“What About Bob?” starring Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss remains one of the comedies from the 1990s that continues to delight fans and newcomers alike, but getting the film made wasn’t exactly a pile of laughs. Between Murray throwing a glass that shattered near Dreyfuss to needing to shoot multiple endings, production experienced many obstacles on the way to the big screen. Speaking for a recent oral history conducted by Rolling Stone Magazine, the film’s director, Frank Oz, shared how much of these rumors, in his opinion, have been conflated, but at the same time, everyone has their own experience under the circumstances they faced.
“Look, every set has a culture and a dynamic of its own, and there I have had difficulties,” he said. “Those bad situations are cracking me up because they show our frailty as human beings and our imperfections […] the egos and the fears, the insecurities when you get in a crucible that’s so pressurized. Making a movie like this, we’re talking about millions and millions and millions of dollars. We’re talking about stars believing that it better work, because the next paycheck won’t be good if it doesn’t. Richard Dreyfuss was not trying to be bad. Everybody believes they’re doing the best thing for the movie and they’re trying their very best. That doesn’t mean that what they’re doing is the best for the movie, but they honestly believe it.”
Dreyfuss also spoke to Rolling Stone for the piece and still seemed bitter over how “What About Bob?” was made, particularly in relation to Oz’s quality as a director and the mistreatment of the film’s late producer, Laura Ziskin. During one particularly tense exchange, Murray apparently broke Zisken’s glasses over her inability to secure a day off for the crew on a holiday. While Dreyfuss considered Murray’s actions “pretty wacky,” Oz views it as just him being in strong defense of his co-workers.
“I thought at the time he crushed her glasses for personal reasons, but it makes sense to hear it was for the crew,” said Oz. “He really cared about the crew.”
For a long time, Dreyfuss accused Murray of throwing a glass at him on set. Recently, Murray decried these rumors, saying he threw it near the “Jaws” actor. Oz cleared up the narrative, as he was present at the time and has it “etched” into his memory.
“I got in a room with Bill and Richard to try and solve a script problem,” Oz said to Rolling Stone. “We had several drafts that various people liked. Bill left the room and came back about 20 minutes later. Bill said something, I’m not sure what it was, but he was obviously in a dark mood. And Richard said, ‘Is that Bill talking or is that Bob Wiley talking?’ And I remember Bill grabbing a glass and saying, ‘This is Bill talking.’ And he heaved the glass about 10 feet up in the air against a huge high fireplace and glass scattered all over the room. And I remember Richard going, ‘Whoa,’ and standing up and leaving.”
Not many would consider this behavior acceptable, but having been in the industry a long time in many different roles, Oz thought it was just part of the process.
“We all have imperfections,” he said. “And they come out when we’re in this heightened crucible of making a movie. But when you think of the world outside, we’re so lucky that we get to do what we do. We’re so lucky, so fortunate. And within this crucible, all this nonsense happens. Looking back, it’s just so funny to me.”
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