BEST DOC EVER

A FITTING TRIBUTE TO VAL KILMER

- BY ALLEN BARRA

Old West Journal: You've been making movies since 1983, but I'll bet most people, particularly in the Southwest, where you live, remember you for the two Westerns.

Kilmer: I'm surprised that people don't remember that I've done three Westerns.

Old West: The third?

Kilmer: Thunderheart.

Old West: Oh, of course. And your character had Indian blood. You do, too, don't you?

Kilmer: Cherokee, on dad's side. I've always thought that people who want to make movies about the West limit themselves too much. There are so many good contemporary themes or at least stories that you could set at different times in the 20th century, after the...

Old West: After the legendary period?

Kilmer: Right. The West didn't end at 12:01 on January 1, 1901. Some of the best Westerns of the last few decades have been contemporary stories.

Old West: Some people think Larry McMurtry's best books are the ones set in modern times...

Kilmer: I think Hud [originally titled Horseman, Pass By] is as good as Lonesome Dove.

Old West: I've heard that Billy Bob Thornton has a lot of good ideas for contemporary Western stories...

Kilmer: Oh, God. Billy Bob. What a hoot. On the Tombstone set he kept coming around and saying, like, “I've got these really great scripts and could you read them?” And I was, like, “Billy Bob, this whole picture is falling down around us, let's do this first.” I mean, I wasn't annoyed, I don't mean it that way. He's a wonderful actor and great fun to be around.

Old West: And, as it turns out, a pretty good writer.