Prince William once revealed to Kevin Costner that his mom, Princess Diana, had a secret crush on him. Costner is now recalling the moment years later.
Kevin Costner tells C&I about his quest to make Horizon, the multipart big-screen western epic— and sets the record straight on his relationship with Yellowstone. At the heart of Horizon: An American Saga, the prodigiously ambitious and dramatically potent western epic starring and directed by Kevin Costner, there is a scene where the commander of a far-flung 1860s Army post (Danny Huston) explains to a concerned subordinate (Sam Worthington) why, despite the rigors of overland travel by wagon train, and despite the repeated attacks by Indians who are understandably protective of their land, nothing will stop the seemingly endless waves of pioneers bent on settling the West. “These people,” the commander says, not entirely sympathetically, “think that if they’re tough enough, smart enough, and mean enough, all this will be theirs someday. There’s no army of this earth that will stop those wagons coming. Little as they be wanted.” But what will happen when those hearty pioneers see along the sides of the trail the countless graves of those who went before them, and didn’t survive the journey? The commander shrugs. The newcomers will think they’re luckier, and that they’ll survive and thrive. “And you know what?” he adds. “Some of them will.” Costner serves as director, writer, actor, and producer on Horizon: An American Saga, which he intends to release as four films, with the first two opening June 28 and August 16. Costner intends Horizon as ultimately a series of four films — with the first two opening this summer, June 28 and August 16 — that, while focusing on a roughly 15-year period before and after the Civil War, will dramatize, even-handedly and excitingly, how the allure and promise of new lives in a new land fueled an unshakable belief in what has become known, for better or worse, as Manifest Destiny. Some of the characters journey westward to fulfill dreams. Others move along to escape lives that have become nightmares. And still others — specifically, the Native Americans who inhabit the lands that the settlers covet — must cope with the repeated appearances by these intruders. Some live. Some die. And, yes, some kill. Costner earns his top billing in Horizon with his meticulously understated yet richly detailed performance as Hayes Ellison, the traditionally laconic western protagonist who never goes looking for trouble — goes out of his way to avoid it, actually — yet finds it follows him like a faithful dog. But he is just first among many in an exceptional ensemble cast that also includes (in Part 1) Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Jena Malone, Abbey Lee, Michael Rooker, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jeff Fahey, Will Patton, Tatanka Means, Owen Crow Shoe, Ella Hunt, and Jamie Campbell Bower. I caught up with Costner in March — by sheer coincidence, the 33rd anniversary of the night he won Oscar gold as Best Director of Best Picture winner Dances With Wolves — just as he was putting the finishing touches on Horizon: An American Saga — Part Two. Since he’d recently been under so much pressure while making not just one but two epics while avoiding tabloid reports about his possible departure from the popular TV series Yellowstone and the breakup of his 20-year marriage, I figured it might be a great idea to break the ice with a different spin on a predictable question. Costner stars as Hayes Ellison, a loner who attempts to mind his own business. Cowboys & Indians: So, it’s been quite a while since you directed this actor, Kevin Costner. Since the terrific 2003 western Open Range, as a matter of fact. Has he learned anything since you last worked with him? Kevin Costner: [Laughs] It’s really hard to know. I mean, I look at this movie, and the thing that stands out to me is not what I’ve learned, but maybe what I’ve brought to bear in getting it shot in 52 days. I shot Dances in 106, Wyatt Earp was about 115, and we did this in 52 — and it’s actually as big if not bigger than both of those. C&I: But your lead actor wasn’t one of your problems? Costner: I am a better actor now than I was. I’ve consciously tried to become better — but I typically don’t give myself as much time as the other actors. And it takes somebody else to say, “Why don’t you give yourself another take?” But nobody was indulged on this movie. I didn’t move until I thought I had it. But as I’ve been in that editorial process, I can’t tell you how many times when I’ve seen a scene as I’m editing it, and I think, “Okay, that’s really good. Let’s see the second take.” And I get this dumb look from my editors and they go, “That’s all there is, one take.” And so I’ve got coverage — as you can see, it blends together really well. But we were out there on the razor’s edge trying to get through those days when you’re not doing one scene a day, but doing three. 