‘Horizon’ Actor Michael Rooker Decries Current State Of Movies, Says Audiences Conditioned By TikTok Have “Gotta Get Over That Crap”

Bryan Hainer

Audiences are accustomed to seeing Michael Rooker play tough characters in projects like The Walking Dead and Guardians of the Galaxy, but the actor himself had some tough-love advice for audiences who didn’t exactly flock to his latest film Horizon, which is directed by and stars Kevin Costner.

The film opened to an underwhelming $11 million last weekend — on a budget of $50 million — with the biggest segment of the audience 55-plus years old. Rooker told TMZ that the film actually asks something of its viewers.

“It’s real cinema, folks. So be prepared. We ain’t used to that sh*t. We’re used to 90-minute movies. Everything’s 90 minutes…Get over that sh*t. Let’s watch a movie that actually tells a story. Where you learn about the people and grow to like them — or hate them. It’s not all fast, cut, cut, cut.”

Asked if he thinks audiences’ sensibilities have been impacted by TikTok, Rooker replied, “Totally, they are. Of course they are. They gotta get over that crap…They gotta learn what it’s like to watch real cinema.”

One assumes that Rooker would say the billion-dollar box office success of Christopher Nolan’s three-hour Oppenheimer last summer is the exception, rather than the rule.

As for Costner juggling his first directing-starring role in 20 years, Rooker said, “He is brilliant in this. He’s a brilliant director. And he has the ability to pick absolutely the cream of the crop [of actors].”

His final pieces of advice?

“Go see the movie. You’ll enjoy it.” But, he warned, “Go to the bathroom before you go in.”