10 Things You Didn’t Know About Tombstone
One might argue that Tombstone is the best Western of the last 30 years and others might make the case that it’s among the most manliest of movies ever made. I, myself, would agree with both of those statements and I take it upon myself to watch this movie each year so I can be reminded of some of the not-so-simple or formulaic characters of the American West. Tombstone is an absolute classic and I’m thrilled to bring you 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Tombstone.
1.Writer and original Director Kevin Jarre had at one point envisioned Liam Neeson in the role as Wyatt Earp and David Bowie for Doc Holliday.
2. George P. Cosmatos had been brought in to take over the helm of the film, but many of the cast weren’t a fan of his methods. Biehn said he told him to “go fuck yourself” and that was maybe the longest conversation he had with him. He claims Cosmatos treated extras and crew members like shit.
3. Michael Biehn claims that it was Kurt Russell who really “held the film together” after the original director Kevin Jarre had been fired. His passion for the project and his desire to get it right meant he and Val Kilmer would take great efforts to make sure shot lists and the editing was done correctly.
4. All of the scenes that were shot by Kevin Jarre were cut from the film. He had been shooting for 4 weeks and many of the scenes featuring Powers Boothe and Michael Biehn’s characters were cut. Also, much of the romance was cut as it was shot early on.
5. Russell had access to a lot of written documents and stories about Wyatt Earp that others have not because a member of the Earp family (Wyatt Earp III) was on set playing the character of Billy Claibourne.
6. This was the fifth and final film that Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton would work on together.
7. Authenticity was paramount on set. They filmed close to the real historical town of Tombstone. They wore period accurate clothing and carried the same guns that the men of the time had carried. They also hired re-enactors for the set. They came equipped with period accurate costumes, weapons, and could ride and shoot safely which took a great deal of stress away from the production.
8. They spent multiple days filming the shootout at the Ok Corral. The editor said afterward that it was best action sequence that he’d ever edited.
9. Tombstone was originally going to be released by Universal and Kevin Jarre wanted Kevin Costner as Wyatt Earp. Costner had his own Earp project in the works and told Universal that if they made Tombstone then he won’t do Waterworld. The film lost its distribution and Jarre had to shop the script around. They were able to convince Val Kilmer to sign on and then Disney agreed to distribute it if they would use Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp.
10. It is said that the original script for Tombstone would have made it far too long to play as a film. When Cosmatos came on to direct on short notice, they brought in John Fasano to trim the film in order to shorten the length and focus more on the Earp brothers.
