Killers of the Flower Moon: 6 lesser-known facts about the Leonardo DiCaprio & Martin Scorsese film

Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon starring Leonardo DiCaprio is finally releasing in theatres in India on 20th October 2023. The film is based on the book by David Grann and narrates the true story of the murders of the Native American tribe, Osage Nation after oil was discovered on their land in the 1920s. It is among the several artistic works released over the years, focusing on the Osage Murders. Films such as the 1926 production Osage Hills and the 1959 film The FBI Story explore the pain and injustice suffered by the Osage Nation. Scorsese’s chilling account of the atrocious events has already raked in rave reviews at Cannes this year. It features an ensemble cast of Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow, and Brendan Fraser along with lead star DiCaprio. So for today’s Now You Know podcast we take a look at lesser-known facts about Killers of the Flower Moon.

1. Hollywood legend Robert De Niro has collaborated with auteur MartinScorsese in several iconic films over the years, including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, and The Irishman among others. So it should come as no surprise that De Niro was among the first names rumoured to be on the cast of Killers of the Flower Moon way back in 2017 when this film was first announced. The news was finally confirmed when Scorsese shared an Instagram post in 2019 confirming that De Niro would, in fact, play the role of William Hale in the film. Hale is the uncle of the lead character Ernest Burkhart played by Leonardo DiCaprio.
2. The production of this film was halted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is reported that the film was further delayed as lead star Leonardo DiCaprio requested that he would like the script to be rewritten. According to screenwriter Eric Roth, they finally agreed to come to a compromise and agreed to 50% of DiCaprio’s changes instead of turning the film around entirely. Based on the critical reception at Cannes, it appears that the 50/50 compromise may have been the right solution.
3. The character William Hale, who is essayed by De Niro, was about 45 years old during the actual events of the Osage Murders. However, De Niro is almost 80, indicating that the film’s character may have been aged so that De Niro could be cast in the role. Similarly, lead actress Lily Gladstone, who plays Mollie Burkhart is 12 years younger than her on-screen husband Ernest Burkhart played by DiCaprio. In real life, Mollie was 10 years older than Ernest.
4. Actress Lily Gladstone was reportedly about to enter her credit card details to apply for a data analytics course when an email notification informed her of an online meeting with Martin Scorsese. She was considering a career change during the pandemic as she was finding it difficult to bag an acting gig. Her co-star DiCaprio confirmed that she did not even have to go through an audition as Scorsese was convinced that she was just right for the role of Mollie Burkhart.
5. Breaking Bad and Fargo star Jesse Plemons was initially offered the chance to play Steven Yeun’s character Ricky "Jupe" Park in Jordan Peele’s 2022 film Nope. However, he turned it down after Sorcese offered him the role of Tom White, the Federal agent investigating the Osage Murders in this film.
6. The eponymous non-fiction book by David Grann which focused on the Osage Murders, explored a vast conspiracy that involved hundreds and unveiled this blot in American history in horrific detail. However, in Scorcese’s film adaptation, only a few killers and their accomplices are featured in order to streamline some of the historical events and to make the script more concise. As long as it doesn’t attempt to rationalise the gruesome murders and thus whitewash history, it shouldn’t be a concern for historians.

Well that's all for this episode, stay tuned for more on OTTplay. Until the next time it's your host Nikhil signing out.

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• Written by Ryan Gomez

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