Martin Scorsese in talks with Apple TV+ to produce & distribute $200M film
Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" has blown its budget, with its production costs reportedly soaring over $200 million, and he wants Apple to save the project.
In an effort to save "Killers of the Flower Moon," director Scorsese and his team have begun reaching out to other studios. Those contacted include Apple's Apple TV+, Netflix, Universal Studios, and MGM Holdings, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Paramount Pictures, the studio originally slated to release the film, is allegedly considering backing out of the project.
"Killers of the Flower Moon" is an adaptation of David Grann's 2017 nonfiction bestseller of the same title. The book explores the real-life murder of oil-rich Osage Nation Native Americans in Oklahoma in the 1920s. The film is set to star Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Nero.
While it would be easy to blame the ongoing pandemic, this isn't the first time a Scorsese project became too expensive for Paramount to bankroll. Scorsese's "The Irishman" had been moved from Paramount to Netflix after the studio decided the project was too costly to produce. Production costs of "The Irishman" have been estimated to be near $200 million, making it one of the most expensive dramas in recent history.
While Paramount hasn't backed out yet, Scorsese's talks with other studios suggest that it is only a matter of time before the studio leaves the project entirely.
If Apple were to secure the rights to distribute the film, it would be one of Apple TV+ highest-profile projects to date -- and the most expensive. For comparison, Apple's first original film, "The Banker", only had a budget of $11 million.
In an effort to save "Killers of the Flower Moon," director Scorsese and his team have begun reaching out to other studios. Those contacted include Apple's Apple TV+, Netflix, Universal Studios, and MGM Holdings, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Paramount Pictures, the studio originally slated to release the film, is allegedly considering backing out of the project.
"Killers of the Flower Moon" is an adaptation of David Grann's 2017 nonfiction bestseller of the same title. The book explores the real-life murder of oil-rich Osage Nation Native Americans in Oklahoma in the 1920s. The film is set to star Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Nero.
While it would be easy to blame the ongoing pandemic, this isn't the first time a Scorsese project became too expensive for Paramount to bankroll. Scorsese's "The Irishman" had been moved from Paramount to Netflix after the studio decided the project was too costly to produce. Production costs of "The Irishman" have been estimated to be near $200 million, making it one of the most expensive dramas in recent history.
While Paramount hasn't backed out yet, Scorsese's talks with other studios suggest that it is only a matter of time before the studio leaves the project entirely.
If Apple were to secure the rights to distribute the film, it would be one of Apple TV+ highest-profile projects to date -- and the most expensive. For comparison, Apple's first original film, "The Banker", only had a budget of $11 million.
Comments
Did they buy a casino or something to add realism?
Sounds like a money pit.
......
edit
Wait a minute, they haven’t even started filming yet. How could they have “blown the budget”?
“Rodrigo Prieto announced that the shooting schedule for Killers of the Flower Moon would begin in March 2020.”
If you're still not convinced, check out how many years and how much tech went into the original Avatar and is going into the sequels before they started shooting. James wants to invent new camera and computer systems and Martin wants to build a new city with period accurate details for all elements. That shit costs money.
Yeah.
I'm all for Scorsese making a new movie. I loved The Irishman. While there is a lot of debate on how factual the movie was (I loved how one critic called De Niro's character the Forrest Gump of gangsters!), the story was very well told and, dodgy effects aside, it was lovely seeing Pacino and De Niro together again.
Scorsese's recent troubles in getting his movies financed sounds a lot like how Kurosawa struggled to get his films made in the twilight of his career. But just like Kurosawa still managed to make the amazing Kagemusha and the absolutely epic Ran, Scorsese will manage to churn out amazing movies.
As a side note, for all the talk about how long The Irishman was, it still isn't the longest De Niro movie. That honour belongs to Once Upon A Time in America. The extended director's cut is over 4 hours long and is still as enjoyable a watch as other Leone films.