Martin Scorsese said he was “disappointed” that the stars of his latest film, Killers Of The Flower Moon, could not attend its London premiere amid the Sag-Aftra actors strike.
The epic Western crime saga – starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Jesse Plemons – is based on the non-fiction book of the same name about the murders of the Osage Native American tribe after oil is found on their land.
The film is screening at the BFI London Film Festival on Saturday after its world premiere in Cannes earlier this year.
“I’m disappointed that we don’t have the actors,” 80-year-old Scorsese told the PA news agency on the red carpet.
It comes amid the US actors’ strike which rumbles on and has already affected international film festivals such as Venice, Telluride and Toronto.
Scorsese continued: “It’s a good time for them to be here and to enjoy, even if it’s just a moment of getting a picture taken together, everything they went through, the film took a number of years to make.
“The pandemic took its toll, there’s no doubt. It took its toll on time and interruptions. But we finally got it done and it’s been a very special film for me.
“Especially over the years trying to get it in a shape that is a story I wanted to tell along with Leo, and Lily Gladstone and De Niro and Jesse Plemons and all the Osage with us on this picture.
“It’s a special film for me and I hope I learned something from it.”
Killers Of The Flower Moon will be released on October 18.
