‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Design Team Felt a ‘Personal Challenge’ to Tell the Osage’s Story Correctly | How I Did It

Authenticity was top of mind when Martin Scorsese and his team set about creating the world of “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The Oscar-nominated film, which is in contention for Best Picture, Director, Actress, Cinematography, Film Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Original Score and Original Song at the Academy Awards, aims to capture the tragic true story of the murders of several Osage in 1921 Oklahoma, and the film’s design team went to great lengths to do service to the tale at hand.

Set during a time when indigenous peoples in the area were tremendously wealthy owing to oil discovered on their land, “Killers of the Flower Moon” chronicles the horrendous series of murders that were designed to transfer ownership of the land back to white people, all told through the eyes of Mollie Burkhart (Lily Gladstone) and her husband Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio).