As he promotes his new film, Horizon, Kevin Costner has come out fighting for physical media, declaring DVD not dead.
With his new film, Horizon: An American Saga – Part 1 debuting at the Cannes Film Festival shortly, Kevin Costner has given a lengthy interview to Deadline, where he’s been talking about the road to making the movie. In it, there’s quite a lot of discussion about the moviemaking ecosystem in which he’s put the project together, and a chat over the path to the film making money.
The interviewer puts to Costner towards the end of the conversation that “the death of DVD” – news to us who still avidly collect physical media – is a problem. Kevin Costner? He’s having none of it, and launches a staunch defence of discs. “Death of the what?”, Costner retorts. “DVD is not dead, at all. That’s what they’d have you believe”.
He warms to his topic, and argues “maybe it’s not making the same amount of money, but just try to go ask for that from the studio. They won’t give that up”.
He adds too that home viewing is an important part of modern filmmaking too, saying that “a lot of people that like my movies, they can’t get to a theatre, and they’re waiting for that moment”.
Which seems like a more realistic summary of the situation that one or two of the studios have been offering. Few argue that physical media can’t be profitable, it’s just not making the kind of profits it was making a decade ago. As such, the huge companies ruled by maximising money against all else have shut down their physical media side, while others have had more belief in preserving film, and the importance of a physical release.
The full interview with Kevin Costner can be found here, and Horizon: An American Saga – Part 1 releases in cinemas at the end of June.
