Kevin Costner has a lot at stake with his passion project Horizon: an American sagaand no, not because he recently left YellowstoneThe 69-year-old actor has invested $38 million of his own money in the film.
“Obviously things are in jeopardy,” the star, director and writer of the four-part western epic told Yahoo Entertainment. “I don’t want to lose sight of what moves me and what I want to do in my life.”
The Horizon saga explores the expansion and resolution of the Civil War in the American West. To raise some of the money for the films, Costner mortgaged his 10-acre beachfront estate in Montecito, California. The stakes aren’t lost on the Oscar-winning actor, but he says it’s worth pursuing his dream.
“I was given these things, things I never thought I would have. I keep the things that are most important — I mean, they are very important to me — but if they keep me from my dream, I can’t being a slave to these other things that I have,” he explained. “So I’m putting that on the line.”
The first two films were shot back to back. Warner Bros. brings both and Horizon: an American saga — Chapter 1 lands in theaters on June 28 with Chapter 2 follows on August 16. Chapters 3 and 4 have not yet been included and are not yet fully funded.
“I don’t want to keep doing this,” Costner said of carrying the financial burden, telling Yahoo he hopes to “find a partner.” But it’s clear that the actor will finish this saga one way or another.
As for how Costner plans to measure Horizon‘s success, the actor said that it is not just about making money at the box office.
“The success for me would be a man and a woman saying, ‘I want to take our children with me, even if it is [an R-rated film]. I think I think it’s necessary for them to see what their great-grandparents went through.” Even though it’s violent… there’s a lot of humanity in it,” Costner explained. “I think success for me is people saying, ‘I saw a really good movie last night and I know there’s another movie coming.’ I want to see it again, and I want to share it.” So sharing is a sign of something that affects you.”
On June 20, Costner confirmed his long-awaited departure Yellowstone, despite leaving the door open to a possible return just days before. He hopes fans of the show, and fans of him, will find joy in the show Horizon saga, which he says is “designed to entertain.”
‘It was important for me to do my best Yellowstone and try to support that, and feel like these are stories that people would want to have,” he told Yahoo Horizon, it’s important to me to show that this isn’t a Disneyland land. This was a 200, 300 year battle. The second [film] is harder than the first, I’m happy to say it’s just as good if not better. … I think we’ll want to pay attention to that if someone is careful about this in reporting it.”
Costner (Dancing with wolves, Silverado) is known for his roles in westerns, but overall he is unimpressed by the genre. That’s why he took Horizon take it into your own hands – literally.
“[Horizon is] “It was not a story that was under fire. It was a story where women were central to almost every storyline. … These are the things that can move you in an American Western, and I saw it and I wanted to write it, because that’s what I believe is possible when you look at a Western,” he said of the themes of the films that resonate with him. “I don’t like a lot of them because sometimes they’re silly or sometimes they’re just too black-and-white hat. But this is really about behavior.”
Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 is in cinemas from June 28.
