Kevin Costner is back in the director’s chair with “Horizon: An American Saga,” a four-part epic Western featuring a star-studded cast that includes Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Giovanni Ribisi, Jena Malone, Jamie Campbell Bower and Luke Wilson. “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1,” distributed in the Philippines by Parallax Studios and Saga Films Studios, opens in local cinemas simultaneously with the rest of the world on June 28, while Chapter 2 has been scheduled for August 2024.

Costner is no stranger to the Western genre. His directorial debut was 1990’s “Dances with Wolves,” also an epic Western, which won the then first-time director Best Picture and Best Director Academy Awards. And since 2018, Costner has top-billed “Yellowstone,” a popular neo-Western drama series that has inspired multiple prequels and spinoff series.

Standing ovation at Cannes

“Horizon: An American Saga” is said to be a passion project of Costner’s. The actor-director, who also co-wrote the films, reportedly poured $38 million of his own money to make the sweeping saga, a project that he’s been developing for over 30 years. According to reports, the first two chapters, scheduled for release this year, cost $100 million to make.

The first chapter was screened at the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival, where it earned a seven-minute standing ovation. “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,” said a teary-eyed Costner, in response to the standing ovation, applause and chants of his name. “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: An American Saga” explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won – and lost – through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the American Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself.

In their review out of Cannes, movie website Next Best Picture said that in Western epics, “there are incredible opportunities to explore engaging worlds while showcasing impressive visual artistry within the genre. However, no matter what, you can always count on folks like Kevin Costner to remind audiences of the power these films can still have in today’s age. It’s impossible not to feel that passion with ‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1’ as so much is packed into this nod to the epics of yesteryear. There’s a lot thrown at the screen that still manages to result in an engrossing experience.”

Magic in the movies

“I don’t fall out of love with what I think is something good,” Costner, speaking at the film’s press conference at Cannes, answered when a reporter asked him about the financial challenges he’s so far had to face while making the epic saga. “I believe that when these lights go out and we’re in a movie theater, something magical can happen. Part of why I wanted to make one, two, three and four was to make it for myself because I know what it’s like to sit out there in the audience and the curtain opens and something magical is going to happen, and a story is going to transport us. The movies have always been a place for us to go have a chance at magic. Something that we’ll never ever forget.”

Costner then went on to joke that to make the third one, he’s knocked on every billionaire’s boat in Cannes to help him. “They go, ‘Oh come, I want to have a picture.’ I say, ‘No, get your checkbook out. Let’s talk money,’” a laughing Costner told reporters.

When asked if it was difficult to wear so many hats for this passion project (writer, director, producer, actor), Costner said, “I’d like to think that I got to this place [in my life] because I like the work. I like the dreaming part. I like the late nights, directing and editing and writing – I like that part of it the best.”

Get ready to be swept away when the first chapter of the epic “Horizon: An American Saga,” distributed in the Philippines by Parallax Studios and Saga Film Studios with Axinite Digicinema, opens in cinemas June 28.

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