GROUNDHOG DAY was released 31 years ago this week. One of the great fantasy rom-coms, and among the most beloved of Bill Murray’s movies, the story behind the scenes is as magical as the film… 1/43
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In 1990, aspiring screenwriter Danny Rubin was looking for an idea. Reading Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire in an LA movie theatre, he began to ponder the immortality of vampires and considered what he would do with his own time if it never ran out. 2/43
After selling his first screenplay, Hear No Evil (1993), Rubin’s agent told him he needed a ‘calling card’ script to send to producers. Rubin returned to his ‘immortal man’ story and, marrying it with the idea of a day repeating over and over, began to write. 3/43
Needing an event to revolve his story round, Rubin opened a calendar, saw 2nd February, and called his script Groundhog Day. After his agent left Hollywood, Rubin sent his screenplay round looking or representation. Creative Artist Agency loved it and passed it to their own
Rubin found himself with two offers for his script. One from an indie studio, and the other with Ramis. He knew he would retain creative control with the indie outfit but, with Ramis’ filmography including Caddyshack and Ghostbusters, Rubin shook on a deal with Ramis. 5/43
In casting the lead – disgruntled weatherman Phil Connors – Ramis considered Robin Williams and Tom Hanks, but thought they were “too nice.” Michael Keaton reportedly turned the role down before Ramis turned to Ghostbusting buddy Bill Murray. 6/43
Murray didn’t have the greatest time on set. Working with a family of Groundhogs raised specifically for the production, he was bitten twice during the shoot. One was so bad; Murray required a rabies shot afterwards. 7/43
While Ramis was focused on making a great comedy, Murray was interested in the philosophical aspects of the story. Murray would call Ramis at all hours of the morning to discuss the script until Ramis sent Rubin to talk to him. 8/43
Muray was going through a divorce at the time of filming and clashed with Ramis, who would later say Murray was “irrationally mean and unavailable.” They had such a bad falling out that they didn’t speak for decades, but made up just prior to Ramis’ passing in 2014. 9/43
A more pleasant Murray story showcases his generosity. Noticing that hundreds of spectators had gathered on location one day to watch what was going on, Murray went to a local bakery, ordered 500 danish pastries, and handed them out to the onlookers. 10/43
Ramis thought about casting a comedian to play Phil’s love interest, Rita. Realising there maybe clashes with Murray though, he decided to go for a dramatic actress. Tori Amos was considered but after seeing Andie MacDowell in The Object of Beauty, Ramis cast her as Rita. 11/43
Excited to work with Ramis and Murray, MacDowell accepted immediately, but had one request. He asked if she could pay the part by speaking in her natural (and quite heavy) South Carolina regional accent. Ramis agreed. 12/43
Stephen Tobolowsky plays Phil’s long-lost pal, Ned ‘the Bull’ Ryerson. Ramis said he nailed his audition in one take and, left in the room with Ramis and the casting director, Howard Feuer, let fly with an outrageous performance, leaving them in hysterics. 13/43
There a couple of notable cameos. Ramis shows up as a doctor who is visited by Phil at one point. And Buster Green – who runs the Groundhog Day festivities – was played by Brian Doyle-Murray, older brother of Bill. 14/43
The film was also the feature debut of Michael Shannon, who played young love Fred. Shannon tried to strike up a chat on the set with Murray about his favourite band, Talking Heads. It went so badly that Ramis made Murray apologise for his behaviour. 15/43
Groundhog Day is a real festival in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. It dates back to the 1880s when a group went into the woods looking for groundhogs. It became an official event centred on a groundhog called Punxsutawney Phil, and still takes place every year. 16/43
Rubin’s original script started ‘In Media Res’, where Phil was already trapped inside Groundhog Day at the start of the film. We joined him on a day, with the audience wondering how he knew what was going to happen. Ramis changed this aspect. 17/43
Some early drafts also explained the cause of Phil’s time loop. A spurned ex-lover called Stephanie had cast a spell on Phil to teach him a lesson. Rubin decided to leave the explanation out, thinking it added nothing to the story. 18/43
The final screenplay was a co-credit between Ramis and Rubin, who has mixed feelings. Rubin said it is a great movie, and is very grateful it was made, but disappointed that it moved away from his darker vision to something more comedic. 20/43
The music was composed by George Fenton. He said he was given a simple but challenging brief by Ramis. He asked for a dramatic, Nino Rota-type score. (Rota composed the famous music for the Godfather). 21/43
Maybe the most famous piece of music is the song Phil wakes to every morning – I Got You, Babe by Sonny & Cher. This was in Rubin’s first drafts of the script – he chose it because, he said, of its chorus that seems to repeat over and over at the end. 22/43
