Sweet, Groundhog Day is on tomorrow

[pokerfan]

WGN Sun 2/1 5:00 PM
WGN Sun 2/1 8:00 PM
FX Mon 2/2 6:00 PM

[Aristus]

1. I can't watch that movie anymore. It's too soul-deadening. I used to think that Bill

Murray's character went through a few months of the same day over and over. Then I read an interview with the director in which he was asked how long he thought Murray was in that time loop. He said he guessed about twenty years.

TWENTY YEARS? Of the same day over and over and over?

That was too much for me...

[pokerfan]

2. Be thankful that they didn't stick to the script

Which had Murray repeating the day for 10,000 years. Ten or twenty years sounds about right. Long enough to learn jazz piano, ice sculpting, how to push the right buttons with Andie...

Top 10 Facts - Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is without doubt a modern classic. The American Film Institute declares it the 34th best comedy ever made (Although at time of going to press, there is no word yet on where Meet The Spartans will place). As it’s Groundhog Day this weekend (Feb 2nd), we’re revisiting Gobbler’s Knob with the top 10 facts.

(1) The original script had Murray repeat Feb 2nd for 10,000 years, keeping track by reading a new page in a book each day. In the actual movie, he is meant to have repeated for 10 years.

(2) Tom Hanks was first choice for the lead, before director Harold Ramis decided he was “too nice”. Tori Amos was considered for Andie MacDowell’s role.

(3) The screenwriter had the idea while reading about the immortals in Interview With The Vampire. The story originally started half way through, so the audience had no idea how Murray knew everything. Another draft explained why it was happening by having Murray’s ex cast a voodoo spell on him.

(4) Ramis says when he usually tried to explain a scene to Murray, he would interrupt with “Just tell me - good Phil or bad Phil?”

(5) The Tip Top Café where Bill Murray stuffs his face was just a set created for the movie. But local demand led to a real café being built. It’s now closed. Fickle locals.

[kentauros]

3. I would have guessed at least a year, but twenty makes sense.

He learned how to do rather beautiful ice-sculptures, how to not only play the piano but honky-tonk jazz at that ;)

He learned enough French to read and understand French poetry (Renaissance period, was it?)

Basically, he relived his life to one that turned him into a much better man. At some point in the period of him being trapped there, he had to realize that was the point of it all. I think it was when he learned that the homeless man had died and that some people do just stop living like that, no matter how much you try to help.

The thing is, after a few weeks or months of that, you likely would lose track of just how many days it was and learn to live with it. No amount of ignoring it, sleeping through it all or whatever other method of shirking responibility for your life would stop it, either. So, you learn to take advantage of it as Phil did :D

[pokerfan]

5. 19th century, IIRC

He learned enough French to read and understand French poetry (Renaissance period, was it?)

You ever read http://books.google.com/books?id=3S37vpzASg0C&dq=replay&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result">Replay? It is rumored that it was the inspiration for Groundhog Day.

[kentauros]

11. Unless that publishing year of "2002" is a reprint year,

I don't see how it could have been inspiring for Groundhog Day.

There was a book very, very similar to GD that I read back in the early 80s called "One Fine Day" by Leon Arden, published in 1981. Read the review as it sounds more like the inference of someone putting a voodoo hex on Phil.

Oh, I watched Star Wreck tonight. Very funny, though I was still rooting for the B5 universe to totally win. If only the Minibar had shown up with their heavy cruisers

[pokerfan]

13. 1987

http://tinyurl.com/bq7dwb">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replay_(novel)

The novel has an obvious influence on Harold Ramis' comedy-drama Groundhog Day (1993), and variations of Grimwood's plot premise can also be seen in the Japanese film Taan, aka Turn (2001), and the 1993 TV movie 12:01, adapted from Richard A. Lupoff's short story.

Glad to hear you enjoyed Star Wreck.

[Silver Swan]

4. I live near Woodstock, Illinois

where much of Groundhog day was filmed. They have a Groundhog day festival which includes multiple showings of the film at the local theater.

http://woodstock.govoffice2.com/index.asp?Type=B_EV&SEC={F180EB50-ACDD-4AEC-ADC1-6548EB5E1E27}&month=2&year=200

[pokerfan]

6. cool

But the link didn't work for me...

An error occurred on the server when processing the URL. Please contact the system administrator.

[KamaAina]

7. Huh?!

They tried to pass the northwest suburbs off as western PA?

And succeeded (until now)?!

:wtf:

edit: And to think, WGN is the one jumping the gun by showing it tomorrow (2/1). Only FX (short for Faux :puke: ) has it right.

[FloridaJudy]

8. "I don't floss, either"

Best line in the film. :rofl:

I love that movie! Very Buddhist/Pagan take on life.

[SoCalDem]

9. I'll see your ground hog and raise you a wombat

[pokerfan]

10. You know, whenever we want to speculate on what alien life might look like

just look at Australia and multiply by 1,000,000,000.

[rug]

12. I'll catch the rerun.