It’s wild what a difference a year can make, with Kevin Costner serving as a wildly popular example. The actor spent the entirety of 2022 as one of TV’s biggest stars, anchoring the Paramount Network hit Yellowstone as co-creator Taylor Sheridan developed the expanding franchise, and by all measures, seemed to be happily married to wife of 18 years Christine Baumgartner. Then along came 2023, which quickly brought news of behind-the-scenes turmoil on the neo-western centering around scheduling gripes from the actor, who is now also in the midst of a high-profile split after Baumgartner filed for divorce in May. But according to one of the actor’s own latest court filings, he may also have financial problems tied to Yellowstone.
A lot of the attention being given to Costner and Baumgartner’s divorce proceedings revolves around money, with the Oscar winner having put a prenup in place, in order to avoid a similar $80 million payout situation that came with his first divorce. Because Baumgartner reportedly refused to vacate their Carpinteria, California mansion in the aftermath, which unearthed quite a few alleged financial details, from his general net worth to how much the family regularly spends. And according to Insider, Costner filed divorce paperwork in his home state that claims he’s no longer under contract with Yellowstone, and it sounds like he isn’t expecting to bring in any show-related earnings this year, while also indicating that even he doesn’t think that information is legitimate.
Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone deal is of the “pay-or-play” variety, guaranteeing him payment regardless of if he’s still under contract or not, which is obviously quite different from more traditional multi-year agreements that most actors make for TV projects. But the stipulations from such deals get sticky at times when no new content is being created, such as we’re in now. (Partially due to the WGA writers strike, though the show’s issues were already happening before the strike began.)
Here’s how Costner, who reportedly earned upwards of $1.3 million per episode for Season 5, worded it in the paperwork:
I will earn substantially less in 2023 than I did in 2022. This is because I am no longer under contract for Yellowstone, the principal source of my income last year. . . . Now, any compensation I earn from Yellowstone will derive only from my back-end contractual participation rights, which amounts are not fixed. The most recent report from the producer for Yellowstone shows I am not now owed any participation money.
Kevin Costner apparently followed that up by saying he has disputed the claim that he isn’t owed any further participation compensation in 2023. Which presents the possibility that Costner’s issues with Yellowstone’s producers may also be tied to money as much as the scheduling snafus that have been reported on. (The actor reportedly wanted fewer filming requirements for the TV series so that he’d be able to devote more attention to his series of Horizon features.)
From an outsider's perspective, it seems like Costner should be eager to film and close out the rest of Season 5, both from financial and creative angles, since he's still mentally invested in how John Dutton's story ends. But I'm not sure how to read into the actor voicing a dispute with Yellowstone producers' wage claims within paperwork tied to a divorce that has a ton of its own money details complicating things.
What's clear is this: Yellowstone fans would love to see the rest of Season 5 play out, and would love to see the universe continue expanding with the rumored Matthew McConaughey spinoff, at least at the point whenever Taylor Sheridan can get back to writing it all.
