Native Americans Actors Opt Out of “Killers of the Flower Moon” Premieres as SAG-AFTRA Strike Continues

Details

By Darren Thompson

October 16, 2023

None of the “Killers of the Flower Moon” actors will walk the red carpet at Monday night’s Hollywood premiere due to the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA actors strike that began on July 14, 2023.

Last week, the film’s premiere in New York City was also a no-show for the actors. 

As “Killers of the Flower Moon” premieres at theaters around the globe this Friday, the film’s acting talent is opting out of promoting the film because of the strike by the actors guild. However, Academy-Award winner Martin Scorsese, the film’s director, producers of the film and others in the industry, as well as representatives from the Osage Nation attended the event.

Scorsese, producers and some members of the Osage Nation are in Hollywood for tonight’s premiere.

Cara Jade Myers, a Wichita actress who plays Anna Kyle Brown in the film, sister of Mollie Burkhart who is played by Lily Gladstone (Blackfeet/Nez Perce), said in a public posting on her Instagram that she is heartbroken that she and her other cast members cannot attend the premieres.

“I know I’m not the only one devastated that we can not attend these events,” said Cara Jade Myers on her social media on Monday. “Every cast member I’ve talked to has been heartbroken. And the emotions oscillate from devastation to pure rage and back again.”

Myers’ character, Anna Kyle Brown, disappears and sets the stage for the investigation that reveals a conspiracy where Osage people were targeted and then murdered for their land. 

The “Killers of the Flower Moon” film is based on a 2017 book with the same title written by David Grann. It tells the story of brutal murders of Osage families after oil was discovered on their lands in 1920s Oklahoma. People of the Osage Nation who had oil-rich land were targeted by white men and murdered, leading to one of the first major investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Lily Gladstone, Cara Jade Myers, Tantoo Cardinal, Brendan Fraser, and members of the Osage Nation.

“But as truly heartbroken that I am, I know that this is about the Osage finally having their story told,” Myers said. “This story is bigger than any of us and needs to be seen and discussed.”

Myers said that none of the actors are promoting, including attending any of the premieres, the film because of the current actors strike. “We’re having an actors strike which prohibits us from these things,” she said.

The 3 1/2 hour film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in France on May 20, with a 9-minute standing ovation. The film’s acting talent including DiCaprio, DeNiro, Gladstone, Myers, Cardinal, Tatanka Means, and others walked the red carpet for the worldwide premiere. 

Due to the strike, they haven't since appeared at an industry premiere.

More Stories Like This