Horizon: An American Saga’s True Main Character Of 170-Person Cast Explained By Sam Worthington
Summary
Kevin Costner details what he believes most Western genre films get wrong and explains whyHorizon: An American Sagaavoids these issues. Costner is about to release the first two installments of hisHorizonfilms, the first of which will be released at the end of the month on June 28.Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2will arrive just under two months later, coming out on August 16. Costner is in the lead role in both films, with a supporting cast including Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Owen Crow Shoe, Tatanka Means, Ella Hunt, Giovanni Ribisi, and Tim Guinee.
Speaking with Jake Hamilton onJake’s Takes, Costner details how his film,Horizon, stands out from other movies within the Western genre.
According to Costner,Westerns are too often inundated with “lazy” approaches and plot points that force gunfights. In hisHorizon: An American Saga, he instead spends more time focusing on an underrepresented piece of the Western: the female characters.Costner says that “the strength in Horizon is in the women,“citing specific scenes featuring the women characters. He still has the gunfights and battles, but the women giveHorizonheart. Check out the full quote from Costner below:
I think it’s hard to make a good Western. And I think that when people are lazy in their approach, that it’s just dirty, or somebody gets killed in the first minute so the hero gets to kill someone the rest of the movie. I guess if that’s done really well, it could be entertaining, but too often that’s just in a lot of people’s hands, what happens. So it’s no wonder that people rejected Westerns. Because they don’t see themselves in it. But, you know, the strength in Horizon is the women. I have seven women operating in Horizon that you just can’t believe their experience.
And the acting that’s going on. And how hard it was on women. And so, I have the gunfights, I have all the action, I have the stuff. But it comes up, it just comes up in a way that’s genuine. A way that it feels authentic. But in the meantime, I’m dealing with issues like a woman bathing. Just because she just feels so dirty from being where she’s at, and there’s not a woman in the audience that won’t relate to how that water is making her feel. And suddenly, the stage picture changes and something else happens. And so, that’s the kind of thing that I like to infuse a Western with. Is scenes that aren’t normally associated with Westerns.
Will Costner’s Western Stand Out Enough to Succeed At the Box Office?
The Movie May Be Able To Appeal To A Wider Audience
As it hits theaters,Horizon’s success is benefited from the fact that the Western is already on the rise again, as TV shows such asYellowstoneandLawmen: Bass Reeveshave impressed audiences in recent years.
Implicit in Costner’s response is the fact that films in the Western genre have historically underestimated their female characters. This is even true in some modern Westerns. InHell or High WaterandThe Power of the Dog, men are the story’s primary focus, with their wives and other supporting female characters taking a backseat. Women in Westerns have historically been treated like this, often just background characters in a male-centric story.
Costner’sHorizoncould then draw a broader audienceby focusing on women. As it hits theaters,Horizon’s success is benefited from the fact that the Western is already on the rise again, as TV shows such asYellowstoneandLawmen: Bass Reeveshave impressed audiences in recent years. That said, bothHorizonfilms operated on high budgets, so they need to shine to make back this money and profit. The story’s improved scope is one way the films could bridge that gap, but it is not a sure-fire solution.
Kevin Costner’s Horizon Sequel Plan Has A Big Problem Before The First Movie Is Even Out
Horizon: An American Saga has always been a big risk for star and creator Kevin Costner, but its most recent problem could threaten the entire saga.
TheHorizonfilms will have to be transcendent so that they can compete against movies with a much more inherent universal appeal.Chapter 1competes againstA Quiet Place: Day Onein its opening weekend, facing off against a major horror franchise film. In a similar vein,Horizon: An American Saga-Chapter 2’sreleasecoincides with that ofAlien: Romulusduring its August release.
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
Cast
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 is set in 1859, following families as they settle in territories from Wyoming to Kansas. The narrative centers around a cowboy on the run with a prostitute and a young boy after a deadly confrontation, exploring the challenges of life in the Old West.
