WhatsNew2Day – Latest News And Breaking Headlines
Leonardo DiCaprio once again teams up with acclaimed director Martin Scorsese for the epic adaptation of David Grann’s non-fiction book, Killers of The Flower Moon.
The film of the same name is a Western thriller centered on the Osage Nation and the dark and tragic period in American history that its people experienced.
“A great record of our history,” DiCaprio says of bringing the story of the Osage people to the big screen.
Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio portray Mollie Kylie and Ernest Burkhart’s relationship in the film.(Provided: Apple TV+)
Killers of the Flower Moon highlights a horrific episode that for too long has gone unrepresented in mainstream American culture.
“The more work I do, especially in the environmental field, the more we realize the systematic persecution of indigenous cultures all over the world,” DiCaprio says.
The actor, who has worked with Scorsese on major Hollywood films such as The Departed, Shutter Island and The Wolf of Wall Street, to name a few, says the film may be about something that happened 100 years ago, but it’s not the only one. isolated incident of such a nature – and more worryingly, the main reason the story resonates with DiCaprio is that even though the event is historic, you can still see it happening today.
“It’s happening all over the world, in Australia. It’s happening in Africa, it’s happening in South America,” DiCaprio says.
“And I keep repeating this quote: the places richest in resources are those that are often the most flooded with blood.”
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast, DiCaprio said award-winning director Scorsese was “completely obsessed” with telling the truth about what happened to the Osage people.
“He was relentless in his quest to uncover the truth about what really happened.”
The film also contained a personal element for DiCaprio, whose work in the environmental sector has made him even more aware of history and the current plight of the planet.
Calling Indigenous people “the stewards of our land,” DiCaprio says our only hope for restoring the planet is in the hands of Indigenous people.
Set in 1920s Oklahoma, the film shows how politics, law, business and all spheres of society worked together to wrest money and land from the Osage people who had found oil on their lands and, in a twist unimaginable at the time, were becoming rich.
Lily Gladstone embodies the role of Mollie to the fullest, says co-star and Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio.(Provided: Apple TV+)
The film explores the relationship between Mollie Kylie, played by Lily Gladstone, and World War I veteran Ernest Burkhart, played by DiCaprio.
Choosing Gladstone was easy for Scorsese, DiCaprio says.
“As soon as Marty met her via Zoom, of course, because we were in the middle of COVID. He said that’s the person I wanted for the role,” he says.
DiCaprio had nothing but great things to say about his co-star, adding “it’s an incredible thing to see” seeing Gladstone embody the character of Mollie and her whole story so well.
“At the end of the day, she’s really the heart and soul of this movie,” DiCaprio said.
For Gladstone, the opportunity to play Mollie couldn’t have come at a better time.
Coping with the pandemic while caring for her grandmother, Gladstone had washed her hands of acting and was going to pursue data analysis.
Until she got the call from Scorsese.
“There’s always a handful of really solid independent directors that I’ll always respond to, but those don’t come around very often,” Gladstone says.
But what was it like working with Hollywood royalty like Scorsese, DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, who plays DiCaprio’s corrupt and scheming uncle, in the film?
Gladstone laughs, adding that DiCaprio invited her to dinner before filming began, and “that was helpful in getting rid of those nervousness.”
But that didn’t mean the nerves went away when the shooting started.
“Every time we started a scene, it was really difficult to keep the shaking under control,” she adds.
And why not ? DiCaprio talks about the honor of working with a genius like Scorsese.
“It’s really hard to express what it’s like to work with someone who lives and breathes cinema that way. It’s part of their DNA,” he says.
“And every time I get the opportunity to work with him, not only do I learn more about film and art forms, but I also learn what it means to be an actor.”
With this film, the Scorsese factor was perhaps even greater. As DiCaprio tells News Breakfast, the director felt the film in his bones.
Projecting it on the big screen, while doing justice to the real events, was an important goal not only for the director, but also for the actors.
Killers of the Flower Moon is currently showing in cinemas.