James R | On 11, Aug 2021

John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser have joined the cast of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.

Based on David Grann’s highly praised best-seller, the Apple Original film is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Ernest Burkhart, and Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman who falls in love with Ernest. Early in their relationship, Mollie invites him in for a meal and they form a bond.

Now, they’ve got some added star company, with John Lithgow set to play Prosecutor Leaward and Fraser playing layer WS Hamilton.

The film also stars Jesse Plemons as Tom White, the FBI agent investigating the murders, and Robert De Niro, as well as Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion, William Belleau, Jason Isbell, Louis Cancelmi, Scott Shepherd and Sturgill Simpson.

Scorsese is producing and directing the feature for Apple Studios from a screenplay by Eric Roth and Scorsese. Filming on the project is already underway.

 

First look: Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone in Killers of the Flower Moon

10th May 2021

Martin Scorsese is heading to Apple TV+ for his latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon, and a new image gives us a first look at the period crime drama.

Based on David Grann’s highly praised best-seller, the film is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Ernest Burkhart, and Lily Gladstone Gladstone appears as Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman who falls in love with Ernest. Early in their relationship, Mollie invites him in for a meal and they form a bond.

A native of Montana, Gladstone is of Blackfeet and Nez Perce descent. She made her film debut in Alex and Andrew Smith’s Winter in the Blood, and has recently appeared on Showtime’s Billions, as well as Kelly Reichert’s features Certain Women and First Cow.

Now, we’ve got a first look at the pair in a scene from the film, with the first image unveiled by Apple TV+ today.

The film co-stars Jesse Plemons as Tom White, the FBI agent investigating the murders and Robert De Niro, as well as Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion, William Belleau, Jason Isbell, Louis Cancelmi, Scott Shepherd and Sturgill Simpson.

Scorsese is producing and directing the feature for Apple Studios from a screenplay by Eric Roth and Scorsese. Producing alongside Scorsese is Imperative Entertainment’s Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas, and Leonardo DiCaprio and Appian Way Productions.

 

Jesse Plemons joins Killers of the Flower Moon

18th February 2021

Jesse Plemons has joined Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon

The actor, who has stolen scenes in everything from Breaking Bad to Game Night and enjoyed a rare lead role in Black Mirror’s USS Callister, will take centre stage in the Apple TV+ film.

The film, based on David Grann’s book of the same name, tells a true-life murder story which became one of the FBI’s first major homicide investigations. In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. As the death toll climbed, the FBI took up the case. But the bureau badly bungled the investigation. In desperation, its young director, J Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to unravel the mystery.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro have long been attached to the project, but Plemons’ addition to the cast sees him take the role that was once going to the Titanic star. Plemons will play Tom White, the FBI agent investigating the murders. DiCpario will play Ernest Burkhart, the nephew of a powerful local rancher (De Niro). He will be joined by Lily Gladstone, already cast as Ernest’s wife, Mollie Burkhart.

The casting comes after some reports of disagreements between writer Eric Roth and DiCaprio, but also comes as Plemons was preparing to play another key role in Jordan Peele’s latest project. With the two production schedules ultimately conflicting, Plemons has dropped out of the latter to join Flower Moon, which will start filming this May. With him fresh from a co-lead turn in Netflix’s I’m Thinking Of Ending Things, expect Plemons to continue getting top-billing offers from now on.

 

Lily Gladstone joins Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Moon

12th February 2021

Lily Gladstone has joined the cast of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Moon.

The film, based on David Grann’s book of the same name, is an Apple Original production for Apple TV+. The book tells a true-life murder story which became one of the FBI’s first major homicide investigations. In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. As the death toll climbed, the FBI took up the case. But the bureau badly bungled the investigation. In desperation, its young director, J Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to unravel the mystery.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro are already attached to the project, with the latter reuniting after Scorsese’s Netflix film The Irishman. Gladstone will play Mollie Burkhart, married to Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio), who is the nephew of a powerful local rancher (De Niro).

Gladstone, who had a breakout role in Certain Women, has since reunited with director Kelly Reichardt for First Cow (pictured above) and was most recently in Sundance short Little Chief and SXSW-selected Freeland.

The script is by Eric Roth, while Scorsese will produce through Imperative Entertainment, alongside Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas, and Appian Way Productions. The project joins a growing number of star-studded original films in the works at Apple, including Lessons in Chemistry starring Brie Larson and Ridley Scott’s Kitbag, starring Joaquin Phoenix.

 

Apple and Paramount team up for Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon

28th May 2020

Apple has boarded Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.

The film, based on David Grann’s book of the same name, has been in the works for a while at Paramount, but budget concerns have held the project back. Starting out at Imperative Entertainment, which acquired the book in 2016, Scorsese came on board along with star Leonardo DiCaprio, before taking it to Paramount.

Now, Paramount has turned to Apple to help foot the reported $200m-plus bill, with the tech giant set to be the creative studio for the film, making it an Apple Original production. The deals aren’t yet officially signed off, but sources tell Deadline and Variety that the agreement’s all but closed.

The book, from the author of The Lost City of Z, tells a true-life murder story which became one of the FBI’s first major homicide investigations. In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. As the death toll climbed, the FBI took up the case. But the bureau badly bungled the investigation. In desperation, its young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to unravel the mystery.

Paramount will distribute the film in cinemas, at Scorsese’s insistence, after his previous film, The Irishman, was snapped up by Netflix, which gave it a short theatrical run. The deal with Apple, though, is something of a coup for the Netflix rival, giving the fledgling Apple TV+ its biggest movie title so far when it eventually is released as a streaming exclusive on the platform. The deal follows another major move from Apple TV+ to acquire Tom Hanks WWII film Greyhound, after its planned theatrical release was scuppered by the coronavirus lockdown.

The question of when Killers of the Flower Moon can begin production, though, is another matter entirely.

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