As "A Very Murray Christmas" rings in the holidays on Netflix, Bill Murray is spending his weekend at the Marrakech International Film Festival, where he’s being feted and receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award. The actor’s career is far from over, and during today’s press conference, he revealed that he’ll once again be collaborating with a longtime pal.
Wes Anderson is currently putting together his next effort, a stop-motion animated movie about dogs that we already know will feature the voices of the director’s regulars Jeff Goldblum ("The Life Aquatic With Zissou," "The Grand Budapest Hotel"), Bob Balaban ("Moonrise Kingdom, "The Grand Budapest Hotel") and Edward Norton ("Moonrise Kingdom," "The Grand Budapest Hotel"), along with newcomer Bryan Cranston. Murray confirmed that he’ll be getting in on the fun, too.
"….I’m playing a dog. He’s doing another, like a stop motion animated kind of comedy sort of like ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox,’ " Murray said. Though he didn’t spill any plot details, he added, "And it’s a Japanese story and I’m playing a dog. I’m very excited."
The Japanese element is perhaps the most curious thing about Anderson’s effort, as Goldblum has previously said the movie is, "Japanese-inspired." Indeed, the influence of Yasujiro Ozu on the films of Wes Anderson has not been overlooked by cinephiles.
No word yet on what stage of production the movie the movie is at, or when we might see it, but it seems things are steadily moving along. — additional reporting by Katie Walsh