ABOUT THE CAST

A native of Lynnwood, California, Kevin Costner's (Charley Waite) love of Western movies first made itself apparent in 1985 when he starred in Lawrence Kasdan's stylish gunslinger saga, Sílverado. But it was 1990's Dances with Wolves, which Costner produced, directed and starred in, that linked him indelibly with the genre. In addition to being a commercial success, Dances won seven Academy Awards' including Best Picture and Best Director. He next starred as the title character in Kasdan's Wyatt Earp. Costner's interest in America's aboriginal peoples also resulted in a television documentary, 500 Nations, which chronicles the histories of Native Americans from the earliest signs of life on the continent to the 20th century and which Costner created and hosted. Costner also took on multiple roles with The Postman, which he produced, directed, and starred in; and earlier in Waterworld, as producer and star.

Costner has become associated with another great American tradition, baseball, having starred as Durham Bulls catcher Crash Davis in Bull Durham, as Billy Chapel in For Love of the Game, and as farmer Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams. Dreams featured Kinsella building a baseball diamond in his corn field for the ghost team of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the other seven Chicago White Sox players banned from the game for throwing the 1919 World Series and put "If you build it, they will come" into the lexicon of modern American proverbs. A natural athlete himself, Costner has also played a cyclist in American Flyers and a pro golfer in Tin Cup.

Originally a marketing student at California State University in Fullerton, from which he graduated in 1978, Costner quickly traded in marketing for acting, having dabbled in community theatre while at the university. In 1987, just five years after his first feature credit, Costner's star potential was realized in two back to back films, The Untouchables with screen legend Sean Connery and the thriller No Way Out. Numerous other notable roles followed, including as New Orleans prosecutor Jim Garrison in Oliver Stone's JFK, the legendary title role in Robin Hood: Prince of 'I híeves, and as the widowed shipbuilder in Message ín a Bottle. Most recently Costner starred in the critically acclaimed Thirteen Days, in 3000 Miles to Graceland, and in Dragonfly.

Costner's place as one of Hollywood's most bankable stars was firmly declared in 1999 when the American Film Institute included Costner in its documentary, AFI's 100Years...100 Stars.

Oscar'-winning actor Robert Duvall (Boss Spearman) is a versatile artist who, in addition to over forty years of impressive acting credits, has also taken on the multiple roles of writer, producer, director and star in three films: Angdo My Love, The Apostle, and, most recently, Assassination Tango, filmed in Argentina. The Apostle won Duvall an Academy Award' nomination and three Independent Spirit Awards, for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. Duvall can also claim composer credits for the film Tender Mercies, having written and performed his own songs as washed-up country singer Mac Sledge. This 1983 performance earned Duvall his first Best Actor Academy Award®; he had been nominated for Oscars' three times prior, for Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, and Lewis John Carlino's The Great Santini. He has also been nominated twice since, for Best Actor in The Apostle, and for Best Supporting Actor in A Civil Action.

Prior to making his film debut in 1962 as Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird, Duvall worked in the theatres of NewYork, having moved there in 1955 from Illinois. After Mockingbird, Duvall divided his time between film and theatre, earning accolades in both mediums including an Obie in 1965 for his performance in A View From the Bridge.

Duvall is also familiar to television viewers, having starred as Gus in the popular miniseries Lonesome Dove, a role he credits as one of the finest in his career and for which he earned an Lmmy nomination. He also turned in a Golden Globewinning title performance in the HBO Original film Stalin. Duvall's most recent turn on the small screen has him playing General Robert L. Lee, of whom he is a descendant, in the HBO movie Gods and Generals.

Duvall's extensive film credits include the seminal part of Major Frank Burns in M.A.S.H., as well as starring roles in Network, Colors, Slíngblade, A Civil Action, Gone ín Sixty Seconds, and the recent John Q., to name but a fraction. He will next star in Secondhand Lions alongside Michael Caine.

Annette Bening (Sue Barlow) was nominated for a 2000 Academy Award' and a Golden Globe for Best Actress/Drama for her role opposite Kevin Spacey in American Beauty. She received an Academy Award' nomination and was named Best Supporting Actress by the National Board of Review for her role in The Grífters. Bening also garnered Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress/Musical or Comedy for her performance in Rob Reiner's The American President, opposite Michael Douglas, as well as for Best Actress/Drama for her performance in Barry Levinson's Bugsy, portraying Virginia Hill.

Bening's motion picture credits also include Neil Jordan's In Dreams; The Siege, opposite Denzel Washington; Ian McKellen's adaptation of Shakespeare's Richard III; Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!; Love Affair, with Warren Beatty and Garry Shandling; Bugsy, also with Warren Beatty; Guilty By Suspicion, opposite Robert De Niro; Mike Nichols' Regarding Henry, opposite Harrison Ford; and Milos Forman's Valmont. Bening also had a scene-stealing appearance in Mike Nichols' Postcards from the Edge. She made her feature film debut in The Great Outdoors, opposite Dan Aykroyd and John Candy.

A San Francisco American Conservatory Theatre alumna, Bening received a Tony Award nomination and won the Clarence Derwent Award for Most Outstanding Debut Performance of the Season for her role in Coastal Disturbances (originally at the Second Stage and subsequently on Broadway). Returning to her theatrical roots for the first time in ten years, Bening recently received critical acclaim and an Ovation Award nomination for Best Actress as Hedda Gabler in a revival of the Ibsen classic at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, Michael Gambon's (Denton Baxter) acting career began in Britain's National Theatre in London, then under the Artistic Directorship of Sir Laurence Olivier. Considered one of British theatre's leading lights, Gambon has continued to wow audiences at the National as well as the Royal Shakespeare Company and across London's West Lnd. Gambon has won numerous accolades and best actor awards, most notably for his critically acclaimed performance in Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge, for which he won every major British acting award. Gambon's contribution to British culture was recognized by Queen Elizabeth II when, in 1998, she knighted him Sir Michael Gambon.

Gambon's film credits include Peter Greenaway's controversial The Cook, the 'I híef, His Wife & Her Lover, alongside another British great, Helen Mirren, Gosford Park, and Charlotte Gray. Gambon has also worked before on this side of the Atlantic, most notably with Russell Crowe and Al Pacino on The Insider and with Robin Williams on Toys.

In television, Gambon is well known for his roles as Philip Marlow in The Singing Detective and Inspector Jules Maigret in Inspector Maígreí. Other recent television credits include Hamm in End Game and as Lyndon Johnson in Path ío War for HBO.

