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The word is in: Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his den today up at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and saw his shadow, which means the groundhog crawled back into his den and that forecasts six more weeks of winter weather. If you don’t live in Pennsylvania, your groundhog may vary.
We here at Neatorama have a soft spot for silly holidays, including Groundhog Day, so much that I learned how to spell Punxsutawney without copying. We also like the movie named after the tradition. Stacy wrote about it in 2009 in Movie Trivia: Groundhog Day.
Later that year, the question arose as to How Long Does Bill Murray Spend in Groundhog Day? It generated a lot of speculation, and later we had the answer in Harold Ramis Responds on Groundhog Day.
This year, Eddie Deezen took a closer look at the movie in Why Did Bill Murray Keep Going Back in Groundhog Day?
So enjoy the movie (it’s on CMT tonight), enjoy your Groundhog carols and your Groundhog cake, and have a happy Groundhog Day!
(Image credit: Cake Wrecks)
On February 2 every year, we watch the skies to see if they are clear enough to throw a scary shadow over our local groundhogs. But how much do you really know about these rodents? They’re not endangered, they don’t chuck wood, and they’re not all that great at predicting weather. On the one day of the year that we pay attention to groundhogs, find out more about the habitat and lifestyle of these critters at Environmental Graffiti. Link
(Image credit: Flickr user Matt MacGillivray)
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website. This post contains spoilers.
Almost everyone loves the movies, and along with viewing our personal favorites and other movies, most of us enjoy discussing the subjects and contents of films. Opinions and tastes, of course, vary. But almost everyone I know loves, or at least likes, Bill Murray’s best film, Groundhog Day.
In the film, Murray plays Phil Connors, an obnoxious, self-centered TV weatherman. Phil wakes up one day and realizes it’s actually the same day as it was yesterday -and this occurs over and over and over… Finally, Phil “evolves” and finds his true love (his colleague Rita, played by Andie MacDowell) and his true identity and a “new day” is finally allowed to dawn. The film is actually a great movie version of The Twilight Zone.
The great thing about Groundhog Day (or any other great movie) is that it is endlessly rewatchable (a bit of irony there). Last Groundhog Day, February 2nd, one cable channel played Groundhog Day over and over, for the entire day. Nice gag.
Groundhog Day also makes for great discussions, and numerous theories about the movie and its meaning have been put forth. Is it karma? What goes around comes around? Is it a commentary on man’s true nature? His true goodness -reflected by kindness, understanding, and warmth? Some Buddhists have adopted the film as a modern symbol of their religion. One keeps “coming back” until they finally evolve into a “perfect state,” at which time the endless “coming back” ceases. All valid and very metaphysical theories.
But why was poor Phil stuck in the “endless” time loop in the first place? This is one thing that the film leaves nebulous and unclear. In one sense, it is “hell,” i.e. a world of endless repetition, with no randomness, no unpredictability. But in another sense, this is the situation we all want and need: endless chances to fix and correct our mistakes, and then to understand why they were wrong. In the film, when Phil finally straightens out what he’s done wrong, the “endless” loop stops.
But again, why the punishment? After all, Phil is undeniably a jerk, but hey, he never murdered anyone. He’s not a rapist. He didn’t torture any small animals. Why Phil?
Okay, here’s the answer. The second draft of Groundhog Day says, actually, it was caused by Phil’s scorned ex-girlfriend Stephanie. The second draft of Groundhog Day is pretty close to what we all see in the film. There is a bit more of Phil in the studio at the beginning, but nothing major. But also in the second draft, Stephanie, Phil’s ex-girlfriend, puts a curse on him. Literally, she opens a book of magic spells and does a little ritual that causes him to get stuck in time.
Near the beginning of this script, we meet Phil’s girlfriend, Stephanie, who Phil coldly and unceremoniously dumps. Later, as Phil is going to bed in Punxsutawney, we see Stephanie in her room, using Phil’s business cards and broken watch (conveniently set at 5:59) to perform a magic spell from a book titled 101 Curses, Spells, and Enchantments You Can Do At Home. This sets the theme of Groundhog Day in motion. There is no “higher purpose” given, just an angry, embittered ex-girlfriend with a little book.
Excerpt from the second Groundhog Day script:
Stephanie: Are you saying that our relationship was a waste of time?
Phil: Our relationship? We went out a total of four times, and only once did anything happen. It was fun, but I don’t see that as a big commitment.
Stephanie (closing in again): I had our charts done. My astrologer says we’re extremely compatible. There may even be some past lives involved here.
