newly single Blake Lively

[HMG Celebrity News] – While this doesn’t mean he might be shopping around, Leonardo DiCaprio was spied sharing dinner with Blake Lively in New York yesterday, and Bar Rafaeli was nowhere in sight.

23-year old Blake broke up with her ‘Gossip Girl’ co-star Penn Badgley in September after three-years, so you might think Leo had other motives. Well, relax — it was just work.

The pair were sharing a feedbag at The Lion restaurant on West 9th Street. But they were far from alone — Leo is currently the favorite to star with Toby Maguire in director Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming remake of the classic 1925 novel, ‘The Great Gatsby.’ Baz was at the table, and so were six other people. So it was hardly an intimate snack.

“It was an 8 person dinner,” an insider tells US. “Baz’s whole crew was there.”

Perhaps best known for Nicole Kidman’s 2001 musical, ‘Moulin Rouge,’ Baz likes to workshop his scripts, and this was his way of taking the cast for a test-drive while sharing nutrition.

If Baz gets his way, Leo would star as the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby, and Tobey would be his friend, Nick Carraway. But the role of Leo’s love interest, Daisy Buchanan is tying Baz in knots.

Blake is a strong contender for the part, but Baz has also been screen-testing Scarlett Johanson, Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, Michelle Williams, Amanda Seyfried and Abbie Cornish. So Blake’s probably feeling some stress.

The last time ‘Gatsby’ appeared as a film was in 1974. Robert Redford had Leo’s part and Mia Farrow played Daisy. It won two Oscars. It remains to be seen if Leo can fill Rob’s sizable shoes…