Killers of the Flower Moon Trivia | 72 facts about the new film

“Killers of the Flower Moon” is the latest film by legendary director Martin Scorsese starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.

Let’s find out some trivia and facts about the film.

1. Killers of the Flower Moon is a 2023 American epic revisionist Western crime drama film
2. The film is directed and produced by Martin Scorsese
3. Scorsese co-wrote the screenplay with Eric Roth
4. Based on the 2017 book of the same name by David Grann
5. Its plot centers on a series of Oklahoma murders in the Osage Nation during the 1920s, committed after oil was discovered on tribal land
6. Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone lead an ensemble cast
7. The cast also includes Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow, and Brendan Fraser
8. It is the sixth feature film collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio
9. It marks the tenth collaboration between Scorsese and De Niro
10. Development began in March 2016 when Imperative Entertainment won the film adaptation rights to the book
11. Scorsese and DiCaprio were attached to the film in 2017
12. With production initially expected to begin in early 2018. Following several pushbacks and delays in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
13. Production was scheduled to commence in February 2021
14. With Apple TV+ confirmed to finance and distribute the film alongside Paramount Pictures
15. Principal photography ultimately took place in Osage County and Washington County between the spring and fall of 2021
16. The film is produced by Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions and DiCaprio’s Appian Way Productions
17. Its $200 million budget is reportedly the largest amount ever spent on a film shot in Oklahoma
18. Killers of the Flower Moon premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2023
19. It was released in the United States on October 20, 2023 by Apple TV+, under their Apple Original Films label, and by Paramount Pictures
20. The film was screened in IMAX
21. It is set for an unspecified streaming release on Apple TV+
22. The film received critical acclaim
23. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 92% rating
24. Based on 280 critics’ reviews
25. With an average rating of 8.5/10
26. The website’s consensus reads: “Enormous in runtime, theme, and achievement, Killers of the Flower Moon is a sobering appraisal of America’s relationship with Indigenous peoples and yet another artistic zenith for Martin Scorsese and his collaborators”
27. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100
28. Based on 55 critics
29. Indicating “universal acclaim”
30. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A-” on an A+ to F scale
31. PostTrak reported an 87% overall positive score among audiences
32. With 72% saying they would definitely recommend the film
33. Killers of the Flower Moon received a nomination for Most Anticipated Film at the 6th Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Film Awards
34. Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma Matt Pinnell cited the film as a reason to increase subsidies for the film industry in Oklahoma
35. The Filmed in Oklahoma Act of 2021 allocated $30 million to film subsidies and bills to increase the total available subsidies to $80 million in 2023 failed in the Oklahoma Senate after passing the Oklahoma House of Representatives
36. In 2021, the Oklahoma Legislature passed Oklahoma House Bill 1775, a bill regulating classroom discussion regarding race and gender
37. After the bill’s passage, a teacher in Dewey, Oklahoma cancelled their lesson plans involving the book Killers of the Flower Moon
38. Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma Matt Pinnell called on the language in the bill to be “clarified so that teachers know what can be taught and not taught”
39. After the release of the film, David Grann spoke out against the bill’s regulations and wrote an New York Times op-ed on the bill
40. In the United States and Canada, Killers of the Flower Moon is projected to gross $20–25 million from 3,621 theaters in its opening weekend
41. The film made $2.6 million from Thursday night previews
42. On March 10, 2016, Imperative Entertainment won the bidding war to make a film adaptation of David Grann’s nonfiction book Killers of the Flower Moon and paid $5 million
43. The studio’s Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas would produce the film
44. In April 2017, it was revealed that Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro were considering involvement in the film, adapted by Eric Roth
45. In July 2017, production designer Dante Ferretti revealed that filming would begin in early 2018, with Scorsese directing and DiCaprio starring
46. However, production stalled until October 2018, when it was announced that the film would be Scorsese’s next effort after completing The Irishman (2019)
47. At that point, filming was due to begin in summer 2019
48. In June 2019, it was announced that Paramount Pictures would distribute the film
49. On July 26, 2019, Scorsese traveled to the Osage Nation in Pawhuska, Oklahoma to meet with Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear to discuss how the Osage Nation could be involved with the film’s production
50. Days later, it was reported that De Niro had joined the cast with filming tentatively set to commence in the summer of 2020
51. In December 2019, Scorsese’s cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto confirmed that the film was expected to start principal photography in March 2020
52. Adding that the “look and feel of the film” was still being figured out
53. At the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards on January 19, 2020, DiCaprio officially announced that he and De Niro will star in the film
54. DiCaprio was paid $30 million for his involvement
55. In April 2020, it was announced that the filming of Killers of the Flower Moon had been postponed indefinitely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
56. Meanwhile, Scorsese had reached out to Netflix and Apple TV+ to finance and distribute the film, as Paramount had concerns about the film’s budget reaching $200 million
57. Paramount was still open to a deal to be involved with the film alongside an additional partner
58. In May 2020, Apple TV+ was announced to co-finance and co-distribute the film, with Paramount remaining as distributor
59. In February 2021, Lily Gladstone and Jesse Plemons were added to the cast
60. Though the role of Tom White, the lead BOI agent, was initially written for DiCaprio, DiCaprio pushed to instead portray the nephew of the film’s primary antagonist played by De Niro
61. As a result, it was reported that Jesse Plemons was cast as Tom White to replace DiCaprio, while DiCaprio was cast as Ernest Burkhart
62. In March, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins and Jillian Dion were added to the cast
63. William Belleau, Louis Cancelmi, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Tatanka Means, Michael Abbott Jr., Pat Healy, and Scott Shepherd joined in April
64. In April 2021, Jack Fisk signed on as production designer for the film, marking the first collaboration between the Oscar nominee and Martin Scorses
65. In June, Steve Eastin, Gary Basaraba and Barry Corbin joined the cast
66. In August 2021, it was announced that Brendan Fraser and John Lithgow had been added to the cast
67. Frequent Scorsese collaborator Robbie Robertson composed the score
68. He was of First Nations ancestry
69. Critics have described it as “old-timey”, “bluesy” and “percussive”
70. The film also features a soundtrack of popular music from the 1920s and Native American songs
71. It was Robertson’s final completed film score before he died in August 2023
72. The film is dedicated to his memory