For whatever reason, the director, the writer, or whoever, made the decision to completely excise any mention of Stephanie and her vindictive curse. I guess they just felt it was unnecessary to the movie or that it “slowed down the action” or that it made Phil too sympathetic, or some such Hollywood reason. Well, maybe they were right.
Groundhog Day is Bill Murray’s (who is a great actor with a great body of film work to his credit) finest and most memorable film. By the way, I never liked Andie MacDowell as an actress. She seems like a very nice lady, but just never liked her on screen. But in Groundhog Day she puts in a very likeable performance.
Oh, and that’s not the only mystery that’s solved here. The screenplay also specifies that Phil will spend the next 10,000 years (Holy cow!) trapped in the time loop. It also has a more definite answer as to why he comes out of it. It was apparently the kiss with Rita at the end of the film that broke the spell, much like a fairy tale. Even in the final filmed version, you can hear a tinkly magic sound as Phil and Rita lock lips.
Oh yes, one last note on Groundhog Day. My friend Kenny had a bit part in the film. I asked him what Bill Murray was like to work with.
“Oh, he wasn’t that friendly, but he got nicer as the film went along.”
“Just like in the film, ” I said.
“Yeah,” he said (as if it had just dawned on him),
“Just like the film.”
BuzzFeed has a great collection of Bill Murray fan art right now, including this brilliant travel poster for Punxutawney, PA. If you like his movies, you’ll love this gallery.
National Geographic News talks about Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil, and the weather. They include a look at the origins of February 2nd forecasting, which began with the Roman Empire, when folks considered the weather on Candlemas to predict future weather.
Legend has it that the Romans also believed that conditions during the first days of February were good predictors of future weather, but the empire looked to hedgehogs for their forecasts.
These two traditions melded in Germany and were brought over to the United States by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania. Lacking hedgehogs, the German settlers substituted native groundhogs in the ritual, and Groundhog Day was born.
So have we’ve been using the wrong animal all these years? Should we instead say “Happy Hedgehog Day”? Link
(Image credit: Melissa Farlow/National Geographic)
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On February 2nd of every year, people wait to see if their local groundhog comes out of its winter nest. The superstition says that if the groundhog sees its shadow, it will be scared and run back into hiding, and we will have six more weeks of bad weather. If the groundhog stays out, better weather is on the way. The most famous groundhog in the US is Punxsutawney Phil, who is escorted out of his pen with pomp and ceremony every year. However, PETA doesn’t think this is a good idea.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it’s unfair to keep the animal in captivity and subject him to the huge crowds and bright lights that accompany tens of thousands of revelers each Feb. 2 in Punxsutawney, a tiny borough about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. PETA is suggesting the use of an animatronic model.
But William Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, says the animal is “being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania.” The groundhog is kept in a climate-controlled environment and is inspected annually by the state Department of Agriculture.
Deeley considers this a publicity stunt. Link
(image credit: Flickr user faz the persian)
The burning question everyone (or at least those who have seen the movie) asks: how long does Bill Murray spend trapped in a time loop in the movie Groundhog Day? Wolf Gnards took clues from the film to come up with a definitive answer of 8 years, 8 months, and 16 days. I’m glad they figured that one out. Follow the link to find out how they did it. Link -via Digg
A day late, (Or AM I… maybe I posted this yesterday and you’re reliving it) I’m sorry!
But despite the holiday theme, this movie is pretty fantastic year-round. Enjoy the trivia (sprinkled with video for your viewing pleasure).
Obviously upset about the proposed budget cuts to New York City’s zoos, Staten Island Chuck let Mayor Michael Bloomberg know exactly how he feels.
As reported by the Staten Island Advance, the mayor tried several times to lure the petite prognosticator out of his home, tempting him with delicious ears of corn. This resulted in Chuck grabbing the corn, and hastily returning to his den. At some point in their back and forth, Chuck bared his wood-cutting teeth and went to work on the mayor’s finger.
Personally, I would be upset too if some strange guy tried to pull me out of bed at 7am.
Thankfully the Mayor was not badly bit and Chuck was still able to perform his prediction duties: No shadow, early spring!
“His hand was nicked,” a Bloomberg spokesman said. The mayor is up to date on his Tetanus shot, so he simply washed his wounded finger and put on a bandage.
…
The bite happened just before Chuck made his prediction that spring is coming, as the mayor bravely reached into the groundhog’s cottage, and tried to coax him out with some of his favorite snacks.
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by TheKeyLime.
I’m not very happy with that little rodent’s prediction this morning, but the Pennsylvania Tourism Office did make me laugh with this little video clip from a couple of years ago – it’s what happens when the pressure of predicting the weather finally gets to old Phil.
See more videos here.
