Kevin Costner Wants HORIZON’s Story to ‘Touch People’
By Movieguide® Contributor
The stars of Kevin Costner’s HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA — PART 1 are sharing their experiences making the movie, as well as what they hope audiences take away from it.
When asked what he hopes audiences will walk away with, director, writer and star Kevin Costner joked, “That they got their money’s worth!”
“The other thing is that you always make a movie with the idea that people are going to share it,” he added. “I think movies can have that power where we go, ‘I saw a movie that touched me, I saw a movie that I didn’t expect to touch me,’ and I don’t know if HORIZON will, but it touched me in many places. That’s the guide I use when I decide if I’m going to go ahead and make a movie: ‘Does it have a chance to touch people? Does it have a chance to become something they’ll never forget?’”
HORIZON “chronicles a multi-faceted, 15-year span of pre-and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West,” per IMDb.
Sam Worthington, who plays Trent Gephart, says HORIZON is “a movie about a bunch of people taking risks.”
Owen Crow Shoe, who plays Pionsenay, echoed that sentiment, saying the message of the movie is that “there’s a lot of weight on every decision, and I think that would be a huge takeaway for today’s life — that your decisions have consequences.”
“[Costner is] a great director, a great actor. He’s a good writer as well,” Michael Rooker (Sgt. Major Thomas Riordan) said of working with the legendary actor. “I enjoy his presence and the energy he brings to set.”
Costner spoke about his passion for HORIZON, the first of a four-part series, before the L.A. premiere, saying, “My heart feels really big tonight.”
“The movies remind me of how I want to be, how I want to behave in certain instances,” he continued. “They’ve always been that kind of example to me. I know who I want to be on-screen and I know who I don’t. And this Western movie will challenge you, and it will be obvious who you want to be and who you don’t want to be. And to think about this journey west and the resourcefulness it took to get there. You have it.”
Costner concluded, “If you ever guess, ‘[Was I] tough enough?’, you are. You could have survived out there, but it was chance. And I’ve tried to make a movie about that — this march from sea to shining sea. So take this ride West.”
Movieguide®’s review of HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA — PART 1 reads:
HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA – CHAPTER 1 is a sprawling western epic, starring and directed by Kevin Costner. A group of settlers starts a small community in the southwest territory near Apache land. The chief’s angry son attacks the settlers in a murder raid. A big battle ensues. The U.S. Army advises the survivors to come live at the fort, because their town is too far away to protect. Meanwhile, enticed by a flyer about the town, called Horizon, a large wagon train travels southwest toward Horizon. Finally, a cowpoke gunfighter ends up protecting a young woman and the baby of her kidnapped friend, who’s presumed dead. They flee the baby’s angry patriarchal family by heading southwest.
Chapter 1 of HORIZON presents an impressive, spectacular vision with exciting, engaging action. It also has several moving moments among some of the characters. The movie takes a pretty even-handed attitude toward the settlers and the Apaches. However, Chapter 1 of HORIZON has intense violence, strong foul language, a brief scene of nudity, and a partially depicted bedroom scene. Chapter 2 is being released Aug. 16.
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