Geena Davis Says She Should Have Walked Out Of Bill Murray Movie
Geena Davis says she should have left because of the behavior of Bill Murray on the set of Quick Change.
Geena Davis detailed a horrifying story about Bill Murray in her newest memoir, Dying of Politeness. The actress wrote about her horrible experience with the actor while filming the 1990 crime comedy Quick Change, which was co-directed by Murray. David revealed a very uncomfortable meeting she had with the Ghostbusters star and the time he apparently screamed at her in front of crewmembers.
As summarized by the Times UK(via Variety): “She’s introduced to [Murray], she writes, in a hotel suite, where Murray greets her with something called The Thumper, a massage device he insists on using on her, despite her emphatically refusing; later, while they’re filming on location, Murray tracks Davis down in her trailer and begins screaming at her for being late (she’s waiting for her wardrobe), continues to scream at her as she hurries onto the set and even as she gets there, in front of hundreds of cast, crew, curious passers-by.”
Geena Davis told the Times that she should’ve “profoundly defended herself” against Bill Murray. The actress continued to say that she would’ve avoided the situation if she had “known how to react.” She admitted to being “non-confrontational” during that time and was fearful during the audition.
However, Geena Davis doesn’t entirely blame herself for how Bill Murray allegedly conducted himself. She told the Times that while she’s regretting a lot of what happened, “it wasn’t [her] fault.” She revealed saying no “multiple times” despite Murray not “relenting.” The actress said she would’ve “caused a scene” to get Murray to stop. However, Davis admits to not yet “having the ability to withstand the onslaught.”
Unfortunately, Geena Davis isn’t the only actress who has told this type of story regarding Bill Murray. As noted by Variety, Lucy Liu revealed during an episode of the Los Angeles Times Asian Enough podcast that the Ghost Buster star made “unacceptable” and “inexcusable” comments regarding her while on the set of Charlies Angeles. Lui stated that Murray began throwing insults her way while performing a scene.
In addition to the Geena Davis situation, Bill Murray found himself in a negative spotlight after Searchlight Pictures suspended production on a film he was in due to his inappropriate behavior on set. The film, Being Mortal was supposed to be written and directed by comedian Aziz Ansari. The project was based on the non-fiction book Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande.
If what Geena Davis says about Bill Murray is true, this could significantly impact the actor’s career. Murray is set to star in the upcoming Marvel project Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. It’s unclear how much of a role the actor will have in the film.
He also has been called out by actress Keke Palmer for his alleged inappropriate behavior. Although not mentioned by name, the Ghost Busters star was thought to be the subject of an Instagram post by the actress about professionalism on set. Palmer was supposed to star alongside him in Being Mortal, though she shared a similar situation to what Geena Davis had to deal with during her time working with Bill Murray.
During his appearance at the Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders event, the actor was asked about the reports of him being unprofessional on the set of Being Mortal. He admitted doing something he thought was “funny” and stated the studio was investigating the incident. Regardless, Geena Davis’ story regarding Bill Murray and reports of his being unprofessional in the past may haunt the actor forever. We’ll have to see how this affects his career going forward.
