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Hollywood star Bill Murray was at the top of his game in 1993 when he played infamous weatherman Phil Connors in the film Groundhog Day – named after the holiday celebrated on February 2. On an assignment to cover the national Groundhog Day holiday, and its mascot Punxsutawney Phil, the pundit became trapped in a perpetual time loop. He was cursed to relive the same day continuously. While the character almost drove himself mad on screen, Murray himself also hated every minute of the film shoot. The director himself, Harold Ramis, later spoke up about how “irrationally mean” Murray was during filming.
Ramis was quoted as saying that Murray wanted the film to be more of a “serious” and “philosophical” adventure, touching on the meaning of life. But Murray’s desires didn’t line up with Ramis’ plans. He wanted to make the film a comedy.
To make matters even worse for Murray, he was bitten by the on-screen groundhog throughout the movie. During the iconic car-chase scene, Murray was savaged by the animal “no less than three times”, he recalled. This, in turn, forced the actor to get some emergency injections to prevent rabies.
The unfortunate nature of filming didn’t stop there for Murray, as his torture continued during a snowball fight alongside his on-screen love interest, Andie MacDowell. In the hilarious moment, Murray took on a bunch of kids in a candid snowball fight – but Ramis apparently told the children to throw the snowballs “as hard as they could” – much to the actor’s chagrin. This wasn’t the only instance of the actor being hit a lot during the film.
In an interview years later, MacDowell spoke of the scene where she slaps him many times in the film, saying: “He asked me to really slap him. It’s hard to hit someone that many times!”
On top of Murray not liking the direction of the film, being bitten by his co-star, and being hit by snowballs, he was having some difficulties in his home life. At the time of filming, “Murray’s marriage was apparently falling apart” as well, according to the publication JOE. Three years later, in 1996, Murray divorced from his wife, Margaret Kelly.
His ongoing anger for his situation would explain why Murray was particularly cruel towards his director and friend, Ramis. In an interview in 2004, Ramis told The New Yorker: “At times, Bill was just really irrationally mean and unavailable. He was constantly late on set. What I’d want to say to him is just what we tell our children: ‘You don’t have to throw tantrums to get what you want. Just say what you want.’”
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After the film came out, Murray cut all ties with Ramis for 21 years, essentially ending their friendship. Murray hated the film so much that any notion of a reboot or remake involving him has been quashed.
MacDowell mentioned the possibility of a reboot in an interview in 2018, but pointed at Murray as the issue.
She said: “People always say: ‘Let’s do Groundhog Day again.’ First of all, Bill Murray’s never going to do it, so you can forget that. I know him. He’s not going to do it.”
The star may have changed his mind since, however, as he was quoted as being “moved to tears” over the Groundhog Day Broadway show. After the show, an emotional Murray said: “The idea that… The idea that we just have to try again. We just have to try again. It’s such a beautiful, powerful idea.”
Groundhog Day is available to watch on NOW.
