'Yellowstone' star talks working with Kevin Costner: 'he's a major leaguer'
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Kevin Costner has faced difficulties while finding a filming location in Utah for the second installment of his upcoming film series, "Horizon: An American Saga."
The multihyphenate opened up about his latest passion project in an interview with local outlet St. George News.
"Every day, my dream was to film at this other place. We even built a suspension bridge," Costner told the outlet. "And we were going to crane our wagons 50 feet in the air over the river, drop them down on that location. So I had it on my head, we built it, we had the cranes out there. And then the big snowpack came. And everybody said, ‘The water’s gonna come up.'"
The "Hidden Figures" star had to make a "snap decision" to change his plan.
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Kevin Costner opened up about the difficulties he faced while filming his upcoming project "Horizon: An American Saga." (Paramount Network)
"It broke my heart because losing my location turns me into a baby a little bit because I have my mind set on what it’s going to look like and how people will enjoy it," he explained.
The second location Costner and his crew stumbled upon was beautiful, but not what the actor-director-producer had in mind for what would be a "desolate" scene.
Costner sent his crew up in a helicopter to find a suitable place on the Shivwits Reservation.
"I said, ‘Let’s run this river, the Santa Clara, all the way to the Virgin River.’ I was throwing prayers up on what’s going to happen," Costner said. "I secretly didn’t want to have another place. But I knew the first place wasn’t going to work."
"It’s a good lesson for everybody; sometimes you just have to let some things go," he said.
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Kevin Costner reportedly had scheduling conflicts while filming season 5 of "Yellowstone." (Paramount Network)
Costner and his crew were praised by Shivwits Reservation Land Resources Manager Travis Duran for treating the Shivwits land respectfully while filming.
"The best thing was working with Kevin’s crew. We’re all working together, and they were more active in asking what they should be careful of," Duran told the outlet. "We’re in cultural sites in a couple of the areas, which I pointed out, and they respected everything."
Costner's team used signs to indicate when people should use caution on set in order to protect wildlife and more. The production company also helped improve the reservation, including widening roads and giving better access to different areas.
"Kevin’s people are great," Duran explained. "So there was nothing that harmed anything; it’s just more of cleaning things up, which was good for the people."
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Kevin Costner portrays John Dutton on "Yellowstone." (Paramount Network)
Costner has refocused his attention on "Horizon: An American Saga" amid the drama with his show "Yellowstone." The Western is set to end after five seasons, with a premiere date in November.
Costner stars as John Dutton on the Paramount Network show. The series' success led to multiple spinoff shows, including "1923" and "1883," along with an upcoming project starring Matthew McConaughey.
The show was not originally set to end after five seasons, but co-creator Taylor Sheridan said the early exit does not "alter" Costner's character.
"It truncates the closure of his character," Sheridan told The Hollywood Reporter. "It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it."
The cast of "Yellowstone" pose at a season premiere. (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images)
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"Dutton wasn't going to be around for the very end of "Yellowstone," he added.
Sheridan claimed the original script was left unchanged despite the abrupt ending. While the show's co-creator did not reveal if Costner's character will be "taken to the train station," which is "Yellowstone" speak for killed, he did give fans a hint on what will not be happening to the beloved Western hero.
"I was killed in a f--- you car crash!" Sheridan pointed out, referring to his "Sons of Anarchy" character's death.
"I don’t do f--- you car crashes," he explained. "Whether [Dutton’s fate] inflates [Costner’s] ego or insults is collateral damage that I don’t factor in with regard to storytelling."
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