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The Making of Tombstone: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Modern Western
The day-by-day inside story of the making of Tombstone (1993) as told to the author by those who were there--actors, extras, crew members, Buckaroos, historians and everyone in between. Historical context that inspired Kevin Jarre's screenplay is included. Production designers, cameramen, costume designers, composers, illustrators, screenwriter, journalists, set dressers, prop masters, medics, stuntmen and many others share their recollections--many never-before-told--of filming this epic Western.
258 pages, Paperback
First published November 16, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 6, 2020
Tombstone is one of my all time favorite movies so I was thrilled to find this book. I learned a lot and the book certainly kept me interested. However, it could have used a good editor. Now if Kurt will do something wonderful with all that unused footage he supposedly has!
June 3, 2022
If you're contemplating this book then you have a serious thing for Tombstone, as such I consider us friends ... and as a friend I have to tell you it may best for you to skip this, at least bypass the first 100 pages or so ... it turns out that the book is actually about "making" the movie, a rather serious endeavor that spins the head and ventures down obscure side streets that are frustratingly packed with minutiae when all you really want is some quality time with Wyatt and Doc ... I guess in the end I end up liking Tombstone a bit more then when I started but the book can be a tough walk down a dusty Arizona street
December 28, 2020
Alas, I didn't learn as much from this volume as I'd hoped. Other than how very unhappy the Tombstone set was, and how even Kurt Russell has feet of clay. It did bring home to me, though, that no matter how wonderful and enjoyable the film is, it could have been an incredible and profound classic. Missed opportunities! I love what we have, but we managed to shoot ourselves in the foot on this one.
May 3, 2020
Unexpected
Most of the time books like this tend to be a little boring,but that was not the case here. The Wild Bunch was another book that demonstrated that the story behind the scenes was as interesting as the movie itself.
Most of the time books like this tend to be a little boring,but that was not the case here. The Wild Bunch was another book that demonstrated that the story behind the scenes was as interesting as the movie itself.
December 29, 2025
Comprehensive & remarkably insightful behind-the-scenes production memoir – alongside, on the same shelf with Casey Gaines’s lovingly chronicled
We Don't Need Roads
, and Glenn Kenny’s
Made Men
In spring 2006, Kurt Russell was all of a sudden, popping-off on Tombstone† with True West (magazine) columnist (and ardent Kevin Jarre admirer), Henry Cabot Beck capturing every word (on the record; much to Team Kurt’s irritation, only a few months later, in advance of True West publishing their monthly edition).
With Russell now (vocally) re-writing history, it was only a matter of time before those affected began clapping back at Kurt's more-bullshitty declarations (either in casual context or commemorative symposium, funneled through entertainment aggregate, i.e. author, reporter, …or, John Farkis).‡
Kurt’s 2006 public comments tentpoles Farkis’ Making of Tombstone-narrative; Yet, hardly resembling the presumed Rashomon depositions – the majority of contributors still feels Russell “saved” the picture, but they also acknowledge Kurt was the catalyst to Jarre’s demise [i.e. via newb's uncompromising traditional filmmaking techniques]. Even if Val Kilmer is the only player willing to corroborate Russell’s entire chronology & ideology (sans exception or footnotes), those Jarre-bashers & Team Kurt stooges [Stephen Lang, Sean Daniel], still withheld their full-pledge of allegiance-endorsement whenever discussing Russell’s replacement director.
- - - - - -
I blame Kevin Costner for the demise of both Kevin Jarre’s Tombstone and Kevin Jarre. In hindsight, it's only so plain, both Jarre and Costner wanted to produce the same sprawling, The Godfather -esque, historical epic about the McLowerys, the Clantons, the Earps and their Vendetta Ride; While Kurt Russell had only hoped to plunder Jarre’s original script, re-imaging it to his Disney-version of the Earps vs. the Cowboys (á la classically-romanticized White Hats vs. the Black Hats; whereas Jarre only saw them all as Grey Hats; likewise, Costner’s proprietary American Traditional values vs. the Black hats).
