Kevin Costner at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of his film Horizon: An American Saga. Photo / Getty Images
Kevin Costner at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of his film Horizon: An American Saga. Photo / Getty Images
Kevin Costner’s western all-or-nothing film received a seven-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival last weekend.
Variety reported the response to Horizon: An American Saga left the 69-year-old actor visibly emotional as chants of “Kevin! Kevin! Kevin!” filled the room.
Thanking the crowd, the actor reportedly promised he would deliver “three more” films all part of the Horizon franchise. The first of the upcoming films is expected to be released in August.
“I’m sorry you had to clap that long for me to understand that I should speak,” Costner told the crowd. “Such good people. Such a good moment, not just for me, but for the actors that came with me, for people who believed in me who continued to work. It’s a funny business and I’m so glad I found it. There’s no place like here. I’ll never forget this – neither will my children.”
Horizon is a personal project for the Yellowstone actor. As well as directing, starring, producing and co-writing the film, he spent more than US$100 million ($163m) of his own money to fund the project.
Despite the three-hour film receiving a lengthy ovation, it came with mixed reactions from viewers due to its graphic nature.
Variety reported many walked out during the screening, and while some returned to give it a second chance, others drew the line and did not see the film – set in the American West and told from the perspective of cattle ranchers, farmers and soldiers as well as natives in the region – through.
Costner is no stranger to the western film realm. He won several Academy Awards for producing and directing Dances with Wolves. He also found box office success with the 2003 film Open Range, earning US$68.3m gross worldwide.
The actor’s Cannes success comes after he made headlines for his abrupt departure from the hit show Yellowstone. Paramount claimed the Costner was less available for filming because Horizon was taking over his schedule, and a feud between him and show creator Taylor Sheridan resulted in the controversial exit.
However, Costner claimed the real hold-up was that Sheridan had not written the script for the show in due time.
“There was no script,” he told Deadline this month. “And then things imploded. You’ve been reading one version [of the show’s drama] for a year and a half.
“I have taken a beating from those f***ing guys and I know a lot of times where it’s coming from. I just elected not to get into that. But if you know me well enough, I made Yellowstone the first priority, and to insinuate anything else would be wrong.”
Ella Hunt (from left), Hayes Costner, Jena Malone, Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Abbey Lee Kershaw, Luke Wilson, Wasé Chief, Isabelle Fuhrman, Georgia MacPhail, and Alejandro Edda at the Horizon: An American Saga red carpet at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. Photo / Getty Images
Costner doubled down on his claims when speaking to GQ this week. The star was asked whether he will reprise his role as John Dutton III, answering: “Well, Taylor and I know what the conditions are for coming back, and I’ll just keep that between ourselves.”
“And if we can’t get to it, it’s because at the end of the day, it’s unreasonable for them or something. I love that character. I love that world. I am a person that is very script-oriented. And if the scripts aren’t there now, I need to know what I am. I want to make sure that the character lines up with what’s important to me too. And that’s pretty simple. That’s just between, again, Taylor and myself. Can we ever get there? I don’t know.”
Costner’s children joined him on the red carpet before the premiere screening of Horizon, as well as his cast, who included Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi and Luke Wilson.
