Facts About The Movie ‘Groundhog Day’ That You’ll Want To Read Over And Over Again
Harold Ramis' film Groundhog Day was released on February 12th, 1993, which is not actually Groundhog Day, but it's in February so that's close enough. The movie stars Bill Murray as Phil Connors, a weatherman who finds himself reliving the same day over and over again.
This film was relatively successful when it came out, but over the years it's garnered something of a cult following. Now, every February second, people from all over the country gather around their television sets to watch Connors get out of a time loop. This movie has been so successful that it's even been adapted into a Broadway musical. Keep reading to learn even more interesting facts about this beloved movie.
Bill Murray's Brother Is Also In The Film
Bill Murray doesn't necessarily come from a famous family, although he wasn't the only Murray to go into the acting business. Bill Murray's brother, Brian Doyle-Murray, appears in Groundhog Day as one of the Punxsutawney groundhog officials. Bill Murray actually has five brothers, but we think two Murrays in one movie is plenty.
Brian Doyle-Murray has also been in films such as Caddyshack, Christmas Vacation, and JFK, among many others.
Keeping It PG
What would you do if you found yourself living in an infinite time loop with no consequences? Every time Phil wakes up, everything he did the day before has been erased as far as everyone else in the world is concerned. Some people might immediately think about using this situation to steal, cheat, or even murder. Instead, Phil chooses to learn new skills and languages.
This was a very deliberate choice made by the filmmakers. They new this concept could get dark very quickly, but they decided to keep everything PG.
Ramis And Murray Got Into A Fight
After wrapping up Groundhog Day, director Harold Ramis admitted that he and Bill Murray had a falling out in their friendship. Although the two were once good friends and worked on Stripes and Ghostbusters together, Ramis claimed that Murray was "really irrationally mean and unavailable."
The two stopped talking for almost 20 years until Murray came to set things straight on Ramis' deathbed before he passed away in 2014. They were friends for too long to stop talking altogether.
The Snow In The Movie Isn't Real
It's supposed to be the middle of winter when this film takes place. In fact, it's supposed to be the same snowy day in the middle of winter over and over again. The crew of this film didn't shoot the movie in February, though. Groundhog Day was filmed between March 16 and June 10, 1992.
Because there isn't much snow in June, the crew had to bring in a whole bunch of fake snow to make it seem like the middle of winter. The fake snow wasn't exactly cold, but all of the actors and extras still had to pretend it was and wear big puffy coats on set (in the spring and summer).
So, How Many Times Did Phil Actually Live Through Groundhog Day?
Some very dedicated fans have put in the time to calculate exactly how long Phil was trapped in the time loop. The thing is, different fans have come up with different results. There are 38 different days depicted on screen in the film, but we don't get to see every day that Phil repeats. One fan determined that Phil Connors was in the time loop for eight years, eight months and sixteen days. However, Simon Gallagher from WhatCulture claims that he was actually trapped for around 34 years.
Ramis, the film's director, seems to agree with Gallagher. Originally, Phil was supposed to be stuck in the loop for 10,000 years. That got edited out of the script.
We Almost Got A Different Rita
In Groundhog Day, the character of Rita is played by the beautiful and talented Andie MacDowell. When MacDowell auditioned for the part, she was competing against Tori Amos, a renowned singer-songwriter and pianist.
Amos is a musical prodigy who, at the age of five, became the youngest person to have ever been admitted into the Peabody Institute at John Hopkins University. Amos was later expelled from the prestigious school when she was 11 years old.
Steamy Scenes Between Phil And Rita
There's a scene in the movie in which Phil and Rita get a little bit too close for comfort— at least, for Bill Murray's comfort. Murray actually refused to shoot the scene until the director decided to let him wear pajamas on camera. A whole debate erupted amongst the cast and crew regarding how "intimate" Rita and Phil should get in the film.
Ramis took the advice of his crew members and decided to shoot Murray in pajamas.
Somebody Else Almost Played Phil
Bill Murray is Groundhog Day. It's hard to imagine the movie without him in it. However, Bill Murray wasn't the director's first choice for the role of Phil. Other actors he considered include Tom Hanks and Michael Keaton. Those two both turned down the role.
Hanks was too busy and he didn't think that the character was a good fit for him. Keaton just couldn't connect with the script. Bill Murray benefitted big time and he was able to land the part.
A Serious Waste Of Time
The cast and crew of Groundhog Day filmed a scene that was eventually deleted from the final version of the movie in which Murray's character, Phil, gives himself a mohawk, paints his room, and goes crazy with a chainsaw. Filming this scene took three whole days.