Costner only wanted to produce an Earp bio pic after reading Jarre’s script [née: offered the lead role in mid/late-1992]; he then actively campaigned to suppress Jarre’s resources/project, in favor of his own pet project (putting Waterworld’s pre-production on hold!). Thereby forcing Jarre to accept thelast only available distribution deal, in town, that – could facilitate his multimillion dollar epic – wasn’t tethered to Costner, or his syndicate talent agency: CAA/Michael Ovitz, courtesy Kurt Russell/Cinergi, with Disney overseeing distribution and marketing.
agenda demands).
In spring 2006, Kurt Russell was all of a sudden, popping-off on Tombstone† with True West (magazine) columnist (and ardent Kevin Jarre admirer), Henry Cabot Beck capturing every word (on the record; much to Team Kurt’s irritation, only a few months later, in advance of True West publishing their monthly edition).
With Russell now (vocally) re-writing history, it was only a matter of time before those affected began clapping back at Kurt's more-bullshitty declarations (either in casual context or commemorative symposium, funneled through entertainment aggregate, i.e. author, reporter, …or, John Farkis).‡
Kurt’s 2006 public comments tentpoles Farkis’ Making of Tombstone-narrative; Yet, hardly resembling the presumed Rashomon depositions – the majority of contributors still feels Russell “saved” the picture, but they also acknowledge Kurt was the catalyst to Jarre’s demise [i.e. via newb's uncompromising traditional filmmaking techniques]. Even if Val Kilmer is the only player willing to corroborate Russell’s entire chronology & ideology (sans exception or footnotes), those Jarre-bashers & Team Kurt stooges [Stephen Lang, Sean Daniel], still withheld their full-pledge of allegiance-endorsement whenever discussing Russell’s replacement director.
- - - - - -
I blame Kevin Costner for the demise of both Kevin Jarre’s Tombstone and Kevin Jarre. In hindsight, it's only so plain, both Jarre and Costner wanted to produce the same sprawling, The Godfather -esque, historical epic about the McLowerys, the Clantons, the Earps and their Vendetta Ride; While Kurt Russell had only hoped to plunder Jarre’s original script, re-imaging it to his Disney-version of the Earps vs. the Cowboys (á la classically-romanticized White Hats vs. the Black Hats; whereas Jarre only saw them all as Grey Hats; likewise, Costner’s proprietary American Traditional values vs. the Black hats).
Costner only wanted to produce an Earp bio pic after reading Jarre’s script [née: offered the lead role in mid/late-1992]; he then actively campaigned to suppress Jarre’s resources/project, in favor of his own pet project (putting Waterworld’s pre-production on hold!). Thereby forcing Jarre to accept the
“It was a Western. A Western! They didn’t know anything. And it wasn’t their baby!”Right out of the gate, Russell has always maintained that Tombstone was “dead in the water,” had it not been for his intervention – Russell asserts he was responsible for putting the financing in place, hence, his insistence on being professionally responsible for the project's successful completion [nevermind he’d already committed to immediate start production overseas, on Stargate (for Cinergi) once Tombstone wrapped -- thereby removing his oversight from Tombstone’s essential finishing strategies]. In fact, one of the requisites of Ghost-directing is the faux-helmer need only be bothered with obligatory in-camera performances, and needn't concern themselves with the more articulately time consuming post-production obligations; since a ghost director is almost always a diva or megalomaniac, and can’t be saddled with the less-congratulatory demands of filmmaking, like editing, sound mixing, or marketing, natch – This is exactly why the Director’s Guild has specific rules & guidelines about replacing directors mid-production: they cannot, under no circumstances, fire the director, only to qualify one of the cast members to take over – because Stallone isn’t the first, nor last, narcissist to try to manipulate a major studio towards blessing him with auteur-status influence over a project (two or three weeks into filming, i.e. typically when ghost directors reveal their-K.R., May 2006 interview.
note: ‡By shear coincidence the same month Henry Beck published his True West-Russell exposé, publisher McFarland & Co. were readying their Hollywood and the O.K. Corral (to meet its November 2006 street date). Michael F. Blake's commemorative genre monograph focuses solely on the Earps and the O.K. Corral, specifically, Disney’s 1993 feature and Kevin Costner’s 1994 Jarre-knockoff. Blake's 2006 manuscript yielded a wealth of new b-t-s Tombstone specs/trivia that are frequently utilized by Farkis (as noted in his bibliography).
