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USA TODAY

Wes Anderson says he will continue working with Bill Murray despite misconduct allegations

Edward Segarra, USA TODAY
Updated
3 min read

Film director Wes Anderson is standing by longtime collaborator Bill Murray following a misconduct allegation brought against the actor last year.

In an interview with IndieWire published Monday, Anderson said allegations against Murray won't deter him from working with the "Ghostbusters" star. Production on Murray's film "Being Mortal" was suspended in April 2022 after a woman filed a complaint stemming from the actor's on-set behavior.

"My experience with Bill is so extensive. Bill was such a great supporter of me from the very beginning," Anderson told the outlet. "I don’t want to speak about somebody else's experience, but he's really part of my family. You know, he's my daughter's godfather. In fact, he actually baptized her. He's the one who splashed the water."

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"Being Mortal" was set to star Murray alongside Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer and Aziz Ansari, who was writing, directing and producing the movie. The film is based on surgeon and author Dr. Atul Gawande's 2014 nonfiction book on end-of-life care, "Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End."

Production started in Los Angeles last March, and the film was slated to be released in theaters this year.

In his first comments about the shutdown of "Being Mortal," Murray described the incident as a "difference of opinion" but declined to provide specifics on what transpired or who it involved.

"I did something I thought was funny, and it wasn't taken that way," Murray told CNBC last April during an interview at the annual shareholders meeting for Berkshire Hathaway. "The movie studio wanted to do the right thing so they wanted to check it all out, investigate it and so they stopped the production."

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The 72-year-old actor-comedian suggested the changing nature of what's considered appropriate humor was a factor.

"It's been quite an education for me," Murray said. "The world is different than it was when I was a little kid. What I always thought was funny as a little kid isn't necessarily the same as what's funny now. Things change and the times change, so it's important for me to figure it out."

'I did something I thought was funny': Bill Murray addresses 'Being Mortal' misconduct complaint

Anderson and Murray have worked together on films such as 1998's "Rushmore," 2004's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," 2009's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and 2014's "The Grand Budapest Hotel."

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Anderson revealed in the IndieWire interview Monday that Murray was set to star in his latest film "Asteroid City" but was unable to because of a COVID-19 diagnosis. "He was supposed to play the motel manager who Steve Carell plays, and Bill got COVID four days before he was supposed to start shooting," the filmmaker said.

Anderson added that Murray joined him at the end of the film's production in Spain. "We finished the movie, and Bill and I got in a car and drove to France," he said. "It was a great way to finish, but it was the first time I hadn’t had him in a movie in a long time."

More Wes Anderson: Wes Anderson films, quirky and colorful, often cast the same stars. Who are they?

Contributing: Staff and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wes Anderson defends Bill Murray amid misconduct allegations

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