'Horizon, An American Saga', Production Designer, Derek R. Hill

0:00Derek R. Hill'Cause I reached out to a, an old high school buddy of mine back in Texas who builds swimming pools. So I go, "Hey, listen, if I were to build a... I know this is crazy," I said, "but if I were to build a swimming pool that's, like, 320 feet long by 80 feet wide and, you know, like, four foot in some places, goes up to the bank on the sides and at least a foot and a half to two foot deep the rest of the thing, goes down to, like, a waterfall at the end, how much you think that would cost?" So he called me back and gave me a price and then, you know, would we put the, steel in there and just, like, gunite concrete? Yeah, and so we talked about the thing on the phone. Swimming pool guy, okay?

1:03Jawad MirThank you so much for joining me. I appreciate it, to talk about your wonderful work in Kevin Costner's new film Horizon: Chapter One.

1:12Derek R. HillThank you. Thank you.

1:15Jawad MirWhere are you based out of, just…

1:18Derek R. HillWell, right now, w… I, you know, I grew up in Texas, so, we're in t… Dallas-Fort Worth area in… right now, and then, we have a home out in California when I'm working and such or, you know, to get away from the Texas heat or whatever. And then, but, I've had that... I think, the, I first had a place out in California in '97 is when,.. 'Cause I'd, I'd met Kevin when we were doing JFK in, like, 1990, I believe it was. And then, you know, we'd kept in touch and we kinda became friends even though I was the art director on the show. He could see that, you know, the work that I was doing, so, and he... And, you know, I was a football player from college and an athlete, and he's an athlete as well.

2:18Derek R. HillWe would play golf and we would get together. And, then in '90, seven or '96 he called me to... He goes, "Well, you know, it's about time you joined the major leagues and come on out to California." So I went out there and that's when I started doing The Postman with him…

2:39Derek R. Hill... As a, as an art director. So, and then after that show he saw even more of what I could do, so then he started hiring me as a designer after that.

2:52Jawad MirThat's amazing.

2:52Derek R. HillSo…

2:52Jawad MirAnd... Sorry, go on, please.

2:54Derek R. HillNo, and so I keep both places, depending on where I am and working and stuff. And like now, you know, I was in, had a indecision on, where I was gonna be or if I was traveling. They've been getting, working on the script. They're getting the script ready, so I've been prepping from here, waiting to travel.

3:18Jawad MirWell, completely understandable, and I appreciate you finding the time, to speak. Just, you know, as you were talking about all these films, you know, JFK, of course, I remember that's how I became familiar with the whole JFK, you know, assassination, was that, was that film, literally. I had just moved to Canada. I had no idea who JFK was.

3:43Derek R. HillYeah.

3:43Jawad MirAnd I see this film poster, JFK, right, with the white and the blue and the red and Kevin Costner's face in it. And, obviously Dances With Wolves, but Postman I remember as well.

3:54Derek R. HillYeah

3:55Jawad Mir... I've seen, I've seen majority of the stuff he's done.

3:58Derek R. Hillhuh.

3:59Jawad MirBut it's been a while since I've seen JFK and, Postman. You know, I saw it in my early 20s

4:07Derek R. HillRight

4:07Jawad Mir... And obviously your perception changes over time. You know, I would understand it completely differently as I would when I did…

4:13Derek R. HillWell, you understand the way the government works and the way the insiders work. And then, you know, I've always been friends with Oliver Stone because... And it, what's so strange is that, I didn't think I would be here during this time, but he's, he's in Dallas this w… week, and he's playing four of his movies at the Texas Theatre and doing speaking. 'Cause I did talk radio, and then I went from talk radio to Born on the Fourth of July, and then we went and did JFK after that. So I'm, like, one of the sole survivors of Oliver Stone…... You know, six films with him. But…

4:54Jawad MirYeah, no, those are, those are some remarkable films. And, you know, Horizon, so when the first trailer came out, this was earlier this year, and, you know…

5:04Derek R. HillRight

5:04Jawad Mir... It was originally advertised as Chapter One in, I think it was July, and Chapter Two in August. I don't remember the months correctly.

5:12Derek R. HillRight.

5:12Jawad MirAnd it really struck me because it reminded me of The Postman… ... As well as Dances With Wolves. And, I just saw it this morning, and, all I have to say that I was blown away because it is not an effects movie. It is not an action movie. It plays out like a theatrical play with, you know, amazing performances, different, you know, the way scenes are supposed to be, where you have the beginning, middle, and end and not rushed through, like, you know, a span of, like, three and a half, four, five minutes. And then what makes the film so breathtaking aside from the story and the performances is obviously the locations but also the production design, which we're, where you come in. And… You created tho… that world, like so many different sets and, you know, you wouldn't feel for the character that you would had you not done all that stuff, and your team at least, and yourself.

