Groundhog Day is a 1993 American fantasy comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Ramis and Danny Rubin. Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, and Chris Elliott star. Murray plays Phil Connors, a cynical television weatherman trapped in a time loop while covering the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. He is forced to relive February 2nd over and over. But did you know how long Bill Murray’s character was stuck in the loop?
According to the director, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray’s character in “Groundhog Day” relived the same day for 30 to 40 years. That means he had to go through the same day an incredible 12,395 times.
Stuck on February 2
Groundhog Day is celebrated on February 2nd when a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil predicts the arrival of spring.
The insane tradition gave birth to the 1993 comedy classic in which Bill Murray’s sardonic TV weatherman Phil Connors was repeatedly trapped on the same day. But how long will this last? A film blog has calculated it for you: 33 years and 350 days.
Phil Connors was suspended in 2013 to commemorate the film’s 20th anniversary. The torturous time is equivalent to repeating the same day 12,395 times.
Director and fellow Ghostbuster Harold Ramis initially stated that Murray’s character had been trapped in Punxsutawney for ten years. Still, he later admitted that the estimate was far too low in 2009.
It takes at least 10 years to get good at anything, and allotting for the down time and misguided years he spent, it had to be more like 30 or 40 years.
Harold Ramis, Director
The site methodically re-evaluated Groundhog Day by examining three stages of the film.
The 38 days shown on screen, the 414 days mentioned, including the six months. four to five hours a day spent throwing playing cards into a hat, and the massive 11,931 days spent learning were among them.
This third stage covered the time required for Phil to learn French poetry, ice sculpting, and the piano, based on the theory that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at anything. Everything is done to impress his producer Rita, played by Andie MacDowell. (Source: Gossip Chimp)
Billy Murray as Phil Connor
Bill Murray is ideal for the role. But he wasn’t the only actor considered. Which ones have there been? Tom Hanks was considered, but he was deemed too nice. Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and John Travolta were also considere for the role.
For the film, Murray learns to play the piano while reliving Groundhog Day in the film. We’d add, quite nicely. Murray, on the other hand, is unable to learn music. So, how did he learn to play so well? He learned to play Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by ear.
If Tom Hanks had directed this film, would he have performed a massive piano on the ground with his feet? Oh, that’s a different movie. It wasn’t because of his shadow. Murray was bitten by a groundhog twice during the filming process. The bites were so severe that the actor requested rabies photographs.
We suspect Murray will have to steer clear of rodents in future films. He didn’t fare well with the gopher in Caddyshack either. (Source: Gossip Chimp)
Image from SlantMagazine