Category: Billy the Kid

THE KID / 2019


one horse town / blackberry smoke

The Kid / 2019

An Outlaw. A Lawman. A Boy Caught In The Crossfire.

It only matters the story they tell when you’re gone.

All you have to do is say “The Kid” and everybody knows who you’re talking about.
That’s Fame. Or Infamy.
A Legend any way you look at it.

In theatres March 8 – Limited Distribution

Locations: Check Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MovieTheKid/
I’ll be looking for it to show up on Netflix, Crave, ??? somewhere.

Ethan Hawke gets Top Bill.

Dane DeHaan (The Kid) gets second Bill.

Jake Schur is” introduced”.

Last I heard there were over 20 movies depicting Billy the Kid. Of various quality.
Some Classic. But most end up in Boot Hill.
So among the 20 new Westerns that I posted recently,
The Kid is one of the most interesting. 
(Anything with Billy the Kid gets our attention)

It’s always interesting to see if they stick to actual events and history – or depart wildly.
Some folks don’t like it if Historical events aren’t closely followed.
I say: Is it a good Western – or not?

Rotten Tomatoes Audiences liked it. 
Critics not so much.

IMDB says it’s Watchable.

Obviously a huge factor in KID movies is who plays The KID?

Dane DeHaan
Does he have the Star Power to pull if off?
We’ll see.

The Kid centers the plot / storyline around Rio – played by young Jake Schur (his first movie!?)
and the events being seen through his eyes …

… and how he is influenced by Billy or Pat Garrett.
That’s the angle. 

Director / Actor Vincent D’Onofrio.


Vincent D’Onofrio has massive credentials as a TV / Film Actor going all the way back to 1983.
Over 30 years. Also Produces and sings.
He’s paid his dues.

Chris Pratt plays a bad guy. He’s almost unrecognizable with that huge beard.

IMDB Trivia:

  • Dane Dehaan was 31 years old during filming ( 32, upon release ) while the real Billy the Kid was shot and killed at 21 years of age. (Though I still wonder if the Kid didn’t get away.)
  • Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, and Vincent D’Onofrio all previously starred together in another western, The Magnificent Seven (2017).
    Pratt and D’Onofrio also starred in Jurassic World.

The Magnificent Seven / 2017The Magnificent Seven / 2017

  • Vincent D’Onofrio and Adam Baldwin both starred in Full Metal Jacket, though they shared no scenes together in that film.
  • Dane DeHaan and Ethan Hawke both starred in the movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017).

I’m eager to see what they come up with.

Never Fool with the Kid …

Easy Kid. Easy! It was ONLY a joke.

Yeah, sure it was lousy … but still just a joke!

NO! NO …. !

OK my April Fools joke stunk. It wasn’t funny.
And if your April Fools joke isn’t funny you’re in trouble.
I just left things too late and then rushed something out. Not good.

So … I’ll just toss it on the massive pile of ‘Billy the Kid’ Mythology …
And git outta town.

Next year …

You gotta be KIDding?


Behind Blue Eyes

What good would an April Fools joke be if it didn’t fool anybody?
(Fake News I guess?)

I’ve been fooled a few times myself over the years.

But I also feel a bit guilty about doing it because there’s always a few people
who don’t realize it’s a joke – and they go around telling everybody
about this wonderful new movie about Billy the Kid
– starring his (non-existent) grandson.

ANYWAY …

NO. There no new Billy the Kid movie. (Sadly. I wish there was.)

YES: there is such a person (or more) called James Tyler McCarty.
(Though I didn’t know that) But it’s not this guy that I made up.
(Seems you can make up just about any name
and such a person will actually exist).

NO: Billy the Kid has not been “Resurrected”. (Don’t tell Spielberg).

NOR does Sergio Estafa (which means ‘Scam’ in Spanish) exist.
(I don’t think?) 

YES there are a few “Sam Westwoods” – but my Sam is a composite name
from Sam Peckinpah and Clint Eastwood.

NO: “Bruce Willis” and “Benedict Cumberbach”
are not interested in my fictitious movie.
(I don’t think? Too bad).

NO: this image of James Tyler McCarty is not real.

This image is a composite I constructed from these pics I found on the Net:

I don’t know who these good looking folks are, but I used this guy’s  body (in circle).

Then I found this image of Martin Short:

Which I reversed horizontally:

Then I removed the hat
and enlarged his ears.

Then I found a Billy the Kid hat on the Net.
(You can buy one of these)

https://www.riverjunction.com/Billy-the-Kid–Hat-Style_p_3735.html

I dropped it on Marty’s head.
(Great Scott!)

Then I dropped Marty’s head on the body.

Voila !!
Instant Billy.

Then I wrote up a bunch of ridiculous crap that sounded somewhat credible.

It was fun.
I hope it was fun for you.

New Billy the Kid Movie to star his grandson


Bad Company

James Tyler McCarty is the New Billy

“The resemblance is amazing!”

The Resurrection of Billy the Kid

April 1, 2018

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA — In an astonishing turn of events, United Artists film makers have revealed that a new Billy the Kid movie of will begin production this July – starring newly discovered Billy the Kid’s grandson, James Tyler McCarty – in a movie that was initially planned to be a documentary!

But following recent forensic evidence and DNA tests that’conclusively identified’ McCarty is indeed “a direct descendant of “The Kid“, Producer Sergio Estafa started thinking differently.