6:13Derek R. HillRight.

6:13Jawad MirSo really fabulous work. I just wanna commend you on that.

6:17Derek R. HillWell thank you. You know, the thing of it was is this has been a lifelong thing for Kevin for 20... Let's see, 26, 7 years, 28 years. He was gonna make it in 2003 and w… and we did some preliminary scouting and some work, and it w… and then it just didn't filter out to happen. And then again in 2016, we were gonna make it, and we went to New Mexico and scouted, seven days. He put together a l… a 10-minute video of the show and what it was gonna look like. And, you know, I think, Netflix offered him something at that time, and Netflix was really kinda like…

7:06Jawad MirStarting off

7:06Derek R. Hill... In its stages, you know?

7:08Jawad MirYeah.

7:08Derek R. HillAnd so he didn't feel like that was the way to go, and, then he put it off. And what was really strange is the previous two years I was in Europe doing Jack Ryan. And, he called me in January of, let's see, probably '22.

7:31Jawad MirYeah.

7:32Derek R. HillAnd he... And then, you know, and it's, and he doesn't call the agent. He just calls me direct. You know, it's like, "Hey, Derek, we're ready to go." I said, "Well, Kevin, I'm, I'm in, I'm in Europe doing Jack Ryan." "So I'm not available." "Oh, well, okay. I w… this was really meant for you," and everything. I said, "Well, I can't really drop out," 'cause we're right in the, we're in the middle of we finished season three and was onto season four and it was really in happening. And so I said, "Well, okay. No problem." And so then I c… I came home in June, and, you know, I reached out to the producer. He goes, "Well, Jeffrey B..." He has another designer on it, Jeffrey Beecroft, one that he'd worked with before on Dance with Wolves and Message in a Bottle and Bodyguard. And I said, "Well, okay, no problem. I've been gone. I'm gonna stay home. I'm gonna catch up, do some stuff around the house that needs to be done."

8:33Derek R. HillAnd that was, I think that was on Thursday or Friday, and then Monday night I got a text from the producer. He goes, "Are you up?" And it was like 11:30. I, yeah, I'm, I was up, but I'm in Texas and he's on the East c… West Coast, and I just, never answered it 'cause I had a doctor's appointment that my wife makes me check up, you know, every time I come home. Are you... How's my health? And so the next day on, like, I think on Tuesday afternoon, he called and said, "Hey, Derek, you know, I'm just giving you a heads-up. Kevin's made some changes, and he's gonna call you." I said, "What, well, what do you mean changes?" He goes, "Well, he's, he's, he's gonna re… he repla… he got rid of the production designer." So I g… you know, I go, "Well, I just told my wife I was gonna be off." And next thing you know, Kevin calls. He goes, "Hey, how you doing? You know, this movie was always meant for you. We have a long history in this, you know.

9:33Derek R. HillYou know what I want on this movie, so I really need you to come." I said, "Well, I c… I can't come for two days or whatever." And he goes, "Okay, two days is good." So I fly to Utah on Thursday, do a quick with the s… supervising art director that hasn't left yet, shows me kinda like what was going on, but basically nothing was going on. That was the problem. So, then I said, "Okay, well, can you stick around? You know, you h… you know the knowledge of five months of prep or four months of prep." He goes, "No, we're all done. The whole team's leaving." So I go, "Wow, that's, that's not good." So now I jump into it, and then Kevin goes... He's shooting Yellowstone. He goes, "Well, just fly on up to, Montana and we'll meet for a couple days and you'll be up to speed and ready to go." So that was basically six weeks from shooting…

10:36Jawad MirWow

10:36Derek R. Hill... That I had. And, you know, it's like I was looking at the... I remember standing on the hill looking down at where the town was gonna be, and there's supposed to be a river there. Now, a lot of people don't know that we built that river, the one where the, where the tent town was put in.

10:57Derek R. HillEven though we were in Moab area and the Colorado River was five, 400 yards away, you can't control the Colorado River. You can't control the rafters coming down and that kinda stuff. So it... And I remember that Kevin always wanted to build a river wherever we were, in New Mexico or whatever, and he goes, "No, it's the same river." And I went, "Okay. Well, I..." And then so, you know, the construction guy stayed on, and I said, "So what's the plan on the river? Y'all are this far along." He goes, "Well, we don't have one." I go, "Well, you don't have one?" So then that was the biggest challenge, I think, to begin with was I had to have a river ready in six weeks. So I, you know, I researched it. Well, w… what... Asked the construction guy, "Well, what's the budget?" "Well, we don't know." I said, "You don't... You're this far along?" So I... It was funny 'cause I reached out to a, an old high school buddy of mine back in Texas who builds swimming pools.

