It took a $200 million budget and an all-star cast to make “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
The film, directed by Martin Scorsese, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone. And, even though it’s based on the true events of the Osage community in the 1920s, the movie also takes on a personality of its own.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” is about the murders of the Osage Tribe after oil is found on their land. But Leo DiCaprio, who plays Ernest Burkhart, wanted to tell the story from a different perspective.
Leonardo DiCaprio: “There was a dynamic missing there that we ultimately felt that we weren’t getting to the heart of the story. There were two short sequences of Ernest and Molly together, which was this insanely bizarre love story.”
Bizarre because Mollie, who Lily Gladstone portrays, stood by her husband even though he was part of the conspiracy to steal her birthright.
Lily Gladstone: “It’s unimaginable the things that this community had to deal with, and it’s horrendous how erased it was. In early research with Leo, we were sitting down, going through some of the court documents and the testimonies, and people were talking about the house blowing up.”
Robert De Niro is Leo’s money-grubbing uncle. He’s responsible for hooking the two love birds up, but it’s for his own benefit.
Robert De Niro: “I know he was doing something wrong, possibly, but rationalized it himself that he was doing it for some sort greater good, whatever that is. There’s certain things that I can understand, but I feel like he did love the Osage or thought he loved them.”
Director Martin Scorsese wanted to get the blessings from the Oklahoma Native American tribe to make sure he got it right.
Martin Scorsese: “Trying to approach this material, particularly the nature of this tragedy, one would have to do it from the point of view of the Osage. And not the Osage as victims, but as people.”
He even hired them to be on set.
Martin Scorsese: “So many of the Osage, not only were in front of the camera but also behind, designing and helping making the costumes and all the props, because a lot of this had been forgotten. Even the language has been forgotten.”
“Killers of the Flower Moon” opens in theaters Oct. 20 and will stream on Apple TV Plus following its theatrical run.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.