I’ll say this right off the top: I LOVE Bill Murray. I can’t think of a project he’s done off the top of my head that I haven’t loved him in.
Now, having said that, I have heard rumours now and then over the last couple of years that Bill is something of a jerk in real life. I remember all the reports of his ranting after failing to win an Oscar at the awards show last year. Now, the New York Post is reporting a REALLY awkward situation that just slapped Murray in the face at a press conference to promote his new film The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou:
At a Q&A session with director Wes Anderson, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe and some of the rest of the cast at the Hollywood event, one man announced, “I am a cameraman, and I’ve worked with all the actors onstage. Anjelica, you’re wonderful. Willem — you’re great. But, Bill — you are a bastard. You are horrible to work with. My question is for Wes and the cast. What’s it like to work with someone as awful and difficult as Bill Murray?” After a stunned silence, Huston muttered, “Bill isn’t a bastard.” Anderson demanded, “Why are you in a position to make such a statement?” Murray didn’t react at all. “I was a cameraman on ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ and Bill Murray is awful,”
Ouch! Now that’s a little embarrassing. Before any of us take sides here, lets keep in mind that you don’t know Bill Murray… neither do I. For all we know he could be the kindest most awesome guy in the world… or for all we know he could kick kittens and hide Osama Bin Ladin in his attic… the point is we just don’t know. But if these stories about Murray (and I emphasize the word “IF”) then it’ll effect how much I’m able to enjoy seeing him on the big screen. It’s hard to laugh at a jerk that you don’t like. Therefore… I really hope these kinds of stories are all a bunch of crap. Have you heard of any more of these “Bill Murray is a jerk” rumours?
Special thanks to Miles for pointing this one out to me.
I wonder if the media followed all of Bill Murray's critics around, how would THEY look? I believe Bill Murray is talented, great with people, and a great guy at heart. What happens in his personal life is none of our business. If you truly are a fan of Bill Murray, you take him as he is – not perfect, bit talented and hilarious. I adore Bill, and always will.
Well… whatever they Show in a DVD or Interview will be surely never be Negative.. they Work wich eachother at all Time, so in the Future.. so you always hear the same Thing “It was wonderfoul to work with, he/she knows exactly what he/she wants” … :D
Anyway, I dont care Either what Actor´s Private Life does, if Bill is a Jerk or Tom in Santology .. Not our bussisnes.. We watch Art (or less Art) Movies, A fiction, not the Real People, so long I dont have any Moral Conflicts.
I’ve been watching the behind-the-scenes footage on The Life Aquatic DVDs. Video evidence as well as testimonial evidence show Bill Murray as a popular, fun-loving, well-liked *leader* on the set of this film.
P.S. – that ranting about not getting the Oscar was a joke and the media didn’t get it (figures)!
P.S. – All the rating after the Oscars was a joke and the media didn’t get it (figures)!
I live near the town where Bill Murray filmed Groundhog Day. I went over to watch filming probably 20 times or so. I could fill a book with stories of his kindness to the locals. He was wonderful ! I talked to him one night and could not believe how nice he was. He loves baseball and at the end of the shoot they sponsored a baseball game – the crew vs. the locals. For $5 you could change any rule for one inning. All the money went to charity. Both sides kept buying him back. Really – he is a great guy !
With everything seeming so positive with Bill, maybe it’s all a publicity thing. He knows that comedy won’t get him an Oscar, and it helps for people to think that he’s similar to his character in Lost in Translation to give him more serious roles. He’s been acting for years, why only now is he considered a “bastard?”
Best Bill Murray story?
Can’t remember who told it, unfortunately. Apparently someone got into a lift in a hotel alone with Bill Murray. They turned, said something along the lines of “Hey, aren’t you Bill Murray?”. He allegedly responded by putting them in a headlock, giving them a “noogie” and then said “Yep, I am. And nobody’s ever going to believe that happened.”
Well, I know this entry is old enough that no one will read this comment; but I must say I can not believe that Bill is a nasty guy. Matter of fact I would bet that he is an easy target for people to take advantage of. Perhaps he is kind and generous which so many times can be taken as weakness, which leaves the guy open for others to take advantage of. But then Bill not beiing truly a weak person, then has to stand up and bark a bit. Hence giving the party on the other end the impression that he is a prick. LEt me take you back to the days of SNL, and the tiff between Bill and Chevy. Now we all know Chevy is a prick -it is ok though I still love the guy- and I would have to asume that Bill would be on the defensive in that sort of a situation.
just my thoughts.
Pride Cometh before the fall.
America is not a nice nation. You do not rule the world and should you try, Europe and Asia will rise up and slap you down.
America has the potential to be a nice nation but your attitude have to change. You guys have to grow up.
Difficult actors? Or perfectionests?
I have worked in the industry and I can tell you that…
Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, William Shatner and Brad Pitt are difficult to work with…but for the most part it is because they hate when others around them are not doing their jobs. I understand that totally..
As for Heston? Michael Moore took that footage at a time when Heston already had alzhimers. And, here in America, owning guns is a right. I dont support gun ownership, but it is our right. And since we, USA, rule the world? The rest of you should just shut up and follow our lead..
Robert
Since when did Bill Murray is considered a good actor? I personally think he’s mediocre at best. Normally I’d give an actor a pass at this kind of behaviour unless he’s proved to be a real jerk. But when he’s acting skill isn’t even that good, one has to wonder why he’s still in the business at all.
I will definately not laugh anymore when watching Bill Murray.
Seriously though Bill Murray would have to kick a baby in the face before I didnt enjoy him and his movies.
As a child, I attended a summer camp at which Murray was a counsler. He went out of his way to build the self esteem of kids using his own wacky, nutty methods.
i grew up in a town where bill murray lived for some time and have several friends who have socialized and worked with him. EVERYTHING i have heard about him has been incredibley positive. he is known to be a warm, down to earth and remarkably generous guy who often picks up the tab and tips generously. professionally speaking, there are 8 sides to every story so — as many have pointed out above — who really cares?
“career was in the can”?
hmm…Rushmore was in 1998….Charlies Angels was in 2000? He was working, dude.
Mercer: We should remember that Mr. Murray’s career was in the can until Lost in Translation … so the fact that he is ‘difficult’ could be one of those reasons.
You could also look at it the other way. It could be BECAUSE his career was in the can that that he became a jerk. After being a successful comic actor and then having no work whatsoever, you could see how he could grow a little bitter and maybe develop an attitude.
I couldn’t care less about Bill Murays private life or attitute on the set. If an actor don’t perform well and starts shouting at people for no reason, well he won’t work for long in the business. Bill is a great actor, and it would be silly to say that because he used the F-word on a award-night, that he is suddenly less of an artist. Hell, Alfred Hitchcock treated his actors as cows on the set, to one point he was even almost treatening Tippi Hedren because she wouldn’t let him seduce her.
Murray must have worked with thousands of crew-members. Believe me it is not correct to slap him in the face at a press meeting like that. Like Anderson said; why is he in a position to make such a claim, as if he worked with Bill all his life. This is out of proportion. We don’t know the facts. For all we know, the camera-man was not doing his job! Demanding actors (or directors) tend to be a little bit cranky when people are not doing what they are suppose to do.
Didn’t Val Kilmer and Edward Norton have the same little problems. Sometimes things like that happen when actors are digging very deep into a character.
Didnt Murray had problems getting on with Lucy Liu in the first Charlie’s Angels film that was why he had to be replaced in the sequel?
I think there is a fine line that needs to be drawn here. These actors are also human beings, so like what Mercer has brilliantly pointed out, they can act like the biggest jerks in the world too, the problem to that is it will be known by the whole world, the price they had to pay to be famous is that almost nothing about them is private, we all had to now about these things. But who cares? I will watch a film because I know an actor’s caliber will be worth the ticket I have to pay or the time I spent in the cinema, and this is regardless of how difficult he might have been doing that movie.
I am so glad I am not in showbusiness. Te he he
Well … who said that actors had to be nice people? I know that in the music world, some of the biggest assholes make some of the best music; Painters and other ‘Artists’ – some of the best are out of their minds (which in turn make for good movies!). So is Bill Murray a jerk? Maybe. Does it matter? Not to me.
We should remember that Mr. Murray’s career was in the can until Lost in Translation … so the fact that he is ‘difficult’ could be one of those reasons.
At the end of the day, we want to relate to actors, but you have to remember when they are on screen they are pretending to be someone else! In ‘real life’ they might be the biggest jerk in the world. Take their performance for what it is, just that, a performance.
After seeing Bowling For Columbine i seriously changed my opinion of Charlton Heston. I didn’t know he was a member of the NRA, so it came as quite a shock to see him blattantly approving guns.
It’s a shame though because i kinda like movies like The Omega Man, Soylent Green and Ben Hur, but now i can never watch them in the same way i used to.
I kind of enjoy laughing at jerks I don’t like, but maybe that is just me.
Whoops! Sorry Roger and Gene!
My previous reply ended with the word “arrogant”. That was an error. It did not refer to Siskel or Ebert.
If you must know…
It was left over from a paragraph I deleted. I had used “arrogant” to describe my impression of another “Not Ready for Prime Time Player”, Chevy Chase.
I know nothing about Chevy but in interviews (and his movies of the past ten years) he seems so damn smug. He seems confident that his snide persona is hilarious. And of course it isn’t .
This makes me recall a talk show that had Siskel and Ebert as guests…
Siskel said that when he watches a Woody Allen film, he is bothered by the thought that Woody sleeps with his ex-girlfriend’s daughter.
Ebert replied something like, “So, when you watch ‘Casablanca’ do you get depressed thinking that the entire cast is now dead?”
Arrogant
I was personally told a story about him punching someone who worked in a movie with him in texas ( Rushmore? )an underling who came to get him to the set. My inital reaction was, why didn’t this person sue or something, since it sounded like assault. the punched person was quieted by getting more work from the studio. I didn’t belive it, and then I read this post. Who knows how many stories are there.