12:03Derek R. HillSo I go, "Hey, listen. If I were to build a… I know this is crazy. I said, "But if I were to build a swimming pool that's, like, 320 feet long by 80 feet wide and, you know, like, four foot in some places, goes up to the bank on the sides and at least a foot and a half to two foot deep the rest of the thing, goes down to, like, a waterfall at the end, how much you think that would cost?" So he says, "Can you give me a couple hours?" I said, "Yeah, these guys have been waiting for months. Y… sure, no problem." So he called me back and gave me a price, and I go, "Okay. Well, that's a good... Thanks." And he says, "Well, that big a project, I'll give you a discount on it if we end up doing it." And I said, "Okay." And then, you know, would we put the, steel in there and just, like, gunite concrete? Yeah, and so we talked about the thing on the phone.

13:04Derek R. HillSwimming pool guy, okay? So…... That's, that's how we ended up designing it, and then we ran the... At the catch tank at the end, there was a, you know, a tank, and then we put big pumps in there, and I put 18-inch pipe from the bottom, from the bottom of the river all the way to the top of the river so I could flow the water. And so I think we finished it, like, you know, four days before the shot. But that was the amazing thing, and people don't have really any idea. And, you know, left and right from the top where the Indians looked at the town, that's a, that's a set extension where the river continues to run, and then when it runs up around that mountain where everybody enters the, enters the town, then we just did a visual effects extension of that mountain. So that was, that was the big task.

14:06Derek R. HillAnd then of course building the fort. Th… th… we built that down on the same property, but it was along the side of the Colorado River, so we used the real river for that. W… we didn't have much interaction except the horses down there, and you could see the river. But, and, you know, that was, that was the big thing on the first part. And, you know, b… besides, it was overwhelming, you know, to get up to speed. You know, we built the Indian village up in the, up in the mountains in another part called, Castle Valley. It was, someone's backyard, which was amazing. They had this beautiful ravine. It runs up into the mountains, and so then we just, we just started figuring out, okay, well, if the horses came up this, and we would have tipis on the left and tipis on, you know, their tipis of the grass thatching and stuff. And, so that was that challenge.

15:07Derek R. HillAnd then the other challenge that we had was the, part where up in the mountains, where the introduction of Kevin's character, Hayes, and he, and he rides into Watts Parish. And that was,.. That was south of Moab, like, La Sal Mountains. And so now the town was built at, like, 8,400 feet in elevation, and then the Sykes house where the father was shot and then the son was shot, we built that at 9,400 feet, which i… in the story we needed snow. So time November got there, and that was one of the last things we shot. We got snow. Yeah. So that was all practical stuff, and it was, it was great because hitting the time in the mountains where the leaves were changing to give you the yellow look…

16:06Jawad MirYeah

16:06Derek R. Hill... To make you feel like you really made a journey on the show, those were, those are some special moments for us.

16:15Jawad MirYeah, 100%. And by the way, did your friend end n… ended up getting a contract for building the pool?

16:21Derek R. HillNo.

16:21Jawad MirOr the…

16:22Derek R. HillWe ended up with somebody, a major... You know, he did more home pools. And this was, like, really a big, like…

16:31Jawad MirLike a river, right? Yeah.

16:33Derek R. HillYeah, but it was like at... A resort pool at some fancy hotel that's humongous with flowing stuff, so we ended up with that. But my buddy's bid was pretty close to what it cost. And then, you know, then you have to prepare the banks. You have to put the pumps in. So it was a, it was a challenge, and it really paid off. And then I, of course I shared photos of him, the progress. You know, I videotaped most of it and took... You know, that's a thing that I do. And because Kevin was working, so I'm sending him photos of the progress because he's, he's really involved in all the productions that he's involved with. Especially when he's a director, he almost acts out every character's role in the show. So I... You know, it's like... And then from the chapter one to the chapter two, I had the prop master change, and the guy that I'd worked with on Jack Ryan and a couple other shows came in, and he goes, "Oh, I like working with him 'cause, yeah, I really know what that character's r… is gonna do."

17:40Derek R. HillYou know? It requires getting on the ground and rolling in the, in the dust and the dirt, and he does that too.

