Tag: Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner’s Green Mountain Coffees taste at least a little like the old west

Costner’s curated latte will absolutely remind you of a Montana ranch.

Welcome back to FTW’s Beverage of the Week series. Here, we mostly chronicle and review beers, but happily expand that scope to any beverage (or food) that pairs well with sports. Yes, even cookie dough whiskey.

I’ll be honest. I understand the Yellowstone phenomenon. I am not part of it.

I’m sure I’d like the show. I’m happy for Kevin Costner’s comeback and pivot to America’s quasi-historian like a beefy, rugged Ken Burns. But I tend to jump into prestige dramas long after they’re relevant. The first time I watched even a single episode of The Sopranos, for example, was probably 2013.

This is all a long preamble to tell you, no, I don’t really understand why Costner is making specially curated blends for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Or why he’s opted for the very un-cowboy brewing technique of K-cups.

All I do know is this media kit came with the most absurd, and beautiful, promotional item I’ve ever received. Behold, the coffee holster:

While it looks like a Keurig-bedazzled thong, it’s actually an extremely ornate piece of leatherwork (shoutout to Hellbound Leather Co., who apparently handled it) meant to hold a travel mug and little bandoliers of individually packaged coffee. It is also, even on its tightest setting, large enough for me to hula hoop in:

This, sadly, will ruin my opportunity to be “the dad no one wants to talk to at the bus stop” this coming school year. But it is very nice.

Anyway, the coffee. We’re here to talk about the coffee. Costner has two blends with Green Mountain; a Horizon Blend dark roast and a Mountainside Mocha Latte. Each features a stoic Costner, holding a tin mug (ooooh, so close) and gazing into the wilderness. Mesas and woodlands abound, creating the impression, just maybe, Costner has earned enough money to live inside a Bob Ross painting.

Truly, the American dream.

Let’s see how they taste.

Mountainside Mocha Latte: C? B? D? Man, I DO NOT KNOW

The first thing I notice when brewing a cup is the dusting of coffee grounds that shoot from the bottom of my Keurig right before the coffee itself pours out. Huh. The latte clocks in much darker than I expected at first, then lightens as the tail end of the cup promises creamier flavors.

I’m going into this without my standard Splenda/milk/protein powder that I add to my morning coffee. I’m also rolling with an eight ounce pour, elegantly dropped into Created’s Paris Olympic themed collaboration with Steve Wolf and La Marzocco. Timely!

There’s a definite roasted, woody smell coming from the top of the pour, but it doesn’t especially taste like coffee. It’s not terribly appealing, but there is a little sweetness hiding in there, mostly through dark cacao nibs.

That sweetness extends to the first sip, though the wood-like flavor does as well. The description on the box lays the groundwork for “earthy” tastes and a “creamy” mouthfeel and I will say it hits both those targets.

Is this mocha for cowboys? A hedged bet that you can enjoy a sweet, fancy coffee drink if it’s got a little dirt in it? It’s good and a little gross at the same time, weird in a way that keeps me coming back, trying futilely to figure out whether I like it or not.

It feels a little briny under its latte thickness as well. Alright, I’m gonna see if this is a “me” problem and make a less concentrated version, pouring this into a larger mug with more water.

Mountainside Mocha Latte from a bigger cup: C+

This one smells the same, though it brewed without the dusting of pre-liquid coffee grounds, which seems like an improvement. Thinning it out with a 16 ounce Keurig brew, however, makes a significant difference with the taste. The earth tones are less prevalent, but so is the creaminess.

As such, how much you like Mr. Costner’s log-splitter latte depends on your tolerance for that earthy, wood-adjacent flavor. This does feel like the kind of coffee you’d get at a fancy ranch, because it feels like it was brewed through a slab of cedar rather than a coffee filter. That light brine lingers toward the end, which isn’t a turnoff but is noticeable.

It’s not a problem. I can drink it. It’s just a little weird for a latte.

Horizon Blend Dark Roast: A-

This immediately smells better than the mocha latte, a rich, dark roast that smells like coffee. Not to get too Folgers on you, but this is the smell I imagine when I’m thinking of something capable of waking me up.

It brews moderately dark, to which I’ve added a packet of Splenda and a little two percent milk. And I went back to the Paris 2024 ceramic from Created and La Marzocco because, well, they’re very nice mugs and the coffee rings on my desk suggest that, deep down, I may be a saucer guy.

