Bill Murray
Interview By: Rebecca Ford
RebeccaFord@TheCinemaSource.com
Bill Murray is really funny. Whether on-screen or answering interview questions, he’s pretty quick with the laugh-lines. The Oscar-nominated actor is known for is funny ways, and such films as Groundhog Day, Lost in Translation, and—of course—Ghostbusters.
So there’s lots of excitement about his newest roll, the gluttonous, corrupt mayor in City of Ember, a story of two teens in search for a way to save their city from falling into complete darkness. Bill as a bad guy will be oh so good.
Bill says that when the script came across his desk, a familiar name popped off the page.
“I opened the scripts and it said written by Carolina Thompson and she is a writer that I meant a long time ago when I first went to California and my agent sent me around to meet other writers,” says Bill. “We went out to a bar that was a diner during the day on Lincoln Avenue and at night it became a Mexican horn bar. It was a full orchestra with like 6 horns and the temp was about 130 degrees and all people did was drink rum straight and dance, and I thought, “I could work with this writer.’”
But, that was not the time. He never saw her again, until he called her about
City of Ember.
“So I got her number and I called her and she was on a horse,” says Bill. “She was on horseback somewhere in the valley and she said you’re going to like this director.”
Bill then checked out the work of director Gil Kenan. “I saw the Monsterhouse, and I figured this guy is good enough to work with. So that was that.”
Bill did some research for the film, which is based on a book.
“I found that the book was a book that kids in America read in school now. They read it in middle school,” says Bill.
“So when I read it, I read it from their point of view. I tried to think of, like, what they made of, what this mayor was. And I think a mayor can be a father figure who can disappoint you. I’m a father figure and I’ve probably disappointed on occasion. So, I just thought of when you’re most disappointed is when you talk the talk and you don’t live up to it. And that’s pretty much what he did. So I felt like as long as I was really, really successful in talking the talk, that the disappointment would be there, just like a gasp.”
One of the mayor’s signature characteristics is his belly. “Well, he’s the only one that’s eating three squares in the whole town, so he’d be the only one that would be putting on any kind of weight in that town,” explains Bill.
Of course, there are plenty of shots of Bill’s character eating in the movie. And yes, Bill had to do his own stunts—which meant eating a lot of sardines.
“I’m not really a sardine guy. I do like caviar and I like eggplant. And I can eat copious amounts of caviar and a fair amount of eggplant,” says Bill. “This was the most sardines I’ve eaten in my entire life. And I associate sardines with being these little things, but these were. It was a lot of sardine, more than I ever had.”
Because he plays the bad guy in City of Ember, we wanted to know about Bill’ real-life dark side.
“You want my dark side? Have I ever stolen anything? Not so much intentionally. But I don’t think it’s so much stealing as… being a part of the flow of the universe. You know, where there’s an exchange.
“I mean, you really can’t own anything here. You have to believe you’re just passing through. But do I ever steal anything? I don’t know, I don’t think of myself as much of a thief, but occasionally, there are things that are just laying there. Doing nothing. And they’re not being used, and appreciated,” he continues. “So sometimes I feel the need, not to steal it from you, but to…liberate that object from its bondage.”
City of Ember explores a city of darkness, losing hope in its existence. We asked Bill if he felt this was a reflection of our own times.
“Well, you certainly feel it,” says Bill. “But I think what it is, is that the same combination of problems happen in that world that happen in our world. Whatever your intention is you’re still going to encounter a lot of the same difficulties.”
“I think it’s more about a person that finds a way to survive in spite of all that’s around him, that finds their personal will and can follow their will and their spirit to emerge from a difficult situation. And on the way to that, you encounter this ecological consideration that we have of, ‘Well, how am I going to live my life? Am I going to live my life like this or is behaving as an eco-creature going to help me serve my spirit?’ I think it’s maybe inevitability coincidental, but I don’t think it was intentionally written that way.”
Creating a universe based on a book is not an easy feat. Most of the set was completely built from scratch, without the use of a lot of green-screens. Bill has high praise for the costumes and set used in City of Ember.
“The costumes as well, the best costumes I’ve ever worn. The most beautiful I’ve ever seen in any film by far,” says Bill. “It’s
A city threatened by darkness, the City of Ember and its people fall victim to various disasters. What experience has Bill had with such trials?
“I’m from the Midwest, so we don’t have anything like that there. I missed all the big blackouts, but I was in the pretty good sized hurricane that came a few years ago and the power went out in my neighborhood,” says Bill. “All the power went out except for this kind of alarm system I have in the house that, you know, is for fires and everything. And it has backup batteries which will last for several days. Even though the power is all out, the batteries will still sound the alarm. But because the company that services it is about 60 miles away, I was the last person on their list. And they had 450 people between me before they got here.”
“So I left my home, and I moved to the Plaza Hotel, New York City, with an entire group of kids and a dog. And they gave us the Presidential Suite, which is kind of funny because the same architect that built my house built the Presidential Suite in the Plaza Hotel. So it felt like I was home. It was very strange.”
Bill has worked with director Wes Anderson in several films including The Darjeeling Limited, Rushmore, and The Royal Tenenbaums, which should make is no surprise that Bill will also be in Wes Anderson‘s next film, Fantastic Mr. Fox. Believe it or not, his character will be even more outlandish than the previous.
“I’ll be playing the badger.”
The film is animated. So, what’s Bill’s badger voice like?
“I worked really, really hard on a Wisconsin accent, ’cause
“I did the first couple scenes and then Wes goes, ‘Nah, I don’t think so. I would think it’s kind of a Savile Row badger.’ Who here has seen a badger walkin’ down Savile Row? Anybody?” he says. “But these are these new directors. You know, you just got to give them their… you know, let them hang themselves. I’ve seen some pictures of it. I think it’s old-fashioned because it’s taking them a very long time to get it done, but they’re very excited.”
So are we, Bill. So are we.