17:49Jawad MirThat's lovely. And, you know, again, I just wanna talk about few things in the, in the film. A s… i… it, overall, like, the visuals, but, you know, there's some scene in there which I don't wanna give away, but the father and son scene, like, that is very powerful. And the amount of execution it took to create, you know, s… certain battle scenes and even…... Emotional scenes. It's not an easy thing, and what's more, what's so amazing about Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood are probably the only two actors who can direct really well, in my view. I mean, I'm sure there are others, but just for me personally.

18:29Derek R. HillRight.

18:29Jawad MirI mean, from day one, Kevin Costner has been an incredible director. Yes, Postman wasn't a hit. You know, it flopped. Doesn't matter. Horizon wasn't received well. It doesn't matter. He just has this vision of executing, and it's not about him, because in the film Horizon: Chapter One, he doesn't show up until literally one hour into the film.

18:51Derek R. HillYeah.

18:51Jawad MirWhich sp… which speaks about, you know, I'm not a superstar or, you know, I have to be in there early. Like, it's nothing like that. It's more about the story.

18:59Derek R. HillYeah.

18:59Jawad MirAnd he directs people really well. But yeah, and but, you know, the great thing about this film was, to me, it's so relevant today, not just in the context of the story, but all over the world right now.

19:15Derek R. HillYeah.

19:15Jawad MirLike how there's all these things going on, and there's always, like, bad apples in one side and the other side, and they're trying to instigate. You know, that there's a scene about the boy with a gun trying to shoot the native, boy, like how that plays out.

19:32Derek R. HillWell that just gave me chills right there, that scene. Because it, you, if you really studied the film and you understood the film, then you understood the meaning of his parents getting killed.

19:46Jawad MirYeah.

19:46Derek R. HillAnd then they just couldn't understand it. And then he rides and s… to the fort, saves a, calvary comes, and then he joins the scalpers. And then when he goes and it's like, "Ah, we're gonna do this," and he goes, "Yeah, let's do this," and then he goes, and then he sees really what's happening, and we just turn the tides, and we just did exactly everything that they hated about the Indians, we're doing it back. And on that top of the hill, when he hollers at him, and then he turns and sees that the guy shot his, one of his own people, his head sinks, and he just, like, he's, he's defeated. He realizes that he's in the wrong place and he's doing the wrong stuff.

20:34Jawad MirYeah.

20:34Derek R. HillSo, and you know, and you talk about Kevin and his son, you know, you know, he asked his kid, and he asked his daughter, and his daughter, said, "No, Da… Dad, I want to, I wanna stay in school with my friends. You're not mad, are you?" And he, and he said, "No, I just wanted to give you an opportunity if you wanted to do it." And his son did it, and I don't, I don't recall that he's wor… worked on anything, you know, 'cause it was always like, "How did I do? How did I..." You know, that kind of stuff. And then, you know, Kevin and I would talk about it because of our friendship of so many years, and we would talk. I said, "You know, when we get to the situation in the bedroom," so what I've done is we built that on stage, the interior of that house, and then I dug a, the tunnel on the stage at the, so they could go down into the tunnel.

21:38Derek R. HillThen I built the tunnel that they made the exit through out on the stage, and then I built a tunnel at the location where they came out, and they uncover the mom and the, and the daughter there. And, so and I was talking to him a… after, and he goes, "I need a minute. I really need a minute to think about this. 'Cause I've just realized I'm killing my son." And it really got him, you know, how emotional it was. 'Cause he had to think of how he's gonna do it, and he became a dad rather than the director. So it took him, took him a moment, and he said... I said, "We'll talk about it later. It's, it's not important right now." But that's, that's just the care and the knowledge and, that he has. He's so personable when we get into those situations.

22:41Jawad MirSo I did not know that was his son, but when I was watching that scene where the character that he plays and the character father that he's interacting with in that, you know, the last moment, I'm thi… I'm thinking in my head, "This kid looks familiar," right? And he did the scene really well.

23:03Derek R. HillYeah.

23:03Jawad MirReally well. And now I can, you know, I see that resemblance, obviously, in everything. And the kid did a, and what's his name? Kevin Costner's son?

23:11Derek R. HillHayes.

23:12Jawad MirHayes.

23:12Derek R. HillAnd that's where, that's what he named the character in the film about.

23:17Jawad MirOkay, his name is... Okay. So I didn't pick up his character name, but that's, that's an amazing. I mean, that scene was very powerful, especially when the father finds out that the son is still there, and s…

23:30Derek R. HillYeah

23:30Jawad Mir... He coulda gotten mad at him, but then he looked at him, like, in a, you know, with pride that…

23:35Derek R. HillYes

23:35Jawad Mir... Okay, th… this is our moment, right? Then make it as it, as the best you can. But yeah. You know, what was, what was once, I, were you there physically on this... I, you, th… I think you said that scene where the boy picks up a gun and try to shoot the native Indian boy…

23:55Derek R. HillYeah

23:55Jawad Mir... Were you physically there when they were filming that?

