One of Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” co-stars defended the film after it flopped at the box office.
Michael Rooker told TMZ on Monday that audiences should see the three-hour movie — the first of a four-part series — because it is “real cinema.”
“We ain’t used to that s – – t,” said Rooker, 69. “We’re used to 90-minute movies, everything’s 90 minutes. Oh come on. Give me a break. Get over that s – – t.”
The first “Horizon” film tanked at the box office last weekend, grossing only $11 million.
Costner, 69, spent approximately $38 million of his own money on the movie and its sequel, which arrives in theaters in August.
“You know, let’s watch a movie that actually tells a story, where you learn about the people and you grow to like them or hate them, and it’s not fast cut-cut-cut,” Rooker continued to TMZ.
The “Guardians of the Galaxy” star said that TikTok has affected how audiences consume long-form media.
“They gotta get over that crap, come on,” Rooker said. “Yeah, they’ve gotta learn what it’s like to watch real cinema. Please.”
Rooker was also asked about Costner leaving “Yellowstone” to prioritize his new Western film franchise.
“That’s what we do. We’re actors. We move on,” he said, citing his experience starring on “The Walking Dead” for three years before he was written off the show.
“I get killed off. I don’t know why. I don’t know how to write for the character, so I move on,” Rooker explained. “We move on.”
He then praised Costner, saying, “He is brilliant in this. He’s a brilliant director, and he has the ability to pick absolutely the cream of the crop.”
The Oscar winner’s new movie, which is distributed by Warner Bros., follows more than 20 characters during Western expansion in Civil War-era America. It stars Costner, Rooker, Sienna Miller, Luke Wilson, Sam Worthington and Jena Malone, among many others.
Some of the reviews for “Horizon” have been terrible. The Post called the film “an embarrassing, poorly told mess.” The Daily Beast’s headline, meanwhile, declared the film “a misogynistic, racist . . . mess,” while Variety called the movie “meandering” and said it “seldom seems to aim in a clear direction.”
The film holds a 43% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Costner serves as the writer, director, producer and star of the film. He told Entertainment Weekly on June 28, the day “Horizon” came out, that he isn’t concerned about how it performs at the box office.
“I’ve lived with movies and what happens to them on their opening weekend,” the “Hidden Figures” actor said. “If we put so much pressure on that, we’re bound to be disappointed.”
He continued: “I’m really happy that ‘Horizon’ looks like what it’s supposed to look like, and that’s the way it’ll look the rest of its life. And that’s really important to me in this process.
“Would I love that it would be highly, highly successful? Of course, I’d like that,” Costner said. “My ego would like that; everyone would like that. But I am happiest that the movie that you and I are talking about looks the way I want it to look.”
“Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1” is in theaters now.
