Martin Scorsese's planned follow up to The Irishman, Killers Of The Flower Moon, has been going through quite the time of it. While Paramount initially agreed to finance it, the studio balked at the rising cost of the budget. Now a deal has been reached that has Apple taking over both the financing and the rights.
To be clear, Paramount will still be releasing the film into cinemas, but it'll premiere on the small screen via Apple TV+ as the biggest acquisition that the company has made yet – and it has been making some big buys recently. It even beat out Netflix, which ponied up to make The Irishman.
Killers Of The Flower Moon sees Scorsese working with both of his main acting muses – Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio on a story that adapts David Grann's non-fiction bestseller. It's set in 1920s Oklahoma and revolves around the Osage Nation, who were the richest people per capita in the world, after oil was discovered under their land and then they were murdered, one by one. As the death toll rose, the newly created FBI took up the case and unraveled a chilling conspiracy and one of the most monstrous crimes in American history.
Scorsese plans to shoot the film in Oklahoma, though the schedule will naturally have to wait until it's safe for production to kick off. In related Marty news, Scorsese has made a short film to air on BBC Two as part of Lockdown Culture With Mary Beard. It's reportedly an "exclusive and very personal movie" about his lockdown experience during the pandemic. "What I look forward to in the future is carrying with me what I have been forced to learn in these circumstances," Scorsese says. "It is the essential. The people you love. Being able to take care of them and be with them as much as you can." We can't wait to learn that he's binged the entire MCU while sheltering at home. The film will screen on the Beeb today, Thursday 28 May.