Martin Scorsese has seen the script of his thriller rewritten because of… Leonardo DiCaprio! The shooting of Martin Scorsese's next film is, to say the least, complicated. And as if that's not enough, we learned that Leonardo Dicaprio had half of the script changed. Since the critical success of The Irishman bringing together the legends of Scorsese' s cinema namely Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci , on Netflix, everyone wants to snatch the next film of the great American director. It must be said that this is more than understandable. Indeed, in Killers of the Flower Moon, the filmmaker will bring together the two leading actors of his filmography, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. We note that this meeting will be held almost 30 years after Secret Wounds, a film in which the two actors had already given each other the replica. But the task is very complicated. Indeed, with its pharaonic budget of more than 200 million dollars, the new Scorsese has scared Paramount. As a result, the studio sold the rights to the Apple TV+ streaming platform to the nose and beard of Netflix. In addition, a new deal was signed between Apple and Scorsese. Thus, in the streaming market, Apple is becoming a serious competitor for Netflix. Beyond the legal and financial aspect, Killers of the Flower Moon is perceived as a big gamble especially in this time of pandemic. The latter has already delayed its shooting and the film is therefore scheduled for March 2021. And it was during this extra time that the screenwriter, Eric Roth (Oscar winner for Forrest Gump) had to rework the script. Whose fault..? Leonardo DiCaprio himself! Indeed, the actor would have asked him to make some fairly important changes. Eric Roth confirmed to Indiewire: "Leonardo [DiCaprio] wanted some things to change, we discussed it. He won half of the [arguments]. I won the other half. Recently, rumors reported by The Hollywood Reporter suggested that this latest change was at the root of Paramount's fears and this is what would have pushed the studio to sell the rights to Apple. It must be said that selling a film with Leonardo DiCaprio as a villain rather than a good Samaritan, it does not necessarily have the same weight at the box office, especially for such an ambitious budget. A little reminder… In the initial version, Leonardo DiCaprio was to play the main role, namely that of a federal FBI agent who traveled to Osage County, Oklahoma, to investigate a series of murders. But for his part, DiCaprio absolutely wanted to embody the nephew of the serial killer played by Robert De Niro. No sooner said than done! This major change would have forced Eric Roth to change his point of view of his story and make many adaptations accordingly. It must be said that the eponymous book is told from the point of view of the FBI agent and that reworking the story through that of the nephew of the serial killer will necessarily require a lot of work in terms of dramatic and narrative stakes. Thus, the writing would still be in progress if we believe Indiewire. It remains to be seen what it will really be, since the two men had the right to half of their desires. Business to follow…
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