It’s no secret Kevin Costner loves making movies about baseball, but his favorite genre — and the one for which he will best be remembered long after he’s rode off into the sunset — is the western.
His first major role was as a gun-slinger in “Fandango,” and he kept his guns a’blazin in “Wyatt Earp” and “Silverado.” But it was “Dances With Wolves,” an epic western Costner produced, directed and starred in, that earned him Best Picture and Best Director Oscars and secured his place among Hollywood’s elite.
“The funny thing is, I directed ‘Dances’ myself because I couldn’t get anybody else to direct it,” Costner told me in an interview several years ago. “The conventional thinking at the time from everybody I showed (the script) to was the movie was too long.”
Costner was convinced the project was a winner and financed the film in large part with his life’s savings, making the movie he wanted people to see. The gamble ultimately paid off, but because he refused to compromise his vision along the way he was accused by some in the industry of being a control freak.
Costner countered: “The biggest misconception about me is that I’m controlling. My point of view is that you have to be in control of what you think. I feel like I can be pushed around about 99 yards, but that other yard is mine, and that’s where I can’t be pushed around.
“I don’t let people push the movie around, and since they don’t have a better word for that, they call it con-trolling.”
Call it what you will, there’s no mistaking who called the shots on Costner’s latest film, the sprawling western “Open Range,” on which he once again claims directing, producing and starring credits.
This beautifully crafted film, which co-stars Robert Duvall and Annette Bening, ought to serve as a cogent reminder that when it comes to the western — considered by many to be a dying breed — nobody does it like Costner.
“The idea behind making this movie was that westerns can be great, but too often in the recent past they haven’t been,” said Costner. “It’s a genre that’s been lazy, living on glory from a long, long time ago. And I think younger generations aren’t wrong in thinking westerns are bull----, because all too often it’s been simplified to be just white hat versus black hat.”
When the opportunity to make “Open Range” came along, Costner said he jumped on it primarily because he felt a deep connection to the material. He sees it as a period piece that transcends the era it depicts; a timeless story with universal themes that will resonate with modern audiences.
“The little things excited me about ‘Open Range,’” he said. “Obviously you’ve got to get to the gunfight. And I’m going to take you there. But I’m going to try and break with tradition when I get you there.”
To that end, Costner eschewed many of the conventions of the western.
The hero he plays, Charley Waite, won’t hesitate to fire the first shot or shoot a man when he’s down. And if you look closely enough, you can see him recoil slightly at the sound of his own gun.
When it it’s time for the big gun-fight, the townsfolk don’t scatter, they take to the streets to watch it all go down. Yes, there are those “little things” Costner relishes, too — a woman fussing over a tea set, a man digging his wagon out of the mud, a child playing with a dog in the street — but the director knows that at the heart of any great western lies good old-fashioned shoot-outs. And on that front, he delivers.
“I like big horizons, and I like running horses. I just know that about five seconds after you see that stuff, something else better be happening in the movie,” he said, flashing that famous boyish grin. “Otherwise, it’s like you’re watching somebody else’s home movies.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 15, 2003. Read the original PDF.