A native of Mexico City, Diego Luna (John "Button" Weatheral) most recently starred in director Alfonso Cuaron's critically acclaimed Y Tu Mama Tambíen, alongside lifetime friend Gael Garcia Bernal; and Miramax's Frída, opposite Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina for director Julie Taymor. He will next be seen in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights and Criminal alongside John C. Reilly for producer Steven Soderbergh and George Cloonev

Luna began his professional acting career on stage at the age of seven. Over the years he has appeared in such productions as De Película, La Tarea, Comedía Clandtína and El Cantaro Roto, for which he accepted the 1996-1997 Masculine Revelation Award from Mexico's Association of Theatre Reviewers; most recently they also awarded him Best Comic Actor (2001-2002) for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, which Luna is also producing.

At age twelve Luna made his television debut as Luis in the soap opera El Abuelo YYo, which led to roles in the soap opera El Premío Mayor and two successful drama series, El Amor De Mí Vida and La Vida En El ESP ejo.

Luna's transition into movies has been equally successful, most notably Before Night Falls for Director Julian Schnabel, Luis Lstrada's Ambar, Lrwin Neumaier's Un Hilito De Sangre, and Gabriel Retes' Un Dulce Olor A Meuíe (second place winner at the Havana Film Festival). Additional credits include El Cometa, Todo El Poder, Carambola, Fídel (for Showtime), Ciudades Oscuras and, most currently Soldados de Salamína for director David Trueba. Luna has also supported new filmmakers in Mexico by starring in a number of Centro

Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos (CUEC) and Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (CCC) student films, including Javier Bourges' El Ultimo Fin Del Ano, an Oscar®-winning short film.

Best known as Jerry Markovic on the internationally syndicated and Emmy-winning series, ER, Abraham Benrubi (Mose Harrison) has been working steadily since his first appearance on television as Really Big Kid on an episode of Growing Pains. In addition to ER, for which he received the Screen Actors Guild award for best ensemble cast, Benrubi has had series regular work as Francis Kubiac on Parker Lewís Can't Lose, Vincent Konefke on Sleepwalkers, and on WB's Going to California. He has enjoyed multiple guest star turns on Wings and Married... With Children, along with Roseanne, Grace Under Fire, 'I he X-Files, Dark Angel, and Buffy í1e Vampire Slayer. Benrubi has also had starring roles in the telefilms A Touch of Hope and Parallels.

Benrubi made his big screen debut in 1990 in Dívíng In, and has since gone on to a number of films including Jan De Bont's Twísíer, the Coen Brothers' 'I he Man Who Wasn'íThere, and Oliver Stone's U-Turn.

A native of Indianapolis, Benrubi studied acting at the Broad Ripple Center for the Performing Arts, at the Indianapolis Civic Theatre, and at Groundlings. Outside of acting, Benrubi is a self-defined "music junkie" who appreciates a wide and eclectic array of music from around the world.

Michael Jeter (Percy) divided his time among the stage, film and television. He made his Broadway debut in 1978 in Once ín a Lifetime, and won the Theatre World Award the next year for his role of Straw in G.R. Poíní. He also collected four theatre awards, including the prestigious Tony Award, for his role in the 1990 Broadway musical Grand Hotel.

Jeter was well known for his Emmy-winning turn as assistant football coach Herman Stiles in the popular CBS sitcom Evening Shade, for which he won an Emmy in 1992 (and two additional later nominations). He received a fourth Emmy nomination in 1993 for Best Actor in a Guest Role for Píckeí Fences, and again in 1995 for his guest role on Chicago Hope. In addition to many other guest spots, Jeter had a regular role as Mr. Noodle on the popular children's series Sesame Street. He also co-starred in such telefilms as The Ransom of Red Chief, From Here ío Eternity, and Sentimental Journey.

Jeter received rave reviews for his performance as condemned death row inmate Eduard Delacroix in 'lhe Green Mile. He co-starred with such heavyweights as Robin Williams in 'lhe Fisher King, Patch Adams and Jakob the Liar; Clint Eastwood in True Crime; and previously with Kevin Costner in Waíerworld. Jeter recently appeared opposite Keanu Reeves and Cate Blanchett in Sam Raimi's 'I he Gift, and with William H. Macy and Sam Neill in the last installment of the Jurassic Park series. Last year, Jeter appeared alongside William H. Macy and Sam Rockwell in Welcome to Collínwood, produced by George Clooney

'I he Polar Express, directed by Robert Zemeckis, marks Jeter's final film performance. In the animated adventure, set for release in 2004, Jeter voices the role of Steamer/Smokey James Russo (Marshall Poole) was born in New York City and attended the prestigious New York School for the Performing Arts. He graduated from NYU, where he wrote and starred in a prize-winning short film, 'I he Candy Store.

Russo has played memorable roles both in film and in theatre. Film credits include 'I he Postman, Donníe Brasco, No Way Home, 'lhe Real Thing, Bad Girls, Dangerous Game, My Own Prívaíe Idaho, A Kiss Before Dying, Síaíe of Grace, We're No Angels, Extremities, 'lhe Coííon Club, Once Upon a Time ín America, Fast Times aí Rídgemoní High, A Stranger ís Watching, and 'lhe Níníh Gate.

On stage, Russo has appeared in Welcome ío Andromeda, Deathwatch, MaratlSade and the stage version of Extremities, starring opposite Susan Sarandon and for which he won a Theatre World Award.

Russo has also appeared on the small screen in the miniseries Falcone, C-16: FBI, Míamí Vice and, most recently, as Frank Sinatra in Showtime's Stealing Sínaíra, also starring William H. Macy Russo had several features released in 2002: Deep Core, Final Payback, Pendulum, Microwave Park with Michael Madsen, and Firecracker with Dennis Hopper.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

Craig Storper (Screenwriter/Executive Producer) comes to filmmaking via the fine arts, having earned a degree in Painting & Sculpture from UCLA. He wrote the screenplay for the HBO drama The Truth About Alex, winner of the CableACE and other awards, and worked in a variety of production capacities on motion pictures, television movies, and commercials. Open Range marks his feature film debut both as a producer and a screenwriter.

David Valdes (Producer) most recently produced The Time Machine, based on H. G. Welles' classic science fiction novel, and Frank Darabont's The Green Mile, which was nominated for an Academy Award' for Best Picture. Valdes served as executive producer on Wolfgang Petersen's Oscar'-nominated hit thriller, In the Line of Fire, starring Clint Eastwood and Rene Russo, and in Clint Eastwood's acclaimed revisionist Western, Unforgíven, which captured four Academy Awards' including Best Picture.

