Both DiCaprio and De Niro are Scorsese’s go-to actors and each starred in many of his films.

Apple Studios, which made Killers of the Flower Moon, is partnering with Paramount to give the film an exclusive theatrical release in theaters around the globe in October following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Fest next month.

Scorsese’s most recent film, The Irishman (also starring De Niro) was famously released on Netflix after a relatively small theatrical run.

“I’m really thrilled to have wide theatrical release before it becomes available at home, which is OK,” said Scorsese, who didn’t sound exactly enthusiastic when he used the word “home.”

After the filmmaker received the award, DiCaprio and Scorsese settled in for a conversation. “I am truly grateful for my experiences working with you, Marty,” said the actor.

The first question addressed the theatrical experience. “It translates differently” than when viewing at home, Scorsese said. Growing up, his family couldn’t afford to go to see live theater, so he discovered the world through movies.

“I had whooping cough and asthma beginning at the age of 3. They kept me from sports … or from laughing too hard,” said Scorsese. “They didn’t know to do with me, so they brought me to the movies.” He saw The Wizard of Oz in 1948 and also recalled seeing the Western Duel in the Sun. “I’ve never gotten over it. I was 5 years old.” He remembered seeing Citizen Kane on TV when he was 15. “It made me aware the camera could speak,” he said.

Scorsese spoke more about Killers of the Flower Moon. “This is my sixth film with Leo and my 10th with De Niro, and my first with both of them together,” Scorsese said during Paramount’s session (he received the longest and loudest applause of the entire week).

“This is a picture designed to be seen on a big screen. It doesn’t mean you can’t appreciate films on home screens, but this is a big-screen movie, and that’s what we made. I can only make this a picture with the collaborators who are remarkable and who are totally dedicated to bringing this story to life on an epic scale.”

The film, which Scorsese and screenwriter Eric Roth adapted from David Grann’s best-selling 2017 nonfiction book, centers on an FBI investigation of a series of murders of the Osage people that took place in Oklahoma in the early 1920s. It became known as the Reign of Terror after oil was discovered on tribal land.

“I’d like to thank the entire Osage nation,” said Scorsese. He also gave a special thanks to Jamie Erlict and Zack Van Amburg of Apple Original Films.

DiCaprio plays Ernest Burkhart, the nephew of cattleman William Hale (De Niro).

Gladstone, who is of Blackfeet and Nimíipuu heritage and first broke out in Kelly Reichardt’s 2017 film Certain Women, plays Mollie Kyle, an Osage woman who has inherited an oil fortune.

The cast also includes Jesse Plemons as Tom White, a former Texas Ranger investigating the murders, and Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion and Tantoo Cardinal.

Said Paramount film boss Brian Robbins of the filmmaker: “Each of his films are wholly distinctive with their own unique Scorsese language, style and signature of cinema … And when Marty works with DiCaprio, the combination is creative brilliance and box office.

Their five previous films grossed $1.3 billion and earned 31 Oscar nominations.”