Bill Murray Finds Support From Wes Anderson Amidst Sexual Misconduct Allegations
Wes Anderson says he plans to continue working with Bill Murray, in spite of the allegations against him.
Bill Murray is getting support from his frequent collaborator Wes Anderson amidst the recent allegations of sexual misconduct against the Groundhog Day and Caddyshack actor. Speaking to IndieWire, Anderson stated that the recent allegations against Murray will not affect their working relationship, saying, “Bill was such a great supporter of me from the very beginning.” Anderson added, “I don’t want to speak about somebody else’s experience, but he’s really part of my family.”
Bill Murray has previously been accused of inappropriate behavior by Geena Davis on the set of the 1990 film Quick Change. This behavior included an alleged incident where Murray insisted on using a massage device called ‘the Thumper’ on her and screaming at her for being late in front of cast and crew members. Most recently, the directorial debut of Aziz Ansari had to pause production due to a formal complaint of inappropriate behavior from Murray.
Bill Murray has had a long and fruitful career working with Wes Anderson, turning in some of his best performances for the eclectic filmmaker. Murray has appeared in nine of Anderson’s films, including Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Fantastic Mr. Fox. He appeared in the lead role in Anderson’s film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
Bill Murray isn’t in Wes Anderson’s most recent film, Asteroid City, although he was originally scheduled to be. However, he wasn’t cut from the film due to his sexual misconduct allegations, but rather because he was in Ireland and came down with COVID, and he had to clear protocols and get well before he would be able to shoot his scenes. Since the production schedule didn’t line up, he was replaced by Steve Carell.
Though it’s one of his few films that doesn’t feature Bill Murray, Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City has been getting great reviews from critics, and it looks to be an excellent entry to his prestigious catalog. The film follows a Junior Stargazer convention in the desert that is interrupted by alien events.
The cast is stacked top to bottom with A-list stars and includes Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schrieber, Hope Davis, Steve Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, and Jeff Goldblum.
While Bill Murray has not denied the allegations against him, he has chalked up the incidents to “misunderstandings.” While it doesn’t appear that his future work with Wes Anderson will be affected by these allegations, the Aziz Ansari-directed Being Mortal did officially get scrapped after the formal complaint against Murray. While Ansari could potentially shop the film around to other outlets, it does appear to be dead in the water at the moment.
That leaves the movie Bum’s Rush as the only movie on Bill Murray’s upcoming slate, and that film also doesn’t have a release date in sight. Announced back in 2020, the film stars Anne Hathaway opposite a stray dog that is voiced by Murray. As for Wes Anderson, you can check out his latest film Asteroid City when it hits theatres on June 23.
