A month before Kevin Costner puts the first installment of his multi-chapter Western 91裸聊视频淗orizon: An American Saga91裸聊视频� into theaters, the actor-director came to the Cannes Film Festival to unveil his self-financed passion project.
91裸聊视频淭wo of my boys are out fishing right now,91裸聊视频� Costner said with a grin in an interview at the Carlton Hotel. 91裸聊视频淎nd the three girls found their way onto a boat. So dad91裸聊视频檚 in here, stumping for his movie.91裸聊视频�
The movie is actually two, or if Costner has his way, four. 91裸聊视频淗orizon: Chapter One,91裸聊视频� which runs three hours, will be released by Warner Bros. in theaters June 28. 91裸聊视频淐hapter Two91裸聊视频� follows August 16. Costner has scripts ready for parts three and four.
It91裸聊视频檚 only the fourth time Costner, 69, has directed, following 199091裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淒ances With Wolves,91裸聊视频� 199791裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淭he Postman91裸聊视频� and 200391裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淥pen Range.91裸聊视频� But when he has, Costner has usually done it with a clear-eyed passion for storytelling and character. That91裸聊视频檚 on display in the wide-ranging epic 91裸聊视频淗orizon,91裸聊视频� with a cast including Sienna Miller, Abbey Lee, Sam Worthington and Costner.
It91裸聊视频檚 also Costner91裸聊视频檚 biggest gamble, ever. To raise the money for the $100 million-plus production, he mortgaged his seaside Santa Barbara, California, estate. He91裸聊视频檚 been trying to make 91裸聊视频淗orizon91裸聊视频� for more than 30 years.
91裸聊视频淚 thank God for Cannes. I91裸聊视频檓 an independent filmmaker, essentially, and I91裸聊视频檓 here by myself,91裸聊视频� said Costner, whose film was to premiere Sunday. 91裸聊视频淪o this is a high moment for me because it91裸聊视频檚 helping me create awareness for a movie. I don91裸聊视频檛 have all the money in the world to expose this movie. But I have my time and a platform here.91裸聊视频�
Remarks have been lightly edited for brevity.
AP: What was your calculus in deciding to put your money into 91裸聊视频淗orizon91裸聊视频�? What made it worth it to you?
COSTNER: You can spend your life just trying to make your pile grow bigger and bigger. And I91裸聊视频檝e not been really terribly great at that. I91裸聊视频檓 like anyone else, I91裸聊视频檇 like it to be big. But not at the expense of not doing what I feel like I91裸聊视频檝e love to do. If no one will help me do it and I believe strongly in its entertainment value 91裸聊视频� there91裸聊视频檚 commerce on my mind. But I don91裸聊视频檛 let it overshadow the entertainment value and essence of what I91裸聊视频檓 trying to portray. I don91裸聊视频檛 try to let the fear of that control my instincts on any level. I don91裸聊视频檛 want to live that way. If I was watching a movie about me and I thought, 91裸聊视频淥o, don91裸聊视频檛 risk your money and make something like that,91裸聊视频� what a (expletive).
AP: Was it an easy decision? You didn91裸聊视频檛 look around your seaside Santa Barbara estate and question mortgaging it?
COSTNER: No, it wasn91裸聊视频檛 an easy decision, but it was the decision I needed to make. It91裸聊视频檚 like, wow, why am I having to do this? I think I91裸聊视频檓 making mainstream entertainment. I don91裸聊视频檛 know what you felt about the movie but I felt like it91裸聊视频檚 really mainstream. I don91裸聊视频檛 feel that I91裸聊视频檓 an avant-garde type of a person. But yet I think my things are a little off. I91裸聊视频檓 willing to (in a wagon trail scene in the film) see a woman bathe because her desire to be clean was so pronounced. If you91裸聊视频檙e a woman, who wouldn91裸聊视频檛 want to be? But then in the next moment, you realize it91裸聊视频檚 against the rule, man. You could cost yourself your life. So that scene became important to make the next scene important. To me, a scene like that is just as important as a gun fight. And if that kind of scene doesn91裸聊视频檛 want to exist in a mainstream movie91裸聊视频�
AP: Could this have been a series?
