Word: murrayism
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Lost in Translation offered conclusive proof that Murray has made himself into a superb actor. He plays a man who, understanding little of what's being said to him and even less about his actions, forges a relationship with a similarly confused young woman (Scarlett Johansson). Midway through the movie, Harris finds himself half-drunk in a private Tokyo karaoke room singing Roxy Music's More Than This to a group of passed-out Japanese salarymen less than half his age. Murray, the creator of Nick the SNL lounge cretin, never veers from character and never winks at the audience...
Throughout the '90s, Murray popped up in small parts in movies as distinct as the raunchy Farrelly brothers' bowling comedy Kingpin, the quirky Tim Burton--directed bio-pic Ed Wood, and Wild Things, a film he succeeded in hijacking despite the heavily marketed presence of a lesbian schoolgirl love scene. The movies were O.K., but Murray was better, and in Rushmore he finally found something worthy of his skill. Anderson conceived the role of the pitiable, contemptible but redeemable Herman Blume specifically for Murray (in part because he loved him in The Razor's Edge). Murray was a revelation...
...acclaim from Rushmore brought an avalanche of offers, almost all of which Murray ignored. In a typically idiosyncratic move, he decided to go agentless in 1999. (Michael Ovitz represented him until 1995.) He has since replaced a powerful talent agency with an automated voice mailbox. He gives out the 800 number sparingly and monitors the messages from his home overlooking the Hudson River in upstate New York. "I check in regularly," he says. But then adds, "Sometimes I don't check in. Things get busy. I got stuff to do. But you just can't have the phone ringing...
...Hollywood, that 800 number is held up as Murray's ultimate declaration of independence. It's also good business. By creating an aura of aggressive indifference, Murray is now extremely well paid for his occasional dalliances in grade-Z films. (See Charlie's Angels and Garfield; better yet, don't.) He has also ensured that people who want to work with him really want to work with him. "I've had people say, 'I need you in this movie. You're the only one who can do it,'" says Murray. "And as soon as you say no, they've moved...
Sofia Coppola distinguished herself as uncommonly persistent. She left hundreds of messages for Murray before he called her back about her offer to star him in Lost in Translation. "When I finally spoke to him," says Coppola, "he was nice, charming, slightly interested but also vague and mysterious." She says she wasn't certain that Murray had actually agreed to take the part of aging movie star Bob Harris until he showed up in Tokyo on the first day of shooting...