Kevin Costner could not help but become emotional as he received a nearly ten minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday after screening his new movie Horizon: An American Saga.
This came after his ex-wife Christine Baumgartner, who he divorced last year following 18 years of marriage and three children together, confirmed that she is dating a longtime family friend of theirs.
Costner Becomes Emotional At Cannes
Costner, 69, returned to the Cannes Film Festival for the first time in twenty years when the first in the four-part series Horizon was screened at the Grand Lumiere Theatre on Sunday. Afterwards, he had tears in his eyes as the audience stood and clapped for him for nearly ten minutes.
“I’m sorry you had to clap that long for me to understand that I should speak,” Costner said, according to Fox News. “Such good people, such a good moment – not just for me, 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,” he added. “I’ll never forget this, neither will my children.”
Joining Costner at Cannes was his son Hayes, 15, who makes his acting debut in Horizon. Hayes is the second of three children that Costner shares with Baumgartner. The other two are son Cayden, 17, and daughter Grace, 13.
Related: Kevin Costner’s Western Epic ‘Horizon’ To Debut At Cannes Film Festival This Weekend
Costner’s Ex Confirms New Romance
This came after Baumgartner, 50, confirmed her romance with longtime family friend Joshua Connor. The two of them stepped out holding hands near her home in Santa Barbara and were seen packing on the PDA as they enjoyed a walk together.
Connor came up in last year’s child custody payment hearing between Costner and Baumgartner. At the time, Costner’s lawyers brought up a $20,000 loan from a “boyfriend” who they named only as “Josh.”
While on the stand, Baumgartner described Connor as a longtime friend of “7 or 8 years.” When asked directly if he was her boyfriend, she replied “no.”
Clearly, much has changed since then!
Related: Kevin Costner’s Wife ‘Wasn’t Happy About’ His Hectic Work Schedule Before She Filed For Divorce
Costner Takes Big Gamble With Horizon
While Costner can’t be happy about this development between his ex-wife and former friend, he’s also firmly focused on making Horizon a success. He recently told Deadline that he spent $98 million of his own money on the first three movies in the series. The fourth will undoubtedly take him over the $100 million marker, but he has no regrets.
“I’ve acquired — I don’t need four homes,” he explained on Monday. “I’ll risk those homes to make my movies. I want to leave them to my children, but my children will have to live their own lives.”
Costner went on to say that he doesn’t understand “why it’s so hard to get people to believe in the movie I wanted to make. … I don’t think anybody’s else’s movie is better than mine. I made it for people.”
Costner went on to point out that this formula worked out for him on other movies of his like Dances With Wolves, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, and Open Range.
Watch Costner talk more about this in the video below.
Judging by the standing ovation that part one of Horizon received at Cannes yesterday, it seems that Costner’s risk is paying off for him! Be sure to check out Horizon for yourself when it hits theaters on June 28.
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