Martin Scorsese Thanks Osage Nation For ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’

On Saturday night, when Martin Scorsese collected a gold medallion—the honor given by the DGA to all five of its Feature Film nominees—he thanked his cast and crew and Apple for their support in making Killers of the Flower Moon, but he emphasized his thanks to the Osage Nation for their intrinsic role in the making of the film and its success.

“Primarily I have to reach out and thank the Osage Nation themselves,” he said. “I went out there right before Covid hit, only a couple of times, and got to know them a bit, and I realized I had to change the whole script… Without the Osage, without them in front of the camera, and I gotta tell you, behind the camera, and around us all the time, this certainly would not be the picture you see today.”

Incredibly, this is Scorsese’s 13th special medallion and the show’s host Judd Apatow joked, “I don’t think it’s that special to him anymore.”

Killers of the Flower Moon is based on the real-life systematic murders of members of the oil-rich Osage Nation for their money, starring Oscar nominated Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhart and Leonardo DiCaprio as her devious husband Ernest.

Scorsese said that his experience working with the beautiful scenery of Oklahoma was new to him, too, and he credited his “unrelenting” cast and crew with not only withstanding the 105 degree heat wearing three-piece suits and blankets, but for helping to recreate and capture the exteriors of such a landscape.

“I’m a New Yorker, so for me to have made a picture in Oklahoma, the land and the light… For me an exterior shot is a long hallway with a lightbulb,” Scorsese said as the audience laughed. “Waayyy downtown.”

Jonah Hill presented the medallion to Scorsese and joked, “When the greatest director of all time asks you to present him an award you say one thing: ‘How much?’”