The Academy Award' for Unforgíven was the pinnacle of a lengthy collaboration with Eastwood, beginning with second assistant director duties on Any Which Way You Can (1980).Valdes went on to executive produce Eastwood's award-winning biopic, Bird, starring Forest Whitaker, and White Hunter, Black Heart. He produced A Perfect World, both directed by and starring Eastwood (World also marked Valdes' introduction to Kevin Costner). Valdes also produced The Dead Pool, the last in the Dirty Harry franchise; Pink Cadillac and The Rookie. In all, theValdes/Eastwood collaboration extends over seventeen films.

Additional producing credits include Turbulence, featuring Ray Liotta and Lauren Holly; The Stars Fell on Henrietta, with Robert Duvall and Aldan Quinn; Like Father, Like Son, with Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron; and Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War drama, Gardens of Stone.

Born and raised in southern California, Valdes earned a B.A. in Theatre Arts from UCLA, graduating magna cum laude.

Jake Eberts (Producer) grew up in Montreal and Arvida, Quebec. He is a graduate of McGill University (Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, 1962) and Harvard Business School (MBA, 1966). Eberts began his business career as a start-up engineer for L'Air Liquide, then later migrated to Wall Street. In 1971 he moved to London, England to join Oppenheimer & Co. and, six years later, left to found Goldcrest Films in London. From 1977 through 1984, Goldcrest became one of the most successful independent producers of motion pictures, financing the development and/or production of Waíershíp Down, The Howling, Chariots of Fire, Local Hero, Gandhi, The Killing Fields and The Dresser. Together these films received thirty Oscar' nominations, winning fifteen including two for Best Picture (Chariots of Fire and Gandhi).

In 1985 Eberts founded Allied Filmmakers, an independent feature film development and production company based in London and Paris. Since then he has served as executive producer or producer on The Name of the Rose, Hope and Glory, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Driving Miss Daisy, Dances with Wolves, Black Robe, A River Runs Through Ií,James and the Giant Peach, The Wind ín the Willows, The Education of Little Tree, Grey Owl, Chicken Run and The Legend of Bagger Vance. Six of these films received a combined total of 37 Oscar' nominations, winning seventeen including two for Best Picture (Driving Miss Daisy and Dances with Wolves).

Eberts most recently executive produced Prisoner of Paradise, a feature-length documentary which was nominated for an Academy Award' in 2003; he is also currently executive producing a large-format film, Sacred Planet, directed by Jon Long; a feature-length documentary, America, directed by Louis Schwartzberg; and Renaissance, an animated feature directed by Christian Volkman. In addition, he is currently producing jean-Jacques Annaud's Two Brothers and Greg Hoblit's Emperor Zehnder, starring Richard Gere.

In 1991 Eberts published My Indecision Is Final, his autobiographical study of the film industry. In 1992 he became an Officer of the Order of Canada. Eberts was awarded honorary doctorates by McGill University in 1998 and by Bishop's University in 1999. He currently serves on the Board of the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Channel. He is also Co-Founder and CEO of MPI International, which provides high-speed, two-way, real-time video transmission capabilities to telcos, cable companies, hotels, hospitals, and schools.

Armyan Bernstein (Executive Producer), Chairman of Beacon Communications, ShoWest Producer of the Year, has produced and executive produced such films as Air Force One, starring Harrison Ford; The Hurricane (which he also co-wrote), starring Denzel Washington; Thirteen Days, starring Kevin Costner; End of Days, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger; Family Man, starring Nicolas Cage; Bring Ií On, starring Kirsten Dunst; For Love of the Game, starring Kevin Costner; and Spy Game, starring Brad Pitt and Robert Redford.

Upcoming productions include Ladder 49, starring Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta and Raising Helen, starring Kate Hudson.

Bernstein founded Beacon Communications in 1990, and it has become one of the most successful independently financed film companies in the entertainment business. Its first films were The Commitments, directed by Alan Parker, which was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as Best Picture and went on to win four BAFTA Awards; Keith Gordon's critical triumph A Midnight Clear, starring Ethan Hawke; A 'thousand Acres, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Jessica Lange; Sugar Hill, starring Wesley Snipes; Playing God, starring David Duchovny and Timothy Hutton; Princess Caraboo, starring Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline; The Road To Wellvílle, directed by Alan Parker and starring Anthony Hopkins, and David Mamet's A Life In the 'I heaíre, which won a CableACE Award for Best Dramatic or Theatrical Special.

Armyan was born and raised in Chicago, and attended the University of Wisconsin. He was a journalist with PBS and then with ABC. He wrote the 1978 cult classic 'Dank God It's Friday, starring Debra Winger and Jeff Goldblum. He then wrote and coproduced Francis Ford Coppola's legendary Vegas romance, One From the Heart. Bernstein made his directing debut with Windy City, from his screenplay, which starred John Shea and Kate Capshaw. He also co-wrote and directed Cross My Heart, starring Martin Short and Annette O'Toole. Armyan wrote and produced ABC's Lmmy Award-winning The Earth Day Special.

Open Range marks James Muro's (Director of Photography) debut in this position. Previously, he made a name for himself as a much sought after cameraman and steadicam operator. Muro has worked repeatedly with many of Hollywood's top directors including Oliver Stone on JFK, Any Given Sunday, Heaven and Earth, and The Doors; James Cameron on The Abyss, Terminator 2, True Lies, and Titanic; Martin Scorsese on Casino; Michael Mann on Heat and The Insider; Garry Marshall on Runaway Bride and The Other Sister; and Brett Ratner on Red Dragon, Rush Hour 2, and Family Man. Muro has also worked previously with Director Kevin Costner on Dances with Wolves. Other recent projects include The Fast and the Furious, Swordfish, and Gone ín Sixty Seconds.

Gae Buckley (Production Designer) has been an art director in the film industry since 1985. She started her career as an architect in NewYork with a degree in Architecture and Art from Cornell University and, from the age of eight, studied painting from her mother, Jean, herself a student of Edwin Dickinson. While in New York, Buckley became intrigued with the creative possibilities of film. She studied scenic painting with Lester Polikoff in New York and worked as a scenic artist and art director on music videos, commercials and television until 1988 when she decided to moved to Los Angeles and pursue work in feature films. There Buckley enjoyed working as an art director on television movies and small features while set designing on such films as Shattered, Wayne's World, Mr. Jones and Coneheads.After joining the union she art directed such films as Indecent Proposal, The Little Rascals, Angíe, 'I hree Wíslies, The Craft, What Women Want, Coyote Ugly, and Tin Cup, on which she met the film's star, Kevin Costner. Open Range marks her first venture as production designer.

