There have been too many commercial hits in the film industry to keep count, and most of them are well remembered by the audience, which, therefore, means the stars that were part of those blockbusters are also remembered fondly, just like how comedian Bill Murray has people reminisce about the good old days of cinema.
And while the star may have given us some of the most fondly remembered films of all time, there were some of them that didn’t sit well with many, especially the critics. One such film happened to be a total misinterpretation on the actor’s part, where he thought that he would be in a film written by one of the Coen Brothers, but it turned out to be someone else altogether.
Bill Murray Signed Garfield: The Movie Thinking That One Of The Coens Was The Writer
Most popular for his role as Dr. Peter Venkman in the iconic Ghostbusters franchise along with his hilarious appearances on Saturday Night Live, American actor and prolific comedian Bill Murray is no stranger to the feeling of success in his life, which he designed himself by curating it in a manner that he takes the right steps most of the time. But while shooting Garfield: The Movie, the star went through a serious misinterpretation of who the screenwriter behind the movie was and faced critical appall after the film’s release.
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When he signed up to play the role of the comical ginger cat from cartoonist Jim Davis in its 2004 live-action adaptation, the film was set to be written by Joel Cohen, the director of Monster Mash. But when Murray saw the name, he thought it would be Joel Coen, one of the famous Coen Brothers known for films like No Country For Old Men. Therefore, this misunderstanding led to him voicing Garfield in the movie. Later, when he saw that the script wasn’t what he thought it was going to be, he inquired about it and got a rude shock. in a past interview, he said:
“I was exhausted, soaked with sweat, and the lines got worse and worse. And I said, ‘Okay, you better show me the whole rest of the movie, so we can see what we’re dealing with,’ so I sat down and watched the whole thing, and I kept saying, ‘Who the hell cut this thing? Who did this? What the f*** was Coen thinking?’ And then they explained it to me: it wasn’t written by that Joel Coen.”
While the film may have gone on to become a box-office success, the critical bashing this movie got was enough to leave a bad taste in Murray’s mouth.
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What Was Garfield: The Movie About?
Based on the iconic comic strip by cartoonist Jim Davis, the live-action adaptation features the familiar big ginger cat, who lives with his owner Jon Arbuckle as well as his fellow pet dog Odie. Similar to the comics, the antics, and mannerisms of Odie regularly annoy Garfield to no end, which is the reason why he finally devises a plan to get rid of his canine friend once and for all. But somewhere along the way, Garfield realizes just how important Odie was in his and Jon’s life, which pushes him to get his fellow pet back.
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Garfield: The Movie, streaming on Max.
Source: GQ
