Trivia / The Quick and the Dead

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• Actor-Inspired Element: Lance Henriksen wore his own hat and boots. He also added flipping off the horse to his trick shot scene.
• All-Star Cast: It's damn full of stars, including Sharon Stone as the lead, Gene Hackman as the Big Bad, then Russell Crowe, Lance Henriksen, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gary Sinise, Keith David, and Woody Strode in his final role.
• Box Office Bomb: While the film was produced on a $32 million budget, its North American theatrical run grossed just over half of that amount.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Russell Crowe originally auditioned for a different role in the film before Sharon Stone asked that he try for Cort.
• The Cast Showoff: All of the actors who played gunfighters were schooled in the art of the quick draw by a stunt coordinator. Gene Hackman was able to get the most practice in, as his character had a short amount of screen time, and as a result, was the fastest draw of the cast.
• Creator Backlash: After the film's release, Sam Raimi admitted that he was "confused" and thought himself to be a "dinosaur".
• Darkhorse Casting: Leonardo DiCaprio was known for TV and arthouse movies, Russell Crowe had never worked on an American film before, and Sam Raimi had only worked on b-movies. None had mainstream Hollywood appeal and the studio did not want them involved but Sharon Stone insisted they were the right choices and deserved a big push.
• Deleted Role: Bruce Campbell had a cameo appearance during a wedding scene, but the scene was cut. Campbell says Sam Raimi created that scene for the specific reason of giving Pat Hingle something more substantial to do, and he was never intended to be in the movie in the first place. Campbell was also visiting the set on his day off when Raimi drafted him to play a skid-row character in several background shots. Although all of Campbell's appearances ended up on the cutting room floor, he is still listed high up in the credits.
• Deleted Scene:
  • As the wounded Gutzen rides out of town, the shoeshine boy tells Lady about "Dog" Kelly and how he got his nickname.
  • The scene with Lady and Cort at the fountain was longer.
  • On her way to Herod's house, Lady meets the shoeshine boy, who reveals that he lost his sight when Herod's men drunkenly fired at him and made him dance.
  • The scene between Lady and Cort in the rain originally ended with him offering to help her and her rejecting it.
  • Lady angrily firing at Herod's house in the rain and calling him out to fight. This would lead into Herod's meeting with Sgt. Cantrell.
  • When Lady returns to town, she asks the shoeshine boy where Cort is. He tells her that Ratsy and Foy took him to the whorehouse.
  • The Kid's wedding, which Cort presides over. The Kid shoots the corks off three bottles of champagne and Lady congratulates both him and his wife. This would lead into Lady challenging Herod (the wedding is still happening in the background).
• Doing It for the Art: Sharon Stone was so convinced that Leonardo DiCaprio was the right choice for the Kid that she paid his salary out of her own pocket.
• Dyeing for Your Art: Lance Henriksen dyed his hair black, added extensions, and grew a moustache.
• Fake American: Russell Crowe in his Hollywood debut.
• In Memoriam: At the end of the film, there is a dedication to Woody Strode (Charlie Moonlight's actor), who succumbed to lung cancer on December 31, 1994.
• No Stunt Double: Lance Henriksen did Ace's trick shot himself.
• Posthumous Credit: The film was released one month and ten days after the passing of Woody Strode.
• Produced by Cast Member: Sharon Stone was a co-producer and was responsible for obtaining Sam Raimi, Russell Crowe, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
• Real-Life Relative: Sharon Stone's brother played one of Herod's henchmen.
• Referenced by...:
  • Ultraman X has a minor western-themed villain, Alien Nackle Bandero, who seems to be based off Herod. From his mannerisms to his demise where he didn't realize he's shot until seeing the holes of his shadow.
• Similarly Named Works: Film shares title with a completely different Western starring Sam Elliott, based on a story by Louis L'Amour.
• Throw It In!: The scene where Gene Hackman slaps Sharon Stone wasn't scripted. and her reaction is real.
• Uncredited Role: Joss Whedon was an uncredited script doctor for the screenplay.
• Wag the Director: Sharon Stone was insistent that Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe be cast in this film and fought tooth and nail with the studio for this to happen. She also insisted that Sam Raimi be given the director's chair and refused to back down.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Matt Damon turned down the role of The Kid. David Arquette and Sam Rockwell were also considered.
  • Liam Neeson was the first choice for Cort.
  • The movie was originally intended to be filmed in Durango, Mexico. To facilitate the casting of Gene Hackman, who was living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, the production was moved to Tucson, Arizona.
  • Lance Henriksen half-heartedly said that he'd like a sequel where Ace Hanlon's brothers, Hearts, Diamonds, and Clubs, come looking for him. Hearts would wear white leather with hearts on it, and Henriksen would have played all three of them.
  • Details of scenes that never made the final cut. The original version of the deleted sex scene.

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