We’re all trying to make sense of Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga,” which seems to have a peculiar background of funding. Along with Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis,” it’s almost certainly the risk of the year in the movie business.
Costner helped fund not one but two of these $100 million-plus Westerns, financed by mysterious parties and Costner himself. Warner Bros. is set to premiere Part 1 at Cannes next month and then release both films, six weeks apart, theatrically in June and August.
I’m now hearing from a source that Costner is not going wait it out to see if the first two films are a success, as he will be returning to Southern Utah this summer to film the third and fourth installments. It seems to be a done deal. Production is said to go on until December. That’s a whopping six months of shooting.
Puck’s Matt Belloni had previously reported that Costner was “soliciting anyone and everyone” to put money into the planned third and fourth installments of what he’s dubbing an “American Saga.” These are all unnamed investors. We had some doubts that Parts 3 & 4 of the ‘Saga’ would get made, but my source, deeply ingrained in prep work for the shoot, tells me it’s definitely happening.
Costner actually spent $24 million of his own money to fund the first two films, both of which are rated R. My best guess is that some of it was Saudi money. In addition, Costner mortgaged 10 acres of his $50 million, oceanfront Santa Barbara property to ensure proper funding for the project. To call these films a risk would be an understatement. The last time Costner directed a film was 2003’s “Open Range”.
In February, Warner Bros unveiled a trailer for “Horizon: An American Saga.” After nearly 30 years of development, Costner seems to be betting it all in pursuing his passion project. Good for him, and I do hope they turn out to be worthy films.
Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, the film tackles the expansion of the Old West and how it was won—and lost—through the blood, sweat and tears of many. The massive cast includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, 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 don’t believe these films would have at all been possible without “Yellowstone” giving Costner a late-career renaissance. These last few years, he’s been the biggest star on TV. There is a good chance that this same audience that made “Yellowstone” a hit might purchase tickets for ‘Horizon’ — that’s the best-case scenario for Costner, and I hope it does turn out to be a hit.