It’s wild to think that in this day and age a director as brilliant as Martin freakin’ Scorsese has a hard time getting his films produced but that’s just the way it is. Paramount famously balked at his budget for Silence, Netflix came to the rescue when The Irishman got too expensive and just a few days ago we found out that Apple had stepped in to finance his upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon, while Paramount will still distribute the picture.
What gives? Scorsese is literally one of the three best auteurs alive so why aren’t studios willing to take the cost of a movie that will almost definitely be well-regarded and an Oscar contender?
In the case of Killers of the Flower Moon, it looks like THR has the answer. According to a new report, the issues Paramount had were regarding the budget (of course) and changes made to the script. They wanted the film to only cost $150 million, despite a preliminary budget in the range of $180 million. That was probably never going to happen but their desire was an indication that they were nervous before production even began. So Paramount was never happy with the cost.
Then there were some alterations made to the script. Scorsese and co-star Leonardo DiCaprio shook things up and changed DiCaprio’s character. Leo was originally going to play the lead good guy, a man working with the newly-formed FBI. But Scorsese and DiCaprio revised the script and it found the Wolf of Wall Street star now playing a villain, the nephew of Robert De Niro’s evil character. DiCaprio will now be playing a bad guy who is “torn between love and the evil machinations of his uncle.” Paramount was not happy about that. If they’re dropping at least $150 million on a movie then they want Leonardo DiCaprio to play someone audiences can root for!
Apparently this change made Paramount feel that the movie was going to be “smaller scale; same budget.” Their concern and hesitation led to Apple being involved. Now Apple will get streaming rights to the film and will cover the entire budget and Paramount will pay for marketing costs. Best of all for Scorsese, the film will get a full theatrical release, which is something he missed with The Irishman. It’s really a win for everyone across the board.
Most interestingly, this news comes after Apple made other big moves to compete with major streamers. They are really trying to make their name as a home for high-brow and well-regarded streaming fare. That is a smart lane to take and if anyone can do it, it’s Apple. They’re very high-brow. Hell, they charge $100 for a damn stylus.