Martin Scorsese is in talks with both Apple and Netflix to distribute his next film, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’.
The Western, which is poised to star Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, is set up at Paramount Pictures but they are reportedly uncomfortable with movie’s escalating budget, with the project expected to cost over $200 million.
According to the Wall Street Journal newspaper, Paramount have told Martin to seek out other partners.
The report claims that the director reached out to both Universal and MGM, although Paramount are still open to a deal that would allow them to participate as a financier or distributor.
The film is based on the award-winning 2017 true crime book ‘Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI’ that centred on members of an Oklahoman Native American tribe in the 1920s whose murders sparked a major federal investigation.
The film-making legend – whose previous credits include ‘Taxi Driver’ and ‘Goodfellas’ – relied on the support of Netflix to make his recent crime epic, ‘The Irishman’, which was turned down by traditional film studios as they did not want to fund the project.
The costly movie featured de-ageing CGI to make the cast appear younger in scenes.
Film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who collaborated with Martin on ‘The Irishman’, said: "Nobody would fund this movie. Scorsese and Robert De Niro struggled for seven years to get funding."
The 80-year-old claimed that the motion picture would not have been made without Netflix.
She explained: "Finally Scorsese’s general manager said ‘Netflix will give you the money and they will leave you alone’ – and they did.
"I can’t tell you what a blessing that was. We’re sorry about the [short] theatrical release but nobody else would make this movie. The film wouldn’t have been made without Netflix."
Martin Scorsese in talks to distribute Killers of the Flower Moon
