Earlier this month, production shut down on the film Being Mortal due to a complaint of what Deadline termed “inappropriate behavior” on the part of one of its cast members. Soon enough, it became clear which cast member it was: Bill Murray. Production on the film remains on hold and, to date, Murray has said little about the matter.
As of this weekend, however, that’s no longer true. CNBC reports that Murray has shared some details of what he did — though the manner in which he referred to the incident is still relatively vague. Murray’s comments came in an interview with Becky Quick. His description of his own behavior: “I did something I thought was funny and it wasn’t taken that way.”
Those who have been following reports of bad behavior on film and television sets recently may notice some overlap between Murray’s defense and that of Jeff Garlin late last year.
Murray also referred to the matter as a “difference of opinion.” Besides that, he didn’t provide much more information — and it sounds like it’s still not clear whether or not he will be returning to the film. His comments about how he has responded to the matter do sound like he’s thought seriously about what he’s done. He told CNBC that “we are talking and we are trying to make peace with each other.”
“We are both professionals, we like each others’ work, we like each other I think and if we can’t really get along and trust each other there’s no point in going further working together or making the movie as well,” he added. “It’s been quite an education for me.”
On one hand, Murray is saying a lot of encouraging things about learning from his mistakes and not repeating them. On the other hand, “something I thought was funny” could refer to just about anything.
That the production of this film stopped at all, though, does at least sound like the film and television industry is taking bigger steps to address reports of inappropriate behavior on sets. See also: the dismissal of Frank Langella from The Fall of the House of Usher and showrunner David Hollander being fired from American Gigolo. It’s unclear how the investigation into Murray’s behavior on the set of Being Mortal‘s will turn out, but the fact that it’s happening at all feels like a step forward.
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