‘It defined America’: Praises for Southern Utah at premier for Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 2

“I’ve been staring at Southern Utah since I was a little boy, first in the images and images in movies, and then on my traveling,” Costner said. “For some reason, those big open spaces, those big red spaces, those flat top mesas just drew me in, and it defined America for me.”

Horizon’s Chapter 2 is part of a four-film series about the settlement of the American West starring Costner, who is also the director, producer and cowriter.

Many fans and celebrities attended California’s Santa Barbara Film Festival to support Costner. The film had its world premiere at the 81st Venice Film Festival in September.

Costner added that he is eager to return to film in Utah, mainly to make a third film, and is actively working toward that goal.

“I’m desperate to make the third Horizon film and bring it to everyone,” Costner said. “I’d like to get back there this year. I’m working every day for that to happen.”

Costner is continuing to build a studio for his venture, Territory Pictures in St. George, which he believes will be advantageous for local filmmakers and those aspiring to enter the business.

“To have that studio available. It’s great for filmmakers, and it’s great for the people who want to enter that movie business while living in Utah,” Costner said. “I like the whole circle of how it can work.”

After the film’s screening, Roger Durling, executive director of the Santa Barbara Film Festival, moderated a panel featuring questions posed to Costner, Lisa Lovaas, costume designer and John Debney, composer.

Costner started the panel by reflecting on the Western myth, stating that immigrants were told if they could get across the Atlantic Ocean, there was a place like the Garden of Eden.

“If you were mean enough and tough enough, you can make it yours,” Costner said. “And that dream that brought people across the Atlantic was a nightmare for people who had been here for fifteen thousand years.”

Women are prominent in Costner’s movies, and he stated that he was always bothered that more women were not featured in Westerns, “because there was no Western without women.”

He also said he was proud of the film’s production crew and the location’s “sheer beauty.”

“It’s the little things in life that catch us,” Costner said. “Movies are about details you never ever forget.”

Lovaas told the audience she researched heavily for inspiration for the show’s clothing and costumes. Plus, Costner is very knowledgeable about the West from past research.

“I think it was very important to stay true to what the White Mountain Apaches, what we see in the research and what we see in books and paintings what they wore and it was influenced by the Spanish,” Lovaas said. “And we did a lot of the cottons. I think what was really nice, filmically, was that the Apaches were in this cream color against the red rock. And I think it looked really beautiful on film and was accurate for those Apaches.”

Lovaas added that she tried to show the characters’ lives through their clothing.

“We did try to make a point that anytime the wagon train was by water, we would put the effort into clotheslines and showing that they just had one or two options,” Lovaas said. “So they would try to wash and try to clean and try to respect what they were wearing because it wasn’t like today; they had just a couple of things, so they would keep it nice and try to keep it clean.”

The music in the Horizon films is woven carefully throughout by composer John Debney. He spoke about his inspirations for the film. Horizon Chapters 1 and 2 were indeed the first films where he didn’t realize till midway through the process that he was inspired by not only the incredible scenery, but also what Costner put on screen.

“Not only the incredible acting, but I realized that the costumes were speaking to me,” Debney said. “And that doesn’t happen often. I think it was the care that Kevin and Lisa took.”

Debney discussed his approach to his work and shared the focus on the main themes in the movie.

“One of the things that Kevin and I spoke about early was the idea of a beautiful voice, the inner voice of these incredible women that just take over the screen. There is a Hayes theme, an Ellison Hayes theme that I quite enjoy whenever Kevin comes on the screen,” Debney said. “And then there’s an overall noble theme that I hope exemplifies all sides — our Native Americans, our settlers — the incredible story of all these people. This cacophony of life that they brutally, steadfastly pushed on to try and create.”

Debney added he pursued the right blend of sound and music for the time period.

“And tonight, I really noticed during the wagon train, the fire. There’s music throughout, yet the effects play on top, and it’s just such a beautiful marriage,” Debney said. “I would say it’s always a marriage between sound and music. And I think, guided by Kevin, both films exhibit real artistry in sound. And I couldn’t be more proud of it.”