In the Pics section, film critic Floortje Smit casts her eye on contemporary visual culture.
Actually, it is about ‘a difference of opinion’ between him and a woman on the film set. This is how actor Bill Murray describes the case around his ‘unacceptable behaviour’, which means that the recordings of Being Mortal were suddenly shut down a week or two ago.
When asked about it by CNBC, he explained that he had made a stupid joke that had been misconstrued. He had had an instructive week, he said: ‘What I thought was funny as a child is not necessarily funny anymore. Things change and times change. (…) A dog that cannot learn anything is a pathetic dog. I don’t want to be such a pathetic dog.’
Who it is, has not yet been leaked. The only clue seems to be a Instagram post from his co-star Keke Palmer, in which she states that ‘talented people are not always professional’. According to Murray, he is still in talks with the woman in question. “We try to make peace with each other . . . . Without trust there is no point in continuing.’
What happened there? Is this again typical Hollywood: err on the side of caution? Unnecessary hoopla over a misunderstood prank? After all, it is Múrray, who, thanks to social media, has now acquired a cult status for his fun activities. The actor who crashes birthday parties and engagement photos for fun. The sympathetic man with the dog’s eyes, who in his roles often plays with a certain old-man sadness and self-pity.
That’s why it feels faint that there is also immediately other, more or less forgotten incidents were raised. Murray who once threw an ashtray at the head of opponent Richard Dreyfuss. Who ‘playfully’ pushed producer Laura Ziskin into a lake during a heated argument. That actress Lucy Liu so often hurled terrible insults at her head that she had no choice but to back off. After which she was portrayed in the press as ‘the difficult one’, according to Liu. “I’ve never understood why those roles have been reversed.”
It’s not just about Murray as a person. It’s a well-known frame when it comes to problems on movie sets: in those stories the men are the misunderstood geniuses, a little too over the top in fanaticism or method acting maybe, clumsy with jokes. The women, on the other hand, are difficult. They are complicated, bland and childish. Create fuss about nothing. Their career eventually suffers.
Interesting to reread Murray’s repentant statement with this in mind. It may not be his intention, but he is still feeding the old-fashioned long-toed females narrative.