Kevin Costner says making movies has ‘nothing to do with politics’

Kevin Costner shared his view that American politics shouldn’t have any impact on how Hollywood movies are made.

Ahead of taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump named Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and Jon Voight as his special ambassadors to Hollywood with the aim of bringing back business that he said had been lost to “foreign countries.” 

During an interview with Fox News Digital on Saturday, Costner, 70, explained that he didn’t believe any change was needed in Hollywood with the advent of the Trump administration and filmmakers should focus on theater-goers when creating content.

“I think you make the best movie you can for an audience and understand that…you have a chance. Every so often you have a chance to do something meaningful,” he said while attending Michael Rubin’s Fanatics Super Bowl party in New Orleans.

Costner continued, “And sometimes it’s just pure fun. Movies don’t have to be important, but they have to have an audience in mind.” 

KEVIN COSTNER’S ‘HORIZON 2’ AUGUST THEATRICAL RELEASE CANCELED AFTER FIRST FILM’S DISAPPOINTING EARNINGS

“I think it doesn’t matter about party in [the] office,” he added. “It’s about the people sitting in the dark. It’s got nothing to do with politics.”

In June, Costner left his hit show “Yellowstone” due to scheduling and contract issues that were preventing him from focusing on his four-part Civil War drama “Horizon: An American Saga,” which he starred in and directed. The actor backed the movie series with $38 million of his own money, calling it a passion project from nearly 30 years ago.

“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” was released in theaters last August but disappointed at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics. On Friday, Costner premiered the second installment at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, but a wider theatrical release in the U.S. has not been announced.

After “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” performed poorly at the box office, Costner defended the film and asserted that audiences would come to appreciate the saga over time.

“It’s about the people sitting in the dark. It’s got nothing to do with politics.”

— Kevin Costner

“I’ve faced life with people being dismissive of me,” Costner told E! News. “But they can’t be dismissive of ‘Horizon,’ because now it’s out of their hands. And they might point to the finish line – well, this is what it did at the box office – but I know that this movie is going to play for the next 50 years.”

“There’s a moment in time where you want [your children] to see this movie,” he said. “To understand that this is what their [ancestors] went through. It’s not just a Western, it’s a history of migration and what they had to do to survive. And I’m really proud of it.”

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During a February 2024 interview with Forbes, Costner, who previously directed the movies “Dances With Wolves,” “Open Range,” and “The Postman,” explained his approach to filmmaking.

“I don’t play to my fan base as much as I play to people who are willing to still go to the theater and take them to a place they didn’t imagine,” he said. “I don’t ignore my fanbase on any level, but I don’t cater to the idea of anybody except myself, when it comes to a story that I want to share.”

The two-time Academy Award winner admitted that he doesn’t enjoy directing movies, saying that it “kills me.”

“There’s only one joy – that you’re going to see the movie unfiltered,” he continued. “You’re going to see it unvarnished – you’re going to see it the way I want, and it won’t be manipulated. There won’t be some committee deciding, ‘Well, that’s too hard, or we need to go faster here, or we need to do that.’”

” I tried to arbitrate that for an audience. I try to become the audience while making it. I think what people don’t want is to be bored on any level, and I don’t think they like being talked down to,” Costner added. 

“I don’t think that they flinch from the hard parts of life because there’s not a person in that theater that isn’t bruised.”