23:57Derek R. HillYes.

23:58Jawad MirWas that the scene that just threw you off on, in that space at that time? Or was there…

24:03Derek R. HillYeah

24:03Jawad Mir... Something else?

24:04Derek R. HillNo, I think the, you know, some… it, as much as the violence was, sometimes it was difficult to watch. You know what I mean? 'Cause it's real. I mean, we, Kevin is so, you know, he puts so much into it, and then you r… realize, "No, that's what we're gonna do." And then it was like, you know, the whole, where the guys were underneath the tree, that tree was there. We cut. It was already down, right? We cut, we dug, we cut, we dug. No, it's not right. I need this. I need this. You know, e… everything with him, he has the preconceived concept of what he's looking for. And then, you know, he goes, "No, on this, on the riverbank over here, I just, I want that stuff taken out, but I don't want this taken out." 'Cause I wasn't clear that the horse was gonna escape and then go over there and draw the kid.

25:07Derek R. HillYou know, those things kinda develop when we find the location, and that's kind of, he adapts to the situation. And then it was like... And like I remember we were, we were sitting down in the dirt where they run, the kids were playing under the tree.

25:26Derek R. HillAnd he says, "Now just sit down here for a minute. Just sit and feel it. Now can you see anything?" I said, "What am I supposed to see?" He goes, "No, you can't see the guys over there, can you? Or where the tree is," 'cause, you know, we're scouting.

25:44Jawad MirYeah.

25:44Derek R. HillHe knows where the guys are.

25:46Jawad MirHe's visualizing everything.

25:48Derek R. HillAnd so this whole time when we're prepping the tree, it's like he doesn't quite tell you everything, you know? So it's like, well, this tree must really be important. And then as you get closer, because he's shooting and directing when I'm prepping as well. And then he goes, "Hey, listen, we're gonna..." 'Cause that was in near Price, and it was about an hour and a half drive. So on a Saturday, you know, then we had to get a group together, the key people, and drive and then scout. And then we went, had lunch in the lo… little local area with the, with the council people, you know, so that they would understand what we're doing and…

26:33Jawad MirSure

26:33Derek R. Hill... He's really good at that, of making sure. And then I'll always remind him, you know, "Hey, here's the owners of this property," and he'll go speak to them and that. He just, he's a, he's, he's a special kinda guy.

26:50Jawad MirYeah. He is, and when he talks in real life, as well as the characters that he play, I just saw Draft Day with my wife, directed by Ivan Reitman, which came out I don't even know when, maybe 10 years ago or 15 years ago.

27:04Derek R. HillYeah.

27:05Jawad MirHe has this personality, that charm, that charisma, that calmness. He's, he has this ability to show anger as a character, but in that anger, there's so much somehow calmness, and I truly feel that he's one of the rare actors, you know, we have now. I haven't seen Yellowstone. I've been trying to get onto it just because of time. It's just, you know, a long series.

27:31Derek R. HillOh, yeah.

27:32Jawad MirBut the, everything about... I cannot tell you how much I enjoy his work, like even The Postman, Waterworld. Again, another movie that I think he pro… co-produced with Kevin Reynolds.

27:43Derek R. HillYeah

27:43Jawad Mir... He has this thing about him that he never think of, thinks of himself as a superstar, but I think he is. He's an amazing actor, and he's a star. And he's a wonderful director. I think he's, sometimes he's a better director. He just knows how to deal with everything. You know, I direct film, films for a living, and you have to have a certain calmness to be able to lead the ship, and he certainly knows how to do that every single time.

28:09Derek R. HillWell…

28:09Jawad MirDoesn't matter if the film bombs or becomes a box office hit.

28:13Derek R. HillNo, and that's where his, that's where his feeling on this thing is. I'm telling a story, and I understand that people don't, may not like the story that I'm telling, but it's a story that I feel needs to be told, you know? And then, you know, people will ask me, "Well, w… what's he like?" I said, "He's just like you and me."

28:33Jawad MirYeah.

28:34Derek R. HillYou know, he j… he j… he just wears a T-shirt and w… you know, this,.. But, let me just tell you something. When he puts on his outfit and turns around and gets on the other side of that camera, he is a movie star that you just go, "That can't be the guy that I was just…

28:54Jawad MirYeah

28:55Derek R. Hill... We were playing golf with, or we were in the, crossing the river and stuff with or whatever." 'Cause he just, he has that s… he has that touch.

