How funny this could be without affecting the effect densly desired director direct Coppollaa Sophiaaha

 

So, needless to say,I was happy when he showed up in Tokyo.

0:23 / 9:31

A Conversation with Bill Murray and Sofia Coppollaa

2003

50,219 views Jan 1, 2020

0:12

I just couldn't think of anyone else that could be the Bob Harris I had in mind.

0:17

So it was scary because I didn't want to make the movie

0:19

if he wasn't going to do it, so...

0:20

And I really wanted to make the movie.

0:23

So, needless to say, I was happy when he showed up in Tokyo.

0:32

MURRAY: The bilingual challenge of working in Tokyo was significant.

0:37

We were a small crew, with a small budget

0:41

trying to overwhelm this gigantic city of maybe 20 million people.

0:46

It was clear that, you know, we had to remain calm.

0:52

It was almost like a war.

0:54

It's like it has a sort of a military feeling

0:56

like, "Okay, if we panic, we're really in trouble."

0:59

Because it seemed like you couldn't make yourself understood.

1:02

And Sofia never settled at all with them.

1:06

Just very politely smiled and said, "Yes, I see. I understand."

1:10

"No, what I really wanna do now is..."

1:12

And then just keep going ahead like some sort of a small burrowing animal

1:17

that's going to get through the clay eventually.

1:20

COPPOLA: Nice...

1:22

It is a pretty picture.

1:24

But she just...

1:25

I thought you were going to say, "Like a samurai," or something.

1:28

Okay, like a samurai.

1:29

Like a small burrowing samurai with a short knife.

1:33

The director of photography was...

1:35

It was Lance Acord, my friend...

1:37

MYRRAY: Mmm-hmm.

1:38

...and I just think he's so talented

1:40

and made the film look beautiful

1:43

and how I imagined and hoped and even better.

1:47

MURRAY: When you see light and you see beauty in light

1:50

you know "Uh-oh. Okay, this guy's got some stuff."

1:53

And the way he actually, sort of, made sure he got what he wanted

1:58

at the same time, showed people how it was done...

2:01

They were fascinated with watching him.

2:02

I think they really liked watching him...

2:04

...cause he has so much enthusiasm.

2:11

There was some sort of humor that usually accompanies a romance

2:16

that I thought I could tackle

2:19

and could make it to help tell the story.

2:22

And when this came, I thought, "Well, this...

2:26

"This is right where...

2:29

I can do this.

2:31

I know this.

2:33

I think I know this.

2:34

I know...

2:35

a little bit about being a movie star and a little bit about the scenes that...

2:40

of being a fish out of water...

2:42

I know what it's like to be a long ways from home.

2:44

So I thought I could do this.

2:46

The only question I had was how funny the boss wanted it to be

2:51

how funny this could be...

2:54

...without affecting the film that Sofia wanted to make.

3:06

"Help!"

3:17

And the art director?

3:18

COPPOLA: First, Anne Ross was there before you came

3:21

and she was designing the stuff in the hotel, mostly.

3:25

Then she had to leave..

3:26

..and then K.K.Barrett came from Los Angeles.

3:29

And he showed up, I think, the day before shooting

3:32

and he got off the plane and started working

3:34

and had great ideas for where to shoot in the city.

3:37

We turned this little clothing store into the strip club.

3:42

And the nightclub with the fireworks on the...

3:46

...he had an idea to get weather balloons to project the fireworks on.

3:52

And Bill did learn some Japanese that he shared with us

3:55

and kept things lively.

3:58

Do you remember your phrases still?

4:00

Am I what?

4:01

Do you still remember your phrases?

4:03

I have a couple, you know...

4:05

I had this book which I had in my library for maybe 10 or 12 years...

4:10

...called "Making Out in Japanese"

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And...

4:14

Extremely helpful.

4:15

And I would take it with me to dinner...

4:16

Can I tell it?

4:17

I would take it with me to dinner wherever I'd go...

4:20

I saw you carrying that around.

4:22

And I would just...

4:23

Wherever I went, I had this thing,

4:25

and it was full of all kinds of phrases...

4:27

that a college kid on his first trip to the Orient would have.

4:31

And it had some helpful things.