That richness translates to the taste. There’s a nice, latent acidity working under the surface to create clean, crisp sips of warm, roasted coffee. It’s not especially bitter — though, again, I’ve got a little milk and sugar(ish) in here. Despite leaning toward the darker end of the coffee spectrum, Horizon Blend is still approachable for a relative coffee neophyte like me to drink. There’s a little chocolate in there if you dig deep and some of the earthiness that headlines Costner’s latte, but most of all this just tastes like a proper cup of coffee.

How Yellowstone could handle John Dutton after losing Kevin Costner for its final episodes

How is Yellowstone going to handle Kevin Costner’s exit from the final episodes?

The final season of Yellowstone will have to conclude without John Dutton as of now.

Series star Kevin Costner shared on Thursday night that he won’t be returning to production on the last season’s final episodes, leaving his character’s fate up in the air.

While it’s always possible show creator Taylor Sheridan and company could patch things up with Costner for him to return for at least a small appearance, it appears as if the Oscar winner is content with stepping away and focusing on his third installment in the new Horizon: An American Saga franchise.

What’s going to be fascinating is to see how Sheridan chooses to write Costner out of the show’s closing stretch. We’ll do our best to guess what’s next, which honestly leaves really only a few plausible scenarios for the character.

Yellowstone spoilers to follow. 

The first half of season five left the Dutton family in tatters. Costner’s John Dutton has been put on the hot seat by his adopted son, Jamie. The latter has called for his father’s impeachment as Montana’s governor, something he can do because he’s the state’s Attorney General.

Jamie’s sister and John’s daughter, Beth, has just learned from Jamie that her family has disposed of dead bodies at the “Train Station. She understands the power Jamie now has in his back pocket and openly wonders to her dad if the family should have Jamie sent to the “Train Station,” which puts John in a very difficult position. However, Jamie also considers striking with his own attack on the Dutton family, particularly his father and sister.

It’s the kind of sticky melodrama that would’ve been riveting to see play out with Costner involvd, but his exit basically confirms one of three logical paths for John Dutton. Sheridan is too shrewd a storyteller to just have John Dutton operating normally while not being on screen, so he’s got three options in theory to make Costner’s absence make sense.

First, the show could (and probably will) kill Dutton off. Whether it’s by Jamie’s hand, by freak accident, by health event or by natural causes, giving the character the permanent hook would be the easiest way to write Costner out of the show. It would throw the Dutton children and other characters into an immediate power grab, and it would be the most dramatically satisfying way to keep the show going without Costner, if only for a few episodes.

Second, they could hypothetically send Dutton to jail for his crimes in a time jump. That wouldn’t be the best scenario narratively, but it’d be a plausible way to get the character out of the game and behind bars. We’re not sure this would really play well, but it could leave the door open if Costner changes his mind about coming back.

The third option would be some sort of major health scare that puts Dutton in the hospital or in some sort of coma, which feels a little forced but would give the show a good reason for Costner to not be around while his character still is. That could also leave the door open for Costner’s possible return if they’re able to work something out in time.

Our best guess is that the graveyard shift is headed John Dutton’s way, giving the character a firm sense of finality and allowing the show to close itself out without needing Costner around to make it work.

However, this is Hollywood we’re talking about, so never say never to another possible outcome.

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Kevin Costner shared he won’t be returning to Yellowstone for its final episodes

Kevin Costner will officially not be returning to Yellowstone for its final episodes.

After lots of back-and-forth, Kevin Costner shared on Thursday night he will not be returning for the final episodes of the hit drama Yellowstone.

After Paramount Network announced earlier on Thursday that the back half of season five would air this November, there was still lots of uncertainty for Costner’s status as returning as show lead John Dutton after various factors played into him not returning to the show’s production.

Well, Costner set the record straight on his Twitter (X) account later in the day and broke the sad news that he would not be returning to the series or any Yellowstone project in the future.

“I just realized that I’m not going to be able to continue season five B or into the future,” Costner said in the announcement. “[The show] was something that really changed me. I loved it, and I know you loved it. And I just wanted to let you know that I won’t be returning.”

Costner has been hard at work on his Western epic film series Horizon: An American Saga, with the first installment due in theaters next week.

