Kevin Costner’s Emotional Response to ‘Horizon’ at Cannes Shows What Is at Stake in His Career
After a year fraught with headlines about his contentious divorce and making his dream project while navigating a tough Yellowstone schedule, Kevin Costner got the response he was hoping for at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival on Sunday. Horizon: An American Saga was screened to great success at the elite French event, earning a seven-minute standing ovation.
In the video clip, shared by Variety, the 69-year-old actor looked visibly moved by the reception to his labor of love. He told the crowd with tears in his eyes after chants of “Kevin! Kevin! Kevin!” were heard, “I’m sorry you had to clap that long for me to understand that I should speak,” Costner joked. “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 — either will my children.”
The first chapter of the four-part saga was shown at the film festival, but Costner swore that “three more” parts were coming. He already has the second part filmed and ready for its release on Aug. 16. (Part one comes out June 28.) The reaction has to be somewhat of a relief for the Oscar winner because he has a lot riding on this — many people in Hollywood doubted that he could get these four films made. He shared with director Francis Ford Coppola in an interview for Deadline that he couldn’t find “anybody to make” the Western.
I was going to build my last house,” he explained about taking out a mortgage on his $145 million California estate. “But I did it without a thought. It has thrown my accountant into a f**king conniption fit. But it’s my life, and I believe in the idea and the story.” What made his self-funding move even more dramatic was that he exited his successful run-on Yellowstone. ahead of completing the series.
“I made a contract for seasons five, six, and seven. In February, after a two- or three-month negotiation, they made another contract. They wanted to redo that one, and instead of seasons six and seven, it was 5A and 5B, and maybe we’ll do six,” he told Deadline last week. “They weren’t able to make those. Horizon was set in the middle, but Yellowstone was first position. I fit [Horizon] into the gaps. They just kept moving their gaps.” In the end, the heartache was worth it because Costner received the standing ovation he dreamed of, now his next hope is that the box office dollars follow.
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