Horizon: An American Saga (Kevin Costner, 2024)

[DarkImbecile]

Kevin Costner to direct and star in Horizon, a new western and his first directing gig in two decades

[beamish14]

Kevin Costner to direct and star in Horizon, a new western and his first directing gig in two decades

Incredibly excited about this, as Open Range is easily one of my favorite Hollywood films of the 2000’s. He really is an amazing visual stylist.

[DarkImbecile]

Costner’s plans for this are ambitious bordering on crazy:

The “Yellowstone” star told Variety that the project, which is housed with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, is being planned as “four different movies” and that “about every three months, they’ll come out.”

“They’re all different films that all connect, so you’re watching a saga of these storylines that are happening,” said the actor, who was in London doing press for the U.K. launch of Paramount+.

Costner said the film is currently casting and “trying to fill up” 170 speaking roles.

…

Asked whether the film’s four-part configuration may lend “Horizon” to a streaming play, Costner said the project was sold as an “event television movie” but that “what [the studio does] with it will really be up to them because things change really quickly in how people want to see things and what they want to do.

“I’m happiest because at one point in TV — where you can get your largest audience — they’re going to get to see it the way I intended it to be seen. It will eventually be cut up into [hour-long episodes] or 42 minutes — however TV works. But their first viewing of it will be as four 2 hour and 45-minute movies. And every three months, one will come out. If you’re interested in those characters, the hope is that you’ll really want to watch the next one, but it won’t be in hour segments.”

“Horizon” currently has a shooting schedule of 220 days. While the first film will shoot this fall, the next three will be lensed from April 2023 with the trio of titles shooting “at the same time.”

[hearthesilence]

The episodic component (cutting it up into one-hour episodes later on) makes it seem much more grounded. Financially, it's probably not that far from a cable limited series where they have a name director (or star director) doing every episode.

[flyonthewall2983]

Sounds perfect for HBOMAX, who probably won’t mind getting that Yellowstone audience over to their streamer for this. Very cool he is getting to do something with the kind of scope he was working within in the 90’s, up to the time of Open Range.

[hearthesilence]

Kevin Costner’s Horizon sequel pulled from August release.

It has now been postponed “in order to give audiences a greater opportunity to discover the first installment” according to a statement given to the Hollywood Reporter.

[erok910]

Honestly, this isn't my kinda film and Costner ain't my kinda filmmaker. But if I had more money I would have taken my wife and paid for a night out. I find it devastating to read news like this for some reason. It's not the failure. It's the lack of faith in longevity. I understand completely, everything is driven by money and interests. I get it.

Maybe I'm just empathizing with this rich man a bit too much. I dont really dig Sheridan. I wont even watch Yellowstone, maybe some day. But I hate watching people swing hard and strike out with the same ferocity of the swing itself. Found it interesting my buddy said "Maybe they could have released the first for free within streaming to get us to see the second." In retrospect I think she was fucking brilliant in that assertion. I also think they made a huge mistake somewhere here. I want to see it and still havent. How many are actually interested in this stuff? And imagine people who are willing to watch but aren't able to. Almost my lamenting of times out of nostalgia. I remember being a kid in 2005 and seeing Munich, Capote, Good Night and Good Luck in one 9 hour span before meeting my buddies for King Kong again. It wasn't perfect, but I hate how problematic it is to just make stuff at this point. And hate that we make fun of and tease this idiot doing his best to make something. Can't stress enough, really not a Costner fan. Breaks my heart for some stupid reason.

[beamish14]

I was excited to see this film as well, as studio fare is incredibly risk-averse and predictable this season, and I’ve always admired Costner’s directorial instincts, as I think he’s a fabulous visual stylist. The film did not meet my expectations, but I think it might grow in estimation in hindsight and by taking in the entire saga as a collective whole. I still don’t like Sam Worthington, and Michael Rooker’s accent was appalling, but most of the other performances were solid. It’s a film that definitely demands a strong investment, and that may have been Costner’s greatest miscalculation; a work like this just cannot sustain the interest of of much of its target audience in today’s attention economy.