As he works on the third installment in the new franchise, his days at Dutton Ranch have come to a close.

With his character on the show alive by the halfway point of season five, the folks behind Yellowstone will now have to figure out how to give the character a proper farewell without Costner in tow.

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Yellowstone finally has a release date for its last episodes, with or without Kevin Costner

We finally know when Yellowstone will return for its final episodes.

Don’t worry, Yellowstone fans. The hit drama will finally return for its final episodes this fall.

Paramount Network revealed on Thursday that the show will be back to finish out its fifth and final season on Nov. 10.

The show hasn’t been on air since January 2023, when a cliffhanger left the Dutton family’s power balance firmly in question.

Various issues have left show lead Kevin Costner’s status up in the air as to whether or not he’ll be appearing in the show’s final episodes.

While promoting his upcoming Horizon film series, the Oscar-winning actor and director affirmed recently that he’s open to returning to finish out John Dutton’s story, but he’s not currently slated to appear on the final stretch of the series.

“I’ve supported that thing and I’ve loved it,” Costner said, via Variety. “It’s been really important to me. I would love to go back under the right circumstances I think that all of us want. For me, it really needs to be the right circumstances.”

“Saying there’s a chance, there’s always a chance,” he continued. “I love the thing. You’ve got to be really clear about that.”

Whether or not Costner returns, the show is still slated to finish its run this fall.

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Yellowstone creator updates Kevin Costner’s status for final episodes as another delay looks likely

Yellowstone fans have more information on Kevin Costner’s status from the show’s creator.

As Yellowstone fans await the back half of the show’s final season, creator Taylor Sheridan has provided an update on its main star.

Drama had bubbled up recently around Yellowstone star Kevin Costner’s availability to film the rest of the final season after he embarked on shooting his multipart western epic Horizon. His absence was cited as what was delaying production on the show’s remaining episodes.

Sheridan shared in a wide-ranging, NSFW interview with The Hollywood Reporter new insight into Costner’s status with the show and the reported fracas between Costner and Paramount.

Says Sheridan: “My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct. 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.”

There are ongoing discussions to try to convince Costner to film a few scenes to wrap his character, though the scripts are not yet complete. One would think Dutton having final conversations with his warring kids, Beth and Jamie, would be particularly helpful to set up the show’s home stretch.

Sheridan added context into how his relationship stands with Costner during the entire situation.

“My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered,” Sheridan says. “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. 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 — and that it’s a good one.

“I’m disappointed,” Sheridan adds. “It truncates the closure of his character. It doesn’t alter it, but it truncates it.”

The interview also hints at how John Dutton’s story could end on the show.

Sheridan hints that John Dutton was never going to be around for the very end of the show, and that the conclusion of Yellowstone is unchanged from his original movie script. So Dutton will likely be — in the parlance of the series — “taken to the train station.”

The article notes that the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike will likely knock the final episodes of Yellowstone off a planned November 2023 premiere date. However, Sheridan told THR that the final episodes could go as long as needed, even as many as 10 episodes.

“If I think it takes 10 episodes to wrap it up, they’ll give me 10,” Sheridan says. “It’ll be as long as it needs to be.”

It looks like the future is still fairly uncertain for the Dutton Ranch, with the only thing to bank on being its inevitable end.

Yellowstone is wrapping up in the fall, and a sequel series is already in works

Yellowstone fans will finally get to see how the show wraps up in November.

Yellowstone fans will finally get to see how the story of John Dutton wraps up when the show returns for its final episodes in November.

Paramount announced on Friday that the back half of Yellowstone‘s season five will air in the fall, reportedly actor Kevin Costner’s last ride as patriarch John Dutton in the Yellowstone universe.

Season five will conclude the original Yellowstone show and lead into a sequel series created by longtime show architect Taylor Sheridan, Paramount confirmed.

The Yellowstone sequel series will premiere in December, which Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey has been linked to as its star. It’s unknown if any characters from the original Yellowstone series will jump over to the sequel project, however it’ll reportedly continue the Dutton family story.

It was reported earlier this week that Coster would be exiting the program after reported off-set drama involving the actor and the show’s leadership bubbled up earlier this year. Coster’s attorney denied any friction on the actor’s behalf.

