Kevin Costnerhas long teased that his upcoming film seriesHorizonwas about as deep to him as a passion project could run, so thereports coming from Cannesthat hail the movie as a Western epic in the biggest sense of the word completely check out. The actor, director, and co-writer not only poured his time, vision, and ambition into the film series, but he also financed a large part of it, ensuring his dream would become as close to what he envisioned as possible. During a conversation with Collider’sSteve Weintraubbefore the film’s Cannesworld premiere, Costner shared how, in makingHorizona reality, not only did the practical effects need to be as big and bold as possible but that his cast and crew needed to be prepared for a challenge like many of them had never faced on the set of a film before.
He explained what it was like filmin a sequence with real fire:
“It’s hard. It started getting cold right around then. It hadn’t been over 100, and when we were shootingthat scene the water was freezing. We had to have a tank out there in case there was a fucking fire, but the water froze in the tank so we couldn’t put out any fire. So, it was unlikely we were gonna burn anything down to begin with. But when you’re out there in the real [world], we’re making a six-hour documentary of the making of these four movies, and we are in complete windstorms.We’re in monsoons out there trying to make a movie.We’re out there with our picks trying to clear the snow to do a scene because there’s no snow. I shotDances with Wolvesin 106 days; we shot this movie in 52. It’s arguably bigger thanDances.”
From ‘Dances with Wolves’ To ‘Horizon’ – Kevin Costner Can’t Get Enough Of The Wild West
It’s fair to say when it was announced that Costner’s next huge project, to follow his long-running appearance onTaylor Sheridan’s beloved TV seriesYellowstone, would be a Western film franchise, no one was exactly clutching their pearls. The man has an affinity with the days of cowboys, outlaws, and the battle over the West, as can be seen in the projects that have dotted his decades-long career. Of course, it also drummed up memories for many of us of the actor’s first foray into filmmaking through 1990’sDances with Wolves.
Returning to that part of the country’s history is a great move on Costner’s part for a myriad of reasons that reach much further than his love for the subject.Dances with Wolvesstill holds the bragging rights of being the creative’sbiggest project of his career, with an impressive box office haul andnumerous wins at the Academy Awards,including Best Picture and Best Director. Essentially, makingHorizonas massive as it canonly better Costner’s chances of not only seeing his baby grow from an idea to a cinematic goliath but also giving him a good shot at topping the biggest project of his career more than three decades later.
Part one ofHorizonarrives in cinemas on June 28 with part two riding into theaters on August 16. Learn everything there is to know about Costner’s latest project here in ourall-encompassing guide.
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
Chronicles a multi-faceted, 15-year span of pre-and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American west.
