HORIZON: Three Reasons We All Need to See it on the Big Screen

Kevin Costner's HORIZON comes out this weekend and we all need to go see it in the theater.

Why? Here are three reasons:

1. WE NEED MORE WESTERNS. Everyone says that Westerns are finally back. I'd argue they were never gone but that's for a different post. It's true, there's a resurgence of Western films and TV shows and we can't take it for granted! One movie could kill that trend. Yes, one movie. That's how Hollywood works. If HORIZON bombs, they'll say "Westerns don't sell" and every studio from the big ones to the small ones will get scared of making them. It's happened many a time before in the history of Hollywood... one film's success has changed the course of the entire industry. On that other hand, if HORIZON is a success, even a moderate one that defies the haters and doubters (more on them in a second), then it could lead to an even bigger boom for the Western genre! Without a doubt, Western scripts will be greenlit and companies will open their doors to making more Westerns than before.

2. WE NEED TO SALUTE INDEPENDENCE. Unable to get his dream movie made through the traditional Hollywood system, Costner has ventured out on his own, with his own movie (a big no-no in the industry) to see his passion project completed. I admire his ambition, his courage, and the risks he took and continues to take to get HORIZON finished and up on the big screen. And you can see the haters lying in wait, like a bunch of baddies ready to ambush him. Hollywood doesn't like when one of their own goes rogue and gets it down on his or her own. The establishment is threatened. This happens anytime someone steps out and tries to do something different (see their recent reaction to Francis Ford Coppola's MEGALOPOLIS, which was also brave and self-funded). We the people, on the other hand, should celebrate that kind of independence. It's the same kind that caused a revolution in the film industry with movies like EASY RIDER. And it's also the same kind that made our country what it is (the good parts at least). To be honest, I don't care if HORIZON is a great movie or not. The ambition alone deserves my time and ticket money. I guarantee it will be a flawed movie. It won't be perfect. Most dream projects aren't. However, they reflect the guts one guy or girl had to stick their neck out there and get it done with the help of thousands of people.

3. THIS IS THE LORD OF THE RINGS OF WESTERNS. I was recently chatting with my girlfriend Liz about HORIZON and looking for a way to describe the film, which is actually four movies (fingers crossed): two made and coming out this summer and two in pre-production, one of which could start filming soon. The only comparison I could think of was THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. It suddenly dawned on me... this is the Western equivalent of RINGS, a huge epic tale told over multiple movies. Has there ever been anything like this in the history of the Western? No. LONESOME DOVE is epic but it was made for TV. Even the silent epics of old like THE BIG TRAIL and THE IRON HORSE were single films, not a saga of four! Costner's own DANCES WITH WOLVES and OPEN RANGE are small in scale and ambition compared to what he's trying to do here. And I personally support creative people who swing for the fences, who make an effort to reach further than their grasp.

Kevin Costner and HORIZON need our support. He needs our butts in the seats this weekend and the next and the next. So get turn off Netflix or Amazon or your favorite news channel of choice, get off your couch, and go see HORIZON on the big screen, the way movies were meant to be seen.

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