Provider of multimedia news and Information Services worldwide. From our studios in new york city, this is captioning sponsored by Rose Communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. Come in, ray. I saw it, i saw it i saw it. Its right here ray. Its looking at me. Hes an ugly little spud isnt he. I think can hear you ray. Dont move. It wont hurt you. What happened . Are you okay . He slimed me. Thats great. Actual physical contact. You can move . Ray, ray, come in please. I feel so funky. Bill murray has had a remarkable career. For more than 30 years he got his start doing improv at second city in chicago. He gained wide notice on saturday night live where he won an emmy award in 1977. Bill murray starred in many popular films including caddy shack stripes and then lost in translation he can currently be seen in George Clooneys the Monuments Men. Whats going o on . This seems to be a bit of a problem. A bit. Heres the thing. We put down our gun. You go your way. We go our way. No hard feelings. He doesnt speak any english. Not a word. Okay. Are you just going to sit down. Yeah, i think why dont we all sit down for a second. Rose later this month he appears in the grand budapest hotel, the latest film by West Anderson who is one of his closest collaborators. He is a pop culture icon and has been called by the new yorker one of the worlds most appealing hipsters. I spoke with him recently and we talked about many things including the life that he lives. What was the attraction of Monuments Men for you . Well the story is a story that most people never heard the story of like a core like a clique a plat on of guys going out to hunt down the stolen art. Rose who were artists rather than solders. Who are artists rather than soldier, and mature men not warrior not enlistees and not not drafties but guys who were past the warrior soldier stage asked to join the effort and go on this hunt. Which we forget in times like this in war one of the casualties in war is cultural treasures. Right, well iraq was a big one, right. Exactly. Where we sort of cleaned house in iraq. We sort of won the war in 95 minutes or something but their museums were looted and robbed. And i dont know if that stuff has ever been tracked down. Rose a lot of it has i think. Yeah . Yeah. But thats something that really goes and things disappeared and with the sort of you know systemic looting of the western europe museums by hitler and his people they really took a lot of stuff that you know they are still finding it. Exactly. What did they say was worth a billion and a half. A lot of them one guy had done that. So theres the story t is a great story based on a book by robert ed sell. Did you read the book . Yes. Had you read the book before you accepted the roll. No george told me the story of the movie a year before. While eating pasta and salad. I just went oh, god, that sounds so good. But then you know i thought i wish george would ask me to be in that movie. And nine months later, are you busy . And yeah im not busy. Im busy but im not that busy. You liked the character . Yeah, it was great it is sort of a composite. We didnt name we didnt use anyones name but it was a handful of men and put them together. The crack was written was just a wonderful character. I every acker in the movie has great stuff to do every actor is given a couple of home run swings throughout the film. And so it is really made for you to have like great turns, great scenes whale are you telling a story interesting story. How does george work as a director. George is extremely well prepared. He comes to work if a great mood every day. Its the lightest set ive ever been on, really. I usually feel like i have to be the one that keeps things light. Im always trying to calm people down or loosen them up. George was just and grant they were both hilarious all the time. And you put all those people in 1 place, we got more tall tales and lies and stories to tell. Rose the making of the movie you know you would shoot a scene and then you would stop and then you would just balderdash for like 25 minutes and just laugh. And really you would laugh until you hurt it was that hard. People were pulling out their best stories throwing them over its top of the previous one. Rose you cant top this, can you . And you could. And people did top them it was really fun. It was really like the old west. Hes a prankster too. Well hes famous for playing a lot of pranks. He didnt do some of on this one. He had one good one on matt damon. Matt damon had this event. He was going renew his vows with his wife and was working out all the so it really looked like it did when he first got married or something. And george told the seamstresses on the film to take in his pants a quarter of an inch every two weeks. So he would go away and we come on and put the wants on. And he would just and all of us new but everyone was you know dead face dead panning looking at him. And you would see just the look on his face like. Rose its location was good too. Well berlin is pretty great. I dont know if you spent any time there but its really nice its really a bubbling place an artist colony veru neek like austin is very different than texas. Berlin is very different than the rest of germany and all the artists of europe flee there because it is inexpensive very reasonable to live people live sort of like socialists there are squatters and so forth. I know an american guy who was like a socialist here who moved to berlin and he rents out his little sort of place and he squatts somewhere else. He is this crazy guy. Rose i know a lot of architects have done buildings there. There was a sense of a great almost one of the great towns for architecture anywhere because after the reunification and everything they were really building and having opportunities to build great things. Yeah, there is a lot of new stuff. And the old stuff, the funny things, like even though, i would think like berlin would be a wreck, they bombed the heck out of it. But what they didnt bomb, and it is a fairly good sized city. But what they didnt bomb is completely intact. On the east german part of town nothing changed. Because no buildings changed. Nothing was built, so all the apartment buildings are beautiful. You walk through gosh, look at this. Its like you see a row of townhouses in new york what a great