I’m not sure how Taylor Sheridan possesses the energy to work on all of his shows. Even more than that, I wonder how he manages an admirable sense of restraint in ignoring all the chatter about the Yellowstone drama. He hasn’t publicly commented upon alleged friction between himself and Kevin Costner. In fact, he let that simmer for months, and only on Friday did we hear that Yellowstone will leave the building after Season 5.
Perhaps Sheridan simply does not wish to comment upon reports like those, or maybe he’s simply incredibly happy and basking in the positive stuff. In addition to juggling approximately 515 productions, he is apparently raking in the dough, not only in the form of whatever Paramount Network is paying him for his work but also by renting out his various ranches for filming. The Wall Street Journal published an investigative report on the matter, and they emerged with figures that are wild — and possibly not sustainable, considering the claim that the Yellowstone Season 5 reportedly ordered two dozen new horse saddles at nearly $1000 apiece.
The publication also reports that the various Yellowstone spinoffs have been shooting at Sheridan’s properties at a cost of $50,000 per week for productions, and this particular paragraph about Sheridan hosting his own “cowboy camps” is a fascinating one:
Ahead of filming for his western shows, Mr. Sheridan hosts a “Cowboy Camp” at one of his Texas properties where actors learn how to handle horses and accurately portray life on a ranch, which Paramount pays for. Ahead of season five of “Yellowstone,” Mr. Sheridan charged the studio $214,979.61 for the roughly weeklong camp for an unspecified number of people, according to an invoice, including nearly $33,000 that went to catering. A significant part went toward the use of Mr. Sheridan’s horses–$2,000 a head.
The report details how Paramount Network has been giving Sheridan plenty of leeway to make calls like this, given that his shows are huge draws, not only for the cable channel but also the Paramount+ streaming service. However, one wonders how long this could possibly go on, given that Paramount’s most recent quarterly report wasn’t entirely rosy. Additionally, Wall Street Journal also reports that David Glasser (who runs 101 Studios, which produces Yellowstone) hasn’t been thrilled with some of these expenses, including the saddles and a Sheridan-mandated horse wrangler from out of state. For now, though, it seems to be full-steam ahead for the many Yellowstone productions.
(Via Wall Street Journal)
