Wes Anderson defends Bill Murray amid misconduct allegations: “he’s part of my family”
He carved a name for himself on the comedy scene, leading huge films like Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day, whilst also working with auteurs such as Sofia Coppola and Jim Jarmusch. It’s likely, however, that actor Bill Murray will be most probably most well known for his close collaboration with director Wes Anderson, for whom he has starred in nine movies to date.
It came as a surprise to many Murray/Anderson fans, then, to learn that the 72-year-old was not in the finished version of the director’s latest film, Asteroid City, which premiered at Cannes several weeks ago. To others, it was an ominous sign of things to come amid increasingly frequent and mounting allegations of misconduct against Murray from various actors, many of whom are women.
In the light of these accusations, Anderson has come forward to defend the actor and his long-time friend. “My experience with Bill is so extensive,” the director said. “Bill was such a great supporter of me from the very beginning. I don’t want to speak about somebody else’s experience, but he’s really part of my family. You know, he’s my daughter’s godfather. In fact, he actually baptized her.” Anderson went on to explain just how intimate Murray is with his family: “He’s the one who splashed the water.”
Murray’s role in Rushmore, Anderson’s sophomore film, helped launch the director to new levels of exposure and acclaim, and he has made clear that the claims against the actor will not impact their future relationship. He also clarified the reason for Murray’s absence, confirming that it had nothing to do with the accusations.
“There was some confusion about what happened with Bill,” Anderson said. “He was supposed to play the motel manager who Steve Carell plays, and Bill got Covid four days before he was supposed to start shooting. The people who Bill was supposed to play scenes with were going to be gone by the time he cleared the Covid protocols and stuff. And in fact, he was quite sick. So Bill missed his part and Steve Carell came in quite suddenly.”
Speaking on working with Carrell, whom Anderson has never worked with before, he said: “He was great, I loved having him. I met him, he arrived, and we were immediately shooting.”
Stressing that their friendship remained unchanged, Anderson explained how he and Murray reunited once filming of Asteroid City had been completed in Spain. “Then when Bill got better, he came to Spain. We finished the movie, and Bill and I got in a car and drove to France. It was a great way to finish, but it was the first time I hadn’t had him in a movie in a long time.”
Whilst Anderson is adamant that he’ll continue to collaborate with the actor, other productions don’t share the same sentiment. Aziz Ansari, who himself was caught up in a serious allegation against him, had Searchlight Pictures halt production on his feature film Being Mortal after complaints against Murray’s on-set behaviour surfaced. In response to this news, Murray tried to clear up what happened, saying: “I had a difference of opinion with a woman I’m working with. I did something I thought was funny and it wasn’t taken that way.”
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.