Here’s how Kurt Russell secretly directed Tombstone, and how Sylvester Stallone helped out. While Westerns had largely died out following the ’70s, the genre shows brief bursts of life now and again. One of those periods was the early ’90s, where Unforgiven, the Young Guns movies and Tombstone showed there was some blood left in the genre. The latter film celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2023, and it feels like appreciation for Tombstone has only grown over the years. From its incredible cast to its fantastic dialogue and thundering action sequences, it’s arguably the best film to cover Wyatt Earp’s life.
The film itself faced fierce competition from a rival biopic, which starred Kevin Costner. In fact, Costner tried to sabotage Tombstone by using his star power to convince major studios at the time not to distribute it; it was ultimately released via Disney/Buena Vista. Tombstone had other hurdles to face, including a much lower budget than Costner’s Wyatt Earp and the original director Kevin Jarre being fired a month into production after falling behind schedule. According to an in-depth interview star Russell gave to True West in 2006, this is when he was asked to step up and direct Tombstone himself.
Kurt Russell Claims To Have Ghost Directed Tombstone
Russell passionately believed in Tombstone, to the point where he went out and secured financing for the project. He wasn’t ready to bear the responsibility for helming it, however, but agreed to essentially ghost direct it via new director George P. Cosmatos (Rambo: First Blood Part 2). According to Russell, “I said to George [Cosmatos], “I’m going to give you a shot list every night, and that’s what’s going to be.” I’d go to George’s room, give him the shot list for the next day, that was the deal.” The actor claims that this relationship worked well on the set, with the two having some “… sign language going on.”
Russell also states he told Cosmatos – who passed in 2005 – that while he was alive, he wouldn’t reveal the truth about the production. Russell’s commitment to finishing the film and gaining the trust of his co-stars extended to cutting out his own material, with juicy scenes for Wyatt being torn out to pump up the roles of other actors. Russell’s claim of ghostdirecting Tombstone has since been backed up by co-stars like Sam Elliott and Val Kilmer too.
In a 2017 blog post (via The Wrap), Kilmer stopped short of stating Russell directed the film but praised his hard work and dedication to getting it made, and the way held it together after Jarre’s firing. Unfortunately, Cosmatos’ side of the story will never be known, and in his DVD commentary for Tombstone, he makes no mention of Russell having such a major hand in shaping the final movie. It’s also entirely possible he would dispute Russell’s take on their working relationship.
Sylvester Stallone Recommended Tombstone’s Credited Director
When Russell needed recommendations for a director who would work under such strict conditions, he reached out to Sylvester Stallone. It was Sly who recommended Cosmatos because according to Russell, Stallone essentially ghost-directed Rambo 2 with Cosmatos’ aid. The duo also worked together on 1986’s Cobra, possibly under similar circumstances.
Russell doesn’t explain why he thought to call Stallone specifically, though the actors had collaborated on the buddy cop movie Tango & Cash, which itself underwent a difficult production. Stallone is said to have held that production together when the original director was fired, so facing the same scenario on Tombstone, Russell likely thought his former co-star was a good person to call for advice.
Will Russell Ever Release A Tombstone Director’s Cut?
Tombstone was pitched as something of a “Western Godfather,” with the large cast of characters having subplots of their own. The final movie is more streamlined, which results in many actors of note such as Billy Zane and Dana Delany being left with little to do. In the True West interview, Russell confirms he has the missing footage for the movie “in my garage,” and laments all of the great scenes that had to be removed. When pressed as to why he hadn’t tried to reconstruct it, his honest response was “’Cause I got a life.”
He claims that to even approach such a task he’d “… need to go back to the script, back to all my notes, have to find my notes” and so forth.” Russell didn’t close the door completely on the notion of a Tombstone director’s cut, ending the conversation with “Who knows?—maybe sometime….” Given that this interview took place in 2006 and there has been no sign of a new version being put together, it’s safe to assume it’s not on the actor’s agenda. Still, given the enduring popularity of the film, maybe he could still be convinced to rework the deleted scenes for a new version.