Are there even more Kevin Costner money problems on the horizon?
In the wake of Kevin Costner’s contentious divorce from Christine Baumgartner, his career hasn’t slowed.
However, his most recent project has been a disappointment. Both a commercial and a critical failure, Horizon: An American Saga could be another life-altering setback.
Financing a passion project is a goal for many actors. But in the wake of his divorce, this could upend his life and force him to sell off property just to stay afloat.
What new money problems is Kevin Costner facing?
Horizon: An American Saga is supposed to be, well, a saga. But the first film crashed and burned … leaving him to pick up the pieces and pay the $100 million bill.
According to a new report by Life & Style, Kevin Costner used land that he owns in order to finance the project. Part of that land was apparently a sprawling ranch.
“Kevin banked Horizon largely, but not entirely, on undeveloped California land he owns,” the insider explained. “And reality is starting to set in that he’s likely going to have to part with this real estate.”
According to the source, Kevin Costner will have to part with this land “and also reshuffle his other holdings.”
He may need to do that simply “to remain solvent after the disappointing showing of the first film in this saga.”
When a major production platform finances a four-part Western film series, the company eats the cost of a commercial failure. In this case, though, it looks like it’s all on Costner’s shoulders.
Why was Kevin Costner’s Western saga such a disappointment?
On May 19, the first of these films premiered at Cannes. Critics at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, however, more or less panned the film ahead of its wide release on June 28.
When words like “slog” and “dull” are showing up in big-name reviewers’ official pieces, it’s never what you want to see.
The second film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 7. The third and fourth parts’ release dates remain unknown.
“Make no mistake: Kevin is determined to make all four films and get them out to his fans,” the inside source insisted. “And Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 did not do horribly when it went to home video.”
That’s something, at least. But with Kevin Costner pouring a reported $38 million of his own money into the project, he’d need a lot of DVD sales even to break even.
Yes, Kevin Costner is rich. But seldom is the difference between a mega-millionaire and a billionaire more clear than when we’re talking about financing a film.
There are other expenses
At present, Kevin Costner’s child support payments amount to $63,000 per month to ex-wife Christine Baumgartner. This money ensures that their shared children not only continue to receive food and clothes, but that they continue to receive the education and lifestyle appropriate for their family. If child support only covered necessities, children would risk spending time “poor” when with one parent.
“Kevin’s divorce wasn’t cheap, he still gives his kids a lot of money, but this film investment has been a giant piano hanging over his head, and he’s not backing away,” the inside source affirmed. “There’s still some momentum behind these films, even if it’s all coming from Kevin.”
The insider added: “But it’s getting dark. Week by week, it’s becoming clearer that Kevin probably should have made this content as a TV miniseries, and in that event he never would have gotten into this hole. Instead, Kevin is re-organizing his life, his finances and his possessions around funding the Horizon project for a couple of more years.”