Yellowstone’s Kevin Costner caused director to quit amid explosive row

Trailer for 1990 film ‘Dances With Wolves’

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Later today, Kevin Costner is hitting Channel 5 screens in Dances With Wolves, the 1990 multi-Oscar-winning epic Western. The movie placed Costner firmly at the top of Hollywood’s A-list, but things did not last for him.

Just a few years later, Costner signed up to work with director Kevin Reynolds once again, after teaming up with him in Fandango and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. This time around, they began working on the 1995 epic Waterworld – a post-apocalyptic adventure movie based on the premise that water had engulfed the planet’s surface.

Costner played the hero – The Mariner – but behind the scenes, tensions were rising higher than the tides.

At the time, Waterworld held the record for the most expensive movie of all time with a budget of $175 million. It had ballooned from $100 million, prompting further pressure from studios and executives alike.

And, before long, Costner and Reynolds found themselves in deep water.

Costner faced off against Dennis Hopper’s evil Deacon onscreen, but behind the scenes, he and Reynolds were viciously arguing with one another on set. Things went from bad to worse.

In a previous interview, Reynolds revealed that he “couldn’t stand” Costner’s meddling in the production of the movie.

Eventually, Reynolds had enough and did the unthinkable: He left the set.

As Reynolds walked away, he called back to Costner: “Now Kevin gets to work with his favourite actor and director!”

The Waterworld screenwriter Peter Rader also spoke out about the shocking events on set in the ’90s.

But he revealed a different side of the argument where Costner was concerned

Rader said: “Costner was having to carry the movie, while his marriage was falling apart.”

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Costner had been with first wife Cindy Silva since 1975. They were college sweethearts and shared three children. So a rough patch in their relationship was no doubt a tough pill to swallow.

Rader added that, after Reynolds stepped away for a while, Costner became the new boss. He said: “It appeared like Costner took over the editing and locked [Reynolds] out. And [Reynolds] just left Hollywood at that point.”

Years later, Reynolds and Costner made up. But looking back on the state of their relationship in 1995, they were not proud of what happened.

Reynolds said: “We’re older and wiser now. We’ve realised life is too short. But it was difficult, no doubt about it.”

Reynolds added that they had some “serious arguments” on the set of Waterworld – but he blamed the onlookers.

The director continued: “There was so much pressure on the film itself because at the time it was the most expensive ever made. The press were after us from early on, willing us to fail.”

Addressing Costner’s motives, he added: “He asserted himself. We had discussions, then arguments, and then a falling out. It’s not something I want to go into in detail. But it took years for us to get over it.”

The two Kevins seemed to make up, however, and years later are friends again. Costner, the Yellowstone star, once commented: “I think Kevin’s more comfortable in his skin now.”

In a separate interview, Costner said: “We had differences. It happens, especially when the stakes are as high as they were with Waterworld.”

However, he added that things had improved. He said: “But out of fire comes steel. And I’ve always had a real belief in him as a director.”

It seems the film’s dramatic production was reflected in its performance, as well. Although Waterworld earned more than $260 million at the box office, it is regarded as a major flop with a $175million cost. With additional Hollywood marketing costs traditionally the same as the budget and studios receiving a smaller cut of takings than the cinema chains, Waterworld may have lost hundreds of millions.

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