Kevin Costner Reveals How Much of His Own Money He's Spent on 'Horizon'

Costner said he also mortgaged property to finance the film.

By Ashley Turner

Kevin Costner's passion projects often border on obsession, and one of his most enduring creative fixations has been the Western epic Horizon. Over the past three decades, the actor, director, and producer has devoted much of his fortune to bringing this ambitious vision to life. A candid interview with GQ has now revealed Costner's actual investment in the long-gestating movie.

Over the past 36 years, the story of Horizon has evolved, but Costner never abandoned it. According to GQ, after failing to reach a budget agreement with Disney in 2003, Costner revived the script in 2012, expanding it into four scripts with screenwriter Jon Baird. With no studio interested in producing multiple films, Costner recently decided to fund the project himself, enlisting two undisclosed investors. 

Warner Bros. has since joined for the first two films' theatrical distribution. Addressing reports of his personal investment, Costner stated, "I know they say I've got $20 million of my own money in this movie. It's not true. I've got now about $38 million in the film. That's the truth. That's the real number."

Costner's decisions have had financial consequences. "It's kind of an independent movie," Costner told GQ. "My wife and I knew we were going to finance it. We just mortgaged a property, a beachfront property in Santa Barbara. Ten acres. I said, 'It's a good deal.' And she said, 'Yeah, one more and we're out of business.' "

Nevertheless, he vowed he would embark on Horizon without regret, in the spirit of taking on a challenge he couldn't resist. "I felt time slipping," he said. "I thought the window was closing on me being able to be an effective part in that movie," Costner added. "And so I basically burned my ships. Like Cortés, we're f—ing here. I'm going to make this. And I mortgaged property. Now do you get it?"

Despite facing personal setbacks, including the loss of both parents in 2021, disagreements over the Yellowstone shooting schedule leading to a contract dispute, and his wife Christine Baumgartner filing for divorce last year, Costner persevered and managed to complete not one but two films for his passion project Horizon: An American Saga. GQ reports that even before production began in the summer of 2022 in Utah, Costner dealt with these challenges. Nonetheless, he forged ahead, and now he and Warner Bros. are embarking on an unprecedented endeavor, releasing both Chapter 1 in June and Chapter 2 in August of the Western epic within the same summer.

A summer release of two films is generally not advised because if the first one fails, the second one also fails, and there is no chance to correct course or save the second film. "It's never been done," Costner told GQ. "But I'm a little unconventional. I liked all four of 'em. They're already written. I'm not making s— up on the fly. And so to me, it's not over until it's over. So I did them both."

Even though the third and fourth chapters of the film had not yet been financed, he said he was determined to make them. "They're going to happen regardless, but they're not already funded," Costner said. 

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When asked why he hadn't just retired, Costner said that he had given it some thought. "But I'm going to retire to locations that I want to hang out at. I got a movie that's set in Tahiti. So how's that?"

He continued, "No, I think all the time about what life is for me. And I think that I've kind of proven that I'll just go my own way. I like to say: I reserve my right to change my life at any one moment. But right now, at this moment, I cannot let go of the rope. Too many things would fall. And it really doesn't matter how I'm feeling, right? It doesn't matter how I'm feeling. If my heart's on the ground, it doesn't matter. You hold on."

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