Michael Duthie (Editor) studied film in London where he edited Shout aí the Devil for director Peter Hunt and Rough Cut for Don Siegel. He moved to Los Angeles and became known for skills for cutting action, doing the Ninja series of films for Menahem Golan and four Chuck Norris films with director Aaron Norris, for which he also directed second unit. Duthie went on to edit three films for director Roland Emmerich: Eye of the Storm, Universal Soldier and Stargate, and three films with Jackie Chan, including Rumble ín the Bronx.

Duthie has also worked on a number of awardwinning foreign films, including Camorra, directed by Lina Wertmüller, Berlin Affair for director Liliana Cavani, and Assisi Underground for Alexander Ramatti. Duthie's recent credits include Demian Lichtenstein's 3000 Miles ío Graceland, which is when he formed an alliance with Kevin Costner, and the upcoming Míndhuníers, for director Renny Harlin.

Prior to Open Range, Miklos Wright (Editor) most recently served as editor on Dunsmore for director Peter Spirer; 3000 Miles to Graceland and Lowball, both for director Demian Lichtenstein, and Full Circle for director Ahmad Isham (which Lichtenstein produced). Active in the advertising and music video industries, Wright has edited videos for the Beastie Boys, Sting and Lric Clapton.

John Bloomfield (Costume Designer) has worked in theatre, television, and film for over thirty years. This last decade has seen him design for features To Kill a King, The Scorpion King, the phenomenally successful The Mummy and its sequel, The Mummy Returns, Conan the Barbarian, and Christopher Columbus: The Discovery. During this same time period, Bloomfield worked on four Kevin Costner-related features: The Postman, Waterworld, Rapa Nuí, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, for which Bloomfield was nominated for a BAFTA Award.

Bloomfield has worked extensively in his native England with the BBC, where his designs have received critical acclaim. This was especially true for the series The Six Wives of Henry VIII, for which he won a BAFTA Award. Costumes from the series have been exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, as well as museums in New Zealand and Australia. His work has also been featured in two publications, Period Costumes for Stage and Screen (Volumes I and II; 1988) and A Handbook of Costume (1974).

Bloomfield has also worked for American television, most notably on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, for which he was nominated for both an Lmmy and a CableAce Award.

If variety is indeed the spice of life, then Michael Kamen (Music By) is enjoying one of the tastiest careers of any of today's leading musicians. Introduced to symphonic arrangement and composing by Leonard Bernstein, Kamen gravitated almost simultaneously in 1976 to Hollywood and to pop and rock arranging when he collaborated with Pink Floyd on the album "The Wall." He has since established himself among the leading film composers, with scores for over 80 feature films including all of the Lethal Weapon and Die Hard series, Highlander, Brazil, Mona Lisa, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Don Juan DcMarco, 101 Dalmatíons, Mr. Holland's Opus, From the Earth ío the Moon, Frequency, The Iron Giant, and X-Men. His latest project is the Charles Dutton-directed film Against the Ropes, starring Meg Ryan and Omar Lpps. His work has garnered him two Oscar' nominations, two Golden Globe nominations, and an Lmmy nomination. He has also won four Grammys.

In recent years, Kamen has created a synthesis of pop, rock, jazz, world and symphonic music with his orchestral settings featuring such diverse stars as Lric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Aerosmith, Lurythmics, The Chieftains, David Sanborn and Luciano Pavarotti. In 1999, he conducted a program of his arrangements combining the rock group Metallica with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.The double CD of that performance, titled "S&M," has sold over six million copies.

In 2001, Kamen composed the score for the soundtrack from the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg. He was commissioned to write a special piece ("The Fire Within") for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002, which he conducted at the Opening Ceremonies in Salt Lake City. Previously, he wrote music for the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics. Most recently, Kamen arranged and conducted the NewYork Philharmonic with the band Coldplay at the 2003 Grammy Awards.

Kamen is involved with several charitable organizations, including Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation, which he co-founded with Richard Dreyfuss. He is composer-in-residence with the Young Musicians Foundation. Both organizations encourage a love for music among young people.

Touchstone Pictures Presents
OPEN RANGE

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Academy Award'-winning director Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves) helms this action-packed Western tale of a way of life that is quickly disappearing. Charley Waite (COSTNER), Boss Spearman (Oscar' winner ROBERT DUVALL), "Button" (DIEGO LUNA) and Mose Harrison (ABRAHAM BENRUBI), are all men trying to escape their pastsand the one place where a man can be free is on the open range, driving cattle in a land where nature makes the only laws. Bound to each other by the "Code of the West"standing up for what's right, showing loyalty to those closest to youthe cowboys try to avoid violence. But one frontier town that rules through fear and tyranny changes their lives and forces them into action.

Amidst this turmoil, life suddenly takes an unexpected turn for loner Charley when he meets the spirited Sue Barlow (Oscar' nominee ANNETTE BENING), a woman who embraces both his heart and his soul. As these courageous men prepare for the decisive battle that looms, they are also forced to confront and conquer their own internal demons.

A rich, authentic Western story full of engaging drama and suspense, Touchstone Pictures' Open Range is directed by Kevin Costner and stars Robert Duvall, Costner, Annette Bening, Michael Gambon, Michael Jeter, Diego Luna, James Russo, and Abraham Benrubi. Open Range is produced by DavidValdes, Kevin Costner and Jake Lberts. The screenplay is by Craig Storper, based on the novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine. Executive producers are Craig Storper and Armyan Bernstein. Buena Vista Pictures distributes.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

"I thought of this piece as entertainment that I would like to see," explains Kevin Costner, Oscar®winning director, producer and co-star of Open Range. "When I talked about this movie with people, it reminded them of movies they wanted to see. So it all lined up for me, the fact that I could create and move this landscape. It's been a privilege and a thrill."

With Open Range, Costner takes over directing chores for the third time in his career. His first foray into helming, 1990's Dances With Wolves, earned him an Oscar' for Best Director. Holding down three roles on his latest film "just worked out that way," says Costner. "I find the scripts and develop them, and I have such an affinity for them that the moments become really important to mehow they stick in my mind. I've never thought of myself as just an actor."

