It’s been almost 30 years since audiences first met Bill S. Preston, Esquire and Ted “Theodore” Logan. In that time, they have become a crucial component of popular culture. Long before that though, the pair was born on a yellow notepad in a coffee shop – and one of Bill and Ted’s creators has shared their inception on his Twitter.
Image: Orion Pictures
Ed Solomon, who co-wrote Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure with Chris Matheson, recently posted the first script pages for the film. They were handwritten, almost illegible, and filled with mistakes and changes, as well as the essence of what those characters would become. For those reasons alone they’re kind of wonderful and worth checking out.
Along with the images, though, Solomon also included a little backstory about the joy writing those characters brought to him and Matheson. It’s a positivity we rarely get to hear about these days, and we thought you might enjoy it as we did.
The thread starts here, numbered one to five.
I promised this to some people a while ago (sorry for the delay, had to get them down from storage again). These are very first pages from the original, hand-written draft of Bill & Ted, written in a coffee shop by Chris Matheson & me in what now seems like another life. 1/ pic.twitter.com/yjcnf27QPS
— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) February 13, 2018
Writing it was never anything other than a pure joy. It was hard, when in the mindset of these guys, not to feel the kind of ebullience and generosity of spirit that they embody. And we knew absolutely nothing about so-called “rules” of writing. 2/ pic.twitter.com/OafxFGCT90
— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) February 13, 2018
We were guided by one thing: what made us laugh? I remember at one point looking across the table from each other and saying “Maybe someday somebody might even READ this script!” We had NO idea that they’d be so beautifully embodied by the great @alxwinter and Keanu Reeves. 3/ pic.twitter.com/pZsB8GC7Gq
— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) February 13, 2018
And of course, George Carlin, who we all so dearly miss. To me, the fans of this movie are like family. We never thought it would even get MADE, let alone find a home with people. 4/ pic.twitter.com/jBC6p7qWFB
— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) February 13, 2018
Chris and I have often said to each other: if all we did in our career was put the phrase “Be Excellent To Each Other” out into the world, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Sometimes when work is tough, or things don’t land the way I’d hoped, I think about that and feel ok. 5/5 pic.twitter.com/GQ5Y3jDFDU
— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) February 13, 2018
“Be excellent to each other,” indeed.
Solomon and Matheson still hold Bill and Ted close to their hearts and have been trying to bring the characters back for years. You can read the latest on that below. We hope it works out because anyone who has this kind of passion and heart really deserves to keep telling stories.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2018/01/if-a-third-bill-and-ted-gets-made-it-will-pay-tribute-to-george-carlin/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/wcl128spxhsknjxmx0zy.jpg” title=”If A Third Bill And Ted Gets Made, It Will Pay Tribute To George Carlin” excerpt=”Yes, it’s time for your annual update on the third Bill and Ted movie, which may or may not ever happen.”]
[Twitter]