Robert De Niro wanted more Osage dialogue in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’
Martin Scorsese’s latest epic, Killers of the Flower Moon, tells the true story of a string of murders that ripped through the Osage Nation in the 1920s. In a bid to create authenticity, Scorsese called on an Osage language consultant to help create the script, with Robert De Niro enjoying the Osage passages so much that he asked the director if the entire film could be made in the language.
In a recent Q&A with Steven Spielberg at Los Angeles’ DGA Theatre, Scorsese said: “By the way, a lot of the Osage language is lost, but they’re putting it back together, so to speak. There was a teacher, Chris, and he was teaching [Lily Gladstone] and Leo [DiCaprio], and also Bob [De Niro], too.”
Christopher Cote was the Osage language consultant on the film, and has shared his own thoughts about the film’s representation of the Osage people, saying it “isn’t made for an Osage audience“.
On capturing the Osage culture accurately, Scorsese said there was “wiggle room” because the last two generations of Osage were “taken out of their experience because they had to become like white Europeans and Christians”.
He continued: “They were all learning how to put their culture back together through this movie, and we were going with them.” De Niro found that he liked the scripted moments of Osage language so much, he wanted to do most of the film speaking it.
“Lily Gladstone learned the language, and so did Leo, and so did De Niro, who really fell in love with it and wanted to do more scenes in Osage,” the filmmaker said. “I suggested that maybe it’s too much. But he just liked the sound of it.”
Dampening his enthusiasm somewhat, Scorsese said: “You can’t, come on Bob.” The movie is set for considerable success at the 2024 Academy Awards.
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