Bill Murray Offers the Most Genuine, Heartfelt Tribute to 'the Tough Nut' That Was Gene Hackman You'll Ever Hear
Like anyone else with even the most basic appreciation for great movies, I'm been a fan of the late, great Gene Hackman. So much so that I'm trying to block out all the horrific news reports about the circumstances around his death and focus on his work. Whether it's watching Unforgiven (which leaves Prime Video tonight at midnight) or waiting to watch Hoosiers (which is available on Prime starting at midnight) like I do every year around NCAA Tournament time, his untimely death at the tender age of 95 is another chance to appreciate what a great entertainer he was.
What I've never been a fan of though, is when someone dies, talking about them like they were perfect. Like they had no flaws. No shortcomings. Never had a bad moment, were never inconsiderate or selfish or difficult or treated anyone like crap. I have no use for hagiography unless it's for actual saints. Which is what is so great about this interview Bill Murray just gave about working with Hackman and the way he treated everyone on the set of The Royal Tenebaums:
“He was a tough nut, Gene Hackman. But he was really good. And he was really difficult. We can say it now, but he was a tough guy. Older, great actors do not give young directors much of a chance. They’re really rough on them, and Gene was really rough on Wes [Anderson, the director]. I used to kind of step in there and just try to defend my friend. ...
“I watched him once do like 25 takes and he did it perfectly with an actor who kept blowing it every, single time. Big, long camera move, panning, all this stuff. Gene would do it perfectly, the other actor would blow it and I’d go like, ‘Oh, God.’ I was watching it going, ‘No wonder this guy wants to throttle people.’ And then he sort of gave an ordinary performance and the other actor got it right and I thought Gene was going to throw the actor off the ledge of the building.”
Bear in mind that this is coming from Bill Murray, who in addition to being one of the best comic actors of all time, is also a notorious asshole to work with. So much so that he and Harold Ramis stopped being friends after making Groundhog Day together. And who was rumored to have bullied the crap out of Richard Dreyfuss during What About Bob? Murray has made a career out of being irreverent, is showing reverence for a talent even bigger than his. But at the same time, being up front about what an incorrigible dick Hackman had to be to produce the kind of work he did. Which is the perfect way to honor a man's legacy. Not worshipful praise, which seems to be the setting people always default to.
This especially resonates with me because some buddies and I were texting this morning about old Red Sox baseball. And what high maintenance divas Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez could be. But they were such oversized talents it was more than justified if, say, Pedro was always mad about his contract, Papi was bitching about the official scorer taking an RBI away, or Manny would flake out for some weekend and fake a hamstring pull but not remember which leg it was in. They'd earned the right to be difficult in producing all those Cy Youngs, postseason game-winning hits and, above all, winning championships.
A comic once gave me this advice which I've probably shared here before, because it goes beyond comedy into every aspect of life. He said it's a pie chart. But no slice of the pie is bigger than any other. Be funny, of course. But it's just important to be good to work with. To show up on time. To do the amount of time you're asked to, and so on. A Gene Hackman could put everyone on edge because he would show up to the set and make fecking Gene Hackman movies. As opposed to legendary pains in the ass like, for example, Steven Seagal. Who on his best day didn't make Gene Hackman films.
The bottom line is this has me appreciating this great artist's work even more. Now if you'll excuse me I need to finish Unforgiven, start Hoosiers, and find one of my all time favorites, Crimson Tide.
Requiscat in Pace to this showbusiness great.