May 28 (UPI) — Apple is coming aboard Martin Scorsese’s new film “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Variety reported Wednesday that Apple will finance and serve as the creative studio for the project, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro.
Sources said Apple is close to finalizing a deal with Paramount, which will distribute the film in theaters. Imperative Entertainment will produce the project.
Deadline said “Killers of the Flower Moon” will be an Apple original film that receives a theatrical release ahead of its streaming debut. Other studios, including Universal, MGM and Netflix, were interested in the project.
“Killers of the Flower Moon” is based on David Grann’s non-fiction book “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.” The book investigates a series of murders of wealthy Osage Native Americans in the 1920s, after oil deposits were discovered beneath their land in Oklahoma.
Imperative Entertainment acquired rights to Grann’s book in 2016. Eric Roth wrote the original script for the film.
DiCaprio and De Niro previously co-starred in “This Boy’s Life” and “Marvin’s Room.” The pair appeared in the short film The Audition in 2015, which showed them competing for a potential role in Scorsese’s next film.
De Niro recently starred in Scorsese’s film “The Irishman,” which was released on Netflix in November.
