Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon," the Oscar winner's fact-based epic filmed and set in Oklahoma, will have its world premiere in May at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France.
The film will be screened on May 20 in the Grand Theatre Lumiere ahead of its autumn theatrical release, festival organizers and Apple Original Films confirmed Friday.This year's Cannes Film Festival is set for May 16-27.
Along with Scorsese, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion and Tantoo Cardinal, along with additional members of the cast and filmmaking team, are expected to make the trip to France for the eagerly awaited movie's premiere.
Here's what you need to know about "Killers of the Flower Moon" ahead of its spring debut:
'Killers of the Flower Moon' boasts an epic run time
After weeks of rampant speculation at the fact-based film would run as long as four hours, Deadline has confirmed that "Killers of the Flower Moon" will clock in at a still-epic three hours and 26 minutes.
It will count as Scorsese's second-longest film, after his 2019 gangster sage "The Irishman," which runs three hours and 29 minutes.
Scorsese again worked with his longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker on "Killers of the Flower Moon." Schoonmaker has been nominated for seven Academy Awards for her editing on Scorsese's films, winning three times, for "Raging Bull," "The Aviator" and "The Departed."
Scorsese has a long history with the Cannes Film Festival
A filmmaking icon and Academy Award winner for 2006's "The Departed," Scorsese has a long history with the Cannes Film Festival, so it's been rumored for a while that his new historical drama would bow there.
The Cannes premiere for "Killers of the Flower Moon" will mark Scorsese's return to the French fest's Official Selection for the first time since the 1986 presentation of his "After Hours." He won the best director's award for the comedic crime drama.
Scorsese won the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, in 1976 with "Taxi Driver," which was presented in Competition. He subsequently returned on a regular basis to the Official Selection.
In 1998, Scorsese served as president of the Cannes jury, and four years later, he chaired the jury for the Cinefoundation and short films competition alongside influential Iranian filmmakerAbbas Kiarostami.
"Killers of the Flower Moon" is expected to be a major contender in the coming cinematic awards season, and a big premiere at Cannes should provide a coveted launching pad for the movie's anticipated Oscar campaign.
'Killers of the Flower Moon' is based on David Grann's best-selling book
Calling it "a time in American history that should not be forgotten," Scorsese adapted his first Western from David Grann's 2017 best-seller “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI."
Along with directing the film, Scorsese adapted the book for the screen alongside Eric Roth, an Oscar winner for his screenplay for "Forrest Gump."
Like the National Book Award finalist, the film will chronicle the slayings of Osage Nation citizens in 1920s Oklahoma, after the oil boom made them wealthy.
Between 1920 and 1925, there were more than 60 mysterious or unsolved murders in Osage County, all connected with wealthy Osage citizens who had shares of valuable mineral lease royalties. The killings became known as the "Reign of Terror" and led to an investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Investigation (the precursor to the FBI).
"I know that books can reach a certain number of people, but a movie and a movie of this caliber and size and level of talent ... can help really reach a lot of others and, hopefully, ensure that this history is part of our consciousness," Grann told The Oklahoman in a 2021 interview.
"Obviously, the Osage knew their history ... but there were so many people — and I include myself amongst them — who were just really ignorant of this, because it wasn't something we grew up hearing about or was taught in our classes. So, I hope it's just going to expand that knowledge."
Scorsese's first Western was filmed in Oklahoma
The iconic moviemaker filmed "Killers of the Flower Moon" in Osage County and the surrounding area in 2021.
With its reported budget of at least $200 million, its star-studded cast and its filmmaking pedigree, "Killers of the Flower" is believed to be the biggest movie production ever undertaken in Oklahoma. It is coming to theaters as Oklahoma’sfilm industry has been experiencing notable growth and legislators are considering expanding the state film incentive.
"I think it has the potential to be a game changer," said Jeffrey Moore, executive director of the OKPOP Museum in Tulsa. ''Killers of the Flower Moon' is really tackling a very serious and important piece of Oklahoma history, and to have the names on the creative side that are attached to it is phenomenal. And I really think it's gonna have a huge impact on the state."
Osage Chief Geoffrey M. Standing Bear named Chad Renfro the tribe's ambassador to the production, and the filmmakers worked with many cultural consultants, local artisans and Osage Nation citizens in the making of the movie.
"I am happy that the filmmakers took their time in developing the film. We have all been anxiously waiting to see how we will be portrayed, and I trust that our tribal ambassadors and leaders have worked diligently with the filmmakers to ensure that our story is told respectfully," said Russ Tallchief, an Oklahoma-based Osage dancer, performer and writer who danced the Charleston for four days as an extra on the film.
"I'm excited, but also nervous about it. I really want the film to be something special, and I think we're in good hands with Scorsese and DiCaprio."
The film stars Oscar winners and Indigenous up-and-comers
"Killers of the Flower Moon" centers on Mollie Burkhart, an Osage woman who lived on the tribal settlement of Gray Horse, near Fairfax. She and her family were targeted during the Reign of Terror.
An up-and-coming Native American actor, Gladstone ("First Cow," "Fancy Dance"), who is Blackfeet and Nez Perce, portrays Mollie. Oscar-winner DiCaprio, who is also producing through his Appian Way Productions, reunites with Scorsese to play her husband, Ernest, who is caught between his love for his wife and a deadly plot masterminded by his uncle, William K. Hale.
Another frequent Scorsese collaborator, Oscar winner De Niro portrays Hale, a powerful rancher and businessman who proclaimed himself “King of the Osage Hills" and led the plot that killed several Osage people.
A 2022 Oscar nominee for the Western "The Power of the Dog," Jesse Plemons will portray Agent Tom White, who led the federal investigation.
New Academy Award winner Brendan Fraser, recently named best actor for his turn in "The Whale," will play lawyer W.S. Hamilton. Two-time Oscar nominee John Lithgow will co-star as Prosecutor Leaward, a man on a mission to convict Hale of murder.
Cardinal (“Dances with Wolves") who is Dene, Cree, Metis and Nakota, will take on the role of Mollie's mother, Lizzie Q. Myers (TV's “Rutherford Falls"), a member of the Wichita Tribe; Collins ("Longmire"), who is Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux and Apsáalooke (Crow); and Dion ("Into the West"), who is Plains Cree, Metis and French-Canadian, will play Mollie's three sisters.
In his live-action acting debut, singer-songwriter Jason Isbell will portray Bill Smith, Mollie's brother-in-law, while fellow Grammy winner Sturgill Simpson will play ex-rodeo champ and bootlegger Henry Grammer.
Native actor Tatanka Means (HBO's “I Know This Much is True"), who represents the Navajo, Oglala Lakota and Omaha Nations, will portray federal agent John Wren, who was part Ute. Michael Abbott Jr. (“The Death of Dick Long") will play federal agent Frank Smith, and Pat Healy (“Bad Education") will portray federal agent John Burger, who were hand-picked by Plemons' White for the investigation.
'Killers of the Flower Moon' will be released in theaters this fall
Following its Cannes premiere, the fact-based Western will open in theaters in limited release starting Oct. 6.
Produced by Apple Original Films, "Killers of the Flower Moon" will open in wide release on Oct. 20.
The French theatrical release is set for Oct. 18.
The movie then will start streaming globally on Apple TV+, although the date that will begin has not yet been announced.
Paramount Pictures is teaming with Apple on the eagerly awaited film's theatrical release.
“Our tribal, state and city leadership all played a critical role in supporting the production of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ in Oklahoma. With respect to the historical events it’s based on, we look forward to the film’s theatrical release,” Oklahoma Film + Music Office Director Jeanette Stanton said in an email to The Oklahoman.
