Image: Quirk Books
The Big Bad Book of Bill Murray: A Critical Appreciation of the World's Finest Actor was released on September 15. The new book details, among other things, the beyond quirky manner in which Murray fields (or rather, neglects to field) film role offers. To quote the book,
"In 2000, he fired his agents — reportedly for calling him on the phone too often — and replaced them with an automated 800 number,” Schnakenberg writes. “Filmmakers who wish to pitch projects to Murray must leave a message on his voice mailbox, which he rarely checks. When he is interested in a script, Murray demands that it be faxed to him care of his local office supply store.This unique arrangement,” Schnakenberg says, “has resulted in Murray missing out on a number high-profile job offers.”
When the principals of a project get so far with Murray as to present him their script for consideration, his level of distaste for some scripts can only be measured by how far he throws them. When it came to the movie Splash, actress P.J. Soles, who gave Murray the script, said he "flung it across the room in disgust."
Read about other ways in which Murray and film projects never connected in this article.