Bill Murray’s favourite moment working with Wes Anderson: “You have to see it to believe it”
Across his lengthy show business career, Bill Murray has made friends with and then fallen out with more people than most of us meet in our entire lives.
He made a number of films with Harold Ramis before they came to blows on the set of Groundhog Day. He was also part of the same Saturday Night Live cast as Chevy Chase, but those two particularly combustible elements simply couldn’t co-exist. We could go on, but then we’d be here all day.
One person, Murray, has somehow never had an argument with, forged in everyone’s favourite pastel-obsessive Wes Anderson. The veteran funnyman is something of a talisman for the idiosyncratic director, having appeared in all but two of his feature films.
The pair have become incredibly close in real life as well. Anderson once carried a briefcase full of money across Europe at Murray’s request, which isn’t something ever director would do for their star. This fruitful friendship can be traced back to Anderson’s second feature, 1998’s Rushmore.
There’s an unconventional joy to Rushmore that some may argue Anderson never truly got back. It sees Murray play a rich businessman who takes Max, played by Jason Schwartzman, under his wing as he navigates growing up. Things move along with the kind of warming sensibility of mulled cider before a fly in the drink appears in the shape of Ms Cross, whom both males fall for.
If you think that’s a little weird, the romance stories in Anderson’s films would only get stranger going forwards. Remember The Royal Tennenbaums…
The relationship between Blume and Fischer isn’t a million miles away from how Murray and Anderson were when they first met. Much like his on-screen counterpart, Murray was rejuvenated by his younger friend. He enjoyed a much-needed boost in confidence and recognition following the film’s release. In many ways, his relationship with Anderson secured the legacy he enjoys today.
None of that mattered to Murray, though. Not according to an interview he conducted with Dazed. When asked about his favourite memory of working with Anderson, he didn’t mention a moment from one of their films or even from a set. In true Murray fashion, he was more concerned with the afterparty.
“I think the most fun we had was getting Wes Anderson to dance at the wrap party of Rushmore,” he said. “He had been so focused and I made him get out on the dancefloor, and he’s a very interesting dancer. That’s the only word that describes it. You have to see it to believe it. It’s like he has his own language or something.”
If you’ve ever seen what Anderson looks like, you’ll be equally curious to know what sort of moves he has. The image of a gangly man in a tan suit wobbling about to ‘Oh La La’ by Faces is an image right out of one of Anderson’s finest works. Tragically, the moment was not captured but will live forever in both our and Murray’s memories.
