Wes Anderson opened up about casting Bill Murray as God during a recent interview promoting The Phoenician Scheme. While discussing the film’s surreal afterlife scenes, Anderson revealed how Murray stepped into the divine role with ease, calling the casting choice something that “possibly God did.”
Wes Anderson speculates on divine involvement in Bill Murray’s casting in The Phoenician Scheme
Bill Murray plays God in The Phoenician Scheme, but director Wes Anderson says he isn’t sure the decision was his. “I don’t know that we chose Bill to play God… possibly God did,” Anderson told Entertainment Weekly. The filmmaker described Murray’s portrayal as “an informal God who is creating without making a show of it.”
According to Anderson, once Murray appeared on set “in his robes and his beard,” it didn’t seem that “he was faking it.”
Murray’s character appears in a stylized afterlife where the protagonist Zsa-zsa Korda, played by Benicio del Toro, repeatedly visits after surviving multiple assassination attempts. Each visit becomes a moment of reflection and transformation for Korda. “Some of the most important changes in Benicio’s character Zsa-Zsa are taking place during these sort of visions that he’s having,” Anderson explained.
To depict this version of heaven, Anderson avoided digital effects. “We wanted it to all exist in front of the camera,” he said, describing a practical 360-degree set made of sculpted clouds. The scenes also include a “Biblical troupe” featuring F. Murray Abraham, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and Willem Dafoe. “It’s sort of the way biblical settings and characters were portrayed during the Renaissance,” Anderson said, adding, “Ours is the black and white version of that.”
Filming took place in Germany’s Babelsberg Studio. Anderson co-wrote the film with Roman Coppola. It stars Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, and Michael Cera in lead roles. The supporting cast includes Tom Hanks, Riz Ahmed, Benedict Cumberbatch, and more.
Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on ComingSoon.
