Okla. pathologist lands on 'Flower Moon' set after letter to Scorsese: 'like writing to Santa Claus'

When she heard Martin Scorsese would be making "Killers of the Flower Moon" in Oklahoma, Dr. Cheryl Niblo decided to write the iconic filmmaker a letter.

"I told my boss, 'I wrote to Martin Scorsese because I want to try and do consulting on this movie.' And he's like, 'Oh, that's nice.' It was like I was a little kid, and I had written to Santa Claus — and then I never heard anything," said Niblo, a Tulsa-based forensic pathologist who at the time worked for the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

"It was six months later when I got an email. And I told him, 'I just got an email from Martin Scorsese's production company.' And he was like, 'What?!' But they covered for me ... and were very supportive."

As unlikely as it sounds, a year after she penned her letter, Niblo made her first trip to the set as a consultant on Scorsese's star-studded, $200 million, fact-based epic.

Her name even appears in the credits for the almost 3 1/2-hour film, which opened at No. 2 at the domestic box office over the weekend with $23 million, plus rave reviews and an “A-” CinemaScore from audiences.

"I had read the book ... and I knew there were some medical and forensic aspects to the film. So, I basically decided just to go out on a limb, and I just wrote him a letter and sent it to his production company," she recalled.

"It was a really good experience."

'Killers of the Flower Moon' out now: What to know about true history, Osage people who made film

'Killers of the Flower Moon' re-creates real-life Oklahoma history

Adapted from David Grann's New York Times best-seller “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI," Scorsese's movie chronicles the serial slayings of Osage Nation citizens in 1920s Oklahoma after an oil boom made them the richest people per capita in the world.

Some Osage people were poisoned, some were shot and some were even bombed in what became known as the "Reign of Terror," eventually leading to an investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Investigation, the forerunner of the FBI.

"We're incredibly proud of the success of 'Killers of the Flower Moon' during its theatrical release thus far," Oklahoma Film + Music Office Director Jeanette Stanton said in a statement to The Oklahoman.

"Not only does this film highlight the incredible work of our state's film industry and workforce, but more so, it is an incredibly important and powerful story in the history of the Osage Nation."

Forensic pathologist worked with Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone on 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Scorsese filmed "Killers of the Flower Moon" in and around Osage County in 2021, and Niblo said she visited the set about seven times over that summer to consult on the movie.

"There were just some basic medical things that they needed consulting on because there were going to be some scenes with a doctor's office and doing a physical exam," said Niblo, who now works as a traveling forensic pathologist, or locum doctor.

"Then, I showed Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone how to give injections ... and worked with the prop syringes and how it would be believable with the prop vials."

The movie centers on Mollie Kyle Burkhart (Gladstone, who is NiMíiPuu, or Nez Perce, and Siksikaitsitapi, or Blackfeet) a real-life Osage woman who lived on the tribal settlement of Gray Horse, near Fairfax.

Mollie suffers from diabetes and receives insulin injections administered by her husband, Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio), a shiftless World War I veteran who is caught between his love for his wife and the deadly plot masterminded by his ruthless uncle, William K. Hale (Robert De Niro).

But Niblo said she primarily worked with actors Steve Witting and Steve Routman, who play Dr. James Shoun and Dr. David Shoun, a pair of real-life brothers who were secretly in on the plot to kill off Osages for their oil rights.

"There was more of a forensic scene (with them) with a somewhat spur-of-the-moment autopsy," she said. "I'm really looking forward to seeing the autopsy because that was one that I was the most involved in."

Forensics consultant from Oklahoma met with Scorsese, Robert De Niro

Along with coaching the actors on medical techniques, Niblo said she worked closely with the props department.

"There was a whole lineup of antique medical instruments ... and I got to pick out what I thought was the most authentic instruments and how they would use them and just how they would go about doing the scenes," she said. "I actually had a lot of leeway as far as how everything would look."

After sending her unlikely letter to Scorsese, Niblo said she got to speak with the legendary director "a handful of times." She also got to meet De Niro and pose for a photo with the two cinema icons.

"That was very exciting ... and they were both really nice," Niblo said. "Everybody was gracious and friendly, but they were focused on the work at hand."

Learning just how much work goes into making a movie like "Killers of the Flower Moon" was eye-opening, she said.

"It was very impressive. ... It just hit home how many people are involved in a movie and just all the activity and just how much work it actually is. Organized chaos is kind of what it was like," she said.

"My thoughts were, too ... how much the editing and music play into the whole movie. Because you watch them do the scenes, and it looks fine. But you just realize, basically, what goes into the quote-unquote movie magic."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma pathologist wrote letter to Scorsese, lands on 'Flower Moon' set