Scrooged, a modern 80s retelling of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" stars Bill Murray as a cynical, mean-spirited TV executive who finally learns the true meaning of Christmas, but its production was marred with difficulties.After a four-year hiatus following the overwhelming success of Ghostbusters, Bill Murray returned to acting for this passion project. But before signing on, Murray literally tore apart the original script with screenwriters Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue to completely rework it, particularly the romantic subplot...
Scrooged, a modern 80s retelling of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" stars Bill Murray as a cynical, mean-spirited TV executive who finally learns the true meaning of Christmas, but its production was marred with difficulties.
After a four-year hiatus following the overwhelming success of Ghostbusters, Bill Murray returned to acting for this passion project. But before signing on, Murray literally tore apart the original script with screenwriters Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue to completely rework it, particularly the romantic subplot and family scenes.
What followed was one of Hollywood's most notorious productions. Director Richard Donner and Murray clashed constantly throughout the three-month shoot in New York City and Hollywood. Murray felt Donner rushed through takes and kept pushing him to perform louder and broader, while Donner struggled with Murray's improvisational style.
The $32 million production took a physical toll as well. Murray worked on dusty, smoky sets filled with fake snow that made him cough up blood. Co-star Carol Kane accidentally split his lip so badly during a scene that filming had to stop for several days. Co-writer O'Donoghue was equally miserable, claiming less than half the original script survived.
The film's iconic ending speech was almost entirely improvised by Murray, who went off-script and received a spontaneous ovation from the crew. O'Donoghue was less than impressed, but the moment became one of cinema's most memorable holiday monologues.
Scrooged adds layers of comedy and modern critique to Dickens' original text, showcasing not just the spirit of Christmas but a satirical look at the entertainment industry, and the commercialization of Christmas.
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