1/2 The cast of Horizon: An American Saga includes Sienna Miller and Sam Worthington (above) in Part 1. C&I: I think it’s safe to say this has been a labor of love for you. I mean, you have mentioned Horizon to me as a dream project several times over the years. And at one point, you even said, “This might even be three movies.” Well, you’ve kind of upped the ante a little bit, haven’t you? Costner: Well, as Mark Twain said, “He didn’t exaggerate, he just remembered big.” It went to four — what can I say? It’s a labor of love. And the reality is, I don’t fall out of love with something I think is good. I just continue to push it. I mean, the wisdom of having the first one, written in 1988, be essentially rejected — nobody saw any value in it — and me turning around and not putting it in the drawer, but instead come out firing and write four more is kind of ... I don’t know. That’s probably therapy stuff, right? Somebody might say, “Why would you do that?” I mean, conventional wisdom was not allowing this movie to be made. But that being said, my feeling about conventional wisdom is: What if everybody’s wrong? C&I: Do you think if Yellowstone had not come along and become as popular as it has, you might still be out there beating the bushes trying to find somebody to back Horizon? Costner: No, not at all. Because I used my own money this time. Nobody beat the door down for the four. They rejected all four. I put my own money up. I was just going to do it because I realized I needed to work more. I lost a whole year when we didn’t work on Yellowstone. And I realized that couldn’t happen again. And so I just recommitted myself to Horizon, essentially burned my ships, and I realized it was time to do this for, really, a lot of reasons. C&I: Such as? Costner: I just thought it was a really good offering. And that’s really what I’m in the business for, to offer up a level of entertainment that gets over my bar, that I think can entertain not only the person watching it opening weekend, but somebody watching it 30 years from now. Actor Jamie Campbell Bower (opposite Costner) stars as Caleb Sykes, the eldest son of a family of outlaws. C&I: How difficult has it been for you to focus on the task at hand, which is in effect making two movies and finishing them to be released in the same year? I don’t have to tell you, you’ve had your personal life in the tabloids. You’ve had your professional life in the tabloids. How do you decide not to talk about the divorce, or Yellowstone, and simply focus on making this scene match that scene? Costner: Well, people are going to write what they want to write, and people are responsible for what they say in these things. And I look at what’s being said in many instances, and I know the truth, but I don’t feel the need to try to set the record straight every time there’s something going on. I mean, now I can talk about these things because we’re talking about them within the lines with my movie. I don’t try to live in the press outside of making movies. But when people are saying all these things, you don’t really see me say much. I know what’s true. And you can read between the lines. Like, you never thought I’m really a person who only wanted to work one week [on Yellowstone]? You don’t believe that was true? C&I: [Laughs] No, Kevin, I really don’t. Costner: So, I could tell you exactly how that came about, but that’s simply not the truth. And I’m always kind of disappointed that people can’t set the record straight. That’s just simply not true. I had given Yellowstone 25 days in November and December [of 2022], 25 days of my shooting, but the scripts never came. I gave them the month of March per a contract, and the scripts didn’t come. So, I really am going to make my movie, because I have 300 people waiting. So, I said, “Look, I will stop for a week before I start to shoot. And if you want to kill me, or you want to do something elegant for the show, because I love the show — I’ll give you a week.” So for them to take that gesture, and that’s all that was — and look, I don’t know any director that would take a week off before he started shooting, but I gave them the most valuable thing I had, which was time, three different times. And to turn around and use that as a statement against me is disappointing. And it was disappointing that nobody on that side would come out and say, “That’s just simply not true. He offered that as a gesture when we couldn’t figure out how to do things.” The ensemble cast includes Luke Wilson (center), who appeared