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"FacebookPinterest\n\nYou've got Robert Duvall, Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek\u2014and it still takes almost ten years to raise the cash. What gives?\n\n The studios are looking for synergy and branding opportunities. I get it. There's a bottom line. Get Low is a period piece. And period is a dirty word. But in this case, we had Bobby Duvall saying, \"If you ever have the money, I'm interested.\" You've got Sissy Spacek. It gives you a little confidence.\n\nStill, nine years!\n\n I can be very hard-headed and stubborn. At a certain point, you want to demonstrate to all of these people that it might not have been for them, but it was worthwhile.\n\nHow did you get Bill Murray for the movie? I've heard stories. You call his answering machine, leave a message, and maybe he calls you back? That's really how it works?\n\n His lawyer says, \"Send me a synopsis. I'll send it to Bill. You won't hear back.\" But in this case, we did hear back. Bill himself called asking to see the screenplay. So you send that off to some P.O. box and hope that it gets delivered. In this case, another call from Bill comes in. And you take that call with nervous excitement, but also the realization that the whole fate of the project could hinge on how you handle this. The thing is, He never says the words, \"I'll do it.\"\n\nWhat do you mean?\n\n Well, we talked about baseball. We talked about golf. We talked about kids. We talked about a lot of things. And we get around to the movie. He asks, \"Who else is in this thing?\" And you'll say, \"Bobby,\" and he'll make some remarks. Then you'll say, \"Spacek,\" and he'll tell you a story about how they did Saturday Night Live. \"When are you thinking about doing this?\" There's a lot of basic information that's passed. And then that call's over with and you're not really sure if he's going to do it. I later worked out the deal with the lawyer, and through some cryptic text messages and things, Bill knew where to come and when.\n\nYou traded text messages with Bill Murray?\n\n He's big on text messaging.\n\nWow.\n\n They're extremely witty and cryptic and strange and funny. You go back and forth. But you're not sure if anything was accomplished other than some witty texts.\n\nI thought Spacek and Duvall must have made a film together before this. But I checked: They share one credit. And it's Four Christmases! With Vince Vaughn!\n\n We almost had a little minor heart attack knowing that Duvall and Sissy were on board for that movie. This was five years ago, just when things started to get cooking for us. We were like, \"Are we going to be upstaged by Four Christmases?\" But they weren't in a scene together in that movie. Get Low is the first time they share the screen.\n\nUnbelievable. You have a famous Hollywood surname. Your grandfather, Darryl Zanuck, ran 20th Cenutry Fox and won three Oscars. Your father, Richard Zanuck, produced Jaws and won an Oscar for Driving Miss Daisy. What was that breakfast table like? Learn anything there?\n\n There was something that my grandfather passed down to my dad. It's becoming less of a motif in today's film world, but the idea is story story story story. Story is king. Story is the number one priority. It doesn't matter who you have in the film. If it's lacking there, you're doomed.\n\nIs it true that your grandfather fired your dad from 20th Century Fox?\n\n Yeah.\n\nOver what?\n\n There just wasn't enough room for two Zanucks.\n\nYou and your father worked together at his production company. You brought him the graphic novel of Road to Perdition, which became the Sam Mendes film. Were you ever worried your dad was going to fire you?\n\n Well, I quit before he could do that.\n\nWould it really have come to that?\n\n No, no. We have a much different relationship than the two of them did. It's not apples to apples. After being fired, my dad was walking the beaches of Santa Monica in a daze wondering what he would do next. But it led to this great independent producing career. Shortly thereafter he produced The Sting and Sugarland Express and Jaws.\n\nGet Low is your Sugarland. By the way, you started as Brian Grazer's assistant. What was that like?\n\n I was basically his shadow. If he was on set, I would take care of him. If he was at home, I would take care of him. If he needed his car sold, I would sell his car.\n\nYou sold his car?\n\n I sold his Wagoneer and bought him a new car. I probably got a horrible deal. I was just out of college. It was a utility car for the house. I traded it for a Mitsubishi Montero or something.\n\nHe must know your dad.\n\n Grazer liked to eat at The Grill every day in Beverly Hills. They never had valet parking. He would ask me to drive his Mercedes and drop him off there. He would always want me waiting out front to pick him up. But what he would always do, which was great, was introduce me to whoever he was having lunch with. And this was like Brad Gray and all these tops guys. Though it was a embarrassing when he'd come out with my dad.\n\nFunny. Get Low opens today. Robert Duvall was on Howard Stern the other day. It's great that he's out there promoting the film. Howard certainly didn't hold back...\n\n No, he didn't. Howard was referring to a producer or someone, And he said, \"So, this guy, he's banging this chick. He's banging her forever. Like 20, 30 minutes. And he just can't come. Bobby, that ever happen to you?\"\n\nAwkward!\n\n Bobby's got a good sense of humor.\n\nIs it too soon to think about the awards season? Get Low will be in the mix.\n\n You can't work in this business, have the last name Zanuck and not think about it. But I'm too young to feel the pressure of having to hold a statue.\n\nI read somewhere that a chunk of the money for Get Low came from Poland. The Poles know comedy?\n\n They must. There's a line in the movie where Lucas Black says, \"Well, you know, you can't have a funeral unless, you know, you're deceased.\" And there's a pause. And Bill Murray says, \"Hold on, now. It's a detail. We can look at it.\" When we screened it in Poland, the place erupted in applause. It was just drowning out the next series of lines. I'd never seen that before. Maybe it was just expert subtitling.\n\nWhat's next for you? You're not going to spend the next nine years getting one film made, are you?\n\n I don't think my wife will let me. It's not a good business model.\n\nClick here for a Q&amp;amp;A with Bill Murray from the August 2010 issue of GQ."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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