Bill Murray is the God damn man. After starting out as an actor known strictly for silly comedies he underwent a career evolution and is now one of the most respected and sought-after (not to mention difficult to cast) actors around. Murray has reached the point where he can say whatever he wants and do whatever movie he chooses, without compromise, and that even goes for his beloved Ghostbusters franchise which he has been especially pointed about over the years.
Murray was at Cannes for Jim Jarmusch's zombie film The Dead Don't Die, and he took time to talk with IndieWire. They decided this was a good time to talk to him about Ghostbusters, though, to which Murray was more than happy to share his thoughts on his love of the franchise and his decision to continue being a part of it...
“This franchise paid for my son’s college. We made this thing. We are the caretakers of it. It’s a great thing and it was a really fun movie to make. It’s a real movie with some really funny stuff in it.”
He added that his love of Ghostbusters comes from the feelings he has towards the people he worked with, not because of anything Sony did...
“They’re wonderful people. “Danny [Ackroyd], Ernie [Hudson], Harold [Ramis], Rick Moranis, Annie Potts — they’re some of the coolest people and they had real careers. They treat people well. They really understand what it is to be a movie actor. It’s a complete collaboration.”
It's that same attitude that explains his decision not to do a Ghostbusters 3, as his feelings towards the studio system have grown darker over the years. In particular, he still has some beef with Sony over their treatment of him...
“For years, they said, ‘We can’t make another “Ghostbusters” because Bill Murray won’t change the deal he made in 1984.’ Well, no, I never did. And you know what? They made the movie. You’re the new guys, I’m the old guy. It was good enough for the other people so it’s going to have to be good enough for you.”
Once again, Murray did whatever he wanted to do and made a cameo in the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, not because of Sony but because he appreciated the people making that movie, and even agrees to do a solid for Jason Reitman's upcoming movie if he's asked to appear...
“I was in that movie just because they asked me, and I knew if I said no, I was saying I didn’t support that movie. I felt like, OK, I’m going to support them because I support them as people. So I did that one and I would do this next one.”
I repeat, Bill Murray is the God damn man, and I hope to see him in Reitman's Ghostbusters sequel which is set years after the events of the original movies. Could there be a Peter Venkman sighting? Or, as myself and others have theorized, could he be the father of one of the kids who form the newest Ghostbusters? We'll find out when the film opens in 2020.