COSTNER: I guess. It will be. They91裸聊视频檙e going to break this up into a hundred pieces, you know what I mean? After four of these, they91裸聊视频檙e going to have 13, 14 hours of film and they91裸聊视频檙e going to turn into 25 hours of TV, and they91裸聊视频檙e going to do whatever they91裸聊视频檙e going to do. That91裸聊视频檚 just the way we live in our life but they91裸聊视频檒l also exist in this form. And that was important for me, to make sure that happened. And I was the one who paid for it.
AP: It91裸聊视频檚 an audacious release plan, with the second film opening two months after the first. What appealed to you about that?
COSTNER: The studio wanted to try that. I knew this was going to come out fairy quickly, like every four or five months. That may have been easier. But this is something they feel like people can remember the first one and it can tie into the second one. I built into all of them a montage of what91裸聊视频檚 coming.
AP: Since directing 91裸聊视频淒ances With Wolves,91裸聊视频� you91裸聊视频檝e directed 91裸聊视频淥pen Range91裸聊视频� and starred in 91裸聊视频淲yatt Earp91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淵ellowstone.91裸聊视频� What keeps bringing you back to the West?
COSTNER: I like seeing behavior in men that makes sense. I make movies for men. I just make sure there91裸聊视频檚 great women characters because that91裸聊视频檚 really important to me. The backbone of our movie is actually women. I don91裸聊视频檛 like boys behaving stupid. I like the little boy who (fleeing an attack) takes the two horses and effectively saves his life. I like seeing people behave honestly in desperate situations. The heroism of a little boy saying 91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檒l stay with you, Dad91裸聊视频� is a really powerful moment. That91裸聊视频檚 my son (Hayes Costner) and it was very hard to watch.
AP: In dramatizing the drive West of settlers, what was the Native American perspective you wanted to consider?
COSTNER: Confusion about it. The colonel says, 91裸聊视频淚f we salt the earth with enough of their dead, the wagons won91裸聊视频檛 come anymore.91裸聊视频� When you91裸聊视频檙e that far out there, you can91裸聊视频檛 go. When people said goodbye in the East Coast, they didn91裸聊视频檛 come back. So the confusion for the Native American was they couldn91裸聊视频檛 make sense of that. Normally if you kill enough people they won91裸聊视频檛 bother you. But these Americans, these people were getting flyers saying you could have this land. There are salesmen in every century, every decade selling something they don91裸聊视频檛 really know what it is. It91裸聊视频檚 just America. It91裸聊视频檚 just this giant experiment of hope.
AP: But America means different things to different people, right? You have Chinese immigrants in the film as well.
COSTNER: When they weren91裸聊视频檛 useful, they were just cast away. And they had to create a sense of community and they came en masse. They came together and they were very industrious. They91裸聊视频檒l be the wealthiest people in that town until there91裸聊视频檚 a tipping point and racism kicks in and suddenly they91裸聊视频檙e gone, too. You watch. That91裸聊视频檚 what would happen in real life.
AP: What I91裸聊视频檓 getting at is there91裸聊视频檚 tragedy in this. Do you see westward expansion and your film as a tragedy?
COSTNER: There91裸聊视频檚 inevitable tragedy to it. And there91裸聊视频檚 divisions. You see a whole tribe break in half. You see a father break from a son.
AP: Have you already started shooting the third installment?
COSTNER: I91裸聊视频檝e shot three days and I continue to have to press for money to finish this. I have to figure out what else I can do to make this. But I91裸聊视频檓 not waiting to see how people feel. I know what this is, and I think if people love the movie experience, they have a really good chance of wanting to see the next one. That91裸聊视频檚 all I can believe. The prudent thing would be to wait, but I guess I91裸聊视频檓 not built for that wait.
AP: Some of the issues on 91裸聊视频淵ellowstone91裸聊视频� seemed to have to do with time and scheduling. What91裸聊视频檚 your feeling about your future with that series at this point?
COSTNER: 91裸聊视频淵ellowstone91裸聊视频� was really important in my life. I really loved that world and what we were able to do in five seasons. I only thought it would be one, but did five. I was willing to do three more 91裸聊视频� five, six and seven 91裸聊视频� but it just didn91裸聊视频檛 happen. Certain things were going on and it just didn91裸聊视频檛 happen. So the idea of going back, I91裸聊视频檓 open to that idea. But it91裸聊视频檚 based on everything that first three or four were based on, which is the scripts.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
