Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter Two directed by and starring Kevin Costner

Horizon: An American Saga-Chapter Two, directed by and starring the Academy Award-winning visionary filmmaker Kevin Costner, and also starring Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone and Danny Huston, is featured in world premiere screening, in the out-of-competition section, on Saturday 7 September (Sala Giardino, 3 pm) at the 81^st Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia, directed by Alberto Barbera (August 28^th—September 7^th 2024). Horizon: An American Saga-Chapter One also screens on the same day, Saturday 7 September (Sala Giardino, 9 am) at the 81^st Venice Film Festival.

New Line Cinema’s Horizon: An American Saga, Chapters One and Two, is a multi-faceted chronicle covering the Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West. A story of America too big for one film, this true cinematic event is also written by Kevin Costner, who co-writes with Jon Baird (The Explorers Guild) and produces through his Territory Pictures.

Kevin Costner says: «My dream was always to show Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter Two at the Venice Film Festival. The fact that now they have decided to show Chapter One earlier in the day and then the World Premiere of Chapter Two that evening shows not only their belief in how the two films work together but their support of a director’s vision. I’m indebted to Alberto Barbera for his courage and leadership in committing to this cinematic journey.  It is with gratitude and excitement that I return to the Venice Film Festival. Long live the movies and those willing to stand for them».

Alberto Barbera says: «It is a great pleasure and honor to host the world premiere of the Chapter Two of Horizon: An American Saga, alongside its Chapter One. This late addition to the lineup of the Venice Film Festival pays a heartfelt and respectful tribute to the visionary project of a great actor and director, who invested himself in the epic reconstruction of the years crucial to the founding of the country, digging beyond myth in search of authenticity capable of restoring a piece of history in its complex and contradictory reality».

In the great tradition of Warner Bros. Pictures’ iconic Westerns, Horizon: An American Saga explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won—and lost—through the blood, sweat and tears of many. Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional 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.

Kevin Costner returns to directing for the first time since his 2003 critically acclaimed hit Open Range, and 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. He produces alongside Howard Kaplan and Mark Gillard, with Danny Peykoff, Robert Scannell, Armyan Bernstein, Charlie Lyons, Barry Berg and Rod Lake executive producing.

Costner is joined behind the camera by 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). The music is by Oscar nominee John Debney (The Passion of the Christ, The Greatest Showman).

While working at the famed Raleigh Studios and taking acting classes at night, Kevin Costner’s career in film officially began when he landed a role in the ensemble drama The Big Chill.  Although he would not make the final cut in the film, it would set the stage for starring roles in a string of seminal films, the first of which being coming of age comedy, Fandango.
Throughout his career, Costner has varied his choices with comedy, action and drama roles.  He has appeared in such popular box-office hits as Silverado, No Way Out, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, The Bodyguard and Wyatt Earp.
Costner’s exceptional filmmaking abilities were showcased in Dances with Wolves, which he produced, directed and starred in, and which won seven Academy Awards including “Best Picture” and “Best Director.”
In addition to appearing in memorable roles in JFK, The Untouchables and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, he re-teamed with his Bull Durham director Ron Shelton for the hit feature Tin Cup.
Costner also starred in Thirteen Days, successfully collaborating again with his No Way Out director Roger Donaldson.  His other film credits include For Love of the Game, The War, 3,000 Miles to Graceland, Dragonfly and The Postman, his second directing effort.
Kevin Costner last directed the box office hit and critically acclaimed film Open Range, which he also co-starred in alongside Robert Duvall and Annette Bening.
Costner co-starred with Joan Allen in the dramatic film Upside of Anger, opposite Jennifer Aniston in Rumor Has It directed by Rob Reiner for Warner Brothers, The Guardian, an action drama for Touchstone Pictures in which he portrayed a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, the thriller Mr. Brooks, and he starred in Touchstone Pictures’ political comedy Swing Vote.
Costner also starred in the History Channel’s record-setting mini-series The Hatfields and McCoys: An American Vendetta in which he portrayed “Devil” Anse Hatfield, the patriarch of the famed clan, opposite Bill Paxton.  He also served as a producer of the series, which received 16 Emmy Award nominations, winning the Best Actor in a mini-series or movie Emmy for Costner.  He also received the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards for his performance.

Most recently Costner was seen in the Warner Bros. film Superman: Man of Steel, as the superhero’s father Jonathan Kent; co-starred with Chris Pine in Jack Ryan, Paramount Pictures’ revival of the Tom Clancy franchise; the spy thriller Three Days to Kill for Relativity Media; the football inspired Draft Day, directed by Ivan Reitman; the track team drama McFarland for Disney; the drama Black & White, which he produced and co-starred with Octavia Spencer; Criminal, in which he co-starred with Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones and Ryan Reynolds; and Hidden Figures, in which he co-starred with Taraji Henson, Octavia Spencer and Jenelle Monae, and received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble; the true-crime drama The Highwaymen opposite Woody Harrelson for Netflix; and the thriller Let Him Go, co-starring Diane Lane and directed by Tom Bezucha.
In addition, he starred in and executive produced the Paramount Network’s hit-drama, Yellowstone, a role for which he received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama.
Currently, Costner is directing, producing and starring in Horizon: An American Saga, a multi-faceted, years-long span of post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West. Experienced through the eyes of many, the epic journey is fraught with peril and intrigue from the constant onslaught of natural elements to the interactions with the Native American people who lived on the land and the determination and at many times ruthlessness of those who sought to settle it.
Through his Territory Pictures, he also serves as executive producer of the Civil War spy drama The Gray House, a six-hour limited series for Paramount +.
Costner also produced and co-authored the New York Times bestselling adventure novel The Explorers Guild.
When Costner is not working on films, he sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar in his band, Modern West, and can be seen playing venues across the country.  The band recently recorded a collection of songs from and inspired by Yellowstone entitled Tales From Yellowstone, the follow-up to their Hatfields & McCoys inspired album Famous For Killing Each Other.  The band’s song "The Angels Came Down" from their album Turn It On, was adopted by the Gold Star Moms and Gold Star Wives organizations, which support the mothers, wives and families of fallen soldiers.