Actor Michael Rooker blamed the “Horizon: An American Saga-Chapter 1” low opening-weekend numbers on audience’s short attention spans — “they gotta learn what it’s like to watch real cinema,” he said.
“It’s real cinema folks, so be prepared. We ain’t used to that s—t, you know? We’re used to 90-minute movies. Everything’s 90 minutes … Oh come on, give me a break … Let’s watch a movie that actually tells a story,” he told a TMZ reporter during an interview at LAX on Monday.
The first chapter of Kevin Costner’s “Horizon” hit theaters last weekend — the three-hour film did not perform well. Despite the hefty $100 million dollar cost, it only grossed 11$ million and received a 44% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
These numbers paint a risky picture for Costner, who planned on completing three more three-hour movies to make a full saga. “Chapter 2” is already set to release in August and “Chapter 3” begun production back in April. However, since Costner is financing the film himself, he needs to raise funds to complete the final two movies. He has already invested $38 million of his own into the first two films.
When asked if audiences now are “tik-tokified,” Rooker, who acts beside Costner in the film, expressed his frustration about the effects of social media on attention spans.
“Totally, they are yeah. Of course they are. They’ve gotta get over that crap. Come on. They gotta learn what it’s like to watch real cinema. Please,” he responded.
These films are Costner’s passion project. He not only starred in the epic, but he wrote, directed, and produced it himself. Despite the low performance, Rooker still has faith in the project and in Costner, “It’ll be ok. He is brilliant in this, he is a brilliant director,” said the actor.
“Stop hanging, go see the movie. You’ll enjoy it. “Go to the bathroom before you go in,” Rooker concluded.
“In the great tradition of Warner Bros. Pictures’ iconic Westerns, “Horizon: An American Saga” explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won — and lost — through the blood, sweat and tears of many,” the official log-line states.
“Horizon: An American Saga” is now playing. The next installment will hit theaters on August 16th.
