Kevin Costner, who makes "movies for men," thanks women for "dragging your men" to his films

Kevin Costner “couldn’t conceive of a scene that didn’t involve a woman” when he was writing Horizon: An American Saga, he said on a recent episode of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. On the press tour for his big swing, self-financed movie which he co-wrote, directed, and also plays the lead, he has waxed poetic about the lack of women in Westerns and how the female presence shaped and defined that period of American expansion. To put his money where his mouth is (again), he paid to fly out his female co-stars when the movie premiered at Cannes. Clearly, it’s a crucial piece of both the story and the marketing. Nevertheless, ladies aren’t really Costner’s audience.

“I make movies for men. That’s what I do,” Costner, who also directed Dances With Wolves, The Postman, and Open Range, said on the podcast. “But I won’t make a movie unless I have strong women characters. That’s how I’ve conducted my career. I think that’s why I have a good following. I thank you women for dragging your men here. It was a Western after all. I just can’t conceive of a movie without having [strong women].”

In this way, it seems Costner has created a Western that’s also a metaphor for his fanbase—male-driven, but upheld by the tireless efforts of women. The fangirl is one of the pillars of society, after all. Let’s hope the Costner fangirls (?) come out in droves because Kev’s got a lot riding on this one. He’s poured a metric fuck ton of his own money into Horizon, and stands to lose a lot if it doesn’t go well. “I’m hoping that doesn’t happen, and I don’t think it will,” Costner said in an interview with IndieWire. “I don’t think it will for one simple reason, which is that movies live forever. It’s not about the opening weekend. I’m going to own this movie forever.” You heard the rallying cry, girls, get yourself and your man to the theater!