‘Moonflower Killers’ Break Motivates Studio to Get Involved – The Hollywood Reporter

Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon

Melinda Sue Gordon

Yet a few independent theaters have added their own intermissions to screenings of Martin Scorsese’s films Moonflower KillersThe film team stepped in to intervene.

Hollywood Reporter I’ve learned there have been isolated incidents of theaters pausing the critically acclaimed film — which Paramount Pictures and Apple Original Films released in theaters on October 20 with a running time of 3 hours and 26 minutes — to allow audience members to take a short break. After news spread about this practice, due in part to a photo that went viral on social media that showed a banner announcing the intermission at the Colorado Theater, studio representatives informed the venue teams that this violated their licensing agreement and obtained assurances that the film would no longer be shown. With a break.

THR He spoke to an employee at a theater who added an eight-minute pause to the film just before the two-hour mark. (THR They are keeping the identity of the theater and employee anonymous because they fear further blowback from studios over the intermission policy, which they say has been discontinued.)

“Everyone was really into it because it’s a longer film, and they were like, ‘I wish we’d gotten it for him.’ Oppenheimer“,” says the individual THR About the audience response to the break. “People can go out, order another drink, stretch their legs, go to the bathroom and not miss anything.”

The employee adds: “People were big fans of it.” We were going to continue doing this with longer films, but now that doesn’t seem to be an option.

“Outside the debate about whether or not there should be an intermission, or whether or not that should be a creative or artistic choice,” says one theater manager, who requested anonymity and whose organization has previously added an interlude to the film. Paramount has done exactly what all movie fans hope studios will do, which is help create the director’s vision on screen exactly the way the director wants it.

THR I have reached out to Paramount and Apple representatives for comment.

Scorsese is known for his films with running times that can test your bladder, and Moonflower Killers is no exception. His 2019 movie on Netflix, Irishactually ran for three minutes longer but did not receive a full theatrical release.

The sheer length of some recent studio titles has sparked controversy in the industry, with director Alexander Payne saying at a recent event: “There are a lot of movies that are too long these days.” Three of the top four highest-grossing films of all time at the global box office – Avengers: Endgame, Avatar: Water Road And Titanic – Run longer than three hours. (symbol picturewhich occupies first place on this list, and extends for a relatively long time of 2 hours and 41 minutes.)

Scorsese talked about the release time of his latest film during a pre-release interview with the magazine Hindustan Times newspaper. He stressed his hope for the viewers’ experience Moonflower Killers on the big screen, though it will be available to stream on Apple TV+ on an unspecified date.

“People say it’s three hours, but come on, you can sit in front of the TV and watch something for five hours,” Scorsese said. “And there are a lot of people who watch theater for three and a half hours. There are real actors on stage, and you can’t get up and walk around. You give it that respect. Give cinema some respect.”

Adapted from the true crime book by David Grann of the same name, Moonflower Killers Stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone in a story centered around a series of murders on Osage Nation land in the 1920s after oil was discovered in the area. Considered a strong Oscar contender, it collected $23.3 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend, marking the third-best national release of Scorsese’s career, not adjusted for inflation.