After a turbulent few months in his personal life in the midst of his divorce from Christine Baumgartner, Kevin Costner is putting all of his focus on his professional life, and loads of money into it too.
The Yellowstone actor finalized his divorce from his now ex-wife late last year, after months of legal back-and-forth over the conditions of their premarital agreement, as well as child and spousal support.
But now, with their courtroom drama in the rearview mirror, the acclaimed director has his eyes set on film sets instead, particularly building his own.
Fans of Kevin have known for some time that he has long been working on his passion project, getting back to the director’s chair for a four-part Western epic, Horizon: An American Saga. The first part of the project is set to release in June, with a sequel to follow in August.
Though the films, which were filmed in southern Utah, have reportedly been completed, it appears Kevin is far from done with filming in the state, and now plans to build Territory Film Studios, which among various amenities, will boast 152,750 square feet of studio space.
Per The Salt Lake Tribune, St. George Mayor Michele Randall shared the news during her State of the City address. The 500-acre film compound will feature two studios, a production warehouse for set design and office space, plus a “Costner-themed” restaurant that will also offer catering services.
© Mark Von HoldenBrett Burgess, president of Development Solutions Group, Inc., told the Tribune the massive project is Kevin’s “passion.” The outlet also reports the idea stemmed from his frustration and finding it difficult to find adequate warehouses to film interior scenes for his upcoming Western saga.
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Kevin has previously noted he has been working on and mulling over the concept for Horizon for decades before it became official.
© GettyPer IMDb, the films “[chronicle] a multi-faceted, 15-year span of pre-and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American west.”
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Kevin recently opened up about his excitement over the film’s progress in an Instagram post last year, sharing a photo of his director’s chair with red-hued canyons as the backdrop.
“We’re deep into the production of #HorizonFilm, and, I have to tell you, I haven’t felt this way about a movie since we were making Dances With Wolves. Can’t wait to share it with all of you,” he wrote.
Dances with Wolves was his directorial debut in 1990, in which he played lead character Lieutenant John Dunbar. It won Best Picture and Best Director for Kevin at the Oscars, plus seven other wins of twelve nominations in total. Horizon marks his first time back in the director’s chair since Open Range, which premiered in 2003.
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