I don’t think Costner’s personal investment in it is quite as substantial as what Coppola did on Megalopolis, as I believe he pre-sold it to WB/New Line, and he was mostly on the hook for prints and advertising. He has a remarkable financial acumen, as his background prior to becoming an filmmaker was in business, and he continues to operate a profitable casino in South Dakota.

I’m guessing that Part IV will be scrapped, folded into the already-filming III, or maybe get a new life if this installment garners strong viewing numbers on HBO Max, which I suspect it will

[domino harvey]

I read that Costner put in $38 million of his own money

[beamish14]

I read that Costner put in $38 million of his own money

That’s the figure I’ve seen. Other sources said it was closer to nine figures, but this sounds more reasonable. His first divorce supposedly cost him $100 million, so he’s not hurting for money, but he did have to leverage land that he owns in Southern California to make this

[hearthesilence]

I actually got free passes to see this at a 92nd St. Y screening with Costner and the cast present - when I couldn't make it due to a last-minute trip, virtually everyone I knew (not cinephiles) quickly passed on them until one couple took them, and they ended up not using them as they were too tired to go out. The lack of enthusiasm from people with very mainstream tastes seemed to be a really bad sign.

[Aunt Peg]

This completely tanked at my local cinema of choice. I saw it last Thursday afternoon with a total of four people in attendance. Needless to say it closed on the following Wednesday. I saw Kinds of Kindness today at virtually the same afternoon session time (Thursday in my part of the world) and there were only three of us in the cinema.

I'm really noticing that outside of anything with mass appeal or at a festival type screening films are barely getting bums on seats. Feels like sad last days of cinema to some degree.

[captveg]

I really liked the film, and on both Blu-ray.com and HTF others that have seen it have also seemed to generally enjoy it. Its demographics definitely skew older (45+), and if there's any demographic that used to be ardent movie goers that have yet to come back to their same pre-Covid numbers it's the older one.

In regards to finances, there's been some oft repeated incorrect totals in the trades. What we know is that Costner spent $38m for Chapter 1, and that the overall budgets of C1 & C2 combined is around $100m (trades keep saying that C1 alone is $100m, which contradicts this being the previously reported C1 & C2 combined budget. I tend to think the original claim of it being the shared budget is more accurate). Costner has also stated that his investment for C1-3 combined is $98m, and that he was planning on going over $100m to try and fund C4. Aside from Costner the other investors are two associates of his. We do not know who they are, but they are non-Hollywood friends of his. (I could see it being some people from the water/oil separating company he's involved with).

Considering Hollywood has essentially zero at stake over this it's discouraging to see the trades so seemingly gleeful over its struggles to find an audience. Between Costner and Coppola the attitude seems to be "get 'em for doing it outside our system" rather than appreciating them for taking some risks for projects they are passionate about. The coverage of Costner has a weird tinge of "finally got him" going back to the pre-release skepticism of Dances with Wolves. They have their true "Kevin's Gate" now, it seems.

[hearthesilence]

This completely tanked at my local cinema of choice. I saw it last Thursday afternoon with a total of four people in attendance. Needless to say it closed on the following Wednesday. I saw Kinds of Kindness today at virtually the same afternoon session time (Thursday in my part of the world) and there were only three of us in the cinema.

I'm really noticing that outside of anything with mass appeal or at a festival type screening films are barely getting bums on seats. Feels like sad last days of cinema to some degree.

Sad indeed. NYC's very different than most places - I remember my shock at being shut out of a normal repertory screening of Visconti's The Leopard when I first moved here - but I do remember how much emptier the theaters were outside of Chicago for arthouse fare and I doubt it's gotten better.

Anyway, I never had high expectations for this film, but as captveg mentioned, I take no pleasure in knocking it either - the glee some have in its failure does reek of the usual prejudice you find against anyone bold enough to buck the system, even if it's at the service of very conventional work.

