It’s Groundhog Day…again.
And we have plans for you. Forget what the rodents are saying and just call it a snow day (no, it does not have to be snowing for you to do this), it’s time to settle in to re-watch (and re-watch) the 1993 classic Groundhog Day.
It’s basically like going back to your childhood.
So to get you in the mood, here are 11 facts you probably never knew about one of the greatest comedies ever made.
1. Bill Murray was bitten by the groundhog twice during shooting and had to receive anti rabies injections because the bites were so severe.
2. The film was not shot in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania where it was set, but rather in Woodstock, Illinois.
3. In Woodstock, Illinois there’s a small plaque on the curb where Murray continually steps into a puddle that reads, “Bill Murray stepped here”.
4. There’s a lot of debate over how much time Murray’s character actually spends trapped in the same day. Director Harold Ramis oringinaly claimed 10 years but has since expanded that estimate to 30-40 years. Probably depends on how quickly he could learn to play the piano…
5. Whenever Ramis tried to explain a scene to Bill Murray, Murray – dealing with a character that moves from angry to happy throughout the film – would interrupt and simply ask, “Just tell me – good Phil or bad Phil?”
6. Apparently Ramis told the kids in the snowball fights to hit Murray as hard as they could. Naturally, Murray responded by throwing snowballs back as hard as he could.
7. The interiors of Bill Murray’s room at the bed and breakfast were actually filmed in an empty warehouse in Cary, Illinois. Talk about a lonely way to wake up.
8. One of the groundhog officials is Brian Doyle-Murray, one of Bill Murray’s brothers.
9. The “clocks” restaurant in Woodstock, IL, is now a Starbucks. Time and coffee wait for no one.
10. Tori Amos was considered for the role of Rita. Well, that might have brought a little Spring Haze…
11. According to something called science, sunrise in early February in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is not until around 7:25 am. That means every time Murray’s clock goes off at 6am it would still be dark outside.
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