The scene was replaced with a single shot of Phil breaking a pencil only to wake up the next morning to discover that it's whole again. What a waste of three days!
From The First Draft To The Final Version
There have been many iterations of the script for Groundhog Day. The original screenplay that became the film was written by Danny Rubin. Initially, Rubin wrote the role of Phil for somebody who was a Kevin Kline type.
The original version of the scrip was also more vague about the condition of the time loop. A lot was left to the viewers to figure out for themselves. Also, initially, Rita was going to admit to Phil that she was stuck in a time loop too.
Where It Was Actually Filmed
Groundhog Day is supposed to take place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, but the town center of the real city wasn't what the crew was looking for. Director Howard Ramis decidedWoodstock, Illinois, which would be a better filming location for the film as a whole.
The people of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania were quite offended by Ramis's decision. They denied him access to their groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, as a form of revenge. That's why you're never supposed to make Pennsylvania angry.
The Snowballs Got Serious
While filming, Murray and Ramis weren't the closest of friends. Their relationship had been shaky for some time, and working together on Groundhog Day didn't help. While filming the snowball fight between Phil and the kids, Ramis instructed the kids to throw snowballs at Murray as hard as they could.
This was a way for Ramis to passive-aggressively lash out at Murray for his behavior on set. Once Murray realized was going on, he began pelting the kids with snowballs as hard as he could too out of anger.
How It's Not Like Caddyshack
Although there were numerous changes throughout the scriptwriting process, one of the most notable changes was a scene between Phil and the groundhog. In the original version, Phil was supposed to kill the groundhog in its lair to try and disrupt the time loop.
Yet, it didn't take them long to cut the scene as they thought it was too reminiscent of the movie Caddyshack. In the film, Bill Murray plays a humorous groundskeeper trying to hunt down and kill a gopher on the golf course.
Stephen Tobolowsky Based His Character On An Insurance Salesman
While filming the movie, Ramis and screenwriter Danny Ruben wanted to add another Ned Ryerson scene at the last minute. So, actor Stephen Tobolowsky wrote up a scene for his character in which Ryerson, who is an insurance salesman, explains numerous insurance policies to Phil Conners.
Tobolowsky claims that he based his character off of his own insurance agent to achieve his desired result. Apparently, his insurance agent later called and thanked him for portraying insurance agents accurately rather than making fun of them like most other media platforms.
Never Work With Children Or Animals
Funny enough, Bill Murray ran into some issues with the real groundhog while on the set of the film. While Murray and the groundhog were never close for extended periods of time, it managed to bite him numerous times.
During the car-chase, scene, Murray was bitten no less than three times during the process, angering the actor. Furthermore, he even had to go receive anti-rabies injections due to the seriousness of his injuries from the rodent.
Ra Ra Rasputin
In the scene when Phil is trying to explain what is happening to him to Rita, he states, "I've been stabbed, shot, poisoned, frozen, hung, electrocuted, and burned." Interestingly, these are the same methods that were used by the assassins of Grigory Rasputin, which may be an Easter egg in the film.
However, it also might be a reference to Ghostbusters II as it's said that Vigo the Carpathian may have died after being "poisoned, shot, stabbed, hung, stretched, disemboweled, drawn and quartered."
How The Time Loop Happened
Although Murray's character eventually makes it out of the time loop, audiences were still left wondering what or who had caused it. Initially, Ramis thought about providing an explanation at the end but otherwise decided to leave it as a mystery for the viewers.
Luckily for him, this worked out, and not very many people were openly annoyed that they never got a clear explanation of the time loop. Yet, some of the explanations they brainstormed were that he was cursed by a past lover or someone that he had been rude to.
Small Details Make The Movie
If you look closely during the scenes in the diner, you'll notice that all of the clocks are stopped. They are all completely stationary and are used to represent Phil Conner's current situation whose life has been momentarily put on hold.
This is one of the many Easter eggs in the film that are only obvious to those who are paying extra-close attention to the film. It might take a few times watching the movie to catch some of these smaller details.
The Most Famous Groundhog In The World
Being set in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Groundhog Day made the small town famous. Now, the city actually takes Groundhog Day seriously and has developed into a community-wide event. In past years, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis have come to act as honorary grand marshals for the holiday festivities.
In the film, the festivities take place in the center of town called Gobbler's Knob. This wasn't made up and is where the ceremony actually takes place near Punxsutawney. However, it is a densely wooded area, not as it's depicted in the film.