in the 2016 western Outlaws and Angels. C&I: So basically what you’re saying is because of the Yellowstone production delays ... Costner: Let’s get the scripts, let’s go do it. But it’s hard to write that much. And there’s a tremendous load on [producer and series co-creator Taylor Sheridan], but I have to take care of myself. Make no mistake, I love Yellowstone. I love the people that love it. I wanted to keep making that and making this movie. I didn’t do Horizon because I wasn’t doing Yellowstone anymore. I did Horizon because I wanted to do Horizon while I was doing Yellowstone. Yellowstone had a first position, and in each instance, it was negotiated for. I gave them a preferential spot every time. Every time. So I felt like I needed somebody on that side to speak up and say that version, and they never did. I don’t know why. I don’t know why that was so hard. It just confused the cast and it confused the people who love the show. C&I: While we’re talking, they still haven’t started filming the final Season 5 episodes of Yellowstone. Is it reasonable to expect you’ll make some sort of appearance in at least one of them? Costner: I don’t know that it’s reasonable. I know I’m open to it, but I don’t know that it’s reasonable to think that it can happen. I don’t have anything to do with how they are doing things. I like the character. I’d love to see it go on. I’d love for it to continue to be inventive. C&I: Let’s get back to Horizon. Back when I interviewed you for our cover story on Open Range, you mentioned that How the West Was Won was one of your all-time favorite westerns, not only because it had spectacle, but a love story as well. How much did How the West Was Won influence you while making Horizon? Costner: Well, I saw How the West Was Won when I was seven. And I think if it could engage a 7-year-old boy to not look at his watch, and be able to watch the screen on his own, it just informed me that if things are interesting, if they’re compelling, if the screen picture is continuing to change and when it changes, it changes to something equally interesting, and then it starts to form a weave and suddenly these things that you were willing to watch on an individual basis began to somehow get closer and closer together, and then all of a sudden you see intersections — I love that kind of storytelling. And that’s what I have tried to do with Horizon. The multipart film epic, which takes place against the landscape of the vast western frontier, is Costner’s first return to directing since his 2003 film Open Range. C&I: So you finished the first two, is that correct? Or are you still editing the second film? Costner: Yeah, I’m looking to finish the montage for the end of [Part] 2. Just the way you saw a montage happen at the end of [Part] 1 — it advances things — this material has to be pulled from [Part] 3. So I was actually writing [Part] 3 when I walked over here to talk with you. I was starting to bend the scene to my will. C&I: When will you know for certain you can go ahead with [Parts] 3 and 4? Costner: Well, you know for certain I’m going to make them. C&I: There you go, C&I readers! You’ve heard it straight from Kevin Costner himself! Costner: [Laughs] But it’s not an easy task to go out and find that kind of money. I’ve run out of property I can mortgage. I mean, I see where it says something like I have $20 million into the film, right? You’ve read that. C&I: Yes, but ... Costner: Well, it’s not — it’s $38 million, okay? Cash. It’s $38 million. And if it has to be, it will be more. You might ask yourself, “A person who writes [Part] 4 when no one liked [Part] 1? What is it going to take for you to get the message?” But to me, it’s like, I will look and see what I own and maybe keep a few things that I won’t forfeit, but I don’t want to hold onto things so tight that I can’t accomplish the things I want to accomplish. Maybe the reason I have some nice things that I could risk is because this is the life I chose, and so I can identify the amount of things I need, what my family needs. But some of these other things, for as much as I’ve worked for them, and hard, I’m also not going to be a slave and hold onto them and let something else that I’m trying to do suffer when they’re sitting right there. You could, biblically speaking, look at them and go, that’s why they were there. And I’m not going to lose it. I’m going to make it. I’m going to look at those graves where those people are on the side of the road, and I’m not going to be with them, Joe. I’m going to get there. This cover story appeared in our July 2024 issue. PHOTOGRAPHY: Richard Foreman, Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures Explore:EntertainmentFilm
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