August 5, 2022
I learned a few things about the movie and its making, but I didn’t really need the history lessons about the real event. Also, this is perhaps the worst laid-out or edited book I've ever read. At least two chapters seemed to be single paragraphs and often the text went from subject to subject with no clear breaks. While I walked away from this feeling edified, it was a hell of slog to get through it.
February 11, 2024
A very interesting read! Tombstone is my comfort movie. I can probably recite it front to back. I had no idea the complexity that went into creating this movie, and I hope Jarre's version is created some day.
April 25, 2022
With Tombstone (1993), accomplished screenwriter and first-time director Kevin Jarre set out to make the most historically accurate cinematic depiction of the Wyatt Earp legend to date -- shifting the traditionally climactic Gunfight at the O.K. Corral to the midpoint and instead structuring the third act around the Earp Vendetta Ride that ensued -- but the inexperienced filmmaker soon found himself overwhelmed by the scope and complexities of the project.
Under pressure to deliver the movie ahead of Kevin Costner's competing epic Wyatt Earp (1994), Jarre was fired a month into filming, and cartoonishly boorish action-movie hack George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood, Part II) was hastily recruited to get the production back on track, with star Kurt Russell effectively "ghost-directing" the movie every step of the way under the intense heat of both the Arizona sun and the panicked executives in Hollywood. Tensions ran high, to say the least.
The finished product, accordingly, is the work of three different directors, each with their own priorities and creative sensibilities, and yet somehow the movie succeeds spectacularly; it's the best of all worlds, benefitting from Jarre's attention to detail, Cosmatos' instincts for action, and a powerhouse performance from Russell, perfectly complemented by Val Kilmer's hypnotic turn as sickly sidekick Doc Holliday. Tombstone feels in every way like a big Hollywood movie, colorful and kinetic, which is really the highest compliment I can pay it. Somehow, despite everything, the elements cohered.
As its prosaic title suggests, The Making of "Tombstone" reads like a college textbook, full of long, dense paragraphs, many of them stacked with quoted recollections from the film's sundry cast and crew, pages-long numbered lists of scripted-yet-unfilmed scenes, date-specific production schedules, and detailed budget breakdowns. Chapters often end abruptly, with no author commentary or summation, and new chapters begin with lengthy italicized digressions that supply historical context for the true-life events dramatized in the movie, but don't necessarily correlate to the subject of the chapter itself. It's a fascinating account, to be sure, but requires the reader come to it with an already-healthy interest in Tombstone, if not near-encyclopedic familiarity with it.
For my full critique of The Making of "Tombstone", reviewed in conjunction with Kyle Buchanan's Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, please visit my blog.
Under pressure to deliver the movie ahead of Kevin Costner's competing epic Wyatt Earp (1994), Jarre was fired a month into filming, and cartoonishly boorish action-movie hack George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood, Part II) was hastily recruited to get the production back on track, with star Kurt Russell effectively "ghost-directing" the movie every step of the way under the intense heat of both the Arizona sun and the panicked executives in Hollywood. Tensions ran high, to say the least.
The finished product, accordingly, is the work of three different directors, each with their own priorities and creative sensibilities, and yet somehow the movie succeeds spectacularly; it's the best of all worlds, benefitting from Jarre's attention to detail, Cosmatos' instincts for action, and a powerhouse performance from Russell, perfectly complemented by Val Kilmer's hypnotic turn as sickly sidekick Doc Holliday. Tombstone feels in every way like a big Hollywood movie, colorful and kinetic, which is really the highest compliment I can pay it. Somehow, despite everything, the elements cohered.
As its prosaic title suggests, The Making of "Tombstone" reads like a college textbook, full of long, dense paragraphs, many of them stacked with quoted recollections from the film's sundry cast and crew, pages-long numbered lists of scripted-yet-unfilmed scenes, date-specific production schedules, and detailed budget breakdowns. Chapters often end abruptly, with no author commentary or summation, and new chapters begin with lengthy italicized digressions that supply historical context for the true-life events dramatized in the movie, but don't necessarily correlate to the subject of the chapter itself. It's a fascinating account, to be sure, but requires the reader come to it with an already-healthy interest in Tombstone, if not near-encyclopedic familiarity with it.
For my full critique of The Making of "Tombstone", reviewed in conjunction with Kyle Buchanan's Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild and True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road, please visit my blog.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews