Kevin Costner Breaks Silence On ‘Yellowstone’ Feud, Threatens Lawsuit

Kevin Costner went on report for the primary time, telling his facet of the months-long dispute with the hit present Yellowstone.

Costner testified at his divorce listening to on Friday, and the dialog dug into his funds from the Paramount Community collection which has grown to grow to be the most-watched drama on tv.

In response to Individuals (together with different studies), the 68-year-old Golden Globe-winning Yellowstone star stated he would possibly take the present to court docket to settle their variations. Costner claimed he’s owed $12 million for the not-yet-filmed second half of season 5 after Paramount “walked away” from negotiations.

“It’s a little bit disappointing that [it’s the] No. 1 present on tv [and] I’m not collaborating,” stated Costner, whose spouse of 19 years, Christine Baumgartner, filed for divorce in Could. “I’ll in all probability go to court docket over it.”

Costner’s consultant and Paramount’s consultant had no remark.

Yellowstone has been in hiatus for the reason that first half of season 5 aired late final yr. The rationale for the hold-up has been a bit murky, with sources from the manufacturing blaming the actor’s busy schedule, sources from the actor’s camp claiming showrunner Taylor Sheridan took on too many tasks, and Sheridan himself pointing to Paramount’s rising calls for for extra content material for its streaming service.

One issue is that Costner landed a deal to make a dream venture, a four-part film saga titled Horizon, which has already completed taking pictures at the least the primary movie, Horizon: An American Saga. As soon as the choice was made final yr to separate Yellowstone season 5 into two seasons, Costner stated he rearranged his manufacturing schedule with Horizon. However when he was prepared to start filming, scripts for the second half of the season weren’t prepared. In Could, Paramount shocked followers by asserting the present would finish with the second half of season 5.

Costner claimed he needed to return for season six, however “I couldn’t assist them any extra. We tried to barter, they supplied me much less cash than earlier seasons [and] there have been points with the inventive.”

In The Hollywood Reporter’s cowl story profile of Sheridan, the showrunner gave his facet of the matter.

The actor had requested to work fewer and fewer days on Yellowstone the previous couple of seasons to concentrate on his films, which annoyed producers, in response to Sheridan.

“My final dialog with Kevin was that he had this ardour venture he needed to direct,” stated Sheridan, who’s at present pencils-down to help the WGA strike. “He and the community had been arguing about when he might be achieved with Yellowstone. I stated, ‘We will actually work a schedule towards [his preferred exit date],’ which we did.”

There are ongoing discussions to attempt to persuade Costner to movie a couple of scenes to wrap his character, although the scripts usually are not but full.

“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered,” Sheridan says. “His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and highly effective … and I’ve by no means had a problem with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the cellphone. However as soon as legal professionals become involved, then folks don’t get to speak to one another and begin saying issues that aren’t true and try and shift blame primarily based on how the press or public appear to be reacting. He took quite a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anybody deserves it. His film appears to be an excellent precedence to him and he needs to shift focus. I positive hope [the movie is] value it — and that it’s a very good one.

“I’m upset,” Sheridan provides. “It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it surely truncates it.”

Sheridan hinted that John Dutton was by no means going to be round for the very finish of the present, and that the conclusion of Yellowstone is unchanged from his authentic film script. But Costner’s statements in court docket at present prompt that — if Costner’s function is certainly wrapped in season 5 — it was a mighty massive truncation, on condition that the unique plan was apparently to have him stick round for seven seasons.