Kevin Costner and Francis Ford Coppola talk about their love of cinema and the pain that comes with it

Kevin Costner AND Francis Ford Coppola both have major film projects they are currently developing with Costner’s Horizon Western films and those of Coppola Megalopolis. These filmmakers are both self-financing these projects and have invested well over $100 million of their own money into them.

Costner said, “I mortgaged 10 acres on the water in Santa Barbara where I was going to build my last home. But I did it without thinking about it. He threw my accountant into a fucking connivance. But it’s my life and I believe in the idea and the story.”

As for Coppola, he sold his winery to finance his film. These projects are just that important to them. So why are they taking these kinds of risks to make these movies? Because they love the art of cinema and these are stories they feel the need to tell. When he explained their drive behind this, Costner told Deadline:

“History will speak loudly to Francis; others will scratch their heads. I commissioned this story in 1988. Single film, co-ed. A conventional western with a beginning, middle and end. I couldn’t get anyone to do it. Then right after I made Open Range and it worked pretty well, I had a chance with Disney. We had a difference of 5 million dollars. They had been very successful with Open Range, but a $5 million difference prevented them from making this film. Now, I’m stubborn, and I think Francis probably is too. Eight years later, I started thinking about the story, started writing with a partner, and it ended up being four scripts. So I reverse engineered everything from 1988. I thought it was really good. But I still couldn’t get anyone to do it.

“At the end of the day, I’m a storyteller, and I’ve gone ahead and put my money into it. I’m not a very good businessman, so scratch your head if you want. I don’t know why, but I didn’t let this go. I’ve pushed him into the middle of the table three times in my career and haven’t bat an eye. This is my fourth. And probably one of the few people in the world that I could talk to about this would be with Francis.

When Coppola was asked if he could relate to any of this, he said:

“It does. To me, when you go into the great unknown, you don’t want to say, “Oh, I wish I’d done this or that.” You mean, I have to do it.’ And you’ll be busy thinking about what you did that you wanted to do, that when death comes, you won’t even notice.

Costner responded, saying, “That’s how I feel about it.” Coppola continued to share, “I’ve always operated with this vague idea of ​​trying to do things, because if you don’t achieve them, it’s no worse than if you don’t try. At least by trying, you have a chance to make it.

During the interview, Coppola’s famous quarrels with Paramount Studios ended The Godfather they were raised and with self-financing Megalopolis the study makes it. In this regard he said:

“You used the word authorship, the idea of ​​the theory of the author, where there is only one voice. But even that author is basically standing on the shoulders of previous giants. There is no way around it. So authorship just means that the film is honest to its theme and premise. It must be personal, real; it can’t be a summary of what people decided would be a good formula for a movie. I fully recognize that every film I make is filled with things I learned from watching the greats who came before me.”

At this point, Kevin Costner chimed in and talked about how every movie that gets made is plagued with challenges, and it seems like it’s a miracle that any kind of original movie actually gets made:

“When you walk into a studio and walk down the halls, you see all these movie posters they made. Unless you’re the director, you can’t really figure out, forensically, how those movies went: who almost killed it, who could have screwed it up, who tried to screw it up and now puts it before and after center on the wall. We enter brave and certain of what we hear, but those voices can enter you. There’s a fear of doing something a little original. For example, we know in a rom-com that, first and foremost, they have to hate each other. From second base to third base, maybe there’s something between them. And then you get home and you have your movie. There is a formula to comedy. Nothing wrong with the formula. But God curses a person like me or Francesco; if we decide to do straight comedy, we’ll hit those basics, but we might hit them our own way.

“And God forbid they go and try it. Then all hell breaks loose. This is when movies are at their most vulnerable when we start giving them scores. Because, really, these are emotional experiences, not intellectual ones. I know, absolutely, that because of the tests, studio execs live or die depending on what happens on Friday night. But movies can have a very long life after that. I believe in the life of the film more than I believe in the opening weekend, so every decision I make has to do with that.”

These are the types of directors I admire! The ones that are going to go out there and take those kinds of risks, the ones that are passionate to the bone, and cinema is so ingrained in their souls that they will do whatever it takes to tell their stories and share them with the world.

There is much more to this interview and you can read it here.