29:08Jawad MirYeah. No, he certainly does. And that's what's so great about the characters that he play. Even though you think he's a star, he plays characters that an average person, and when I say average person, I'm gonna talk about, like I'm, I'm from, I'm from Canada, right? You look at people living in the, in New York or Toronto or, you know, San Francisco. Everybody conceives that part, those cities to be Canada and America, but there is bigger places called Middle America, or if you wanna call it Middle Canada. You know, whatever, the…

29:43Derek R. HillRight

29:43Jawad Mir... Suburbs and farm area. People tap th… that's the real audience in my view for any film, any book, because that's where the, you know, ordinary people live. Not in a sense that they're poor, but just ordinary people, just like…

29:57Derek R. HillYeah

29:57Jawad Mir... You and me. And he has this thing where people tap into his characters because of his performance. And…

30:03Derek R. HillHe reaches them.

30:04Jawad MirYeah, he definitely reaches them. I mean, I just can't... I can watch his movies day in and day out because he just has this thing. It's not because, you know, he's not only a good actor, but he just has this connection that he develops through his performance.

30:17Derek R. HillYeah.

30:19Jawad MirWhat's, what's happening with Horizon Part 2, Chapter 2?

30:24Derek R. HillAnd well, it's done. It's in the can. You know, the idea of,.. You know, and I've said to him a little bit, you know, it's like one of the things that I said to him, "You know, when it w… you know the scene where we burn the town, and then we go and we do another scene, and we come back and the town's there?" I said, "Why didn't we put a chyron at the bottom that said six months later, a year later, two years later?" He goes, "It's on the rock." I said, "You mean where the guy's chiseling?" Now, I made the stuff where the guy's chiseling, okay? And I said, "Yeah, but they chisel his name, and then you turn the camera and pan to the family. So you're l… oh, that's, such and such family." The, I don't think people saw the what date it was.

31:24Jawad MirYeah.

31:24Derek R. HillAnd he goes, "Oh yeah, they will." You know? And then, and then, you know, you say to him about certain things that you go, "I don't know if people understood that." And then needless to say, I've gotten texts and, you know, people that I've known, and then there's a H… Horizon, blurb on Facebook that I'll read, but I don't respond because I'm, I feel like I'm a, I'm too close to the project, so.

31:55Jawad MirSure.

31:58Derek R. HillWhen people get it. And then, you know, like at the end of the show, it didn't have a fade to black, and then we came up with the montage, which is n… not like any other movie. Okay? They go, "What was that stuff at the end?" I said, "Well, you'll... It's, it's a montage." So we had to shoot some additional, of two to get into one. Okay? So then we shot two, and w… and we concentrated on, you know, the story of the wagon train is…

32:32Derek R. Hill... Is a lot, is a lot more powerful and tells the whole story. You know, the two guys that are helping everybody w… with their wagons and stuff, the big guy and the small guy, and then, the English couple that the guy, he's a artist and everything. You see what happens to them. You see that whole story develop. You see what those guys, how they interact with the gal. You know, y… you see more of his character and what he's doing. And then so we got through all of that. And really it's pretty amazing that we've shot all that we've shot in that, in like 50, 52 days. Where, I mean, it's…

33:18Jawad MirThe first chapter?

33:20Derek R. HillYeah, 52 and then four…

33:22Jawad MirWow

33:22Derek R. Hill... For, you know, the attack of the town.

33:25Jawad MirYeah.

33:26Derek R. HillK… Kevin had to leave to go do some stuff on Yellowstone, so we shot second unit and with his DP, Michael, Jimmy Murro, I mean, that's worked with Kevin for many years on his show, so. And then, you know, I knew what he wanted. I knew how the explosions, w… how the stuff was gonna burn, the wagon flipping, and so... 'Cause we talk about all that stuff. And, you know, and it's not like it's a big secret. And I, and I, you know, I do a scene-by-scene breakdown and scriptation with representations of illustrations, and I illustrated basically the whole chapter one and chapter two, and it's not illustrations that I really share with everybody. They're for Kevin, and then if Kevin wants to share 'em, or w… how the visions came about or whatever, then that's his, that's his deal.

34:26Derek R. HillBut two is in the can. And then we had to shoot, in order to conclude two with the montage, we had to shoot some of three. You know, which was, we shot, s… about probably six days of chapter three, and that's at the montage in chapter two at the end that tells you where the story's going as well. So…

34:51Jawad MirAmazing

34:51Derek R. Hill... He's got it in his head. Now, there are times that he's so, he's got it so much in his head that when we're scouting and he'll be, you know... I remember on one, and I remember on chapter two, he goes, "No. You know, they're gonna do this. They're gonna come over the hill at where so and so is." I go, "I don't know what you're talking about." "What is that?" And he goes, "Well, that's chapter, that's in chapter two," or, "That's in chapter three," or, "That's in chapter four." And I'm going, "why don't we just talk about what we're shooting now?"

35:26Jawad MirFirst one.

35:27Derek R. HillYeah.

35:28Jawad MirSo there is chapter three and four in the plans as well?

35:31Derek R. HillYes.

35:31Jawad MirOr at least there's a script.

35:33Derek R. HillYeah. Yeah. He has them in script, and we've shot six days on chapter three. So.

35:38Jawad MirThat's amazing.

35:39Derek R. HillYeah.

35:40Jawad MirThat's really good. I mean, I'm, I'm so glad that this movie was made because it's been a while since I've seen something like this, not just like, you know, that sets in the, in a different time period, in a historic, like, you know, in a historical time period, but also just the way he sh… the entire film was done reminded me of, you know, 60s and 50s and 70s.

36:03Derek R. HillYeah.

36:04Jawad MirAnd, yeah.

36:05Derek R. HillAnd I don't think that people are used to it. They've gotten used to TikTok and YouTube…

36:10Jawad MirOh, God

36:10Derek R. Hill... Short stuff, and th… their attention span is n… is not there to watch these kind of movies.

36:17Jawad MirYeah. No, I truly hope that you guys do end up making a third and fourth one because I'm really anticipating the second one, whenever that's gonna be. I'm sure, I think, I think me and Ryan and…

36:31Derek R. HillHe wants to, he wants to put it in the theaters. Before the end of the year. He opened it at Venice Film Festival, September 7th.

36:39Jawad MirOh, right. I read about that, yes.

36:41Derek R. HillYeah, so it's... It has co… You know, it has been seen, and I think it was better received, and people started dotting the Is and crossing the Ts and stuff, 'cause, you know, Giovanni Ribisi, which he's the guy that… that's putting together the whole thing as I'm selling Horizon. It has all this stuff. And it, and we would... We created, like, seven or eight of those posters, and Kevin would say, "Well, I don't... Just give me something that's, like, wild. Gold found in Horizon," you know, the river. Or then the fishing is great, and then the open lands and the vertal… fertile soil. You know, those kind of things. It was always like this guy's like a used car salesman in Chicago. And then it gets the surveyors, where it tells the story where he meets the surveyors, and the surveyors go down there, which were the first people that were killed in that area.

37:45Derek R. HillSo the…

37:45Jawad MirI was... I... Sorry, go on.

37:47Derek R. HillNo, go ahead.

37:49Jawad MirI was literally gonna talk about that. The opening sequence for me, s… I mean, there's some great stuff in the film, right? But for me, that stood out so much because it sets up, okay, you know, there's this kid, there are these guys that are doing surveys, and then instead of being shown what happens to them, you find out, you know, five, six, seven minutes later. And that to me was amazing because you know, you show, you don't tell.

38:20Derek R. HillYeah.

38:20Jawad MirAnd that was my favorite thing. I mean, there was some great stuff, but that stood out for me the most.

38:25Derek R. HillWell, just like that, the line was, "Well, there was the first guys. They're over there." He goes, "Well, how'd that work out for them?"

38:32Jawad MirYeah.

38:33Derek R. HillYeah.

38:34Jawad MirAmazing. Amazing.

38:35Derek R. HillYeah.

38:35Jawad MirThat's awesome. Well, you know, it… it's been lovely chatting with you, Derrick. I truly appreciate it. I don't wanna take too much of your time. I can't wait for Horizon 2, and I would love to talk to you more about your past work. You know, I... If you're ever up for it, whenever you have time, it… it's been lovely

38:55Derek R. HillYeah, just let me know. That's no problem.

38:58Jawad MirAmazing. If... Are you able to share what you're working on next, or is it top secret?

39:02Derek R. HillYeah. No. No, you're, you're... I think it's gonna be coming out pretty soon. I'll tell you how the story played out. The… there…

39:12Jawad MirSure

39:12Derek R. Hill... Was a guy that, worked on the, Postman, okay? A young AD, second AD at the time, and, he and I have become friends throughout all the years. He was doing... He moved from LA to New Orleans, and he did NCIS: New Orleans for five, six, whatever, seven seasons. I don't even know what it was. And then he called me and said, "Hey, listen, I'm go… I'm, I'm, I've been upgraded, and I'm gonna, like, produce, NCIS: Hawaii. I want you to come." I said, "Well, I'm, I'm, I'm doing Jack Ryan. I already committed to do that." So they did like four seasons of Jack Ryan... I mean, of NCIS: Hawaii. He directed one of them, and he's still friends with Kevin and, Costner. And so I finished the project, and I came home. He goes... Called me. He goes... 'Cause his birthday's a day before mine, so we always touch base.

