Earlier this month, we reported that Kevin Costner had been hit with a crushing blow when the release date for his movie Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter Two was cancelled after the first movie in the planned four-part series flopped.
Now, Costner has gotten some much needed good news as Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter Two will officially premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 7.
Horizon: Chapter Two Gets Premiere Date
“My dream was always to show Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter Two at the Venice Film Festival,” Costner told Variety.
Costner has put a lot of his own money into the project, which is intended to be his magnum opus.
“The fact that now they have decided to show Chapter One earlier in the day and then the world premiere of Chapter Two that evening shows not only their belief in how the two films work together but their support of a director’s vision,” he continued. “I’m indebted to Alberto Barbera for his courage and leadership in committing to this cinematic journey.”
Costner, 69, directed, co-wrote, and starred in this western epic, which also stars Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone and Danny Huston. Costner put everything he had into the series, spending $38 million of his own money on it.
“I’ve mortgaged 10 acres on the water in Santa Barbara where I was going to build my last house,” Costner previously told Deadline. “It has thrown my accountant into a […] conniption fit. But it’s my life, and I believe in the idea and the story.”
It doesn’t get much more American than that!
Related: Kevin Costner Hit With Crushing Blow As Horizon 2 Release Is Canceled After First Film Flops
Film Critics Rip Horizon: Chapter One
Costner’s efforts are why it was so devastating when the first Horizon movie was savaged by critics.
The BBC movie reviewer wrote that Horizon: Chapter One “needs to have a plot, a bit of credible characterization, and a structure that preferably includes a beginning, middle and end. ‘Horizon’ doesn’t have any of those.”
Variety’s film critic ripped the first movie as “meandering,” adding that it “seldom seems to aim in a clear direction.”
IndieWire stated, “These aren’t characters so much as the spokes of a plot in human form, each of their storylines moving as if being pulled by horses across the entire span of the American West.”
“I could not fathom committing another 540 minutes of my time to this bloated ego trip,” Johnny Oleksinski wrote for The New York Post.
Olekinski went on to hit Costner himself right where it hurts.
“It’s hard to believe Costner left Yellowstone to make such an embarrassing, poorly told mess,” he wrote. “There are more than 20 named roles scattered all over the place — the San Pedro Valley, the Montana Territory, the Western Santa Fe Trail — and viewers strain to care much for any of them, so bland and animatronic they all are.”
Ouch, that has got to sting!
Related: Kevin Costner Refuses To Apologize For Making ‘Movies For Men’
Costner Left Yellowstone To Focus On Horizon
Costner infamously left his hit show Yellowstone partly so that he could focus all of his energy on Horizon.
“I owe the fans the best movie I can make,” Costner told The Hollywood Reporter after his Yellowstone exit. “If I give up movies and don’t want to make anymore, that’s my business. But if I choose to make movies, I have the fans right on my shoulder.”
Much to Costner’s dismay, however, Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 tanked at the box office. It earned a measly $11 million on a $100 million budget. Unless Chapter 2 is something truly incredible, it’s not looking good for Costner’s planned four-part film series.
Costner put all his eggs in the Horizon basket. It would be a shame if this turns out to have been a huge mistake!
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