the groundhog day project

So... the feud. The Wrap , 25 February 2014, tells us that Harold Ramis' and Bill Murray's "masterwork, 'Groundhog Day' is a sly and subversive romantic comedy that justly earned inclusion in the United States National Film Registry and is considered a modern classic." But we know all that. It continues: "It also split the longtime friends and film partners apart." They had known each other for decades, had worked together at Second City and the National Lampoon Radio Hour . Ramis co-wrote Meatballs which starred Murray, directed Caddyshack which may not have starred Murray but certainly allowed him to leave an indelible mark on anyone who watched the film, and they co-starred in Stripes together. Ramis' top-grossing film as a director and writer was Ghostbusters , in which they both starred. Then they returned to those roles five years later in Ghostbusters II . And, their final collaboration was Groundhog Day . On the set, the general ...

At the Oscars tonight, Bill Murray presented the Cinematography award with Amy Adams. After listing the nominees, Murray added: "Oh, we forgot one, Harold Ramis for Caddyshack , Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day ." Got a nice round of applause, and some cool tweets. Dennis Perkins tweeted: "Bill Murray hijacks a billion viewers to say goodbye to a pal. #weeping" Patton Oswalt tweeted: "Oh FUCK YES Bill Murray. I burst-wept when he invoked Ramis." (And, it occurs to me I don't think I use profanity much this blog, so I suppose I might apologize for that one... or, well, no, not really. Harold Ramis and Bill Murray deserve that sort of all-caps energy.) Esquire magazine tweeted, a little disapprovingly: "Bill Murray is also an eventual gentleman." Some--including the tweeter PFT from Esquire apparently, think Murray's brief statement in response to Ramis' death-- Harold Ramis and I together did the National Lampoon Show off Broa...