ST. GEORGE — The red rocks of rural Southern Utah have welcomed three cast members joining Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Costner on the second installment of his four-part movie series “Horizon: an American Saga.”
The new cast members on the Civil War Western film series include Giovanni Ribisi (“Avatar: The Way of Water”), Oscar-nominated Kathleen Quinlan (“Apollo 13”) and Glynn Turman (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), according to a news release from “Horizon.”
In Washington County, wagon trains and semi trucks full of film props dot the landscape as production is underway this week. Costner has assembled a notable cast for the multifaceted film, which spans 15 years of pre-and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West.
The Western also stars Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Ella Hunt, Will Patton, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman and Thomas Haden Church.
“In the great tradition of classic Westerns, the next chapter of ‘Horizon: an American Saga’ continues to explore the lure of the Old West and will take audiences on a treacherous 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 news release states.
The film brings Costner back to the director’s chair for the first time since his 2003 critically acclaimed “Open Range.” “Horizon: an American Saga” revisits Civil War-era America, the setting for his 1990 blockbuster and directorial debut, “Dances with Wolves,” which won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
“The State of Utah, with its intrinsic beauty, is the perfect backdrop for the story of ‘Horizon’ and can be said to be its own character in our story,” Costner said in the news release. “I am looking forward to bringing the production of this next installment of ‘Horizon’ to Washington County, and I want to thank Joyce Kelly, who was tireless in her efforts to bring the west back to Utah and her beloved county and the Commission for their support in making that possible.”
Although Washington and Kane Counties have been home to productions like “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “High School Musical,” music videos and commercials, Kelly said the area has “never been involved in anything with this magnitude before.” Kelly is the Greater Zion Convention and Tourism Office sales manager.
Kelly said this type of production could springboard the area into drawing many more major films to Washington County. The first part of “Horizon” was shot in and around Moab in 2022 after the State Legislature passed Utah’s State Film Production Amendments bill exempting rural productions from the limits on the state’s annual tax incentive program.
Costner had stated he would bring more production to Utah if lawmakers passed the bill. “Horizon” parts two and three will be filmed in Southern Utah. The television series “Yellowstone,” in which he stars, was filmed in Utah but moved production exclusively to Montana after that state offered better tax incentives for filming there.
Rejoining Costner behind the camera for the second installment is director of photography J. Michael Muro (“Billionaire Boys Club,” “Parker”), production designer Derek R. Hill (“Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan,” “The Magnificent Seven”), editor Miklos Wright (“For All Mankind,” “Open Range”), and costume designer Lisa Lovaas (“Ambulance,” “Transformers: The Last Knight”). It is co-written with Jon Baird (“The Explorers Guild”).
Costner is producing the film through his Territory Pictures. Warner Bros. Pictures will distribute a New Line Cinema presentation of a Territory Pictures production, the “Horizon: an American Saga” films in the US.
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Photo Gallery
On the set of Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Costner's second installment of “Horizon: An American Saga" in Washington County, St. George, Utah, April 25, 2023 | Photo by Stephanie DeGraw, St. George News On the set of Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Costner for the second installment of “Horizon: An American Saga" in Washington County, St. George, Utah, April 25, 2023 | Photo by Stephanie DeGraw, St. George News Actors wait on the set of Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Costner on his second installment of “Horizon: An American Saga" in Washington County, St. George, Utah, April 25, 2023 | Photo by Stephanie DeGraw, St. George News Antonino Giovanni Ribisi joins Kevin Costner on his four-part movie series "Horizon: an American Saga", unspecified location and date | photo courtesy of Getty Images, St. George News Actress Kathleen Quinlan joins Kevin Costner's film Horizon filming in Southern Utah, unspecified location and date | photo courtesy of Bruce Abbott, St. George News Actor Glynn Turman joins Kevin Costner on his four-part movie series "Horizon: an American Saga", unspecified location and date | Photo courtesy of Bobby Quillard, St. George News Actors starring in "Horizon: an American Saga," include(L-R) Glynn Turman, Kathleen Quinlan and Giovanni Ribisi | Photos by Bobby Quillard, Bruce Abbot and Getty Images, St. George News American actor, film director, and producer Kevin Costner arrives on the red carpet for the global celebration of the film "Hidden Figures" at the SVA Theatre, Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016 in New York. The film is based on the book of the same title, by Margot Lee Shetterly, and chronicles the lives of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson -- African-American women working at NASA as “human computers,” who were critical to the success of John Glenn’s Friendship 7 mission in 1962. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
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