Despite his health struggles, Val Kilmer’s recent passing has shaken us to our core. The man who gave us Iceman and Batman is no longer among us, but the mark he’s left behind will surely never fade. As we take a look back at some of the finest works by the actor, we cannot possibly leave out the cult classic that is Tombstone. Released in 1993, the Western film was highly praised for its action-packed storytelling and the performances, especially Val Kilmer’s portrayal of Doc Holliday.
However, even Val Kilmer’s co-star, Kurt Russell, agrees that it was a “miracle” the film ever made it out of production. While George P. Cosmatos is officially listed as Tombstone‘s director, there is a widespread belief that it was actually Kurt Russell who took responsibility behind the scenes when the film was struggling. Finally, actor Michael Biehn spoke up about the truth behind the rumors.
Did Kurt Russell direct Val Kilmer’s Tombstone?
Last year, Michael Biehn paid a visit to the Inside of You podcast, where he opened up about how frustrating it can get when people keep asking him if his co-star, Kurt Russell (Wyatt Earp), directed Tombstone.
In his words, “I get so f*cking tired of people asking me if Kurt Russell directed the movie.” Thus, he wasted no time in setting the record straight. Biehn, who played Johnny Ringo, credited Russell for getting the film off the ground but made it clear that the actor wasn’t the mystery man behind the camera.
In fact, despite George P. Cosmatos being the actual filmmaker, Biehn confirmed that directing was more of a group activity. He said,
Let me just say something about Tombstone, because I get so f’ing tired of people asking me if Kurt Russell directed the movie. Kurt Russell did not direct the movie, okay? Kurt Russell was responsible for getting the movie off the ground. I never would have played Johnny Ringo if it wasn’t for Kurt Russell… But it was directed by, kind of a committee.
He then talked about Kevin Jarre being replaced by Cosmatos after shooting for five weeks. When Cosmatos took over, everything they had worked on so far had to be scrapped, and as a result, they ended up shooting for another month or six weeks more.
Val Kilmer talks about the drama on set
Just like every other film, Tombstone was not free of drama. The late actor attended the Wizard World Comic Con (via YouTube) in Ohio back in 2012, where he recalled a hilarious anecdote from his time on the Western’s set.
Val Kilmer, who recently passed away due to pneumonia, admitted that while filming “was lots of fun,” a bit of “drama” was right there to accompany it. Why? Because Jarre, who was the writer, was also the director, and it just wasn’t working out.
The Top Gun actor praised Jarre for being a brilliant writer, but when it came to directing the film, Kilmer said that he just didn’t have “a flair” for the job. He stated, “…he was a brilliant writer, but he had nothing left to direct with. He just didn’t have a flair for that job“.
In fact, he even remembers sharing a moment with Russell where they both realized that things weren’t really sailing smoothly.
In Kilmer’s words,
I remember the first shot, I was on a horse with Kurt–Kurt Russell…After the first shot, he turned to me like, ‘D-do you–do you–’ he was stuttering and he’s usually a very articulate guy. And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I think maybe we got a problem.’ The very first shot, where [Jarre] put the camera was just off.
It all “worked out in the end” when Cosmatos was brought in to replace Jarre. Today, Tombstone is considered one of the finest works in the genre, and perhaps Biehn was right; it really was a team effort.
Tombstone is available to watch on Hulu.
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