Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli occupation forces carry out an arrest campaign during a raid on Surif, north of Al-Khalil in the southern occupied West Bank.
Syrian Foreign Ministry: Damascus expresses its gratitude to the countries that voted in the UN General Assembly in favor of ending the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan.
Ushakov: Russia and the United States agreed not to disclose the substance of the Putin–Witkoff talks.
Ushakov: No specific formulas were discussed during the meeting, but rather the essence of what was included in the US documents.
Ushakov: Several proposals and possible plans for a settlement in Ukraine were presented during the meeting.
Putin’s adviser Yuri Ushakov said the meeting between President Putin and Witkoff was constructive, practical in nature, and highly useful.
Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, and fired at young men as they resisted the raid.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Turkey: A new attack in the Black Sea targets a Georgia-bound Russian ship
Palestinian press sources: Two Israeli occupation soldiers were injured in the operation
Palestinian press sources: The man who carried out the stabbing operation at the entrance to a settlement north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank has been martyred

Scorsese's 'Killers of the Flower Moon' writer on facts plausibility

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 12 Sep 2023 14:25
4 Min Read

David Grann, who wrote the book under the title "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI", expresses that he is a fan of Scorsese's adaptation which is due to be released in October.

  • x
  • Actors Robert DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese at the premiere of the film
    Actors Robert DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese at the premiere of the film "Killers of the Flower Moon" at Cannes, France, May 2023 (AP)

Writer David Grann, of the book that legendary director Martin Scorsese has made into the film called "Killers of the Flower Moon", says that the trick to consecutive successions is making incredible facts seem "plausible".  

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro, the film speaks volumes of a true-life incident of murder and exploitation among the Osage Native American community in 1920s America. The film comes to cinemas and Apple TV in October, having already premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.  

Grann, who wrote the book under the title "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI", expressed that he is a fan of Scorsese's adaptation.

During his visit to Paris, he told AFP: "The Osage were deeply involved in the production. That's what makes the movie so powerful. It's shot on location, in the very places where this occurred".

Even before it was done, Apple already bought the rights to "The Wager", Grann's next work, for Scorsese and DiCaprio to adapt. "The Wager" is about the story of the British ship, HMS Wager, that was wrecked off the coast of South America in 1741.  

Read next: Hollywood strikes cause delay of Emmy Awards: US media

These are not Grann's first adaptations, as his previous works include "The Lost City of Z" and the story of "The Old Man and the Gun" starring actor and Sundance Film Festival founder Robert Redford.

Not all film is make-believe

Grann, in his writing, usually leaves himself or his experiences out of the content. For example, in his latest book "The Wager", he left out the fact that he visited Wager Island in Chile, where he saw the remains of the HMS ship.  

"I don't write about my own trip because I felt it would have been an intrusion. And yet, that trip was so essential in all my descriptions, and to bring life to them," he said, as the castaways spent five months of winter on the wind-blasted, starving and cold.  

Because it was almost too hard to believe that they could have barely survived the barren place, the writer felt no need to exaggerate or go overboard, and rather said that the hardest task was making the truth "look plausible".  

"There is a lot of tedium about doing the research. But the fun is when you come across things that make your jaw drop," said Grann, who is also a staff writer for The New Yorker.  

One of the moments that made his jaw drop was when he stumbled upon the original journals, which in some way survived, that showed that the ship lost all its sails in a hurricane.

Outbreaks of typhus and scurvy were a problem at the time but the only possible solution was to make the crew climb the masts, hold onto the ropes and use their bodies as sails.  

"I mean, you couldn't make that up, right?" he said, adding: "If they find the right story, people like to take liberties. I'm like, no! Why would I take liberties? So many things are happening".

However, he explained that there still was the need to separate fact from fiction.

"In exploring the facts, you have to explore how they give way to the legend".

Read more: 'Gran Turismo' takes narrow lead over 'Barbie' in North America

  • Hollywood
  • Writers
  • US
  • Martin Scorsese
  • David Grann
  • Killers of the Flower Moon

Most Read

13 elite Israeli troops were wounded in a confrontations in Beit Jinn, Syria.

13 elite Israeli troops wounded in confrontations in southern Syria

  • West Asia
  • 28 Nov 2025
Russia and China are not part of the Resistance Front, but they are playing an important role in building structures to bypass US power and thus facilitate a multipolar and freer world. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

The Resistance Front and BRICS

  • Opinion
  • 29 Nov 2025
Four killed, ten wounded in targeted California shooting in Stockton

Four killed, 10 wounded in 'targeted' California shooting

  • US & Canada
  • 30 Nov 2025
Point-blank killings: 'Israel' executes 2 Palestinian youths in Jenin

Graphic footage: IOF execute 2 Palestinians from point blank in Jenin

  • Politics
  • 27 Nov 2025

Coverage

All
In Five

Read Next

All
Pope Leo XIV waves as he boards a flight back to the Vatican after his visit to Lebanon at Beirut International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, December 2, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Pope Leo urges Trump to avoid military action in Venezuela

Palestinian journalists carry posters and mock coffins with pictures of their colleagues who were killed during the war on Gaza during a symbolic funeral in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday, October 8, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Gaza: 257 journalists killed by Israeli occupation since war began

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro addresses supporters during a swearing-in event for government-organized community committees at the presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, December 1, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Cuba condemns US military threats and intervention in Venezuela

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech at Mt. Herzl, in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, Thursday, October 16, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu ties Syria talks to DMZ in occupied Golan Heights

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS