A Collection Of Bill Murray Curiosities

My last posting from Gallery 1988's Please Post Bills. An awesome collection. (Collection of Curiosities by Jessica Deahl)

Previously on Popped Culture...

Bill Murray-O-Rama

How Do You Know I'm Not A God?

A Guide To Surviving Groundhog Day

A Guide To Surviving Groundhog Day

I am loving all the work that is coming out of Gallery 1988's Please Post Bills show. They really pull together talented artists. Above, Phil Connor’s Guide to Surviving Groundhog Day by HERO Design. I was wondering about the reference to 42 days, as Phil Connors had to have been in Punxsutawney, but there are 42 accountable days in the film. Neat.

Previously on Popped Culture...

Bill Murray-O-Rama

How Do You Know I'm Not A God?

Groundhog Day: Rodent Prognostications

How Do You Know I'm Not A God?

Rita: Is this some new fad diet? Don't you worry about cholesterol?

Phil: I don't worry about anything anymore.

Rita: What makes you so special? Everybody worries about something.

Phil: That's exactly what makes me so special.

(Miranda Dressler for Gallery 1988's Please Post Bills show.)

Previously on Popped Culture...

The King of Busts

Bill Murray-O-Rama

The Lost Roles of Bill Murray

Bill Murray-O-Rama

This, without a doubt, would be the most awesome game of bowling ever held! While it makes sense to have Ernie McCracken as captain, I think Phil Connors would be the best bowler, having had years to perfect his game in Punxsutawney. (Bill-O-Rama by Ian Glaubinger)

Previously on Popped Culture...

What If Bill Murray Played Everyone In Wes Anderson's Films?

So I Got That Goin' For Me, Which Is Nice

Being Bill Murray

Groundhog Day: Rodent Prognostications

It really could go either way:

Phil: You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life.

Phil: When Chekhov saw the long winter, he saw a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope. Yet we know that winter is just another step in the cycle of life. But standing here among the people of Punxsutawney and basking in the warmth of their hearths and hearts, I couldn't imagine a better fate than a long and lustrous winter.

OK, the woodchucks have spoken — crappy weather for all:
Shubnedacadie Sam (Nova Scotia): Six more weeks of winter
Punxsutawney Phil (Pennsylvania): Six more weeks of winter
Wiarton Willie (Ontario): Six more weeks of winter

Stupid rodents.

Anyway, Groundhog Day is by far Bill Murray's best role. He owns the film — there isn't a scene without him and everybody else is just window dressing. I love Stripes, Ghostbusters, Scrooged and Lost in Translation, but Groundhog Day embodies the best of his surly, weary comedy. I hope it's on tonight.

Producers See Shadow, Strike May End

Did film and television producers step out of their offices this Groundhog Day, see their shadows and finally realize there was going to be a long season of no new movies or shows if they didn’t start making some concessions?

There are reports that a settlement of the almost three-month-old strike by Hollywood writers could come as early as this week. It appears there has been some resolution of the Writers Guild’s demand for payment of work that play online.

Who knows what may have finally put them over the top? Perhaps it was the Groundhog-esque nature of TV these days, filled with a multitude of shows you’ve already seen. Maybe it was the possibility of the Oscars turning out like the travesty that passed as the Golden Globes this year. Or maybe it was the prospect of the airwaves being filled with Canadian TV shows, as U.S. networks pick up Flashpoint, The Listener, Sophie and continue to sniff around The Border. The horror! In any case, it will be good to see writers getting recognition for their work, even if my PVR backlog hasn’t dropped below 80% in the ensuing labor dispute.

And speaking of Groundhog Day, there are a surprising number of rodent prognosticators these days. From the National Post’s count there are at least 10, with eight of them calling for an early spring and two calling for a longer winter. One of the naysayers is Punxsutawney Phil, but he hasn’t been quite right since Bill Murray rolled through town.

The Groundhog Almanac:
Shubnedacadie Sam (Nova Scotia): Spring
Punxsutawney Phil (Pennsylvania): Winter
Wiarton Willie (Ontario): Spring
General Beauregard Lee (Georgia): Spring
Balzac Billy (Alberta): Spring
Buckeye Chuck (Ohio): Spring
Staten Island Chuck (New York state): Spring
Malverne Mel (New York state): Spring
Woody Woodchuck (Michigan): Spring
Ms. G. (Massachusetts): Winter