For many fans, Christmas wishes are already coming true in October. Bill Murray has just announced that he will reunite with Lost in Translation director Sofia Coppola for a Christmas TV special. Murray will be singing Christmas carols in the show.
“It’s not going to be live. We’re going to do it like a little movie,” said Murray. “It won’t have a format, but it’s going to have music. It will have texture. It will have threads through it that are writing. There will be prose. It will have a patina style and wit to it. It will be nice.”
Coppola confirmed the project to Variety, which happens to feature Murray on the cover this week. “We’re working on a Christmas special,” she said. “Not sure when it will air, but my motivation is to hear him singing my song requests.”
This is certainly not the first time the actor has shown off his musical side. For a quick taste, you can hit the theatres and hear Murray sing “Shelter From the Storm” in the closing credits of St. Vincent, his most recent film. The scene was shot in a single take, after the production team agreed to pay for the rights to the Bob Dylan song. He also sang “More Than This” by Roxy Music for the karaoke scene in Coppola’s Lost in Translation.
During his time on Saturday Night Live, Murray sang songs like “Waterfalls” by TLC and “Badlands” by Bruce Springsteen for a recurring lounge-singer character named Nick Winters. Also on SNL, he and Chevy Chase dove into a medley of Barry Manilow, Beatles, and Bob Marley songs.
Murray commemorated the very first episode of Late Night with David Letterman with a cover of Olivia Newton John’s “Let’s Get Physical.” He also returned for the 20th anniversary of the show to sing Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” to Letterman, dressed up as Liberace, of course. But he has grabbed the mic in countless live settings as well.
Always up for a spontaneous celebrity duet, Murray performed Van Morrison’s “Gloria” (apparently the only song he can play on guitar) with Eric Clapton, and Looking Glass’ “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl)” with Clint Eastwood. For the Crossroads benefit concert in 2007, he dressed up and performed as Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Jimi Hendrix throughout the event. He also made a surprise visit to Murray Bros. Caddyshack Restaurant and sang a lively rendition of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” with some of the female employees. If his contributions to Coppola’s upcoming TV special are anything like his performance of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” for the Cubs home opener in 2012, then it will be a very Merry Christmas this year.