Bill Murray’s accidental contribution to ‘Terminator 2’: “I was pissed from day one”
Even though he’s never worked with James Cameron or Arnold Schwarzenegger, and his only worthwhile contribution to the sci-fi genre was the first Ghostbusters, Bill Murray inadvertently had a major say in a key casting decision for Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
It was the Hollywood domino effect in full force, especially when the movie that caused the snowball effect was almost the exact opposite of Cameron’s sequel in every way. Terminator 2 pushed the technological boundaries of cinema with its cutting-edge effects, conquered the box office, and made Schwarzenegger the highest-paid actor in history in the industry’s most expensive film ever.
Meanwhile, Murray’s film was a decidedly more low-key affair. Frank Oz’s jet-black comedy What About Bob? was a solid-if-unspectacular hit that’s enjoyed long-lasting life as one of the actor and comedian’s best films. In fact, he’s called it the best movie he’s ever been in, and plenty of people would agree.
As has often been the case whenever Murray is involved, the production of What About Bob? was fractious. He famously feuded with co-star Richard Dreyfuss to the point they refused to speak to each other. The Jaws alum also treated the director the same way, and Murray grew so frustrated he ended up throwing one of the producers into a lake.
That doesn’t even include the lengthy production delays that saw the picture go over schedule, much of which was down to a script that existed in a constant state of revision. Murray had his thoughts, Oz had his, and so did screenwriter Tom Schulman, with the ending a particular bone of contention that took a long time to be resolved, which is where Terminator 2 fits in.
Charlie Korsmo, the youngster who played the son of Dreyfuss’s Leo Marvin in What About Bob?, was under contract with Disney, which produced the film through the Buena Vista Pictures subsidiary. When the movie was about to head into production, the actor was offered the opportunity of a lifetime, only to be placed in an unfortunate – and ultimately unwinnable – situation.
“James Cameron had just offered me the role of John Connor in Terminator 2,” Korsmo told Rolling Stone. “But Disney exercised their option, and I had to do What About Bob? instead. The first time I heard about the movie is when I was told I couldn’t do Terminator 2, but possibly could if they finished the movie just on time. But we ran a month and a half over. I loved Terminator, so I was pissed from day one. I just wanted to get out of there so badly to do T2 instead.”
Would Korsmo have been able to jump straight from What About Bob? into Terminator 2 if setbacks, holdups, and bad blood didn’t repeatedly dog the shoot? It’s not impossible to imagine so. With his first choice unavailable, Cameron turned to Edward Furlong instead, who stole Korsmo’s thunder as the youngster who got to save the world from imminent disaster.
