Leonardo DiCaprio has confirmed he will be teaming up with Robert De Niro once again in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming film Killers of the Flower Moon.
The two actors previously worked together in the 1993 film This Boy’s Life, and DiCaprio fondly recalled the collaboration in a speech at the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards, which took place yesterday, January 19.
DiCaprio took to the stage to present De Niro with the SAG Life Achievement Award, which is given annually to an actor who fosters the ‘finest ideals of the acting profession’.
During his introduction, the Titanic star commended De Niro for his work and made reference to collaborations the award-winner has done with Scorsese, which include Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and, more recently, The Irishman.
DiCaprio described De Niro and Scorsese as ‘unarguably the greatest partnership in cinema history’ before going on to confirm he, De Niro and Scorsese would be working together on the director’s newest film.
The Wolf of Wall Street actor commented:
I have learned so much from the both of them; I’m fortunate to call them collaborators, Bob since This Boy’s Life and Marty since Gangs of New York, and after 30 years to work alongside Bob again in Martin Scorsese’s upcoming drama Killers of the Flower Moon, is a true honour.
Check out his speech here:
The upcoming film is based on a non-fiction book titled Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, written by David Grann.
News of the adaptation first arose in 2017, the same year the book was published, and while DiCaprio and De Niro were rumoured to be involved the casting has only just been confirmed.
The collaboration will be DiCaprio’s sixth film with Scorsese, following Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Grann’s book is set in the 1920s and follows the story of a family from a Native American tribe known as the Osage Nation, who at the time were the richest people per capita in the world after oil was discovered on their land.
The initial oil rush during the first quarter of the 20th century resulted in the gradual mass murder of the Osage Nation, resulting in one of the first ever cases to be taken on by the FBI.
A Star is Born’s Eric Roth is writing the screenplay for Scorsese’s adaptation, and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto has confirmed production is scheduled to begin in March, Collider reports.
DiCaprio, De Niro and Scorsese are a force to reckoned with, so it’s likely Killers of the Flower Moon will be up there with some of their greatest creations.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.