In Killers of the Flower Moon, a sequence shows Robert De Niro’s character spanking his nephew, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. How was it shot?
Released in cinemas on October 18, Killers of the Flower Moon had a promising first weekend with 328,000 admissions. Despite its duration of 3h26, defended by Scorsese himself, the film attracts French spectators.
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If the feature film appeals to both the press and the public, it is in particular because of its duo of unusual actors: Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio. Both artists were very invested in their respective roles.
The first plays William “King” Hale, a wealthy landowner who seeks to appropriate the wealth of the Osage Indians. The second plays his nephew, Ernest, a former soldier who will allow himself to be manipulated by his uncle in his murderous enterprise.
PLEASE NOTE, THE FOLLOWING REVEALS A PRECISE SCENE FROM KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON. IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING BEFORE SEEING THE FILM, GO ON.
The one who calls himself “King” doesn’t like it when his plans don’t go according to his wishes. Thus, his nephew, clumsy and a little stupid, often pays the price.
In a scene in the film, William Hale punishes Ernest because the latter did not follow his instructions to the letter and the Osage money passed under his nose. To punish him, “King” hits him on the buttocks with a sort of wooden board.
DE NIRO SPANKS DICAPRIO
To shoot this difficult sequence, DiCaprio wore padding on his posterior, revealed cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, interviewed by Insider. “Oh, that must hurt.”commented the technician, congratulating DiCaprio for having been open to Scorsese’s requests during filming.
There was some padding on DiCaprio’s butt. But you could see that De Niro was really hitting him.
“I don’t think that was in the first script.”said Rodrigo Prieto about the spanking scene. “It’s something that was added, and it’s shocking in the film”he assures.
“It must hurt. There was a little padding on DiCaprio’s butt. But you could tell De Niro was really hitting him. Leo is ready for anything. He’s really ready for anything.”underlines the technician.
The two actors were very involved, especially DiCaprio, who also annoyed De Niro during filming because of his sometimes excessive improvisations.
As a reminder, the story of Killers of the Flower Moon takes place at the beginning of the 20th century, in Oklahoma. Oil brought fortune to the Osage people who, overnight, became one of the richest in the world.
The wealth of these Native Americans immediately attracted the lust of disreputable whites who intrigued, extorted, and stole as much Osage money as possible before resorting to murder.