Actor, producer, and director Kevin Costner affirmed that while his films are primarily aimed at male audiences, he ensures strong female characters are integral to them, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Costner, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker, participated in a live broadcast of Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast alongside his ‘Horizon: An American Saga’ co-stars Sam Worthington, Abbey Lee, and Luke Wilson.
During the extensive discussion, Costner talked about the importance of creating fully developed characters, especially women, who are not typically represented in Western movies.
“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.”
During the extensive discussion, Costner talked about the importance of creating fully developed characters, especially women, who are not typically represented in Western movies.
“I make movies for men,” he continued. “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. 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.”
‘Horizon: An American Saga’ marks the beginning of a four-part film series, with the second installment scheduled for release in August. Parts 3 and 4 are currently in development. Costner stars alongside an ensemble cast in this drama spanning 15 years of pre- and post-Civil War evolution.
‘Horizon: An American Saga’ represents Costner’s return to filmmaking after a hiatus of over 20 years. His directorial debut, ‘Dances With Wolves’, earned him an Oscar in 1991, followed by ‘The Postman’ (1997) and ‘Open Range’ (2003). Since then, he has primarily focused on acting and producing, notably on projects like ‘Yellowstone’, from which he formally departed on June 20th.
Regarding ‘Horizon: An American Saga’, Costner expressed a deep personal commitment to helming the film series, a project he has been involved with since the 1980s.
“Sometimes you wonder if you can still ride the bike, but what I knew was I believed so much in my story that I really was the one that needed to direct this,” he told THR at the film’s Los Angeles premiere on Monday. “I didn’t want to come away not bringing everything home that I thought the movie had a chance to deliver.”
He added, “There are people that are more talented than myself. I’m sure that [there are] directors [who] really understand the camera, but I believe in the story, and I believe so much in it that for me I think that comes shining through my movies.”
‘Horizon: An American Saga’ is currently showing in theaters, according to The Hollywood Reporter.