[Swift]

It's demographics definitely skew older (45+), and if there's any demographic that used to be ardent movie goers that have yet to come back to their same pre-Covid numbers it's the older one.

I took my 15 year old son to this a couple of weeks ago as we're both back into playing Red Dead Redemption 2 recently and this is the first western that's opened in cinemas in years. We enjoyed it but when the lights came on in the surprisingly half full theatre, I looked around and said "Y'know, you're the youngest person in this room". To which he looked around and quipped "Yeah, and I think you're the second youngest"

[beamish14]

There were even less people at a screening of The Bikeriders that I attended. This is why my were stuck with Despicable Me 4, Wolverine Movie #7, and people like Peter Weir have retired

[flyonthewall2983]

It's demographics definitely skew older (45+), and if there's any demographic that used to be ardent movie goers that have yet to come back to their same pre-Covid numbers it's the older one.

I took my 15 year old son to this a couple of weeks ago as we're both back into playing Red Dead Redemption 2 recently and this is the first western that's opened in cinemas in years. We enjoyed it but when the lights came on in the surprisingly half full theatre, I looked around and said "Y'know, you're the youngest person in this room". To which he looked around and quipped "Yeah, and I think you're the second youngest"

I had the same experience with my mother, when we saw A Prarie Home Companion

[Drucker]

I had no idea this film existed until I saw that it was a flop. And I watch cable TV / live sports nearly every night. Was there any marketing?

[beamish14]

I had no idea this film existed until I saw that it was a flop. And I watch cable TV / live sports nearly every night. Was there any marketing?

Not much. I’ve seen print ads all over Los Angeles, but its teaser consists of footage from the sizzle reel for the SECOND film!

[captveg]

Costner footed the bill for what marketing there was, which was mostly him doing the interview circuit. Makes me wonder what exactly Warner/New Line contributed in their distribution deal for Chapters 1 & 2; seemingly nothing more than being the avenue to theatrical venues and home video streaming/discs.

[knives]

The first thing that struck me was how clean everything is as if dirt does not exist. The second was how this story seems too epic even for four three hour movies with this first segment feeling like the impression of the beginning of a story. It’s all really table setting for a larger narrative as we’re invited to see dozens of characters go through these disconnected stories. In lesser hands these might be poor choices, but instead they helped me be engaged with Costner’s madness as it seems he is making a western from the bones of the myths that were in the ‘30s before the war made America hard against itself. Yet this doesn’t come across as an idealized fantasy, rather as a way to make a new kind of leftist western that isn’t beholden by drudgery, didacticism, nor the feeling of being a counterpoint. In a step that suggests a lot of learning from the criticism against Dances with Horses Horizon takes the prejudice and violence of the genre at face value and allows it to critique itself only occasionally showing its hand.

Speaking of Dances, the ambition here is basically on the level of Avatar, but I give Costner all the respect for trying to do this on a smaller budget and in a reasonable amount of time. This goes back to the elliptical feeling of the narrative. I do think the original plan of a film every three months makes a lot of sense as that’s about the time I need to stew on this episode, but much longer would lose out on the tract of the narrative. This part does create a rush of seeing how the puzzle comes together that demands sequential viewing.

[jazzo]

Thanks for this, Knives. There's a part of me that always has time for westerns, and though deeply flawed, I still like much of Dances, and like a great deal of Open Range. I remember feeling a ripple of excitement when I saw the first trailer for Horizon, but that quickly faded away after it was met with mediocre reviews upon release. Thanks to you, I'm back in the piqued interest stage!

[pistolwink]

If the ambition was to create a narrative so sprawling that it could only be told in four very-long-feature-length installments, why did Costner not go the streaming miniseries route? Just an idea that his vision could best be experienced on a huge screen?

[knives]

Probably. He’s a movie star and probably wants this project which is likely to be the last thing he gets to make to be a star project and not just another forgettable streaming filler.

[flyonthewall2983]

Don't hold your breath for the sequel to come out