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Kevin Costner’s magnum opusHorizon: An American Sagaseems to be in limbo after the first chapter of the four-part film bombed at the box office. Costner directed and financed the films himself, selling part of his estate to fund the $100 million budget. The first film, which was released in June only managed to earn $36 million.
Costner’s directorial reportedly came at the cost of his successful neo-Western TV showYellowstone, which after clashes with creator Taylor Sheridan and the studio, he exited. While Costner has been a master of the Western genre, he seems to have fumbled withHorizonin one place whereYellowstonesucceeded.
Kevin Costner Could Not Do InHorizonWhatYellowstoneDid Perfectly
Kevin Costnerearned his Oscar for Best Director for his debut directorialDances with Wolves, which is credited to have revived the Western genre in Hollywood. It is only the fourth Western in the history of the Oscars to have won the Academy Award for Best Picture, withUnforgivenandNo Country For Old Menfollowing it.
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However, Costner seemed to have fumbled his biggest strength in his latest directorialHorizon: An American Saga. The planned four-part film was reportedly self-funded by Costner and had been a project that was in gestation since the ‘80s. However, the $100 million film (for two parts) only managed toearn $36 million, putting its future on hold.
So, why didHorizonwhile Costner’s TV showYellowstonesucceed? For starters, both stories were Westerns talking about rooted American culture and its clash with ‘progress’ and ‘development’. Both stories also followed multiple characters and storylines set at a changing time.
However,Yellowstonegave a lot more time for the characters to breathe and develop. Despite Costner’s John Dutton not always being on screen (and him now exiting the franchise), the show still worked because the characters had time and multiple episodes to evolve whileHorizonhad to compress all of that into a three-hour film.
Kevin Costner ClaimedYellowstoneMay Have Been Inspired By An EarlyHorizonScript
Kevin Costner played John Dutton inTaylor Sheridan’sYellowstonefor four and a half seasons, with clashes between Sheridan and the studio leading Costner to leave the series in the expected final season. Many have noted how Costner’sHorizonseemed to have a similar structure to the neo-Western series and how it would have worked better as a show.
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However, Costner seemingly flipped the table on these observations saying that Sheridan’sYellowstonespinoff1883seemed to have a wagon story that was eerily similar toHorizonin one aspect. The actor mentioned that he had given the script ofHorizonto Sheridan while he was looking for writers during the second season. He said toIndieWire,
So I don’t know if there are any duplications there. Whether he borrowed something, only he’d have to admit to.
Yellowstonehas previously been accused of borrowing storylines from popular Western shows and films likeDallasand even Costner’s ownDances with Wolves.
Yellowstoneis available to stream on Peacock whileHorizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1is available on Max.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2417
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
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HorizonKevin CostnerYellowstone
