Lost in Translation Release Date: September 12, 2003 Starring: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johasson, Giovanni Ribisi Directed by: Sofia Coppola
“I just like that thing of being jet-lagged and waking up in the middle of the night, which is really conducive to ‘What am I doing with my life?’ ” says Coppola of her characters’ predicament in the bittersweet follow-up to her 1999 directing debut, The Virgin Suicides. Murray plays Bob Harris, a weary American movie star in Tokyo shooting a whiskey ad campaign. Dogged by jet lag and stalking the halls of the posh Park Hyatt Tokyo, he finds a kindred spirit in another guest, Charlotte (Johansson), a young newlywed who’s feeling stranded by her own lack of direction and her distracted husband (Ribisi). The duo cling to each other for moral support and spend a few nights exploring the neon-drenched nightlife, all the while developing an oddly touching friendship. “It’s not The Bridges of Madison County,” Johansson says of their relationship, although she insists that Murray’s character “is not a father figure or anything. I like to think there’s a romance in there.”
AMERICAN IDOL: Coppola, who wrote the script, had Murray in mind from the start and turned him loose for some of the film’s more comic scenes, including the karaoke session where he warbles “(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.” “With Bill Murray, request any song and he’ll sing it,” she says.
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