Many fictional films are based on fact, and such is the case with the new movie The Blood Diamond, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Of course, leaders in today's diamond industry would like viewers to believe that blood diamonds no longer exist. And, that is where the controversy concerning this movie begins.

From Jewelers nervous about 'Blood Diamond' film:

The U.S. jewelry industry is gearing up to counter any negative effects from the upcoming film "The Blood Diamond," which shows how illicit gem trade fuelled bloody civil wars, a trade group said.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a South African mercenary jailed for smuggling in Sierra Leone, ravaged during a brutal civil war lasting until 2002 that killed 50,000 people.

The picture started filming in February, but Warner Brothers has not said when it will be released.

And from Jewelry Industry Nervous about The Blood Diamond: The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a South African mercenary jailed for smuggling in Sierra Leone circa 1999, a time when the nation was in the midst of a terrible civil war. DiCaprio's character specializes in the sale of "blood diamonds" which are used to finance rebellions and terrorists. Apparently the chairman of the Kimberley Process, an international certification program, wrote to the producers of The Blood Diamond asking that it include an epilogue explaining the measures taken to stem the illicit diamond trade.