Ramis wanted to film in Punxsutawney for real, but decided it didn’t have the right look. After an arduous scouting task where over 60 locations were looked at, they finally settled on filming in Woodstock, Illinois, 51 miles from Chicago. 23/43
After the production decided not to shoot in the Punxsutawney, the city would not allow the real Punxsutawney Phil to be used in the movie. Instead, the production trapped a wild groundhog in the woods, named him Scooter, and used him in the film. 24/43
After the film was released, some writers said the idea had been stolen from them. Richard Lupoff said it copied his short story 12:01pm and Ken Grimwood said the same of his novel, Replay. Rubin said his only jump off point was Christmas Every Day by William Dean Howells. 25/43
One of the recurring beats of the movie is Phil stepping from a curb and sinking his foot into a deep puddle of water. The street in Woodstock, Illinois, where this was filmed bears a plaque that says "Bill Murray stepped here.” 26/43
As filming took place January-to-Spring, the weather varied a lot. As such, Ramis would shoot each time-repeated version of a scene on the same day. So all 5 Ned Ryerson scenes were shot back-to-back. 27/43
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Ramis said that shooting very similar scenes back-to-back led to Murray saying to him at the start of each scene - "Just tell me - good Phil or bad Phil?" 28/43
Because filming was going on months after the February setting, some fake snow had to be shipped in. And towards the end of the shoot, the actors were dressed in winter coats when the weather was up to 26 degrees Celsius. 29/43
Filming the diner scene where Phil gorges himself on pastries and milkshake, Murray was offered a bucket to spit the food into, but said he didn’t need one. He later said after stuffing Angel Cake into his mouth over and over, he felt very sick. 30/43
The scene where Phil picks up the alarm clock and slams it onto the floor didn't originally go as planned. Murray slammed down the clock, but it didn’t break. A crew member ran in and smashed it with a hammer, and that is the shot in the film. 31/43
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The clock seen in the movie wasn’t a real model – it was a prop that just flipped between 5:59 and 6:00. Owners of the real clock would know as the alarm actually goes of randomly around the time it is set, not as soon as it flips like in the movie. 32/43
When watching Jeopardy! In the bed and breakfast, Phil gets a round of applause from his fellow guests when he answers every question. This is a tradition from the real quiz – the audience applauds when a contestant gets a run of 5 correct answers. 33/43
A scene was shot where Phil destroys his room, tearing pillows, painting the walls, and shaving his head. Then the camera would pull back showing him in bed back to normal. Ramis couldn’t get the transition to match so it changed to Phil breaking a pencil. 34/43
Another deleted sequence showed Phil becoming a trick shot genius on the pool table, and also becoming a perfect bowler. The scene in the bowling alley where Phil talks about his problem is a hangover from this. 35/43
The ice sculptures were carved by real Punxsutawney resident Randy Rupert (known as The Chainsaw Wizard). He has a shop and, reportedly, can still be found every Groundhog Day carving and selling wooden sculptures. 36/43
The idea of Phil reading to Rita while she sleeps came from Murray, after he did the same thing with his wife on their wedding night. And when we see Phil playing at his piano teacher’s, that is actually Murray playing. He learned that part of the piece. 37/43
The ending could have been different. Danny Rubin originally wrote the final scene to end when Phil is rejected by Rita. He then finds out Rita is trapped in a time loop of her own, and she disappears. 38/43
Ramis was unsure of the tone he wated to strike when Phil wakes up next to Rita. As such, they shot 25 takes. Unsure if they should be clothed or not, Ramis took a vote on the set, and the cast and crew chose the couple being clothed, as they hadn’t had sex. 39/43
The final moments of the film include two Murray improvs. Phil carries Rita over the gate as it was frozen shut, and the final line "okay, let's rent to start" was ad-libbed by Murray. Ramis loved it and kept it in. 40/43
Made on a budget of up to $30m, Groundhog Day made $105m worldwide. It is now regarded as an all-time comedy classic, among Bill Murray’s best films and the phrase “Groundhog Day” has transcended the film to describe a repeating chain of events. 41/43
The film made Punxsutawney a tourist destination, increasing the attendance for its Groundhog Day festival from hundreds of visitors a year to tens of thousands. Both Bill Murray and Harold Ramis have been honorary Grand Marshals for the festival. 42/43
Finally… years after the film opened, Cher said she still received letters from fans saying they loved the song she did for Groundhog Day (it was recorded in 1965). She wasn’t complaining, and said the film had hugely boosted the royalties she received for the song. 43/43
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GROUNDHOG DAY was released 31 years ago this week. One of the great fantasy rom-coms, and among the most beloved of Bill Murray’s movies, the story behind the scenes is as magical as the film… 1/43
You need to repeat this exact thread again tomorrow.
