Lily Gladstone originally only had three scenes in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’
The original script for Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon only featured Lily Gladstone’s protagonist in three scenes before it was rewritten by Eric Roth.
Such was revealed during an interview Gladstone shared with the Los Angeles Times, where the actor divulged that she signed on to appear in Scorsese’s epic about the murder of the Osage people in 1920s Oklahoma despite her character’s lack of screen time. Her thinking was that once she’d secured the role, she could influence how her character and the story of the Osage Nation was depicted in the story.
Originally, the screenplay had been more loyal to the non-fiction book of the same name, written by David Grann, focusing heavily on the FBI investigation, which sought to bring down the perpetrators of the murders. Yet, this changed shortly after Gladstone came on board, with the actor having a whole hour of screen time in the final cut.
Gladstone is now one of the favourites to take home the Oscar for ‘Best Actress’ at the 96th Academy Awards, with her main rivals in the category being Emma Stone and Sandra Hüller, who starred in Poor Things and Anatomy of a Fall, respectively.
The original screenplay had originally been co-written by Roth and Scorsese and was compared to a dense police procedural, with Leonardo DiCaprio playing the role of FBI agent Thomas Bruce White Sr, who was eventually played by Jesse Plemons in the final film.
The focus shifted from the FBI to the people of the Osage Nation after DiCaprio questioned Scorsese about the script, and, following several meetings with the tribe, the director agreed, with the actor switching roles from Tom White to Ernest Burkhart, one of the story’s key antagonists.
Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’ for Scorsese and ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for Robert De Niro.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.