“Are you kidding me? We can’t find a local person?”: Even Paramount Was Reportedly Pissed at Taylor Sheridan’s Absurdly Enormous Paycheck Demands for Yellowstone

Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone has been making headlines since its release in 2018. The show has garnered a dedicated fanbase and critical acclaim for its storytelling and characters, apart from praise for a range of other elements. However, Sheridan’s involvement in the show has hugely contributed to its massive success, spawning an entire franchise. 

While the show continues to capture the public’s interest as it approaches its end, it reportedly imposed a significant financial burden on the network. An old report suggested that the big budget was allegedly attributed to Sheridan’s absurdly enormous paychecks. 

Paramount Reportedly Spent Huge Amount on Taylor Sheridan’s Expenses in Yellowstone

As Yellowstone gears up for the second part of its final season, it surely stands as one of the most expensive Taylor Sheridan shows. Last year, a report by the Wall Street Journal gave an insight into the expenses that Paramount Network and 101 Studios paid for the show.

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According to the report, co-creator Taylor Sheridan, who was paid for writing, producing, and directing, reportedly made paycheck demands through multiple personal businesses used on the show. 

The report mentioned that his extravagant expenses caused “internal frustration.”  He reportedly charged the studio $214,979.61 for ‘Cowboy Camp.’ As per the report, the Cowboy Camp was a week-long camp to train actors to handle horses and portray life on the ranch.

Additionally, he rented cattle to Paramount at $25 per head, charging the studio about $50,000 a week to use his own Texas ranches for filming. His other expenses included billing the studio over $3000 for a cattle wrangler, 1,600 miles away from set, to look after the writer’s own horses. 

The report also stated that the billing was majorly due to his personal expenses, with one demand involving the use of his preferred farrier to make the drama’s horseshoes. Due to that, a specialist was flown out to Montana from Texas for four nights for the gig, which didn’t fit well with the production studio execs.

The 101 Studios head David Glasser allegedly wrote, “Are you kidding me? We can’t find a local person?” in an email to his staff. Even the execs. at the Paramount were bothered with his bills. Whereas, the producer himself garnered headlines for his frosty relationship with show actor, Kevin Costner. 

Taylor Sheridan’s Off-Screen Drama With Yellowstone Actor Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner, who played John Dutton on the hit US series, surprisingly left the show with several reasons to go, one of which was to focus on his own Western epic, a four-movie saga titled Horizon. Whereas, the producer was busy working on its spin-offs, delaying the Season 5 production. 

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But, a report by Deadline emerged last year that the duo butted heads with one another over scheduling conflicts, with multiple sources claiming that Costner demanded that all his scenes from the second part of Yellowstone Season 5 be shot in just one week.

In May last year, the actor officially exited the franchise followed by the announcement of the show gearing up for its fifth and final season. While Sheridan revealed having no problem with the actor, Costner on the other hand, reflected that the salary negotiations and creative aspect led him to make that decision. Amid the drama, the final season’s second part is set to premiere on November 10. 

You can stream Yellowstone on Peacock.