Editor’s note: This will start a regular column for Deadline journos to plant their flag in deals, hires and firings and industry developments before they’re fully baked.
EXCLUSIVE: The fall festivals have locked in the final selections that will drive next year’s awards season. There is a lot of intrigue surrounding two films by Apple, the reigning Best Picture winner. These films could fill in some gaps in the race. The Dish heard that Killers of the Flower MoonThe Martin Scorsese-directed, Martin Scorsese-directed, adaptation of the David Grann book will not be in the Oscar race. Alternative plan: The film that stars Leonardo DiCaprio alongside Robert De Niro will have a worldwide premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival next June. And in a development that could be a future template for streamers look to recoup some of the mega-budgets of the event films they’ve been making, Killers of the Flower MoonParamount would release the film in a theatrical release. This was always part and parcel of the deal.
A Cannes-to-theater rollout would be reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in HollywoodThis movie was a box office smash and was still considered in the Oscar race a full year later. Brad Pitt won Best Supporting Actor, while Best Picture received 10 nominations. The makers of Killers of the Flower Moon have similar awards aspirations and the film will certainly have high awareness when it lands on Apple TV+, because of a proper P&A-fueled wide release. Eric Roth scripted the fact-based drama, which follows a series on mysterious murders committed by wealthy Osage Native Americans after oil deposits were discovered beneath their land. The FBI was founded in the wake of this investigation. DiCaprio and De Niro have been Scorsese’s go-to stars for years, since De Niro raved about the young actor when they starred together in This Boy’s Life.
***
Another amazing Apple title Emancipation, has in numerous reports been scratched from the upcoming awards-season race because of last year’s Best Actor winner Will Smith’s moment of Oscarcast infamy. We hear that Apple never dated the film. EmancipationIt may make its debut on Apple TV+ in the latter part of this year or early next. Sources claim that the picture is now complete. It has been tested many times and received very high scores. Smith plays Peter in the William N. Collage-directed drama. The film portrays Smith as an enslaved man. ApocalyptoA thriller of the same style about Peter’s desperate escapes from slavery through the Louisiana swamps. Peter joined the Union Army when he reached the North. Doctors were stunned when Peter removed his shirt, showing the scars of a nearly fatal beating to his back. They took photos and they were published in newspapers around the world. They were a horrifying testament to the brutality and cruelty of slavery in antebellum South. They are so ingrained that they can be considered a precursor for the publication of Emmett Till photos and video of George Floyd’s murder.
The Academy ban Smith for a decade. However, The Dish was able to hear that Smith had been banned by The Academy. EmancipationAntoine Fuqua’s best film director since Antoine Fuqua. Training Day. It could also be considered for awards in this fashion. Smith delivers a stellar performance. But, the question is whether Smith might be able to take himself out of contention for actor and producer. Smith has been expected to be a prominent mea culpa with Oprah or another celebrity, but it has not been confirmed.
Stay tuned for updates on both fronts. Apple did not respond.