Martin Scorsese on Building Trust With the Osage Nation for ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Martin Scorsese‘s highly-anticipated next project, Killers of the Flower Moon, officially made its debut during this year’s Cannes Film Festival, already receiving solid praise before it releases for general audiences this October. Based on the non-fiction book by David Grann, the film chronicles the devastating murders of the Osage people in 1920s Oklahoma, which kicked off an FBI investigation. While Leonardo DiCaprio leads the film as Ernest Burkhart, Scorsese took strides to involve the Osage people when making the film.

During the Killers of the Flower Moon press conference at Cannes, DiCaprio touched on how the film aims to put more focus on Indigenous people, and how he, Scorsese, and the rest of the team approached the story. He said that Scorsese “was there every day, we were talking to community, trying to hear the real stories, and trying to incorporate the truth as best as we possibly could. And no matter what people feel about the film, I know we all did that work. We tried our very best to pay respects to the real stories and incorporate that.”

Lily Gladstone, who portrays Mollie Burkhart, noted the importance of having allies that will elevate Indigenous stories and voices on a platform like Scorsese’s. She also touches on bringing history like the Osage murders and the massacre on Black Wall Street to light:

“Who else is going to challenge people to challenge their own complicity in white supremacy with such a platform as this man here? Other artists are doing that work, people listen to what this one says. So turning the lens, turning the big lens, the most golden lens, into areas where our communities — we’re speaking of the 1920s Osage community, we are talking about Black Wall Street, Tulsa, and why the hell does the world not know about these things? Our communities always have. It’s so central to everything about how we understand our place in the world. We need these allies.”

RELATED: ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Offers Stunning Performances, But Loses Focus on the Native American Story | Cannes 2023

Martin Scorsese Built Trust With the Osage Nation

Much of the story Scorsese wanted to tell for Killers was built around trust, both within and beyond the screen. And his commitment paid off, according to Osage leader Chief Standing Bear:

“Early on, I asked Mr. Scorsese, how are you going to approach the story? And he said I’m going to tell a story about trust. Trust, trust between Mollie and Ernest, trust between the outside world and the Osage and the betrayal of that trust, deep betrayal. And my people suffered greatly and to this day, this very day, those effects are with us, but I can stay on behalf of the Osage, Martin Scorsese and his team have restored trust and we know that trust will not be betrayed.”

Finally, De Niro spoke about his character, William “Bill” Hale, who was involved with the Osage murders. He first mentions how despite the time gap, many traits about Hale ring true in present society, drawing parallels to a certain 45th President of the United States. Gladstone later noted that the trust the Osage gave Hale extended even beyond his death.

“Lo and behold, what happened there that we never knew of, while we were there was the Black Wall Street Massacre, while we were shooting. So, it’s the banality of evil. It’s the thing that we have to watch out for. And we see it today, of course, with… we all know who I’m gonna talk about, I won’t say the name. Because that guy is stupid and imagine if you’re smart. Even Hale was smart in many ways. So, it’s something that is systemic, and that’s the scary part about it.”

Killers of the Flower Moon premieres in theaters October 6. Watch the trailer below: