Update: We’ve gotten our hands on the actual original script pages for Swayze’s scene and it’s fantastic! It’s just the right kind of outrageous to inspire laughter and frenzied disbelief. After all, who would expect to see a zombie Patrick Swayze still so caught up in his various characters that even death couldn’t stop him from reenacting his roles! My favorite part is that he and Albuquerque do the infamous “lift” scene from ‘Dirty Dancing’, which is just too perfect! You can read the script pages below.
The 2009 horror/comedy Zombieland seems to be a bit polarizing amongst genre fans. Sure, many of us love the film and its clever approach to how people survive in the zombie apocalypse but there are others who find it tiresome and a bit too full of itself. To each their own, I say.
But one scene that I think everyone can agree was a hoot and holler was the cameo appearance of Bill Murray (Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day). It was totally unexpected and was fantastically presented. But in a recent episode of “Geeking Out”, writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick admit that Murray wasn’t their first pick for the cameo. In fact, he wasn’t even in their top 10!
The Deadpool writers spoke with Kevin Smith (Tusk, Yoga Hosers) and explained that their first choice was Patrick Swayze (Donnie Darko, Ghost), who got sick during production and was unable to make it. The re-wrote the script for other potential cameo appearances, making sure each iteration had relevant jokes to the possible actor. People like Sylvester Stallone and Jean Claude Van Damme were offered the opportunity, but each rejected.
Finally, Woody Harrelson reached out to his old Kingpin buddy Bill Murray, who accepted the offer and the famous scene was shot!
So there you have it, the story of how Bill Murray almost wasn’t in Zombieland. Pat yourself on the back because we both learned something today!