“When we travelled to Gallveston (Texas) to interview Tyler, everything changed. We were shocked at his resemblance to Billy.”

“His jawline, those ears. It’s uncanny!” says Director Sam Westwood.

Tyler – age 30 had been raised on the ranch near Galveston and was already a working cowboy.

“Once we saw how he looked, and his cowboy skills, we started thinking about a Movie instead. You can’t fake this stuff.” says Estafa. “This kid’s legit.” 

Director Westwood tested Tyler on his skills. “Tyler’s gun handling and horsemanship are exceptional. This guy’s got the pedigree.”

But what about acting?

“This is an Action Movie.” says Estafa. “We’re not going for Oscars.”

Adds Westwood. “The Kid’s already been Screen Tested. He’s as good as Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

Support Cast?:

“That’s Ongoing.” says Westwood. “Were talking to Bruce Willis and Benedict Cumberbach right now. Bruce says he always wanted to make a Western.”

The production will utilize ‘on location’ shooting as much as possible.

“But we might even use Old Tucson. Who’s gonna know?”

Stay tuned!!

 

 

The Return of Billy the Kid … Photo 3


– windstruck

So here is the last of the 3 recently tintype images if Billy the Kid:
the Justin Shaw tintype.
Which in several ways is remarkable. 

Firstly let me say that it’s absolutely incredible
that even ONE photo image of Billy the Kid would be discovered!
But 3!!! – within a few years of each other!
Rather incredible.

Secondly – in each instance, the finder DID NOT initially
KNOW what he had acquired!
– often for a considerable amount of time. 
In other words, these images may never have come to light.
One has to wonder what else may be out there??

Purchased on EBAY!!??? Really!!!???
This thing just gets more incredible as you go along. 

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Shaw’s image
is that although he cannot establish provinence/authenticity,
his image is the best quality of all existing images of The Kid.
I’ve gotta figure that somebody will still offer him pretty
big nickel for it. 

The image raises lots of questions:
When? Why? was it taken?
Was the Kid applying for a job at Pinkerton’s? (joke).
Making application for a pardon? (possible).
and who is that other guy? I’m sure he’s not
just a bystander who jumped into the pic. 

Mystery’s that may never be answered.
– about probably the most enigmatic character in Western History:
BILLY the KID. 

May he never rest in peace.  

Iconic Images: Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid …

“Keep the change Bob”

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid – “Keep the change Bob”

Clip: Turner Classic Movies – Billy’s Escape
http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/138593/Pat-Garrett-Billy-the-Kid-Movie-Clip-Billy-escapes-from-jail.html

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid – “Keep the change Bob”

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid … Iconic Images 2

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid – Billy 7 – Bob Dylan

‘The Kid’ … Left-Handed … or Right-Handed ?

William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. c. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881)

Just about anything and everything about Billy the Kid seems to be bizarre, surrounded by questions, lost in lies, or mired in myth.

Then there’s this:

the Kid …. dik eht

Left-handed or right-handed?

It is very common – and confusing – to find the famous photo of Billy the Kid reversed – with the rifle on the left side – or the right. Which has caused many people to believe the ‘The Kid’ was left-handed.

Not so.

But the confusion is justified:

Wikipedia:

“It was widely assumed throughout much of the 20th century that Billy the Kid was left-handed. This perception was encouraged by the above mentioned photograph of McCarty (Billy the Kid’s real name is not William H. Bonney) , in which he appears to be wearing a gun belt with a holster on his left side, but further examination revealed that as all Winchester Model 1873 rifles were made with the loading gate on the right side of the receiver, the “left-handed” photograph is in fact a mirror image. Indeed, the notion of a left-handed Billy became so entrenched that, in 1958, a film biography of “the Kid” (starring Paul Newman) was titled The Left Handed Gun.

In 1954, western historians James D. Horan and Paul Sann announced the disclosure that McCarty (The Kid) was “right-handed and carried his pistol on his right hip”. More recently, in response to a story from The Guardian that used an uncorrected McCarty ferrotype, Clyde Jeavons, a former curator of the National Film and Television Archive, cited their work and added:

You can see by the waistcoat buttons and the belt buckle. This is a common error which has continued to reinforce the myth that Billy the Kid was left-handed. He was not. He was right-handed and carried his gun on his right hip. This particular reproduction error has occurred so often in books and other publications over the years that it has led to the myth that Billy the Kid was left-handed, for which there is no evidence. On the contrary, the evidence (from viewing his photo correctly) is that he was right-handed: he wears his pistol on his right hip with the butt pointing backwards in a conventional right-handed draw position.

A second look at the ferrotype confirms what Jeavons wrote. The prong on the belt buckle points the wrong way, and the buttons on the Kid’s vest are on the left side, the side reserved for ladies’ blouses. The convention for men’s wear is that buttons go down the right side.

Wallis wrote in 2007 that McCarty was ambidextrous. This observation seems to be supported by contemporaneous newspaper accounts reporting that Billy the Kid could shoot handguns “with his left hand as accurately as he does with his right” and that “his aim with a revolver in each hand, shooting simultaneously, is unerring.”

Thus – typically for ‘the Kid’ – both photos are legitimate.

The amount of strange myths, legends and disinformation surrounding Billy the Kid would fill several books. And 23 movies.

And it has.

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid … Iconic Images: “The Kid”

Billy the Kid by Woody Guthrie

The Kid …