Michael Shannon Asked An Embarassing Question
Actor Michael Shannon, who played the role of Fred in the film was a big fan of Bill Murray, so working with him in the film was a dream. One day, he saw Murray listening to Talking Heads on his boombox between tapes.
He then asked Murray if he liked the band and Murray said something that made Shannon realize what a stupid question that had been. On top of that, Ramis made Murray apologize to Shannon, embarrassing him even further.
Woodstock, Illinois Loves Bill Murray
Filmed in Woodstock, Illinois, the town was thrilled when they learned that not only was a movie going to be filmed there, but it would also star the one and only Bill Murray.
To commemorate his time in the town, a plaque was installed in the location of the puddle that Murray's character consistently stepped in, to his dismay. The plaque reads: "Bill Murray stepped here," and can still be seen in the town today.
The End Of Bill Murray's Marriage
During filming, Murray was actually going through a messy divorce which was having a serious effect on his performance and mood. To keep his mind off of his troubles, Murray began obsessing over the film, calling Harold Ramis constantly in the early hours of the morning.
Remis eventually sent Danny Rubin to sit down with Murray to help him sort out his thoughts and handle his anxiety. Supposedly, Murray's divorce was a contributing factor to him and Ramis' falling out.
McDowell's Influential Accent
In the original script, McDowell's character, Rita, had her famous line that said "Oh, let's not ruin it." However, after a few takes, Ramis ultimately decided to change the line to "Oh, let's not spoil it."
This is because he felt that McDowell's South Carolina accent made the word "ruin" sound a little too unusual for her character. Although most audiences most likely wouldn't have caught it, he wanted to be as realistic as possible.
Murray Put His Wife In A Scene (Sort Of)
Going through a divorce while filming, Murray's wife was on his mind a lot, and he even incorporated her into one of the scenes. The scene when Phil is reading to Rita after she falls asleep actually happened to Murray.
Apparently, his wife had fallen asleep on their wedding night after drinking too much champagne, and Murray read to her as she slept. Although it may not have seemed like a huge deal, the scene probably held a lot of weight for Murray.
That Last Scene Was Shot How Many Times?
While the final scene when Phil wakes up next to Rita in the B&B may have been a relief for audiences, that certainly wasn't the case for the cast and crew. They filmed the morning of February 3, the day after Groundhog Day, a total of 25 times.
Director Harold Ramis was unsure how he wanted the tone to feel as it was the end of the movie. So after a lot of debate and voting, they finally came up with the end scene.
Some Negative Reviews
Even though the film was well-received by a lot of people and has made it onto many top movie lists, that doesn't mean everyone was happy with it. Amazingly, the film also got a lot of attention from religious groups and spiritual gurus who were rubbed the wrong way by the concept of the film.
This was particularly shocking to Harold Ramis who didn't think anyone would actually take the movie as seriously as they did.
No Spit Buckets For Bill Murray
In the scene when Phil is gorging himself on pastries in the diner, he was offered a spit bucket by Remis because he was clearly chewing the food. However, Murray declined and instead decided to eat just about every pastry for authenticity (and maybe because he was hungry.)
However, in a later interview, Murray admitted to getting sick after eating far too much angel food cake. At least it must have been fun while it lasted!
The Philosophy Of Friedrich Nietzsche
Unsurprisingly, the concept of Groundhog Day was actually inspired by the works of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. In his renowned book The Gay Science, he tells the story of a man that lives the same day over and over again.
While the film is considered to be a comedy, there are actually a lot of philosophical and ethical nuances sprinkled throughout the film for those who are willing to look. It's what gives the film a lot more depth rather than if it was just another quirky Bill Murray comedy.
People Started Visiting Punxsutawney
Before the release of Groundhog Day, the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania wasn't known for much else besides hosted the annual Groundhog Day ceremonies. However, even then, that wasn't enough to make it very popular.
Due to the popularity of the movie, tourism spiked. According to the Washington Post, in 2013, there were more than 35,000 spectators at the annual Groundhog Day festivities, while prior to the movie, there were only a mere 6,500 residents of the small town.
A Minor Error
In one scene, Murray snags his alarm clock and slams it on the ground, shattering it. Despite this scene looking smooth in the movie, it didn’t happen easily on set. Murray threw his alarm clock to the floor as planned, but it barely broke.
Since throwing the alarm didn’t crush it, the film crew battered it repeatedly with a hammer. The mangled clock you see on the ground was the result of hard labor. Although the hammer broke the clock, it continued to play the same song, just like in the movie
Bill Murray Is Actually Playing The Piano
When Phil learns an instrument at the piano teacher’s house, he fumbles while playing “Rhapsody on a Theme by Paginini,” by Sergei Rachmaninoff. That was actually Bill Murray playing. Murray doesn’t read sheet music; he learned most of that song by ear.
