The Shootist Jack Pulford was shot in the back by Books, and Books, in turn, was shot by Gillom; Wayne maintained that over his entire film career, he had never shot an adversary in the back, and would not do so now. He also objected to his character being shot by Gillom, and suggested that the bartender do it, because "no one could ever take John Wayne in a fair fight". Wayne was also responsible for many casting decisions. Several friends and past co-stars, including Bacall, Stewart, Boone, and Carradine, were cast at his request. Stewart had not worked in films for
John Wayne (song) All the Cowboys Gone?" (1996); in the latter, Cole asks "Where is my John Wayne?" Andrew Unterberger of "Billboard" speculated that the lyrics, "He called, I cried, we broke," could relate to Gaga's breakup with her fiancé Taylor Kinney. "Bustle"s S. Atkinson noted that the song portrays an "intense, doomed relationship" comparable to Gaga and Kinney's; she concluded that the song is about Kinney, despite him being neither a blue-collar worker nor from a Republican state. While reviewing "Joanne", "The Atlantic"s Spencer Kornhaber wrote that "John Wayne" was an indication of the musical direction the parent album could have gone,