Wes Anderson is standing by his longtime collaborator Bill Murray, telling IndieWire in a new interview that multipleallegationsofmisconduct leveled at the actor in recent years won’t put a damper on their working relationship. “My experience with Bill is so extensive. Bill was such a great supporter of me from the very beginning,” Anderson said. “I don’t want to speak about somebody else’s experience, but he’s really part of my family. You know, he’s my daughter’s godfather. In fact, he actually baptized her. He’s the one who splashed the water.” Murray, 72, has appeared in all but one of Anderson’s movies—his first, Bottle Rocket. He was slated to appear in the director’s forthcoming film Asteroid City, but was reportedly forced to drop out because of COVID-19. Anderson told IndieWire that Steve Carell was tapped to fill Murray’s shoes, confirming that he had backed out after getting COVID “four days before he was supposed to start shooting.” He added that Murray was able to fly out to Spain just before filming on Asteroid City wrapped there, and that the pair then “got in a car and drove to France” in celebration.