Murray does have a love of piano and classical music. In 2017, he released a new album with cellist Jan Vogler. He also sings classical accompanists such as Gershwin. He even performed the album New World at Carnegie Hall.
A Paul Lynde Inspired Joke
Comedian and character actor Paul Lynde was the inspiration for one of Groundhog Day’s best lines. In one of his bits, Lynde describes how he once drove through the San Fernando Valley while intoxicated. He crashed into a mailbox, and the police ran up to his car with their guns drawn. Lynde said, "I'll have a cheeseburger, hold the onions, and a large Sprite."
A similar joke was also told by Shecky Greene, involving him driving his car into a Las Vegas fountain. But it wasn't as similar to Groundhog Day as Lynde's joke was.
Not Such A Unique Idea?
After the film was released, several science fiction writers came forward and argued that the screenwriters stole their idea. For instance, Richard Lupoff claimed that Groundhog Day ripped off his short story, “12:01 p.m.” At the same time, Ken Grimwood asserted that his story “Replay” inspired the film.
Writer Danny Rubin confirmed that none of these accusations were true. His inspiration for the film came from “Christmas Every Day,” an 1892 short story by William Dean Howells. His other source of inspiration was Anne Rice’s novel Interview with a Vampire.
One Full Room On Set
Most of the sets featured in Groundhog Day were not filmed in real rooms. Phil’s room and the bed and breakfast were both shot in an empty warehouse in Cary, Illinois. The staff set up and took down the room decorations in between scenes.
The only scenes that featured an actual house were where Phil took piano lessons. The piano teacher’s house was real, as was her front room that you can spot in the movie.
Legal Troubles For Groundhog Day
In the scene where Phil and Ned interact on the street, you can spot a store called Lloyd’s in the background. To film these scenes, the movie crew had to close off the street. Afterward, Lloyd’s tried to sue the production for their several thousand dollars in “lost business.”
Lloyd’s attempt to sue the film never went through. If it had, the lawsuit likely would cost the company far more than they supposedly lost in sales.
Foreign Versions Of The Movie
Because Groundhog Day is only celebrated in the U.S. and Canada, international countries had to translate the title differently. In Sweden, the movie translates to “Mondy the Entire Week.” Although the film never clarified what day of the week it is, most fans speculate that it’s Tuesday, the date of Groundhog Day in 1993.
The German movie title is “The Groundhog Greets Every Day.” After the movie debuted, this phrase became a humorous proverb for Germans. They use it to mean something that is frequently repeated, especially awkward or annoying things.
Mourning A Lost Life
Throughout the film, Phil undergoes the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Writer Harold Ramis said that his fellow writer, Danny Rubin, “actually took Elisabeth Kübler-Ross as a model - her five stages of death and dying - and we used that as a template for Bill Murray's progress."
Kübler-Ross was a Swiss-American psychiatrist who first proposed the five stages of grief in her book, On Death and Dying. The fact that Groundhog Day uses the model is ironic, because Phil can never die in his repeating world.
Similarities Between Groundhog Day And Edge Of Tomorrow
Groundhog Day shares many similarities with the 2014 movie Edge of Tomorrow. Both films chronicle men who are trapped in a never-ending day. Each movie includes a character called Rita, and both protagonists awake at 6:00 a.m. with the line, “same old, same old.”
Edge of Tomorrow was based off of a 2004 novel, All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. In both the novel and Groundhog Day, the main characters pinch themselves to prove that tomorrow has finally arrived.
When Fantasy Becomes Reality
In the movie, many scenes took place in the Tip Top Cafe. This was a fictional restaurant that was created for Groundhog Day. But after the film’s success, a real restaurant named Tip Top Bistro opened up.
However, Tip Top’s post-movie success didn’t last. The location later changed to Jaci’s Cookie Shop, and then Bella’s Gelateria, a coffee and Italian ice cream shop. Now, it is reportedly a fried chicken outlet.
A Long Lost Line
Viewers have spotted two points in the film where Murray says something inaudible. When Rita first tells Phil what she typically drinks to, he resigners and mutters, “okay...to world peace.” This line can only be caught if you read lips, since there is no discernable audio of the saying.
Later in the film, Phil is in the alley scene when he gives up on saving the homeless man. He looks up and evidently says something, but no audio reveals what he said. That line was apparently cut, for reasons unknown.
