Utah stars in Kevin Costner's new movie

Kevin Costner's "Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1" opens in theaters today, featuring Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Owen Crow Shoe — and the state of Utah .

The big picture: It's the first installment in a series of four films about the settlement of the American West during the 1860s.

• Chapter 2 comes out on Aug. 16.

Catch up quick: Costner is building a film studio in St. George and previously filmed the Paramount series " Yellowstone " here.

What we're watching: Our backyard. Scenes for the first chapter were shot mostly in Grand and San Juan counties .

• Look for familiar landscapes in Washington County in Chapter 2.

What they're saying: "Utah really has almost anything you can ask for and the raw beauty that's there," Costner told ABC4 this week.

Zoom in: Some locations proposed for a scene in Chapter 2 turned out to be too raw and beautiful, Costner told the St. George News .

• Film crews prepared a site this spring on the Santa Clara River on the reservation of the Paiute Shivwits Band, but the mountain snowpack melted and flooded the set.
• The band, who worked with the crew, found another spot — but Costner deemed it too "stunning." The mood of the scene required a more desolate setting, he said.