As his Horizon: An American Saga — Part 2 premieres Saturday at the Venice Film Festival, Oscar-winner Kevin Costner graces the final installment of The Film That Lit My Fuse, in a special extended segment. We hatched this video feature in the teeth of the pandemic several years ago as a way to give a shut-down Hollywood comfort by having top directors, actors and writers break down the influences that sent them down the storytellers path. The feature is being retired because of the demand for shorter and less frequent appearances of Fuse, which went against the spirit of something meant to take its time. Fuse began with Francis Coppola and subsequent segments included the late William Friedkin, Nicolas Cage, Michelle Yeoh, Tom Rothman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sylvester Stallone, Matthew McConaughey and hundreds of others.
Related Stories
We wrap with a discussion with Costner, covering much ground, including how he hopes to ride in a winner on a longshot horse. He’s got plenty of skin in the game on his four-part Western epic Horizon, about Manifest Destiny and its toll on the dreamers who risked their families for a better life, and the Native Americans who didn’t take kindly to those encroaching on the land they considered theirs. Trying to introduce original IP that will span 12 hours is something most often done as an event limited series. Costner wanted a theatrical experience and completed the first two installments before the first underperformed at the box office. Pic is now streaming on Max, and Costner hopes that will build wanna-see for the sequel and two other films he’s got scripted and ready to shoot. Costner still gets royalty checks on Waterworld, which was once ridiculed but crossed into the black long ago. He is still resolute on the long term value of a story well told, and you’ll see here that his resolve hasn’t lessened. Watch as he discusses his mindset on Horizon, and the great movies that forged a maverick’s vision and ambition.