Actor Kevin Costner is apparently a big believer in binge-watching, which has become all the rage with today’s streaming services.
The man who plays John Dutton in the modern-day Western drama series Yellowstone (which left fans hanging in what may or may not be the final show, given Costner’s whims on returning) is plugging his new “Horizon” movie saga and he teased about the possibility of moviegoers watching all four planned films in a single sitting — two of the films are already in the can.
“Maybe a year and a half, two years from now, they will come (to theaters) for 12 hours,” Costner said recently at CinemaCon, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Horizons “chronicles a multi-faceted, 15-year span of pre-and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American west, as explained by IMDb.
“Explore the lure of the Old West and how it was won-and lost-through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, embark on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America,” the website says of the storyline.
“When I think about the promise of America, there was a promise out here, if you could go. If you were tough enough, if you were mean enough, if you were resourceful enough, if you were lucky enough, you could take what you wanted in America,” Costner said of the saga.
“That promise meant that we step on a whole group of people who had been here for thousands of years,” he continued. “But that’s what happened in America. … I don’t pass judgment because I don’t want to look down on people’s resourcefulness.”
Business and finance expert Eric Schiffer told Fox Business it would be “lethally stupid” for fans to attend the movie theater for that long.
“When you think of binging, and you do it perhaps at the house, you’re alone. You have privacy, you have perhaps your loved ones and the ability to break and do other things,” he explained. “To sit in a movie theater, even if there’s a small intermission, it sounds like Costner needs to be paying people to go.”
“It’s wacky, it’s crazed, and it’s inconsistent with modern-day reality,” Schiffer said.
Doug Eldridge of Achilles Public Relations, told Fox Business that despite a surge in “the hunger for Westerns,” Costner’s idea of binge-watching in the theater is akin to “P.T. Barnum showmanship.”
“If Costner solely intended to release this in one half-day marathon format, it simply wouldn’t survive; more accurately, it would likely never be cleared for takeoff, much less crash and burn,” he said.
“This level of P.T. Barnum showmanship will certainly appeal to a portion of the viewing audience who would love the sheer audacity (and awesomeness) of a 12-hour movie,” Eldridge added. “It’s not for everyone, but if Costner times it right, he’ll reach the broader audience as well as the niche audience and come away the big winner.”
According to Eldridge, Costner is cashing in on the popularity of Yellowstone.
“‘Yellowstone’ was a key driver in that revival, and Costner was at the heart of the hit series,” he continued. “He is doubling-down on that popularity — both for himself and for the genre — in the creation of ‘Horizon.’ I predict it will be a monster hit, and Costner will cash in, commercially and critically.”
As for the popularity of westerns, Alex Garland’s provocative “Civil War” surpassed expectations and earned $25.7 million in ticket sales in North America over the weekend, according to the New York Post, which cited studio estimates Sunday.
“It’s the biggest R-rated opening of the year to date and a record for A24, the studio behind films like ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ and ‘The Iron Claw,’” the newspaper reported.
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Author: Tom Tillison
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