Killers of the Flower Moon:
Reframing History

A Conversation with P. Scott Sakamoto, SOC & Steven Matzinger, SOC
Hosted by David Daut

Over a career that has spanned six decades, director Martin Scorsese has often returned to the theme of examining the dark heart of American greed. But rather than gangsters or stock brokers, Killers of the Flower Moon turns its attention to ordinary people—cab drivers and undertakers and doctors—who are willing to commit, commission, and turn a blind eye towards horrifying acts of violence and cruelty motivated by greed and justified by dehumanizing racism.

In a conversation with Camera Operator, A Camera and Steadicam operator P. Scott Sakamoto, SOC, and B Camera operator Steven Matzinger, SOC, talk about what it was like to be part of this film. From the experience of working with such an acclaimed filmmaker to the sobering emotion of recreating this dark chapter of our history alongside the very people whose lives it impacted.

Based on the book by David Grann, Killers of the Flower Moon recounts the events surrounding the Osage murders of the 1920s. After oil was discovered on the Osage Reservation at the turn of the 20th century, members of the Osage Nation became some of the richest people in the United States, effectively overnight. And with that wealth came white Americans desperate to claim it as their own by any means necessary—up to and including murder. The film focuses primarily on Ernest Burkhart and his uncle, William King Hale, as the two of them scheme to take possession of a fortune from Ernest’s Osage wife, Mollie. Killers of the Flower Moon is directed by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Eric Roth and Scorsese. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, and Jesse Plemons.

Killers of the Flower Moon:
Reframing History

A Conversation with P. Scott Sakamoto, SOC & Steven Matzinger, SOC

Hosted by David Daut

BEHIND THE SCENES OF KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

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P. Scott Sakamoto, SOC

P. Scott Sakamoto, SOC, has been operating A Camera and Steadicam since 1992. Scott has had the privilege to work early in his career with Haskell Wexler, Conrad Hall and Caleb Deschanel, all of whom greatly influenced his aesthetic and filmmaking style. This led to more opportunities to work with great cinematographers including Wally Pfister, Matthew Libatique, Rodrigo Prieto, and Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki. Scott’s credits include Road to Perdition, The Dark Knight Rises, The Revenant, A Star is Born and the upcoming Maestro.

Steve Matzinger, SOC

Steve Matzinger was twice nominated for Camera Operator of the Year by the SOC. In 2019 he won the award alongside Chris Haarhoff for their work on Westworld. Steve’s career in film and television has spanned over thirty years. He started loading film on Thelma & Louise and Basic Instinct, pulled focus on Master and Commander, and went on to operate on television shows such as Westworld and Ray Donovan. His most recent work was as the B Camera operator on Killers of the Flower Moon.

David Daut

A writer and critic for more than a decade, David Daut specializes in analysis of genre cinema and immersive media. In addition to his work for Camera Operator and other publications, David is also the co-creator of Hollow Medium, a “recovered audio” ghost story podcast. David studied at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and works as a freelance writer based out of Long Beach, California.

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