40:12Derek R. HillAnd so he goes, "Hey, listen, I need you to come to Hawaii." I said, "I'm, I'm just finishing this show. I'm gonna take a little time off." "Well, I think you should come at some point in time." I said, "Oh, yeah, okay, no problem. We'll see what the wife wants to do." And then, two weeks later he goes, "Hey, do you know this guy so-and-so?" I said, "I don't know. The name sounds familiar." "Well, he may have a movie coming here." And I said, "Well, that's good." So then, you know, two more weeks goes by, and he goes, "Do you know this guy S… Scott Steindorff?" And I said, "The name sounds familiar." He goes, "Well, I think he's a friend of Kevin's." And I said, "Oh, okay." So then I agreed to do the show. It's called Headhunters, and it's a story about, surfing in Bali, finding the perfect wave in the unknown island. And what happens is, it has a character in there that's involved that's...

41:17Derek R. HillAnd that character, believe it or not, has now s… someone has signed on to play the role, Kevin Costner.

41:27Jawad MirWow. Amazing.

41:28Derek R. HillSo they go in search of the perfect wave, and they head, you know, towards Indonesia, and then they get to this point where they say, you know, "Whatever you do, don't go on that, on the land." Well, Headhunters is cannibals, so the surfers run into that tragedy of dealing with they went on the island. So that's, that's the story we'll shoot in Hawaii, and then we'll shoot Bali, second unit stuff, and then we'll shoot surfing in the Marshall Islands or somewhere such as that. So that's…

42:09Jawad MirThat's amazing

42:10Derek R. Hill... That's my... That's what... You know, I met on it like eight weeks ago. We've had Zoom meetings, and they're just waiting to get all the stuff together, and then they signed Kevin, and Kevin and the director have been going over the script and fine-tuning it and that's why it's like every day, it's like someone says, "What'd you find out? Are you traveling Saturday or not?" I said…... "I don't know. It's five hours earlier in Hawaii, so they're, they're not up yet."

42:41Jawad MirYeah, no, I…

42:41Derek R. HillSo that's…

42:42Jawad MirYeah

42:42Derek R. Hill... That's the plan. And then, you know, we've been talk… we've talked about Horizon 3 and 4 going back, shooting late May of next year. So that really fits into my schedule of,.. And I thought, "Well, you know, I could spend three and a half months in Hawaii and stuff and enjoy it."

43:06Jawad MirThat's fabulous. I can't wait for your next project. And I completely understand, about traveling. I'm in the same boat. I'm supposed to travel, and I haven't been told, so I'm just trying to figure that out too, so I completely get it. And…

43:20Derek R. HillYeah

43:21Jawad Mir... Looking forward to Horizon 3 and 4, but obviously 2 first. You know?

43:24Derek R. HillYeah.

43:25Jawad MirI have to see that. But, amazing. Thank you so much, Derek. You know, like I said earlier, amazing film. Your work stands out. Your entire team work stand out, even DP, post-production. You know, everything is just spot on, costume designing. And I really got involved in that world, and I can't wait to explore it more.

43:48Derek R. HillWell, I'm, I'm glad you did. And that's, that's the main thing. You know, I learned long time ago getting on these shows, and I worked for s… five or si… seven films with Michael Hausman, a producer and producer AD in New York. He's famous guy. And he's like, "Listen, don't you ever get on my show to think you're gonna win an award. You just give me the best stuff you possibly can." And th… and that's where you see my resume just all across the board. I try to do every genre that I can so that no one can say, "He can't do that."

44:26Jawad MirThat's right.

44:26Derek R. HillGrowing up in Texas, you feel like you're, you're slighted, and they go, "What would he know? He's from Texas. He's not New York or Hollywood. We're the only people who know how to do this stuff." So that's…

44:39Jawad MirAnd I know…

44:39Derek R. Hill... The challenge that I really, that pushes me to give it the best thing that I've ever done.

44:47Jawad MirThank you so much again. I wish you safe travels.

44:49Derek R. HillOkay.

44:50Jawad MirI'll reach out to you in the next couple of weeks, and if you have some time here and there, we can schedule something. If not, then whenever you're back.

44:57Derek R. HillNo, that's fine. I'm sure I'll have, some time when I get over there. Okay.

45:02Jawad MirAll right, sir. Thank you so much. Have a great day.

45:04Derek R. HillAll right. Thank you. All right. Bye.

45:05Jawad MirBye-bye.