street. There are lots of streets like that in berlin. Rose and the night life is good. The night life is the night and day life. They really go hard. They are not they show i mean the germans were working, yes we are going to dance night. And dance night lasts 41 hours they go out and they go for a day and a half if lasts. Rose how do you decide whether you want to make a movie or not . Sometimes the people involved. Rose like george. Well george or wes anderson someone who just says you want to do the job. I say sure where are we going. Rose without knowing. Yeah. Rose he calls are you there. And if gorge called again you would be there. Yes, absolutely all of us would come for george tomorrow morning in greenland it was really wonderful to work to be that well taken of care of. Rose does 2 make it difficult because hes also one of the stars of the movie because hes acting and directing . Well. Rose and in this case he wrote the screenplay along with grant. That could be a hazard. You could think that would be a problem. And with another actor, are you absolutely right that might be a problem. But george what he does in this movie t is selfless. He is doing all the grunt work. Hes doing all the, like the plot line. Hes telling all the facts. Hes doing all that stuff those arent really huge motional moments that ess got. Its like selfless serving stuff and he gives us all the merrygoround stuff. We all have great the great stuff. And hes doing the service work. Rose you want to direct . I codirected once with howard franklin, a movie called quick change a long time ago. I really enjoyed it. And i thought i was going to do it every year for the rest of my life. But then life changed and i havent done that again but i would like to do it. I think if you can direct, you should direct a movie, if are you able to you know. Ill probably do it again when life slows down a little bit when i have a little more space. Rose your life is interesting and in it seems that its not a carefully thought out and well planned life. What a unique way of saying that. I never heard anyone be so compassionate towards me. Thats really nice. Rose well its true. It has the additional advantage of being true, you know. Well, im a little bit im a little bit seat of my pants. I try to be just alert and available. I try to. Rose see thats a good point be available so that you are not so on a treadmill that you dont see or take advantage of something. Yeah. And i mean nor than just for work, i mean available for work. But available just for life to happen to you you know. That living this life were in this life. And if you are not available you sort of ode time goes past and you didnt live it. The day passes and you didnt live it but if you are available then life gets huge you jump up dimensions. Life becomes much more full. And you are really living it. I mean. Rose that old maxim about half the game is being in the arena. By saying yes and being in the arena you can experience so much more. Well, yeah. And yes to life. Its like yes this is this is not easy for me to pay attention. This is not easy life you know. And its not easy to really engage all the time. Its so much easier to zone you know to get distracted, to day dream, to do something. But to be available and to be there, then things because things are happening all the time to us. And if you are not aware you miss them. Rose but you seem to be a guy without reads a lot too. Are you really aware. In reading about you and i was struck by the point that someone asked you who you would really like to meet. And you said einstein and was it gregory mendolson. All the stuff about senniality. Uhhuh. So these are two scientists. I get exstated about science stuff because theyre sort of laws theyre laws of nation. And if theyre laws of nation theyre sort of like heavenly laws and sort of laws inside of few. So if you could get someone to tell you explain a little bit and crack your head just turn your skull a little bit if you heard something a little differently, it just came in your ear differently and landed differently, would you understand somethg more about it. Where do you live . Well, i live right now i live in South Carolina. Why . Well life took me there life took me there so that is where my sons are, and thats where i am. Dow like South Carolina. Yes, i really do like South Carolina. I didnt choose to go there and i kind of was like but i love it there now. I really like it there. The people are kind and the place is beautiful. Good place to be a parent. Yes its easier its easier than being a parent in new york was. Being a parent in new york was quite a bit harder. Rose because i read somewhere that when you were in l. A. You budgeted at georges house. Well ive done that but no, no budgeting at georges house, wherever georgea hois is always a pretty good place to be. Rose a nice party. Its easy. Its easy yeah. But where you are you know i like to go, i like to go around america. I like it. Were going go on this trip now, were going go to berlin i a press junket where we go to berlin milan london and paris. You tell people i have a week i have to go to work. And that is my job. Where i have to go for a week. Rose you were telling me george allowed to you fly in and do the movie and any out. It was spectacular. They allowed me to go back and forth from berlin to South Carolina every two weeks. So i could keep my house together keep the guys rolling keep the place spinning you know. Keep those guys going. And still do the job. And de that for all, he made it for everyone. Mine was maybe the most difficult but he, i have never had anyone do that for me. Do you look for and when you are looking at what you are going to do next i mean are you actually out there letting people know that i would really like to be making movies . No. No and i quit every once in a while. I quit every once in a while. You vow you are going to quit after certain movies because you think one, it was really great and how can i top that. I did do that. I really thought that i made a movie called broken flowers i thought i cant do anything better than that. I mean he wrote a beautiful script, he directed it beautifully he edited all my lousy stuff out it was perfect. I just thought, i got to stop, i should stop right now, get out like john elway and just get out. And i thought now i will just look