Set in the vast, epic landscape of the prairies, Open Range has all the elements of a classic Western. It reveals a unique slice of American historythe end of an era when land was not owned. A culture of cowboys known as "freegrazers" emerged1hke Charley, Boss, Mose and Buttonwho roamed the countryside with their cattle and lived off the land. In Open Range, a ruthless, evil rancher (MICHAEL GAMBON) controls the town of Harmonville, making the laws and rules and enforcing them using scare tactics and brute force. The four men must team up to fight this injustice.

But here, the romantic image of the strong, silent cowboy with nothing but the shirt on his back and the shoes on his horse is given more depth with the help of Costner's camera.

"In all Westerns you have enigmatic characters; you don't know how they arrived or how they got to where they are. The only possessions they have are on their horse," says Costner. "It's a terribly romantic image, but if you think a bit longer, you wonder, what do they do when it rains? When they run out of food? They've got to go forage for themselves.They had to be very resourceful.We have this romantic view of the West when, in fact, it was terribly difficult."

Writer/ executive producer Craig Storper, who calls the Western one ofAmerica's indigenous art forms, points out that Open Range adheres to the genre's classic issues of freedom, justice, honor, love and friendship. But both director and writer wanted to go further than most Westerns usually allow and create authentic voices from the past.To do so meant infusing the story with an emotional depth and creating characters who rise above the clichés and wooden stereotypes often associated with the genre.

"The emotional lives of the characters, the lives they resist sharing with each other, are unexpectedly complex once you get past the walls they've each erected for self-protection," says Storper. "It's only the bad circumstances in which they find themselves that

push them to reveal things that might've stayed buried, but ultimately lead them to be transformed."

Kevin Costner emphasizes the use of language in the film to convey the complexity of the relationships between the men: "We really rely on the language that we created that shows how men deal with each other, and how they deal with their problems," he explains. "And it deals with womenhow we talk to them, how we treat them, and how we're confused by them."

Agrees Annette Bening: "When I read the script, I liked it because there was a classic feel to it, and yet a different sensibility. There's a more sensitive sensibility about the way the men relate to each other. There's an intimacy between the men that is beautifully written, and it's very touching how their vulnerabilities are dramatized."

Storper had written Open Range on spec four and a half years ago after optioning the book The Open Range Men from writer Lauran Paine. Storper never told the author about his efforts to get the project made because of the mercurial nature of Hollywood, opting instead to wait until production was a firm reality. "Lauran was in his 80s and it just didn't seem right to get his hopes up every time there was a hint of interest," explains Storper. Then, in December 2001, Storper received a note from Paine's wife that the author had died. When making the film finally became concrete, Storper called her with the news. "The moment I was able to tell her that Kevin was going to star in the movie she was just completely overwhelmed," recalls Storper. "She broke down crying on the phone, and it turned out that I had called her on her birthday. So being able to tell somebody whose husband had died and had always wanted to have a film made of his work, that Robert Duvall was going to star, that Kevin Costner was going to star, that Annette Bening was going to starit was wonderful to be able to do that for her."

It was a leap of faith to option the material considering modern Hollywood's resistance to the genre. "The last really successful Western was Unforgíven," says Storper, "and that was ten or twelve years ago. So trying to make a movie like this is like pushing a stone uphill in Hollywood, and you need some very strong muscle to push that stone. Still, as a storyteller, you have to believe that a good story will find its way to being told."

The muscle turned out to be Costner. Costner met Storper through their agents, and the two

immediately bonded through their common love for all things Westerna love, Costner argues, that most Americans share even though Hollywood has often been a somewhat disappointing voice for this integral part of American history.

"I think most people know that I have an affinity for the West," says Costner, who, in addition to Dances With Wolves, starred in the Westerns Sílverado and Wyatt Earp, "but it's often surprising to me when people say, `I love Westerns' because the number of Westerns you can name as great movies is not very extensive. They're `black hat vs. white hat' and not terribly appealing. But they are a part of our heritage. People have an enduring love of them."

Costner approached Unforgíven's producer, David Valdes, in January 2002 and, after serious discussions, the decision was made to go the independent route. London-based Cobalt Media Group came on board as the film's foreign sales agent, and The Walt Disney Company acquired North American distribution rights.

ASSEMBLING THE CAST

There was an overwhelmingly positive response from the actors approached to star in Open Range

from relative newcomer Diego Luna to veterans like Robert Duvall and Annette Bening.

Securing the legendary Duvall was vital to the making of the film, according to Craig Storper. "When I read the book and when I wrote the script," he says, "I had Robert Duvall in mind. When Kevin and I first met, one of the very first things he said was, `You know, I could see Robert Duvall doing this movie.' If Duvall had said no, I don't know what would have happened, because we didn't think of anyone else for the role."

"The part was tailored for Bob," adds Costner. "Craig wrote it, and I began to move it around without having ever called Bob. I shifted a lot of lines in his direction, and it was the right thing to do and the smart thing to do for the film."

Indeed, the film's most important relationship is between Charley and the elder Boss. Described by Craig Storper as "a man who has some pain from his past, but who is basically a decent, hard-working, straight-shooter who lets you know right where you stand with him," Boss is friend, mentor, father figure, and employer to Charley. The many dimensions of their relationship make it stronger and yet, at the same time,

more complicated. "The plot provides the landscapes, history, and action we expect from Westerns, but it's these two characters and their relationship that ultimately gives the film its meaning and its heart."

Years of fighting the elements and stress from the constant threat of attack have taken their toll, yet Charley and Boss have managed to find a level of comfort with each other that keeps them together against all odds. Boss even jokes to Sue that he and Charley have no need for a wife or home since they're already "just like an old married couple." But all teasing aside, the way each constantly challenges the other's actions and opinions, always with respect, is the hallmark of their complicated connection.

Luckily for the filmmakers, Duvall made the choice to get on board within 24 hours of reading the script. "I just knew I wanted to be in it," declares Duvall. "It's a real classic Western, and they offered me a wonderful part." But Duvall almost didn't make it to the set. In April 2002, while preparing for the film in Virginia, Duvall was bucked off a horse and broke six ribs. Had it happened closer to the film, he would not have healed soon enough. Lven after his bones were mended, it was a psychological challenge to get back up in the saddle.

"I was a little hesitant to get back on a horse," admits Duvall, "but the wranglers, the Bews brothers, were very helpful, and after a while I got in the groove of it and it was fine. It was tough, but I knew I wanted to do the film, so I knew I had to recuperate."

Perhaps no one was more thankful for Duvall's strength than his director. "The language fit his rhythms," says an admiring Costner. "The situations, as I knew them to be, I knew he could control magnificently. All that really came to bear. I think this could be a pinnacle moment in his career, this role and how's he played it."

