Kevin Costner admits that he makes movies for men, but he’s also letting it be known that women are the driving force behind his films.
The 69-year-old star and director of Horizon: An American Saga shared the methodology behind his filmmaking process in a conversation with Josh Horowitz during a live taping of his Happy Sad Confusedpodcast. Costner, whose latest endeavor is now in theaters, shared some insight into his writing process and how the women in his new film — Sienna Miller, Abbey Lee, Ella Hunt and others — lifted his epic Western.
“When you start writing you go, ‘Where’s the woman?’ It just drove the story in every plot line,” he said. “It just seemed to me to be so easy. I mean, I just hardly couldn’t conceive of a scene that didn’t involve women or a young girl raised by a strong woman. You know, we got a missing person here, Sienna Miller, who was really a beautiful actress working at the top of her ability right now. I thought she was absolutely luminous in the film.”
Costner acted in, directed, and produced the two-part theatrical event. In an unprecedented move, Chapter 1 hit theaters Friday, followed by Chapter 2 on Aug. 16. The film stars Miller, Lee, Hunt, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Michael Rooker, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jeff Fahey, Will Patton, Tatanka Means, Owen Crow Shoe and Jamie Campbell Bower.
Horizon: An American Saga is set in the pre-and-post-American Civil War period, depicting the expansion of the American West. Costner admits this Western, which will total four films in all, is a project he created with men in mind, yes, but it’s the women who stand strong and play a pivotal role in every one of his scenes.
“I make movies for men. That’s what I do. But I won’t make a movie unless I have strong women characters, and that’s how I’ve conducted my career,” said the Dances With Wolves star and director. “And I think that’s why I have a good following. I thank you women for dragging your men here. It was a Western, after all.”
On Monday, Costner attended the premiere of his film in Los Angeles, where he was flanked by five of his seven children, including 15-year-old Hayes, who makes his acting debut in Horizon.
Costner recently spoke with ET about the honor of finally getting to premiere the movie he has spent nearly half of his life cultivating and working on.
“It’s really nice to have a film celebrated and to have this particular film celebrated tonight and to be here with my actors, my family,” he said. “This is my town. I love being a part of the film community here in Hollywood.”
