DURANGO, Colo. (KREX) — Hollywood star Kevin Costner is both acting in and directing the Horizon sagas - a series of new movies set for release in the next couple of months.
I sat down with the mega star on his movie set in Durango.
He says he always thought of it as a movie - some people tried to convince him to make it a series because it was long and involved, but he says it's an American movie - it needs the big wide screen.
As finding untouched land and 1800s infrastructure grows increasingly harder, our backyard seemed like the needle in the haystack - specifically, Durango's steam train. The crew ended up casting about 70 background actors. Background Casting Director Maryellen Aviano tells Western Slope Now that after 700 Durango and other Colorado locals responded to her casting call for a scene in the second horizon film, the chosen 70 each got their own tailored 1800s outfit to play train passengers and people wandering old-timey streets.
Filming at the train station took 12 hours - from about 4 in the afternoon to roughly 4 in the morning. Crew members tell Western Slope Now that Costner shot most of the first two movies in the La Sal Mountains, Moab, and other areas of Utah.
J. Michael Muro, the director of cinematography not just for this Horizon saga but also for Titanic, Terminator, and The Abyss, helps Costner put an image to his vision. He says Kevin Costner is a very classic-lined filmmaker - they want it to be real life when the audience looks at the movie, so they're not using too many camera tricks.
However, one modern technique used to fake the old-timey streets of Chicago is giant blue screens, much like a green screen.
The first chapter heads to theaters next month - if you go, you'll probably recognize several locations.