 Appian Way Productions is a film production company in West Hollywood , California , established by actor and producer Leonardo DiCaprio . The company 's first film was The Assassination of Richard Nixon ( 2004 ) . It then released the 2004 biopic The Aviator , starring DiCaprio as Howard Hughes . The film was a critical and commercial success , and earned several Academy Award nominations , including Best Picture . Its following productions were released three years later — the comedy drama Gardener of Eden ( 2007 ) and the documentary The 11th Hour ( 2007 ) . This was followed by the commercial successes of the psychological horror Orphan ( 2009 ) , the psychological thriller Shutter Island ( 2010 ) and the dark fantasy film Red Riding Hood ( 2011 ) . The company had three releases in 2013 , including the crime thriller Runner Runner and the thriller film Out of the Furnace ( 2013 ) , both of which performed poorly at the box @-@ office . Appian Way released the biopic The Wolf of Wall Street ( 2013 ) , a critical and commercial success , which was nominated for several Academy Awards , including Best Picture . 
