Kevin Jarre had an avant-garde approach to the production of “Tombstone” and planned to film it like an old 1940s Western. The production crew didn’t like the idea. Jarre wanted to go with an old-fashion long master shot like they used in the 40s, but the production crew wouldn’t have it.
They believed the old story had to be shot in a modern way, and that is what ultimately had him fired from his own project.
Fired For Creative Differences
People think that film writers hold creative control. However, that's exactly how original director Kevin Jarre was fired from his own project.
According to Michael Biehn, this was a distressing ordeal, because he liked Kevin a lot, but Jarre had his own vision for every little detail, like the cast, mustaches, dialogue, and even the saddles.
A Sad Goodbye
Michael Biehn was not the only cast member who was sad to see Kevin Jarre go. According to Sam Elliott, Kurt Russell was also pretty close with Kevin Jarre and was sad to see him go.
Eliot had a great appreciation for Jarre as a writer and a storyteller, and the other actors felt the same. When he left, the actors pulled through just for the sake of completing his project for him.
A Carefully Selected Cast
Although Kevin Jarre was ousted from the project which he had written, he was at least able to have a hand in determining who the cast should be.
Star Sam Elliott, describes meeting with Jarre about his role: “I remember going and having lunch with him at a place on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, which I don’t think is even there anymore,” Elliott said. “And Kevin said he was having all of his meetings there like he was holding court… I think Kevin’s the one who really controlled this thing creatively before it got off the ground.”
An Amazing Script
"Tombstone"’s script is what enticed the creative appetites of the cast. In fact, the script is what got most of the cast to sign on to the film — even actors like Val Kilmer, who were strangers to the genre.
Val Kilmer said the line that convinced him to take on the project was “I’m your huckleberry.” After asking Jarre about where this line came from, Val Kilmer said, “He didn’t have a specific answer. But I loved it. It just seemed to be the odd, perfect statement for the scene—’You’ve met your match.’”