Costner had already agreed to play the enigmatic Charley Waite. "What you see in Charley is a classic character.You almost don't know about him, and then suddenly he begins to reveal himself and a violent past," says Costner. "He's a good man who thinks he's bad."

Costner's character was a decade younger in the original book and given very little background. Rewriting the part wasn't merely to accommodate the director, says Storper, but "to incorporate a deeper, richer, more experiential subtext for the character. If you made it to forty in 1882 while living out of saddlebags, you had a lot of life experience. And life teaches you things, good and bad, so the man you are at forty is very different than the man you are at thirty. Out of discussions with Kevin came a whole history for that character that is only vaguely touched upon in the book."

The audience is thus invited to share in Charley's journey as "he struggles to move forward in his life from a place that he was in to a place that he can be in the future," says Storper. "He lets go of what he was, and struggles to remake himself."

With such a strong man in the part of Boss, finding an equally strong nemesis for him was daunting. The perfect foil for Boss came in the form of Sir Michael Gambon, an Lnglishman probably best known to North Americans for his role as Thomas Sandefur in The Insider, and more recently for his role as William McCordle in the critically acclaimed Gosford Park. Says Craig Storper of their casting choice, "We were lucky to find an actor who could stand up to the Duvall character. If you have an antagonist who's weak, and a protagonist who's strong, you have nothing. Robert Duvall is a powerful presence and an iconic figure, so casting Michael Gambon, who can hold his own and create a strong impression in limited screen time, was absolutely essential."

Gambon's character, Baxter, and his thugs have a grip on Harmonville. Many in the town secretly resent the ruthless Baxter, and not just because he runs the town like his personal fiefdom. Baxter's the kind of person who sends six of his thugs to beat up one man; he likes the odds in his favor and the people living in fear.

Gambon created a history for Baxter that doesn't appear in the script in order to provide context for his character. Gambon decided Baxter was an Irishman who "has come over to America and done very well. He's bought a plot of land, he runs his cattle, he builds these towns, he's paid for all the buildings, and he thinks he has everything, but he doesn't."

For his part, Gambon was thrilled with the chance to act in a genre never offered to him in Lngland. "I just wanted to be in a Western," laughs Gambon. "For an Lnglishman to be in a Western is like a dream. And when you're playing the bad man, that's the best part." And then there was the opportunity to work with the larger-than-life Kevin Costner. "I was used to seeing him on the big screen in London," says Gambon. "So when he was standing next to me wearing a cowboy hat and a gun and directing the movie, it was surreal. It was extraordinary."

It was also extraordinary when Annette Bening, a two-time Oscar' nominee for her performances in 1999's American Beauty and 1990's The Grífíers, accepted the producers' invitation to play the only female lead in Open Range. "Sue is a woman of steady pragmatism," explains Bening. "She's a woman who's not terribly complicated; someone who is at peace. When the cowboys come to her house, she's a civilizing influence."

Although Sue is on the wrong side of thirty at a time when such women were to be pitied or scorned, and painfully aware that time is killing her hopes of love and children, she still has too much self-respect to settle.

"She's a very strong, stable woman," asserts Bening. "She's been through a lot in her life and had to deal with enough disappointment that if she didn't get married, and just lived life with her brother and took care of the house, she would somehow plow through 19 it.

Then she meets Charley Waite. "She really falls in love, and she sees the possibility that she and Charley could actually work something out together," says Bening.

Robert Duvall, whose character, Boss, tries to play the artful matchmaker to Sue and Charley, sympathizes with Sue: "It's her last chance to get a man, and it's more poignant for somebody if it's their last chance. It adds a wonderful dimension.When Sue meets Charley she realizes maybe he's her future, and I think the idea of losing him is a sorrowful thing to this woman who's not young anymore."

Though Charley's resistance proves almost as powerful as Sue's quiet charms, she ultimately wins him. It should come as no surprise, as Bening brings such a luminous quality to her role. She has, in the words of Kevin Costner, "a certain grace. I think of her as our generation's Hepburn. She's just very classy"

Bening brought to her character a deep, soulful quality and an intelligence that producers felt set her apart from most other actresses. And her professionalism and confidence were noted and appreciated by cast and crew, who understood the challenges of holding her own on the testosterone-laden set. Bening never complained or demanded special treatment, and for this her director has nothing but praise and thanks: "To have seen her, a classic actress, throw herself into the role, into this boy's movie, was great for me as a fellow actor. And as the director, it really lightened my load to have her there. She never once said, `Well, what am I supposed to do here while you guys are all doing that?' She has no idea how much I appreciated that."

Rounding out the cast are Michael Deter, Diego Luna, and Abraham Benrubi. Deter, a beloved, awardwinning actor who passed away this past March, plays Percy, a local stable owner who is one of the few Harmonville residents sympathetic to the cause of Charley and Boss. Jeter had commented that it was the integrity and extraordinary quality of the two main characters that attracted him to the film. "It's a friend relationship; at the same time it's a teacher-student relationship, father-son relationship, employer-employee relationship. It's multifaceted," he said. "I wanted to know what happened to these people, and when you want to know what's going to happen to people, you know you are in good, fertile territory."

Diego Luna, recently of YTu Marna Tambíen, came on board as Button. The part was originally written for a fifteen-year-old American boy, but it was changed to a Mexican after Luna accepted Costner's offer to cast him in the part. Luna was approached after producer DavidValdes attended the Independent Spirit Awards in L.A., where Luna was promoting Y Tu Mama Tambíen. Recognizing a new star in the making, Valdes contacted Costner, who asked Luna to tape a few scenes. Luna taped the scenes, wowed the director, and was quickly secured. "Diego was a little spark that came out of nowhere," says Costner. "He's so young and fresh, and we saw ourselves in Diego, in his sense of wonder and excitement. I really enjoyed him."

Young Luna points out that the portrayal of these cowboys as complex creatures is what makes Open Range that much more appealing both as a Western and simply as a good story.

"In the old Westerns, cowboys were really quiet people," says Luna. "The difference in this movie is that you hear them talking, you see what's inside their hearts and minds. And it's always a combination, always a balance between the bad and good in you. I think this is a movie where the characters are real, where you can relate to them because they're human, even though this happens in 1882. I think the problem Charley has is a problem we all have. We have all done terrible things, and it's tough to forget and it's tough to keep on going, to change."

So while Open Range may be a classically structured Western, says Luna, it's also "a movie about hope and love. It has every element. It has good actors; it has a very good script. I think everyone can expect a good movie and something really special."

Button, as the baby of the team, is at that awkward age of trying to be a man while still harboring the heart of a child. He's the kind of boy who cheats at cards, not because he can't be trusted but because he so desperately needs to prove to his elders that he's as capable as any of them.

"He's trying to be a man before his time," says Luna. "He's living this very adult life on the range, but he's also a kid who needs to be loved, who needs to play. In the end he just wants to make Boss a proud guy. So he's always jumping between a kid and an adult."

Similar to their relationship with Button, Charley and Boss seem almost like father and grandfather to Mose, played by Abraham Benrubi. Mose, at thirty, is the elder of the two younger men, but while he might be able to offer some good advice to Button, he clearly defers to the more experienced Charley. Mose is also still young enough to dream of immigrating to exotic South America and, like Button, treats life on the range as one big adventure.

Abraham Benrubi was grateful for a second chance to work with Costner; Benrubi had had a small part in The Postman but his scene was cut. "Kevin promised that he would one day use me again," says Benrubi, "and here I am. But I still had to audition. I had to prove that I could be Mose.

"Mose is the optimist of the group," says Benrubi. "He's the guy that finds the silver lining on every stormy cloud and loves the rain, even though everybody else is miserable."

Benrubi was also thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Robert Duvall. "Robert Duvall is a legend," proclaims Benrubi. "I know this isn't a very cowboy moment, but I looked him up on the Internet to see some of his ninety-some credits and he's worked with just about everybody. Forty years later and he's a master. He'd do seven takes and each take would be different and they would all be usable and all brilliant. Sometimes I get a little blasé when I'm doing a movie, and then I watched Robert and it was like, whoa, okay, get back on track."

FINDING AND CREATING

THE `OPEN RANGE'

Although the script doesn't specify exactly where the story takes place, the image of Montana with its majestic mountains serving as a backdrop remained foremost in director Costner's mind. As much as the creators wanted to stay in the U.S., however, shooting at home was simply not feasible. There was also the issue of the unfortunate demise of many of the once famous Hollywood Western sets-Paramount Ranch and Bell Canyon Ranch have all since been taken up by housing developments. The decision was therefore made to scout Canada. Since Valdes had shot Unforgíven in Alberta, he suggested they try there first.

Scouting commenced March 15, 2002, beginning with the two existing town sets in Alberta. They were rejected and scouting continued, with vast tracks of the prairies covered by car and helicopter. After months of searching, various ranches were finally chosen for the cattle driving and range camp scenes: the Nicoll Ranch at jumping Pound Creek; the Turner Ranch and the Hughes Ranch, both southwest of the village of Longview; and a beautiful spot on the Kinnear Ranch called Fireguard Coulee. At first, the quintessential spot for the fictional town of Harmonville remained elusiveuntil the helicopter landed on the Stoney Nakoda First Nations Reserve west of Calgary. Lven though there was still a foot and a half of snow on the ground, Costner could see he had his place. With the Rocky Mountains jutting grandly out of the wide open prairie space, the setting fit the script's themes of conflict and contrasting ways of life perfectly.

Unfortunately, the blanket of snow disguised one major flaw in the location: no access road. Before production on the town could even begin, therefore, a one-and-a-half mile dirt road had to be built across the reserve. But no sooner was that hurdle overcome than spring arrived. The melted snow left the access road covered by over three feet of water and many wondering how they were realistically going to get vehicles in and out. Production designer Gae Buckley recalls the daily game she and construction coordinator Alf Arndt would play while attempting to cross the flooded road caused by a beaver dam. "Alf would say, `The water's deeper today. I'm not sure we should do this.' And I'd say, `Then don't go, you'll ruin your truck.'

At which point he'd hit the accelerator and plow through the flood, with water rising over the windshield. It was like a ride at Disneyland!"

The trucks got through and the creation of Harmonville began. Actual construction took nine weeks, which was preceded by four weeks of intensive research and design in Los Angeles. Working from history books and the pictures of pioneer photographers like Silas Melander and Lvelyn Cameron, Buckley's team of art directors and designers painstakingly recreated the era. Graphic designer Ted Haigh, who is, says Buckley, "a walking encyclopedia of the period," took charge of the many signs and labels while others researched construction techniques and color schemes. All of the lumber needed to build Harmonville was milled to the actual sizes of the period and then weathered for the exterior of buildings. Only nails were used; these were allowed to rust and dribble, leaving black marks from the nail heads for an added effect.The interior wooden floors were treated to make the wood cup and buckle. The window glass for the entire town was handblown and imported. Set decorator Mary-Lou Storey oversaw that the interior details were faithfully attended to, right down to the oiled paper window shades and kerosene lamps.

"We really tried to recreate something that existed back then, in the style of the buildings and the selection of paints they used," says Buckley of her team's remarkable efforts. "Our color palette directly reflected paint sample charts from 1880, and even the wallpaper in Doc and Sue's house was reproduced from 1880; it's called `Ashes of Roses."'

Buckley's personal favorite buildings were the jailhouse and the saloon. "I really love the Marshall's office and jail," she enthuses. "One thing we learned in our research was that cells were built of solid three-bysixes laid flat so the prisoners couldn't kick the walls out. We had to fake one wall, but the others were built as they were back then. And Kevin loved the saloon. We created a pretty authentic saloon of 1882, complete with a bar and break-front that would have been imported from a manufacturing company in St. Louis that sent them all over the old West."

PRODUCTION BEGINS

The design of Harmonville centered around the pivotal shootout scene on Main Street. The dazzling gunfight, whose images will surely remain etched in the minds of moviegoers, was the centerpiece of production when it commenced on June 17, 2002. In addition to production designer Buckley, who collaborated with Costner on Tin Cup, the director was supported by rookie cinematographer James Muro and BAFTA and Lmmy Award-nominated costume designer John Bloomfield, who worked with Costner on three of his previous efforts.

The shootout provides the film with its climax, but it had to function on more than one level. It had to operate as more than just a visual effects extravaganza. "The violence is not arbitrary, it's an integral part of the story," explains Craig Storper. "There's not only the catharsis that comes from it, but lessons about fighting for democracy, friendship and love. These characters don't seek violence, but the notion that it's sometimes necessary to fight and maybe even die for things you believe in is the Western's most fundamental ideal."

The staging of the scene started off simply enough, with Buckley and Costner acting out gunfight scenes at his house. And while two adults playing shoot 'em up might not seem like work, it served a legitimate purpose. "It was great because I got to see how he was planning on blocking the shots," explains Buckley. "I knew what the action was going to be, so I wrapped the scenery around the action. Once I had a general structure down, I had people in Los Angeles build a computer model of it, then it became like a giant Rubik's cube.

"For instance, from up in his loft, Percy needed to see Baxter's men riding into town as well as the eight gunmen heading towards Boss and Charley from the Marshall's office," she continues. "Percy then had to run to the other end of the loft while spying on the approaching men, fire a warning at Charley, and be seen over Boss's head when he appears to be hit. From Charley's POV we needed to be able to see the shadows of the three gunmen sneaking behind the tents. Kevin had these very specific shots planned for much of it and we tried to accommodate them all. We had to go back and forth and readjust constantly. Then I wanted to maintain one side of the town as a straight wall both to funnel the action and to reflect the many towns I'd seen in research, while the other side was slightly curved so we'd always have something to be shooting into."

Filming of the shootout took place over ten days, using up several thousand rounds of fake ammunition. Property master Dean Goodine accessed the latest technological advances to simulate gunfire, mainly using electronics. The guns were wired with three charges in the barrel; when "fired" a small flame erupted. But it was all completely safe, stresses Goodine. "There was no live ammo ever on our set," he says. "Before every scene we gauged the size of load that was needed depending on the distance of accuracy and what the spread was going to be, we ensured that all the camera people were covered with shields and earmuffs, and we gave the actors lessons on when to shoot and when not to. After every scene we emptied the guns; we made sure all the barrels were clear. It was our way to get everybody home safe at night and yet give them a spectacular look."

There was no need to worry about the neighbors while shooting (literally). "We were pretty isolated," says locations manager Peter G. Horn. "That was actually one of the beauties of the location.We were a good four kilometers from the nearest main road, and half an hour from the nearest town, Canmore."

The set's distance from civilization was not so helpful, however, for the film's second major scene, the torrential rain and flood. The most obvious challenge out on the prairies was the practicality of getting water to the site.Water needed to be pumped from the nearby Bow River and stored in an enormous tank, which unfortunately, the production crew didn't have. So they improvised, digging a pit behind the town thirty feet wide, sixty feet long and fifteen feet deep.

This in turn presented another challenge because, as Buckley puts it, "You really have no idea how much dirt can come out of a pit that size until you actually see it. We filled the bottom of the livery stable with three feet of solid dirt, we used it to grade the road, we used it to create a road leading out of town and we still had to haul some away. Then the pit had to be lined so the water wouldn't seep out, pumps had to be rented and installed and finally the greens crew had the challenge of making it look like an existing pond behind the town of Harmonville. Once that was in place, Construction and SFX dug the trench for the actual flood, sprayed it with Gunnite and installed boulders and pumps. It was rigged to run non-stop like a water park ride."

The flood scene had several challenging design requirements: the water had to be forceful enough to endanger the puppy but not too dangerous to make the audience feel Charley was in peril; it had to be a specific depth and take a specific path; it had to run long enough to shoot as many takes as were required with a force that was consistent throughout; and of course it had to be done on budget and within the narrow preproduction time frame. It was an engineering feat that took the collaboration of most major departments, with Buckley and Special Effects Supervisor Neil Trifunovich leading the effort.

The "pond" held 270,000 gallons of water, recycled through huge immersion pumps onto Main Street then across the other side of town. The "rain" came down at 600 gallons a minute from a rain trestle on a 75-ton crane, ninety feet off the ground, as well as a zoom boom capable of 250 gallons a minute; both were fed from a 10,000-gallon tanker and four-4000 gallon tankers, filled by the pumps coming from the river and by shuttle trucks that hauled water from the pond. The flood itself ran at 32,000 gallons a minute. It was an enormous operation.

"The whole town was wired for water," says Trifunovich. But the effort was well worth it, he adds, as it gave the film an atmosphere rarely seen in a Western. "Instead of your standard old dusty town, we had a lot of rain which gave it a heavy atmosphere.You knew they were going into a town that was aggressive."

The crew's amazing mastery over Mother Nature was short-lived, however. The mercurial weather in Alberta began wreaking havoc again, with winds up to fifty miles an hour at times, rain at others, then recordsetting 108° Fahrenheit heat over several days. In many ways the endurance of the crew mirrored the endurance of the characters. Producer David Valdes, having filmed in Alberta before, knew how chaotic the weather there can be but, as he points out, "if you embrace it you can get some pretty great stuff."

Easier said than done, though, especially when you add 250 head of cattle, curious bears wandering into town to take a look, and an equally inquisitive herd of wild horses. Says Kevin Costner of the many difficulties encountered and overcome, "The challenges just seemed awesome; every day just seemed harder than the last on some level. But I was not going to let it slip by me. I was just going to wring every ounce of daylight out of it, and I wasn't going to stop until the image matched up with what was in my mind.

"The inspiration to do it," he continues, "came from my friends saying, `You can do this.' And I was thinking `How the hell do they know that?'But if you want to be a cowboy you have to be a man. If you want to be a director, you have to be a man and just deal with things, even if sometimes you feel like crying out loud."

Part of overcoming the obstacles, too, was knowing when to say 'enough."' Even if you know that one more take or one more day might put that final piece of gold dust on it, it is important to know that ultimately it's how well you tell your story that is the measure of a film's worth," says the director. "If you concentrate on the words, you can miss some of the details. If you stick with your script, that's what arms you.

The director's perseverance and unwavering commitment to the film impressed both crew and cast alike. "I loved working with Kevin," says Bening. "I liked the way he handled the set and the camera. He loves the intensity of filmmakinggood directors thrive on it. It makes it exciting and helps create the possibility of capturing a moment with the camera."

Diego Luna admired Costner's ability to shoulder the weight of producing, directing, and starring in a single project without ever letting his co-stars down. "Jumping from one to the other has to be really tough," says Luna, "and to have the whole movie on your shoulders. Kevin is the first one I've met with the ability to do that. He's fast, really focused. And he's also very clear; he knows what he's looking for. I admire that he never says, `Whatever you want.' That's fantastic because then you feel protected, that your director is behind you. You can jump knowing he'll be there to catch you.

Abraham Benrubi, who plays Mose Harrison, concurs wholeheartedly: "Kevin Costner is very passionate about storytelling. He's not so concerned with how much money the movie's going to make, or if he's going to look good. He wants to tell a story and when you get on the set with him he's very focused. He knows the entire story from front to back, how every piece fits together."