David Grann’s non-fiction works have been the talk of Hollywood ever since James Gray turned his 2009 book, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon into a movie. Further, his 2016 hottest hit, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI was another thing that Martin Scorsese laid his hands upon. However, due to constant arguments between Leonardo DiCaprio and the scriptwriter, the movie failed to pick its pace until 2023.
Set to release in October 2023, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon has the makings of a classic Western. But, despite having a perfect set-up for a murder mystery, the director, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Robert De Niro realized the situation was more complex than the actual story. Therefore, running into constant disagreements with the scriptwriter, Eric Roth, DiCaprio simply delayed the shoots.
Leonardo DiCaprio Was Fixated Over The Script
James Gray took David Grann’s 2009 epic novel The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon and transformed it into a masterpiece. Thus, witnessing Gray’s success, even Martin Scorsese seized his moment with Grann’s 2016 non-fiction, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.
Finding his perfect set-up for a murder mystery, Scorsese chose Leonardo DiCaprio to play Tom White, the incorruptible Texas Ranger-turned-FBI agent, in his movie. Alongside DiCaprio, the director chose another renowned star, Robert De Niro to serve a classic Western. However, soon the trio realized, irrespective of the perfect storyline, the situation was more complex.
Fixated to find the perfect way of doing justice to David Grann’s novel, Leonardo DiCaprio often engaged in arguments with the scriptwriter, Eric Roth. To the Shutter Island actor, the original script just didn’t live up to the story’s epic potential. Thus, he eventually strained his mind to come up with the idea to focus the movie on Ernest Burkhart, one of the suspects, rather than the lawman.
Therefore, finding a radical change of angle Martin Scorsese started over to narrate a story that would resonate in the modern era.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Perspective And Connection With The Story
Feeling a rather deep connection with the happenings of the story, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s meticulousness served its goal for Killers of the Flower Moon. Reflecting upon the reworks, the actor explained why he was obsessed with finding a perfect angle for the story.
“It just didn’t get to the heart of the Osage…It felt too much like an investigation into detective work.”
Therefore, with a keenness to tap into the innate spirituality of the piece, Leonardo DiCaprio even went to the location where the real incident of David Grann’s story took place.
“We were there for the Tulsa massacre and the return of the Flower Moon. It was cosmic insane coincidence that we were telling this story, 100 years later,” DiCaprio added.
Discussing the subtle reworking and the shifts in emphasis of the story to turn it into a traditional Martin Scorsese movie, DiCaprio presented his perspective. Leonardo DiCaprio started,
“You had this melting pot in Oklahoma where freed slaves had created their own economy, and the Osage emerged as this wealthy culture. But you also had during that period the rise of the KKK and white supremacy and this clash of cultures. For some of these white settlers, it was like a gold rush to take advantage of people of color.”
Trying to do justice to the events of the story, DiCaprio constantly pushed to revise the script until it suited him. In the revised version, DiCaprio would portray villain Robert De Niro’s nephew, Ernest Burkhart, torn between love and the evil plans of his uncle.
Killers of the Flower Moon is set to release on 20 October 2023.
Read more: Robert De Niro Agreed to 2007 Henry Cavill Movie as He Regrets Rejecting $4.5B Johnny Depp Franchise
Source: Deadline
