Luke Wilson ‘Seriously Spooked by How Badly’ Kevin Costner’s ‘Horizon’ Film Has Done
Kevin Costner's well-documented failure with his passion project Horizon: An American Saga has been a huge disaster for other stars associated with the film, especially actor Luke Wilson.
"Luke was a true believer when he signed up for Horizon," an insider exclusively tells Life & Style. "It was a full buy-in to Kevin's vision and the idea that his giant fan base would show up and make this the surprise hit of the summer."
Luke, 52, played Matthew Van Weyden in the four-part epic Western film, produced by, directed by and starring the 69-year-old Oscar winner. The first part premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 19; however, critics mostly panned the film ahead of its wide release on June 28. Chapter 2 had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 7, while the third and fourth parts have yet to set release dates.
The Legally Blonde actor was stoked to be part of the highly anticipated project, previously calling Horizon "a great, one-of-a-kind thing for me to be a part of."
However, it seems he may have changed his mind when the reviewers began weighing in. "Flash forward a couple of months, and Luke looks like he's seen a ghost," says the Life & Style source. "He's just been seriously spooked by how badly the movie did, especially with the critics. It just doesn't make sense to him, and he's freaked out by it."
Even though Kevin's Horizon cast members have been loyal to the Yellowstone star, "You have to wonder if they're not all going through what Luke is experiencing right now," the source says. "The guy has been totally rattled by the hate thrown in the direction of this movie."
Kevin is the recipient of two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, but Hollywood was not showing him the love this time around.
"Kevin was warned by marketing execs that he could get hit in the press over this film, and that has now happened," a separate insider told Life & Style in June. "The critical beatdown he took in Cannes stings, it stings a lot, but Kevin has defied the odds before and he's even made massive hits out of movies critics didn't entirely get at first, most notably 1992's The Bodyguard."
The source added, "What's more irritating to Kevin is that he really doesn't feel like he has the film industry behind him on this big swing, and he encounters naysayers at every turn. It's supremely annoying to him after all he's done for Hollywood and especially for the Western genre."
Still, Kevin has tried to remain optimistic throughout the process. "He is a man of faith and of hope and even if the town isn't on his side, he's got a track record of entertaining people by following his muse and sticking to his principles," the source said. "It's not like he hasn't had flops before, but the biggest successes, the movies that made him a legend, always started out being underestimated."