The last episode in season five’s first half aired on Jan. 1. No firm date in November has been set for the show’s remaining episodes, and production has not yet started. Further delays are always possible.

John Elway wants to be a villain in a cowboy movie

John Elway said he might call Kevin Costner about a potential cowboy role in Yellowstone.

John Elway has enjoyed a successful NFL playing and executive career with the Denver Broncos, quarterbacking the franchise to two Super Bowl wins as a player and a third as a front-office executive. 

Last week, Elway announced his intentions to step away from his Broncos job and football after 28 years in the game. However, with new time on his hands and one of the first years without football to look forward to, Elway has a new career possibly in sight: acting.

A villain in a Cowboy movie, to be exact. 

Famed writer Woody Paige recently wrote a tribute column for Elway in The Denver Gazette, and he spoke on how Elway has his sights on a villain acting career since his football days are behind him. 

From Paige’s story:

When Elway turned 50 I asked what he wanted to do in life. “I’d like to be the villain in a cowboy movie.”

So I revisited the subject Friday ahead of his 63rd birthday in June.

“I still would like to be in a cowboy movie, but I’m a bit old,” he said. John was nicknamed The Duke of Denver after famed actor John Wayne, who also was called “The Duke.”

Elway suggested he might call his friend Kevin Costner to ask about potentially getting a part in Paramount’s Yellowstone TV series.

If movie stars can become politicians and hold office, who is to say that sports legends can’t become movie stars as well? Best of luck to Elway in his future endeavors away from football. 

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‘Tin Cup’ turns 25: Some interesting facts about the movie

Tin Cup is considered one of the best golf movies of all time. It turned 25 on Aug. 16, 2021.

“Caddyshack” is widely considered the best golf movie of all time, but if you ask around, you’re likely to get some arguments that No. 2 on the list is “Tin Cup.”

According to IMDB, “Tin Cup” checks in at No. 3 behind “The Greatest Game Ever Played” but the one thing “Tin Cup” does have going for it is that it is the highest box office-grossing golf movie ever.

Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, Don Johnson and Cheech Marin starred in the film that was released on Aug. 16, 1996.

Yep, “Tin Cup” is 25 years old.

Shot in Texas and Arizona but supposedly set in North Carolina for the climactic U.S. Open scenes, it features a robust lineup of cameos from PGA Tour golfers and commentators, from Phil Mickelson to Johnny Miller to Jim Nantz.

Kevin Costner showed up to play catch at the ‘Field of Dreams’ site

This will make fans of the movie smile.

Want to have a catch at the Field of Dreams site for Thursday’s New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox matchup in Iowa?

Kevin Costner liked that.

With Dyersville hosting the game, the actor who starred in the 1989 film is there, and on Wednesday, he had a catch, with the music from the movie playing while he threw.

If you’re a die-hard fan of Field of Dreams, this will make you smile.

Here are videos of the moment, along with some other Costner-related stuff — an interview with Bob Costas is down there — that’s happened this week as Thursday’s game approaches:

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Ignore the haters: Why ‘Field of Dreams’ is still a great movie

This piece originally ran on Midway Minute, a daily newsletter about Chicago sports. Sign up for free here. There are two kinds of people in this world. The type that enjoys watching a good sports movie and cheers at the end. And the type that …

This piece originally ran on Midway Minute, a daily newsletter about Chicago sports. Sign up for free here.

There are two kinds of people in this world.

The type that enjoys watching a good sports movie and cheers at the end.

And the type that watches the same movie and writes an article on the Internet two decades later that you were an idiot for cheering at the end.

Some people out there don’t like “Hoosiers.” Others like to mock “Rudy.”

But the movie that far and away draws the most digital scorn is “Field of Dreams.” Indeed, bashing the 1989 Kevin Costner baseball cornfield fantasy has become a cottage industry for baseball bloggers over the past decade.

Google “Why Field of Dreams actually sucks” and you’ll get a full page of results from contrarians and cranks.  Even Jerry Blevins gets in on it.

Those results will likely only grow this week as the baseball world returns to the Dyersville, Iowa farm for the MLB game between the White Sox and Yankees. In fact, I’m certain there are others working on similar pieces as I write this.

To which I say, “(Yawn).” If your first instinct after seeing John Kinsella play catch with his dad while the sun sets and the music soars is “meh?”

Well, that says more about you than it does the “Field of Dreams.”

