Film

Wes Anderson says Bill Murray misconduct allegations won’t affect their working relationship

Director says actor exited Asteroid City due to Covid-19, not because of accusations against him

Bill Murray and director Wes Anderson at the Cannes Film Festival in 2021. Photograph: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/Corbis via Getty

Sian Cain
Tue Jun 13 2023 - 08:27

Wes Anderson has said that various allegations made against his frequent collaborator Bill Murray will not affect their working relationship, describing him as “part of my family”.

The 54-year-old director, known for using the same actors across his films, spoke before the release of his latest, Asteroid City, which is one of only two of his 11 released feature films that Murray has not appeared in.

“My experience with Bill is so extensive,” Anderson told IndieWire. “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 baptised her. He’s the one who splashed the water.”

Murray was to play a motel manager in Asteroid City, but had to drop out due to Covid-19 and was replaced by Steve Carell. The only other Anderson film he has not appeared in was the director’s 1996 feature debut, Bottle Rocket.

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Murray’s exit from Asteroid City had nothing to do with the accusations against him, and was due to the actor being sick with Covid-19, Anderson said.

“There was some confusion about what happened with Bill,” he 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 ... So Bill missed his part and Steve Carell came in quite suddenly. He was great, I loved having him.”

Anderson said Murray later visited the film’s set in Spain and they drove to France together when the shoot finished. “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,” he said.

Last April, production was indefinitely paused on Aziz Ansari’s feature film Being Mortal when a female crew member accused Murray of straddling and kissing her through a mask.

In October, it was revealed that Murray had reportedly paid $100,000 to settle the complaint. Murray said he was being “jestful”, while the “much younger” woman said she interpreted his actions as “entirely sexual” and was “horrified”.

Speaking last month, Murray addressed the allegation in an interview with CNBC, saying: “I did something I thought was funny and it wasn’t taken that way. The movie studio wanted to do the right thing, so they wanted to check it all out and investigate it and so they stopped the production ... It’s been quite an education for me.”

The allegation triggered a wider conversation about Murray’s past behaviour. Geena Davis wrote of his “difficult” behaviour in her memoir, alleging that he “insisted” on using a massage device on her in a hotel room and “screamed” at her in front of hundreds of crew members on a film set. Seth Green alleged that Murray once dropped him in a bin “by his ankles” when he was a child, which made him cry.

Murray’s Charlie’s Angels co-star Lucy Liu alleged on the Los Angeles Times’ Asian Enough podcast that Murray had directed “unacceptable” and “inexcusable” insults at her on set. Her fellow co-star Drew Barrymore corroborated Liu’s account, saying Liu “stood up for herself”: “I am proud of us as a team and a company that we didn’t tiptoe on the eggshells.”

Murray has not responded to the claims made by Davis or Green. He has previously addressed allegations made by his Charlie’s Angels co-stars about his behaviour on set, saying in 2009: “Look, I will dismiss you completely if you are unprofessional and working with me.” – Guardian

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