Kevin Costner's €28m gamble: Inside the making of "Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1"

In theatres, you can watch the opus magnum, the life’s work of Kevin Costner. "Horizon - Chapter 1" has no shortage of intense scenes. Actress Abbey Lee describes the preparation for a sex scene.

To create "Horizon," Kevin Costner mortgaged his house and put up more than €28 million from his account for the production, which cost a total of €94 million. As we wrote, Costner isn’t holding back. Right from the start of "Horizon - Chapter One," he delivers a brutal massacre to the viewers. Members of the Apache tribe attack a White settlement, leading to the slaughter of nearly the entire community. Explosions, houses in flames, bloody carnage, and a mother with a child escaping through an underground tunnel to avoid certain death – this is how the first minutes of the film present themselves, which tells the story of the beginnings of American settlements in the so-called Wild West. Costner also stars in his movies, and he even has intimate scenes.

Kevin Costner plays Hayes Ellison in the film, while Abbey Lee portrays Marigold - a girl from a tiny backwater town where she has to fight for survival. Marigold prostitutes herself, trying by all means to find someone who can help her escape somewhere far away. When Hayes appears in her life, she starts to pursue and flirt with him.

In "Horizon," Lee and Costner share an intimate scene, which the actress discussed in an interview with "People." "Kevin was very sensitive about that," said the star. "He made sure that I was really comfortable and we had a long talk about it beforehand," she recalls.

Costner mentioned to Abbey that her naked body would not be visible on screen, and there would be no graphic scenes in the film. "You have to talk about the details of it so you understand what's going on so everyone feels safe and comfortable," she adds. "And we obviously had those conversations," she added.

"But yes, there's always an element of discomfort [with sex scenes]. They're always a bit weird, but as long as you can trust the people around you ... it's just weird because there's people standing in a room while you're doing this fake, intimate thing. It's just strang," said Abbey Lee.

Kevin Costner took a deep dive. Reportedly, the "Horizon" saga idea was conceived more than three decades ago. At that time, however, he decided to make "Dances with Wolves," which brought him well-deserved fame and made him a top star. To realise his long-standing dream, he mortgaged his house, contributed his funds to the production, and actively promoted the film – from the Cannes festival to press conferences for media worldwide.

What about viewership results? Here, Kevin Costner might be disappointed. The film, which had a budget of €110 million, earned only €10 million on the first weekend of its showing in the USA. The third installment of "A Quiet Place" did better - viewers left €42 million at the box office in the USA, and globally, it has already grossed €93 million. The number one film in theatres is "Inside Out 2" with a billion dollars.