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(NewsNation) — Kevin Costner put it all on the line for his passion project, the tetralogy “Horizon: An American Saga.” It may end up being his biggest flop ever, sources tell me.
The “Yellowstone” star put down $100 million of his own money into the epic western movies — even mortgaging his seaside Santa Barbara estate to fund the project, but friends are worried after critics in Cannes panned the first movie.
Esquire did a decent round-up of the pans, writing: “The Guardian‘s Peter Bradshaw quipped that ‘Horizon’ is ‘three saddle-sore hours,’ while The Hollywood Reporter‘s David Rooney claimed that the film ‘plays like a limited series overhauled as a movie.’ IndieWire‘s Ryan Lattanzio called ‘Horizon’ the ‘dullest cinematic vanity project of the century,’ stating that ‘the movie’s clumsy episodic structure leads you to believe that Costner may have been trying to out-Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Taylor Sheridan.’”
Ouch.
While “Waterworld” was Costner’s most notorious flop, he didn’t pay for (all of) the $175 million it took to make the film (Costner is known for investing in every movie he makes). He did, however, pony up most of the $85 million to make “The Postman,” which only made $20 million at the box office.
But the repercussions for “Horizon” should audiences take critics warnings are dire. Costner could lose his beloved home and once again spend time as a laughingstock (“Waterworld” was so bad, it was mocked as “Fishtar” — a take on the worst movie of all time, “Ishtar”).
Already, some major damage has been done. His wife, Christine Baumgarten, surprised him last year by filing for divorce.
Sources said she was tired of being alone; Costner was busy filming “Yellowstone” and between those shoots would fly off to film “Horizon.”
Baumgarten is now dating Costner’s former friend (and tenant) Josh Connor. Sources told the Daily Mail they are planning on getting married.
Costner is now dating singer Jewel, but that still has to sting.
A rep for Costner didn’t return emails.