MOVIE LEGEND: Billy Bob Thornton improvised his lines as Johnny Tyler in an iconic Tombstone sequence.
Perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of filmmaking when it comes to legends amongst fans is the idea of famous ad-libs. There is just such a romantic vision in many fans' minds of a major piece of film history occurring just because an actor came up with something on the fly, and the director simply decided to keep it in the film.
However, the truth behind most of these famous alleged ad-libs is almost always a case of the legend being more interesting than the actual truth behind the story. For instance, fans have believed for decades that Harrison Ford improvised his iconic "I know" line in The Empire Strikes Back after Leia tells him she love him right before he is encased in Carbonite. That is not the case.
It is true that Ford changed the line, which originally went Leia saying, "I love you. I couldn't tell you before, but it's true," and Han replying, "Just remember that, 'cause I'll be back." Irving Kershner, the director of the film, felt that the "I'll be back" line was central to the film, as it gave the audience faith that Han would be okay (he even joked that the line's inclusion was "contractual"), but Ford convinced him that it didn't make sense for Han in the moment, since Han didn't KNOW that he would be back. As far as he knew, he was effectively dead.
Ford told Kershner, "If she says "I love you," and I say "I know," that's beautiful and acceptable and funny," and Kershner agreed to make the change, which, of course, irritated Carrie Fisher, as she felt that Ford and Kershner were making major changes to the film effectively behind her back.
That's how most of these things go; an actor made a change, but not on the fly, and not without the director's direct approval. Yet, the romantic nature of major scenes being ad-libbed has persisted, and one of the most notable examples in recent years is the story of Billy Bob Thornton, who, early in his career, played a small but pivotal role in the hit Western, Tombstone.
As the story goes, Thornton's dialogue as Johnny Tyler in the famous scene early in the film was improvised. Thornton DID win an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Slingblade just four years after Tombstone was released, so the man CAN write. But is it true?
Not really, but (as is often the case for stories like this), there IS a little truth behind the legend.
What is the importance of Johnny Tyler's scene in Tombstone?
Early in Tombstone, after we witness a brutal act of violence by the gang of organized thugs known as the Cowboys, we meet Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell), who has arrived in Tuscon, Arizona, with his Laudanum-addicted wife, to reunite with his brothers Virgil (Sam Elliott) and Morgan (Bill Paxton), and their wives. Earp has just retired as the famed lawman of Dodge City, and now he is looking to make some money. He doesn't even carry a gun anymore.
The brothers and their wives then head into Tombstone, where the local marshal, Fred White (iconic Western actor, Harry Carey Jr.) fills them in on the area, including the fact that the local saloons/gambling houses are all taking in money hand over fist, except for one establishment known as the Oriental Saloon.
Wyatt enters the Oriental Saloon, and is shocked to see that it is mostly empty, save for a few players at the Faro table, where the dealer is bullying the other players. Wyatt talks to the proprietor, Milt Joyce, who explains that the man, Johnny Tyler (Billy Bob Thornton), has driven off all normal customers through his bullying.
Wyatt walks over to Tyler, and calmly stands up to him. Tyler threatens to pull his gun, and Wyatt, having taken the measure of the man, determines that he won't actually pull the gun. Wyatt begins to slap him repeatedly, until Tyler runs off, and Wyatt takes his pistol. He then tells Joyce that he will take 25% of the profits of the business going forward.
It's a very important scene to establish Wyatt's temperament, and his bravery (as, again, he had no gun), but, also, a bit of his recklessness, as well, as Tyler later comes back with a shotgun, and it is only due to the presence of Wyatt's friend, Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer), that Tyler is stopped. It is at that point that Tyler learns that Wyatt is the famed Wyatt Earp, at which point, he leaves Wyatt alone (and gives him the shotgun, of course).
Did Billy Bob Thronton improvise his lines in the scene?
In a director's commentary about Tombstone, the late George P. Cosmatos, who replaced the original director of the film, Kevin Jarre (who wrote the script), noted that Billy Bob Thornton made up his own dialogue for the scene, with Cosmatos' only direction being "be a bully."
That is true, but the issue is that Cosmatos (who, by the way, is rumored to have basically allowed Kurt Russell to "ghost-direct" the film) wasn't talking about the famous scene between Wyatt and Tyler. You'll note that when Wyatt comes in to talk to the proprietor of the Oriental Saloon, Tyler is in the background yelling at the other players. THOSE are the lines that Thornton improvised, with Cosmatos telling him just to "be a bully."
From the moment right before Wyatt confronts Tyler, the dialogue is exactly like how Jarre wrote it (here is from a 1992 version of the screenplay)...
Jarre's script just has a note in the script that Tyler is dealing Faro to a couple of scruffy drifters while Wyatt is talking to Joyce. So Cosmatos simply had Thornton add some color to the background of that part of the scene. The notable part of the scene is all exactly as Jarre wrote it (in fact, one of Thornton's improvised lines is basically just a variation of a line in the screenplay about "backing the Queen").
The legend is...
STATUS: False Enough for a False
Be sure to check out my archive of Movie Legends Revealed for more urban legends about the world of film. Click here for legends specifically about Westerns.
Feel free (heck, I implore you!) to write in with your suggestions for future installments! My e-mail address is brian@poprefs.com
