Taylor Sheridan breaks silence on Costner feud, ‘God complex’ allegations
Taylor Sheridan, creator of “Yellowstone,” has been at the center of many rumors — including his supposed feud with Kevin Costner and allegations that he’s developed a “God complex” from his success.
Now, Sheridan, 53, has broken his silence to the Hollywood Reporter and also revealed that HBO passed on landing the hit show.
“Look, it just feels so Middle America,” an HBO exec said, according to Sheridan.
“We’re HBO, we’re avant-garde, we’re trendsetters. This feels like a step backward. And frankly, I’ve got to be honest, I don’t think anyone should be living out there [in rural Montana]. It should be a park or something.”
HBO also took issue with fan-favorite character Beth, played by Kelly Reilly, 45, Sheridan said.
“We think she’s too abrasive,” execs at the premium cable network said, according to Sheridan.
“‘We want to tone her down. Women won’t like her.’ They were wrong,” said Sheridan. “Because Beth says the quiet part out loud every time. When someone’s rude to you in a restaurant, or cuts you off in the parking lot, Beth says the thing you wish you’d said.”
Sheridan said that he then hung up with HBO and “they never called back.”
For five seasons now, “Yellowstone” has been a hit for Paramount, drawing in as many as 17 million viewers into the saga of ranching patriarch and Montana governor John Dutton (Costner, 68) and his adult kids, Beth, Kayce (Luke Grimes, 39) and Jamie (Wes Bentley, 44).
The “Yellowstone” creator and his star, Costner, have also become involved in a rumored feud that even reportedly led to the end of “Yellowstone,” which will have its series finale in the fall.
“I’m disappointed,” Sheridan told the outlet regarding the breakdown of his relationship with Costner.
“[Costner leaving] truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”
In May, the news broke that Costner would not return to “Yellowstone” after Season 5. (This was before Paramount announced that Season 5 would be the show’s last.) There were also reports that he refused to be on set filming for more than one week for the second half of Season 5, but Costner’s attorney denied that.
“My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct,” Sheridan said. “He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with ‘Yellowstone.’ I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],’ which we did.”
The showrunner stated that he still respects Costner as an actor, but matters between them have become complicated as other people have gotten involved.
“His creation of John Dutton is symbolic and powerful … and I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone,” Sheridan said. “But once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting. He took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it. His movie seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus.
“I sure hope [the movie is] worth it.”
When asked if he could have prevented the situation with Costner from blowing up, Sheridan replied, “I didn’t do anything to begin with!”
Further rumors have alleged that the rift between Sheridan and Costner started because Sheridan developed a “God complex” in the midst of his success, as “Yellowstone” is a hit and has spawned countless spinoffs, such as “1923” starring Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford.
Sheridan responded to allegations of his God complex: “You don’t get to tell me ‘no.’”
He further said that he’s not sure what “God complex” means.
“I’m very blunt with every single person — the production staff, the studio, the network,” he said.
“I said, ‘Look, I invented this thing that I wrote down on paper and I’ve been entrusted to make it into a story that this network goes and sells. Your job is to try and get me there under budget.’ I don’t know that anyone ever said, ‘Yay, that TV show that got canceled after season one came in under budget.’ So if I’m parking 20 million people in front of a television, if I’m beating NFL Sunday Night Football routinely, I think the fact I wanted four cameras and worked late into Friday — I don’t think that’s a bad trade.
“My one rule with line producers and production people is: You don’t get to tell me ‘no,’ you get to tell me how much ‘yes’ costs, and then I decide where to pull that money from … So if you want to call that a God complex, great.”
Even amid its success, “Yellowstone” has notoriously been snubbed by the Emmys — although, Costner nabbed a Golden Globe this year.
Regarding Emmy snubs, Sheridan said, “So keep your f–king award. Who’s going to remember I won an award in 10 years?”
