Sofia Coppola was one of several directors responsible for the reinvigorating of Bill Murray’s career, as he made the shift from sarcastic comedian to sarcastic, but far more serious, dramatic actor. Coppola’s Lost in Translation was a career highlight for both of them, and it was only a matter of time before the pair reunited for something equally inexplicable. For all of that, I don’t think anyone predicted that it would be for a Christmas special.
That’s right: according to Murray, he and Sofia Coppola have plans to reunite for a small film featuring the actor performing Christmas carols. Here’s what he said (via Collider):
It’s not going to be live. We’re going to do it like a little movie. It won’t have a format, but it’s going to have music. It will have texture. It will have threads through it that are writing. There will be prose… It will have a patina style and wit to it. It will be nice.
If you thought this might be a joke, Coppola actually confirmed the idea to Variety, telling them that she’s not certain about airtimes but she wants to “hear him singing my song requests.”
As odd as this whole notion sounds, it somehow becomes less odd when you consider the two people involved. Murray is exactly the sort of actor to get a kick out of doing an old-fashioned Christmas special with post-modern overtones. Of all directors, Coppola is one of the few that would find the idea of directing Bill Murray singing Christmas carols a worthy project. Bring them together and let them do their thing – I am sure they will produce something worth watching.
While we have no further confirmation on where this film might air, or when, I do hope that they follow through on the idea and at least release it via streaming. Not only do I want to see Murray and Coppola collaborate again, but it also sounds like gloriously weird follow-up to Lost in Translation.
As always, we’ll keep an ear to the ground and let you know if we hear anything more on this front. For now, you may ponder what songs you hope to hear Bill Murray sing.