4:34

But, more specifically, it had some magnificent things

4:36

for this type of individual, including, "Do you have a curfew?"

4:40

And things like that.

4:41

And I would ask this of elder, you know, waitresses in restaurants.

4:45

"Do you have a curfew?" in Japanese.

4:48

And...

4:51

'Do you think I could meet your family?" you know.

4:55

"Would your family approve of me?"

4:57

"Can we get into the backseat?"

5:02

ACORD: "You talking to me?" MURRAY: Yeah

5:04

Needless to say, he was a fun person to be in Tokyo with.

5:06

MURRAY: "Are you talking to me?"

5:09

"Do you have protection?"

5:10

I mean, I'd ask that of sushi chefs.

5:13

I'd say, "Do you have protection?"

5:14

And they would just fall apart.

5:16

It was kind of dangerous...

5:17

cause they always have a knife in their hands anyway.

5:19

I'm thinking, "Well, maybe they won't like that."

5:22

COPPOLA: Nancy Steiner was our costume designer.

5:24

MURRAY: Mmm-hmm.

5:25

And it was funny when you showed up.

5:27

I'd talked to Nancy and she came up with..

5:29

...you know, the look for Bob Harris.

5:31

And then Bill showed up, and we'd never talked about it.

5:35

And he'd brought some clothes and they were all exactly the same.

5:38

MYRRAY: Exactly the same.

5:39

COPPOLA: Like, the same color scheme and... MURRAY: It was really spooky.

5:41

COPPOLA: They were.

5:46

I'm stuck.

5:51

Does it get easier?

5:53

No...

5:56

Yes.

5:58

It gets easier.

6:01

Oh, yeah?

6:03

Look at you.

6:06

Thanks.

6:08

I think it's really a key scene in the film.

6:11

I think that's when most movie watchers

6:18

decide that they like the film.

6:21

Because there's...

6:25

there's a romantic-encounter structure

6:28

that we're all familiar with.

6:30

And usually it gets to a point where the writing is not...

6:38

makes a choice to go one way or another.

6:42

And usually both ways are sort of

6:45

...incorrect for me.

6:50

They're almost not true in a way.

6:53

In terms of writing up a story that's worth repeating maybe

6:58

people either have an affair

7:01

and consummate an affair or they do something different..

7:06

and turn on each other or something.

7:10

This was...

7:11

And when you get to a point

7:13

where you have the possibility to consummate an affair

7:17

usually people will belittle their other life.

7:21

You know, they will say it's less important to them

7:25

and less meaningful and less successful.

7:28

So, to justify to themselves and to the other person

7:32

that what choice they're goona make is gonna be okay.

7:36

And that was the tricky part about shooting the scene was...

7:40

It sort of wasn't clear yet how we were gonna get that across.

7:47

And it took a while to fugire it out.

7:50

It was a tough night and we did a little walking up and down the halls.

7:57

And made something that's...

8:00

Made a scene...

8:02

...that I'm very proud of.

8:04

It's one of the nicest scenes I've ever made.

8:09

And the makeup department?

8:11

And Morag!

8:12

Morag Ross is our hero.

8:14

She did the hair and makeup for Bill, Scarlett and Giovanni.

8:19

All the actors.

8:19

All the makeup and all the hair. One person.

8:21

And she was running all over.

8:22

And I thought she made you look very handsome

8:26

and she made Scarlett look beautiful.

8:29

And then, Richard Beggs, the sound designer.

8:31

He's a real artist.

8:32

I loved the moment when, after you bring Scarlett home

8:36

and you're carrying her down the hall.

8:38

and that "My Bloody Valentine" song was playing in the taxi,

8:40

and in the hallway, he muffles it.

8:42

So it's just like it's ringing in your ear.

8:43

It's just the residue of the song.

8:45

Do you remember that moment which...

8:46

I love working with Richard Beggs.

8:48

And then our fabulous producer, Ross Katz.

8:52

(MURRAY APPLAUDING)

8:53

...who kept it all together.

8:54

It was a hard shoot and you made it all happen.

9:00

Sofia C. Coppola.

9:02

This is Sofia C. Coppola.

9:04

She wrote and directed Lost in Translation.

9:08

Which is my favorite movie...

9:11

...that I've been in.

9:12

Oh, that's nice.