for that other ca reeferment i looked around and i have no other skills charlie. I cant do anything else this is it. I have interviewed some great, some people without couldnt who boxers for example sugar ray leonard. I said why are you coming back. Because he made a lot of money and had managed it well. Right so he had all the money. He said you he said its what i do. Its what i know. Thats why. I remember having the conversation with him the night he first made 309 million dollars, i said man you should quit. You look good. I can understand you. You know, dont box again. But he came back twice more after that i know i know because thats what he knew. I dont have i dont think i can quit now. I really like doing because you love doing it. I really like the acting the action of it. I like it how i i have to be myself to do it correctly. I have to really work at its the best i am is when im working, talk about being present and being alert and aware and everything. But i know that because its going to be on screen im going get to see myself failing to be alert and aware so it really is such a strong powerful remind tore work at it. To really be just in the game, to be there. So i like t and i enjoy, i like the whole gypsy mentality of the moveyear business where you get together with a bunch of people you live very intimately for a couple of months and then you scatter. And you may never see these people again. But there that short time. The intensity of the experience while youre there. Very intense very close. People just really slave theres no limit to how hard you can work on a film. I used to think i used to really think that about only film. I realize its like that about parenting too or, you can work so hard on a movie there is no limit to how hard you can go. And people, you get in this harness with other people that are working hard and its exciting. You know like with these guys here she all know that. Cool they made a big thing like yours in the snow and working in the mountains Something Like that we go to the next scene. And john goodman i just pick up like sandbags and boxes and start walking. Like what are you doing. Were going the next part. Were all in this together and this is what we do. This somehow we do it reasons with you still learning . I dont this was unusual. I never have been in a movie way bunch of movie stars before it was very different to see that. To see how you go and you know w george you do like one or two takes and good actors you got it pretty much. But it was interesting how the spacing there is a sort of a different spatial. Everyone everyones tello is just a little bit slower a little bit its like were talking about professional golfers. Their tell mo is slower and smoother. That is like real big time actors, their tempo is slow and smooth. And to be in a group where everyone is slow and smooth like that it was different to have everyone. Rose youre watching, youre absorbing. Yes youre always getting something. I mean its fun to watch someone like john goodman who is such a natural actor. And yet it takes work. You cant people say oh hes not acting. Hes just being himself. Well its hard to be yourself. Its hard to be yourself. Show me you know its impossible. Its the hardest job there is right. Its harder than anything to be yourself. Its so hard. Rose when i see that small part with george, he said you know dow a great charlie rose. Maybe a compliment. It is it is a compliment, it is a compliment it is a compliment. Im sure he meant it that way. Its kind of its a joyous thing to its fun to be here. But its fun to work with people that are enjoying their job. You enjoy your job. I dont know how many years youve done this job. But you just seem to be more than 25. Okay. And yet and yet for you you light up when the camera turns on. Its as fresh as it was when i first started doing it. Yeah. And the excitement and interest and all of that. And because it is unpredictable too. You dont know where it is going to go. And you get to meet just the entire huge range of people. Enormous section of life. You dont learn something doing what i do then something is wrong with you. Yeah youre so lucky. Youre so lucky. Youre luckier than hell. So you made your mark in second city. Uhhuh. Improvisational. I will assume that that is great training for what you have done with your life. That was a perfect foundation. Yes. I was i have been really lucky. People say hey how i can make it in show business and you say well, god im only the luckiest guy in the world. Im not the right person to ask. You know. But i was i was really lucky. I got to go my brother brian was in second city ahead of me. So i got to watch he and harold ramos and joe flaherty and all these guys ahead of me. I was just hiding so i wasnt getting from trouble in my own house. I would go to the theatre to watch these guys with no intention of ever doing myself. Rose no intention of doing it huhuh. Rose what did you think would you do . I wanted to be a doctor once upon a time. But you got study. That wasnt going it to happenment i didnt know what i was going to do. I had no idea what i was going to do. Hi Trouble Holding jobs because they want you to be on time. I wasnt going to that wasnt going to work. Rose they wanted you to play by the rules. Working in the theatre we didnt have to get to work until 9 00 at night. Rose thats right. So i learned a lot just watching those guys. When i finally did begin to try it myself i learned so much just by observing and seeing what they were doing i wasnt i didnt really peak at the secretary city. I was just learning it you know. I was sort of the if you guy. And for a while. And you know i was just i was just getting i was just getting kind of good. And then i got this second this saturday night live job it was another Ensemble Group working with not only talented actors but writers this time too. So you got to use your writing skills and your acting skills. And this was a great secondary education. I mean i started second city and then i went to saturday night live. If you did saturday night live for five years, if you were on that show if you are able to do anything, you can go and do anything. Because it was really you learned a lot. And all those pros. All those guys on the set, when we got that job, all those guys sid caesar and all these things they seen it all