With its 20-year anniversary this year, Kevin Costner has been speaking about Waterworld, the big-budget summer blockbuster from 1995 which is generally considered one of the biggest fiascos to come out of Hollywood over the last few decades. However, Costner himself believes the film has a much more positive legacy.
Speaking to Hollywood-Elsewhere, Costner spoke about his experience on Waterworld, and shared his feelings on how he thinks the the film holds up today:
“I’m not sure you know how hard people work [on films]. I’m not sure you know how beloved the movie is around the world. Being hard [on a film] is really easy if you don’t know the underbelly of what [went into it]. When you do know the forensics of a movie — the participation and decisions of others that one has to stand in front of — you can’t help but see it differently…I know that people might think of Waterworld as a low point for me. It wasn’t. It could have had a better, more obvious outcome. The thing I know is that I never had to stand taller for a movie when most were going the other way. The movie with all its imperfections was a joy for me…a joy to look back upon and to have participated in.”
Directed by Kevin Reynolds, who helmed Costner in 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Waterworld also starred Dennis Hopper and Jeanne Tripplehorn and grossed $264 million from a reported budget of $175 million, which made it the most expensive film ever made at the time.
Does Waterworld deserve its criticism, or are you a fan of the film? Let us know in the comments below…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=8k_v0cVxqEY
Originally published August 18, 2015. Updated November 29, 2022.