That’s not to say I think ‘Field of Dreams’ is immune from criticism.

The first half-hour is pretty pedestrian, and I’m here for it if you want to argue the film doesn’t start getting good until Terrance Mann stands in the path of the Volkswagen van in Boston.

I will also accept these valid takes:

  • The next movie Kevin Costner carries will be the first. He plays John Kinsella the same as he does Crash Davis and Robin Hood. Costner seems like a nice guy, a great baseball fan and I’m overdue to watch Yellowstone. But … he’s basically a VORP actor in this one.
  • Ray Liotta showing up as Shoeless Joe Jackson doesn’t help matters. Much is made of Liotta batting right-handed while Jackson hit left, but the bigger mistake to me was having Henry Hill play a ballplayer from South Carolina. I can’t watch Liotta’s first scene without hearing the opening narration of “Goodfellas” or picturing Shoeless Joe shiv Billy Batts in the trunk of a car. Thankfully, Shoeless Joe is in this movie the perfect amount. Any more Liotta and I’d be arguing the other side.
  • The opening 30 minutes is basically a boring mixture of great cinematography, a disembodied voice doing ASMR 30 years before that was a thing and Costner trying to convince every town person and Timothy Busfield that he’s not crazy.  Oh, and there’s an awkward school board meeting that would’ve been much better had it ended with Jimmy Chitwood showing up and saying it was time to play some ball.
(Universal Studios)

The rest of the movie slaps, though.

Three words: James Earl Jones.

Three more: Burt Freakin’ Lancaster.

If “Field of Dreams” ever threatened to careen off into full-on cheeseball territory, these two Hollywood legends showed up to make sure that it didn’t. Jones as Mann, the J.D. Salinger avatar who fights through Nixonian-induced disillusionment to reconnect with his childhood.  Lancaster as “Moonlight” Graham, the small-town Minnesota doctor with a single plate appearance that always left him wondering.

Watching Jones and Lancaster do their thing is still a simple pleasure 30 years later. The gravity of their performances could’ve laid the shortcomings of the script bare. They instead pull the loose strings together, not demeaning the material and giving the audience permission to believe in what’s going on out in the field.

(Frank Whaley also later shows up as Young Moonlight Graham, which proves “Field of Dreams” is a good movie. Go ahead: Try and name a bad Frank Whaley flick. You can’t.)

But it’s not just the presence of Jones and Lancaster that gives “Field of Dreams” its armor against the haters. It’s the film’s simple emotional core, its fulfilling end, and the refusal to let much else get in the way. That setup is viewed as a sign of weakness in these embittered times, but in 1989 it was a callback to a different era in both Hollywood and America.

Has the 21st Century been so bad and turned us so cynical that we can no longer sit back and find a win in one man’s goofy quest to plow over his crops for reasons even he won’t fully understand until his ghost dad takes off his catcher’s gear?

I’d like to think we can still can.

Here’s what the great Roger Ebert, a critic who was smart enough to let his guard down when warranted, wrote in his 1989 review of the movie:

As “Field of Dreams” developed this fantasy, I found myself being willingly drawn into it. Movies are often so timid these days, so afraid to take flights of the imagination, that there is something grand and brave about a movie where a voice tells a farmer to build a baseball diamond so that Shoeless Joe Jackson can materialize out of the cornfield and hit a few fly balls. This is the kind of movie Frank Capra might have directed, and Jimmy Stewart might have starred in — a movie about dreams.

What’s interesting is that writer/director Phil Alden Robinson wanted Stewart to play Moonlight Graham, but wasn’t able to get him. It makes for a fascinating what-if.

Whether or not Robinson had designs on emulating Capra is uncertain, but putting “Field of Dreams” in the same ever-optimistic frame — if not the same rank — should heighten your appreciation for the move if you’re willing.

Look, “Field of Dreams” is far from a perfect movie. It’s certainly not the best baseball movie, and it may not even be the best baseball movie with James Earl Jones in it.

But it’s still a great baseball movie and a reminder of when we used baseball movies to tell different stories about ourselves. If you’re not a puddle by the end of “Field of Dreams,” I don’t know what to tell you.

Kevin Kaduk is a ListWire contributor and the founder of Midway Minute, a daily newsletter about Chicago sports. You sign up for free here.