Martin Scorsese discusses ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ at CinemaCon
After years of being in production, Martin Scorsese has given cinema-files a first look at what his latest film Killers of the Flower Moon is going to look like. During a Q&A hosted by star Leonardo DiCaprio, Scorsese discussed the origins of the story and the struggle to get the film made.
The story behind Killers is a dark western which pits the native Osage against oil-hungry white capitalists after members of the Osage begin dying under mysterious circumstances. DiCaprio’s Ernest Burkhart is depicted falling in love with a Native American woman played by Lily Gladstone, becoming caught in the crossfire of dirty business.
When speaking about the inspiration for the film, Scorsese compared the conflict to a natural part of civilization. After talking about the reasoning behind some of the oil tycoons turning to violence, Scorsese pointed out (via Channels), “It’s civilization. One group comes in, and another goes out,” later describing it as “a forgotten part of our past”.
Aside from DiCaprio and Gladstone, Scorsese is reunited with Robert De Niro in the film, playing William Hale, who is conspiring with Burkhart. Jesse Plemons also stars as Tom White, an FBI agent who arrives at the community to investigate the murders of the Osage people.
The film is based on the real nonfiction book of the same name by David Grann, and the shooting took place in the same locations as the real-life events. While Killers of the Flower Moon will be distributed with Apple TV+, Scorsese was enthusiastic about the film’s theatrical release as well, saying: “I’m really thrilled to have a wide theatrical release before it becomes available at home”.
Elsewhere during the ceremony, Scorsese was awarded the ‘Legend of Cinema’ award for his classics such as Taxi Driver and Goodfellas.
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